A/N: Argh…summer is over for me…but good news! I finally started a Max Ride site that people can actually join! So for the link check my profile. Especially if you want to join! (hint hint) On with the story!

Metal arms clamped down around my torso. Another Flyboy had Fang's arms pinned behind his back. There were four other Flyboys – one for each of us. I frowned. Why the small numbers? Normally if they wanted to take us, they sent around six hundred, not just six. Not that I was complaining, of course.

I kicked the robot where his kneecap should be and popped a few screws loose. The knee went flying. I glanced up. Gazzy had spotted Fang and me in the arms of the Flyboys and was hovering uncertainly. "FIGHT!" I yelled. "It's only four on four, you can do it!"

Nudge zipped forward. "Let's kick Flyboy butt!"

"There you go, Nudge!" I cried proudly. Fang was fighting to get out of his Flyboys grip. Its arms were slowly constricting around his chest, squeezing his ribs and lungs. He coughed, elbowing repeatedly the chest of his attacker with fury written on his face.

Angel darted in and out too fast for her Flyboy to follow in his battered state. He was already missing an eye, and wires dangled out of the empty socket. Gazzy joined her, and together they delivered one heck of a kick to the base of the Flyboy's spine, just like we'd done that day in Germany. It died and fell to the trees below.

I fought hard to turn around in my Flyboy's arms. I popped his elbow with a blind cross punch and his left arm dangled uselessly. "The joints are weak!" I shouted. "These are old models!"

Iggy snapped the chin up of a menacing robot with a swift left uppercut. "Got it!" he called back, breaking the metal fixings in the Flyboy's writs by bending it backward. I winced. I could hear that crack all the way over here.

"Come with us," droned the Flyboy. Geez. Same old, same old. Can't they at least program them to say something different for a change?

"No," I said, bored, breaking its neck with a sharp knifehand swing. Ha, I thought as it fell. Take that, Itex.

Nudge was also watching her Flyboy fall with a slightly chilling look of cold satisfaction. Fang had broken free of his opponent's grip and had broken its arm, leg, and whatever ribs it had. He was almost, well, scary when he was fighting.

"Everybody MOVE!" cried Iggy, holding a smoking object. I folded my wings in and dropped. Fast.

Iggy followed me closely, grinning. "Five, four, three, two"- KABOOM!

"Man, that was awesome!" Gazzy cried, slapping Ig five.

"That must have looked like fireworks to the people in Toronto," Angel observed, shielding her head as damaged Flyboy bits bounced off of us.

Gazzy scoffed. "Couldn't they tell it was a bomb? Idiots." His face brightened as he thought of yet another idea and launched into another Weird Al song. "Don't wanna be a Canadian idiot!"

"Gazzy, stop while you're ahead," I warned, rolling my eyes. "Let's head down really carefully, guys. I can't believe that there were only six of them."

I went first, descending through a cloud like an overly huge hawk. I spotted a group of buildings and a ton of planes. No wonder we were almost run over – we were right over an airport! How ironic. Luckily there were no knots of gawking people, but we had to get away from all of this radar.

"East," I said simply, banking slightly. "Get out of radar range and find a deserted place where we can't be seen from the towers."

"Where are we sleeping tonight?" asked Nudge curiously.

"Anywhere we can't be found," I said, stating the obvious.

"Will you let me use mind control to make them forget about us if we can stay in another hotel?" pleaded Angel.

I hesitated. It was really, really tempting to stay somewhere where they had a built in security system, beds, and gave you anything you wanted…for a price, of course. I glanced at Fang and raised one eyebrow. He shook his head almost imperceptibly. I had the same feeling.

"No, Ange," I sighed, "I don't think we should."

"I'm way too jumpy to stay in a hotel right now anyway," said Iggy, sensible for a wild moment.

"Exactly," I agreed. "Let's land, walk through the airport like normal kids, get something to refuel, and find a nice, abandoned place to stay." Angel looked disappointed, but she'd be even more disappointed if they took her back to the School. That I was mongo sure of.

We landed behind two cargo jets so that it was impossible to be seen. "Blend in," I told my flock, tucking my wings in and putting a jacket on to hide them completely. "We need to find somewhere to get inside with out some worker finding us."

I looked at Angel. "Now is the right time to use mind control."

She grinned and clapped her hands once, which only concerned me a bit. Okay, a lot. But how the heck are you supposed to raise a freaking mind controller? Any answers? I didn't think so. "What can I do?" she asked.

"Make sure all the workers don't think it's suspicious that we're roaming around down here. Other than that, be creative. But not too creative, Ange. Be smart. Okay?" No answer. "Okay?"

"Okay, Max," she finally agreed. "I'll be good." Fang looked at me as if to say, Oh, god. What have you done?

Angel led us through the planes. We passed a ton of workers who were loading luggage into cargo holds, directing traffic, or driving around in golf carts looking important. They all glanced suspiciously at us until Angel turned her sweet, six year old smile on them and did some mind work, then they turned away with a slightly confused look on their face. I suddenly realized that to an outsider, she would be extremely freaky.

We made into the building without inspection with the help of Angel. I immediately noticed that we already stuck out. We had no parents, no luggage, no cell phones, and we weren't carrying a thick, orange book. I couldn't make out the title from here, but it seemed like everyone had their overly large, greasy nose stuck in it. Humans and their fads.

I gathered my flock and looked around for an exit or place to eat, glancing around casually but really checking out everyone in the immediate vicinity. People pushed past us in a hurry to get to their flight. A business type looking man glared at us, but didn't quit typing on his organizer. Geez, sorry for breathing your air or whatever. An airport is a huge place, but I was still feeling claustrophobic. A quick glance at Fang revealed that he was feeling the same way. Can you say, major invasion of personal space, people?

All of the signs were in both French and English, and announcements in both languages about flights were being made over PA systems in different areas. I found a sign that pointed to an exit and gestured to it. "Do you want to get out of here or get food first?"

"Food, duh!" said Nudge. "I'm so hungry right now; you would not be-lieve how much my stomach is aching with hunger. Oh my god! Do I smell pizza?"

"Yes, Nudge, you do smell pizza," I answered, rolling mental eyes. "Anyone else have a vote?"

"We all vote food," Fang said for the rest of the flock. I blinked in slight surprise and looked around. No one disagreed. I knew Fang wanted to get out of here as much as I did, so everyone must be really hungry. I didn't ask how he knew. My stomach decided to get its two cents in by growling. Okay, then, food.

"Let's find somewhere to eat," I conceded, already glancing around once more. There was a kind-of restaurant about thirty yards in front and to the left of us. "Over there," I said, gesturing with my chin. Iggy hooked his index finger through Gazzy's left belt loop, his face closed off and tense because of the noise and people.

I wound my way around suitcases and feet. The whole place was a zoo, and it didn't help that it was summer. (A/N: I think it's summer right now in the story according to the timeline in the books. If it's not, correct me, please.) Everyone was going on vacation, and there were families galore with crying children. It took awhile to go even that small distance to get something to eat.

As we walked, we passed a bookstore. An orange poster screamed, "Harry is here!" in the window. I looked. Tons of the orange books were on display. I finally saw the title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So, we meet again, boy wizard. Hmph. I notice we didn't get a poster for our books. Fine. But we would have won that flying contest if wonder wizard had actually showed up. (A/N: Okay, last one. Swear. But FYI, I actually love Harry Potter. But this is Max's POV, and she's competitive. And if you're wondering, "What race?" go to the earliest archives of the MR blog.)

After we'd fought our way through the people, we finally made it to the restaurant, where there was, of course, a long line. Did I mention that I hate airports? A heavy set middle aged woman was in the line in front of us. Her nose, thankfully, was out of any book, orange or not. I looked at the menu. We had walked into a grill, so the items were…burgers, specialty burgers and French fries. That was it. And the prices – as high as the planes.

"Max? What can we get?" Angel asked, also staring at the menu boards. We shuffled forward all of three steps as someone else was helped.

"Order as much as a normal person," I replied. "We can get some more food later." Angel relayed the info mentally to anyone who might not have heard. Can I get chicken strips, French fries, and a Coke? She asked me with a thought.

Sure, baby, I replied. But only one order for now. Alright?

Okay. Nudge was tapping her foot impatiently, wrapping her arms around her stomach as if to ward off the hunger pains. As I glanced around at Iggy, I noticed a blonde teenager who looked around sixteen sizing me up and immediately tensed. I poked Fang in the ribs. "Is it just me? Or is that guy watching us?"

Fang glanced over as well. Although his expression didn't change, I could feel protectiveness and anger begin to pulse through him. You know, because I'm such a perceptive, sensitive person. "He's not watching us," Fang muttered. "He's watching you."

"What? Why?" I mentally scolded myself for showing a reaction. Pretend that I don't know he's watching, I told myself, and I won't go back to the School. Or whatever hell they've planned now.

"Chill, Max," he said. That's kind of hard to do when you feel watched. Especially when 'being watched' normally means we're about to get into something bad. "He doesn't want to hurt you. Angel would have picked up on his thoughts. And I can tell from that expression on his face."

"Expression meaning…?" I asked, moving forward once more. We were almost to the front of the line now.

"Meaning he's checking you out," Fang said through clenched teeth. "And he's coming over here."

My nervousness vanished, and was replaced by amusement at Fang's reaction. "He could just want to join the line."

"Excuse me, but did it hurt when you fell?" A male voice said casually. Or not.

I whirled. The guy from before was facing me, a cocky smile curving his lips. "What? I didn't fall." I answered him, glaring. A sudden, paranoid thought hit me – what if he had seen me land and thought that I had fallen? I dismissed the thought, crossed my arms and sent him the universal message for GO AWAY! But he didn't seem to get it.

He smiled. "I meant when you fell from heaven. Because only an angel could look that good." His eyes scanned me, approving. A feeling of disgust washed over me. Pervert!

Iggy turned at the new voice, eyes locking on to the source of the noise. His eyes narrowed. Angel, picking up on our thoughts, turned as well, her forehead creased in a confused frown.

Fang wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Back off. She's with us."

The teenager's eyebrows rose. "Who're you? Her boyfriend?"

"I might be," replied Fang coolly. "I think you should go."

I straightened my back and lifted my chin. I could take care of myself, too. Why was he so protective? Not that I minded…much. "I'm not interested." Now go away. I want my food, and I want to stay with my flock and not be bothered for the rest of the day. Haven't I had enough confrontations?

He wouldn't give up. "So where are your wings…angel?" Okay. That was it. My right hand curled into a fist.

Iggy spoke up before I could. "He may not be her boyfriend, but I'm her brother. Quit harassing her before I…call security." Nice save, Ig.

The woman in front of us turned around at the commotion with a disapproving look. Her eyes landed on us and she gasped. "Oh, my goodness! Aren't you those winged kids! I saw you on the news! Annie! Annie, look! Aren't those the ones?" Her daughter or grand daughter or what ever she was, glanced up from her GameBoy.

"What?" She looked at us, and I saw a gleam of comprehension in her eyes. "Oh! Aunt Ria! They are! They are!" This caused what seemed like half the airport to turn and look at us.My stomach muscles clenched, and my breathing quickened. I tugged Nudge's sleeve.

"Time to go. We're leaving." I glanced around at the overbearing aunt and her niece, and at the cameras being raised to faces. Gazzy looked at me, biting his lip. We couldn't go anywhere. Anywhere.

"But I'm" - she broke off, realizing what was going on. "Count of three?" she asked, her brown eyes worried and suddenly tired.

I nodded. "Right. Farthest place," which meant, nearest exit. "One." The flock burst through the back of the line to yells and stares. Ten security guards came racing after us. Great. That's exactly what we need – more complications.

As we ran out of the exit in a cacophony of noise, Fang shook his head. "You turn too many heads for your own good."

For once, I didn't know what to say.

-------

Fang's POV

They had camped out in a sort-of safe place – a crashed two-seater plane in the middle of the woods. It was tilted, which made it hard to balance, but there were no dead people, no bugs, and no live people, which suited Fang just fine.

He sat in one of the pilot's chairs and flipped open the flock's – well, mainly his – laptop, and made an effort to shut out the noises of his family around him. It didn't work. The laptop whirred as it booted up. Fang wished that it would hurry up. He had something important to look at.

It finally opened to the log in screen. He clicked on the 'Fang' icon and once again waited for it to load. For such an update piece of technology, right now it sure was slow.

Iggy plopped in the co-pilot's seat. "Man, I am beat," he began. "We flew for an hour, which wasn't so bad, get chased through the airport because Max was being hit on, and then tramp through miles of woods to sleep in a cramped airplane for the night. Why were we chosen for this?"

Fang didn't glance up. "Because God knows everyone else would have gone insane a long time ago." That is, if God existed. And if he did, he had serious problems with letting this kind of stuff happen. Fang clicked on Internet Explorer. This page opened immediately to the Blogger log in screen. Rather than update his blog, he skipped past this page and went to Google.

Iggy turned his head toward him. "You're not updating your blog?"

Now Fang looked up. "How did you know?"

Iggy shrugged. "Normally you type in your email and password. This time, the rhythm was off." Fang blinked.

He typed in his search: Itex. "So what are you doing?" asked Iggy curiously.

"Looking for info on Itex," Fang replied.

Iggy snorted. "Yeah. They have a homepage, didn't you know that? It's www dot Itex dot org. Yeah, right."

Fang shrugged. "Maybe they figure that no one will try that. And besides, before my blog, no one knew that it existed but us." A bang sounded from behind them as something fell from a shelf.

"Nothing's broken!" shouted Gazzy. "Hey, look! Liquid oxygen!"

"Gazzy, don't you dare touch that!" Fang smiled at Max's reproval and the thud of footsteps as she ran toward where Gazzy was to prevent him from blowing them all up. What the heck was liquid oxygen doing on a plane?

The results page showed up on the screen. Your search did not match any results. Please retype your query and try again. He sighed. What had he been expecting? A neon sign saying, "Top secret information: this way"? Well, he could try one thing. It wouldn't work. He typed in Iggy's joking suggestion: Itex dot org.

You have reached a locked site. Please enter the password.

"Iggy. Geez, you were actually right."

"I was? I mean, of course I was. Right about what?" Iggy asked, confused.

"The Itex site. I just need a password."

"Too bad Nudge's power won't work for that. She'd need the actual computer, cuz I doubt she could hack into that even with her skills and this computer," Iggy observed, propping his feet up on the control board. "Guess we're sunk. That would be so cool, though!"

"We're not sunk yet," muttered Fang. He decided to guess at a password.

MAXIMUM RIDE. He hit enter.

Access granted. Welcome to Itex. Figures popped up on the screen: links, pictures, names of scientists. Fang's eyes widened. Jackpot.

"Max?" he called.

"What now?" she called back irritably.

"Come here. There's something you should definitely see."

A/N: Ta da! Sorry this was so slow. School started, along with volleyball practice every day. Our first game is next Tuesday: crossed fingers! The purple button is itching to be clicked….