A/N: The only good thing about school is that I have 24/7 access to computers. That'll help me get done WAY faster with chapters. everyone applauds And I think Fang's eyes are really dark brown, but they could be black, so bear w/ me.

Note to self – never underestimate evil geniuses with the power and money to make things happen. Even after you nearly annihilate half of their headquarter buildings. They'll always surprise you.

Fang looked at me, apprehension showing for once in his impossibly dark brown eyes for a split second. Then they flicked back to the screen.

We'd somehow hit gold with this web page. Sure, it was a locked site, according to Fang, but that had to be too easy, right? I couldn't possibly be staring at a search bar that could hold the answer to anything I asked about Itex. Right?

That was all the web page consisted of. One huge search bar and couple of names and pictures. There were the names of a few scientists who had designed the web page and their pictures and email addresses.

Iggy broke the shocked silence. "So what is it? God, I hate being blind."

"It's a database," said Fang quietly. "Itex has a locked database on the web that we've just hacked into."

"So search for something already!" he cried impatiently.

I took the laptop from Fang on impulse. My fingers hovered over the keys. Then I typed, human avian hybrids into the search bar and hit enter.

"Smart," mused Fang. "You'd have to already have dirt on Itex to find anything on this site at all, and most people don't even know that it exists. If you happened to come across it – unlikely, considering the password – you'd have to guess."

I shrugged indifferently, my eyes still fixed intently on the screen as it loaded. "I don't know…some people are really good guessers with the right info. Like you – what was the password?"

He glanced at me and back at the screen.

I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Was it something to do with me?"

"Just your name," he said, attempting to blow it off. I barely heard him, since the page had just loaded – and I was staring at my own picture. I was staring defiantly across the table at someone (yeah, that was me). Their back was to us, but I recognized the hair color instantly – it was Jeb. Then something clicked in my brain and I realized that the scene was from when I was trying to rescue Ange from the maniacs at the School. That was before I knew what Itex was; before I knew I had to save the world… so much was different then.

I scrolled farther down the page. Human avian hybrid (000593) said the caption under my picture. Underneath that, a headline read, HUMAN AVIAN HYBRIDS: A FORMER SUCCESS, followed by an article. I read it aloud, the dread growing in my stomach.

The longest living hybrids to date, the human avian hybrids were formerly Itex's highest ranked experiment. This breed is a human injected with hawk DNA- "Breed?" I interjected hotly. "What am I, a freaking horse?"

"Just keep reading," said Iggy, always the patient one. I rolled my eyes and continued.

-which gave it wings, air sacs, different blood, and much more. Many of their brains were enhanced to give them special abilities such as mimicry, super speed, and mind reading. I bet they got that from our last visit with dear Borchy. Its life span is currently fourteen years. It. I was a freaking it. Should I be used to that by now? Yes. Was I? Heck no.

There are five other successful avian hybrids so far. (000594, 000595, 000596, 000597, 000598.) "Oh, my god," I whispered, and stopped. "How did they get these?" Pictures of the younger five were now plastered across the screen. The first one was of Fang. His foot was aimed at the camera, and he was covered in bruises. Probably the reason his eyes were filled with freaking hate.

One was of Gazzy and Angel together. Angel looked about dead on her feet, and I felt a rush of protectiveness toward my baby in the picture. Gazzy was holding her hand and looking around nervously.

The next was of Nudge. Nothing was really out of the ordinary about her picture, but then I looked again. "Hey! How did they get a picture of her in the air?" I exclaimed.

A crease formed between Fang's brows. "Spies? Satellites?"

"Either," I replied, masking the nervousness in my voice with an air of not caring.

"Is there one of me?" Iggy demanded. I glanced at it, and immediately decided to lie about what was there, sending a warning glance to Fang. "Um – it's you setting off a bomb in midair. There's Flyboys everywhere."

"I remember that!" he said cheerfully. "Those bombs were awesome!" I was glad that I hadn't told him the real picture – him on the operating table as the whitecoats permanently damaged his vision. Fang glanced at me, understanding. I turned back to the page to avoid any other questions from Iggy.

To read the rest of this page, please log in with your work ID and password.

"I thought you did log in?" I asked, frowning at Fang.

"I did," he said defensively. "It's extra security, I guess."

I scanned the immediate area at the mention of security. It was making me jumpy to be in this tiny cockpit with two other people, but I knew I would feel exposed if I was out in the open again. Sighing, I stayed put.

We tried to guess at the password for the next ten minutes, but we finally gave it up for later. I raised my eyebrows at Fang. "Should Nudge know? She can help."

He hesitated. "She can take it – but that motormouth of hers might spill more than we want."

I chewed the inside of my lip, debating with myself. "Tomorrow," I decided eventually. "I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Fang shut down the website and the laptop, and the room was suddenly silent without its hum. The silence was quickly broken by Nudge shouting, "Gazzy! Enough with the constipation song!"

I laughed. "Let's go break them up."

Two hours later, we were stuffed full of food from The Cheesecake Factory (A/N: Do they have those in Canada?). They serve just a little less that what we need, but a huge slice of apple pie each (it's more like three in one) cured that. It was hugely expensive, and there had been way too many people there for my taste (remember all the times we try to eat in restaurants?) but we were really full for the first time in…well, a long time.

I draped myself across the aisle of the plane and closed my eyes in contentment. I was suddenly extremely tired. Being chased by Flyboys, hit on, chased through an airport, and running through the woods for a whole afternoon can really take it out of a girl.

Gazzy moaned with pleasure, holding his stomach. "Apple pie…whipped cream…spaghetti with meatballs…so good…" Total whined in agreement.

"Spaghetti?" scoffed Nudge. "I used to love spaghetti, but god, did you taste the fettuccini?"

"Thank you, Angel," said Iggy, grinning. "I love your mind control." Yeah, they definitely would not have let us in if it wasn't for Ange. She changed my mind too, but not that way. I would know.

I felt a slight pressure on my arm and opened my eyes. It was Fang who was leaning over me, his long, dark hair falling perfectly into his eyes. "Come outside with me," he said quietly. I looked at him questioningly but got up without commenting. I know what you're thinking – she didn't demand an explanation? Shut up. You don't know anything.

Once we were outdoors, I took a huge breath of fresh air. "Claustrophobic in there?" Fang asked me, the corners of his mouth turning upward. I just nodded, still taking deep breaths. "Me too," he agreed. "It's too close together-"

"-and you feel like you can't breathe," I finished. He nodded.

"How does everyone else stand it?"

"We're the only ones with any common sense, I guess," I replied, and flopped down on my back onto the sparse grass outside the plane, staring up at the trees and stars. Fang sat down beside me and wrapped one arm lazily around his knees.

"I wanted to talk to you," he began.

"Yeah, I guessed that." He glared at me and continued.

"It's about that password."

"Exactly what was it?" I sighed, rolling on my side to face him.

"I typed your full name."

I lay my head down on the ground, realizing that my hair was starting to get longer again from when I'd gotten it all chopped off. The pink streaks were practically all gone. "Why does all of this still surprise me?" I asked. "It shouldn't, not after all we've been through."

"If it didn't, there'd be something wrong with you," he said, making me smile a little. "I won't say quit worrying, cause you won't, but can I say try to quit worrying?"

"You can say it. It's not gonna work." I pushed myself all the way up and shivered in a sudden breeze. Fang scooted closer and put one black sleeved arm around my shoulders. When I looked at him, it was almost like he had formed out of the shadows around us. "Thanks," I said, leaning gratefully into him.

"Fang?' I said after awhile.

"What?"

"How do you think they got our pictures?"

His arm tightened reflexively around me. "Yours and Iggy's are easy. There were definitely cameras in those rooms. As for all the others – Flyboys are my guess."

I got a mental image of a Flyboy holding up a camera. "Huh?"

"They've probably got cameras in their eyes or something," he said, thinking out loud. "That would explain why my foot is aimed at the camera."

"Yeah, the pic was probably sent back to Itex right before you killed it," I said, halfway between joking and seriousness. "What else do you think is on there?"

"Doubtless info on how they created us," Fang said, sounding slightly bitter.

"Well, there is one good thing about they fact that we're mutant teens on the lam from evil scientists eager to dissect us."

I could see some of the smile come back into his eyes. "What?"

I waved my hand at the plane behind us. "What better family is there?"

"None," he agreed. "Together forever and all that crap, right?"

"Right," I said, kissing his cheek and blushing slightly. He didn't let me pull away fully, though, instead turning my face back toward his and pressing our lips together.

I don't think I'll ever be the kind of girl who has a boyfriend that she constantly gushes over, but for Fang I might just make an exception. I don't want to be (shudder) some giggling Barbie doll or something. He'd probably hate me anyway if I was.

I let my hands drift to his shoulder and closed my eyes. His arms and torso were muscular and hard, but I pressed myself to him anyway. Here I knew I was safe. God, that sounds like a Hallmark card.

I didn't want to pull away, but I did. "Let's go," I said. "They'll be wondering where we are."

He smiled, extending a hand to pull me up. "You're the boss."

"And don't forget it!" I reminded him, grinning as we went inside.

It's not a mark of bad leadership if you depend a bit on another person, right?

A/N: I hope this was still okay! I was a little rusty because I just updated both of my Harry Potter FFs, and I needed to get back into Max's voice.