AN: Hey everyone! I know I haven't been able to post lately, and I'm sorry. I've had WAY too much homework. I finally finished this chapter, though. It's about 2,500 words, and my longest so far has been about 1,000. Also, I just realised that I haven't told you Serena or Jayden's powers yet! I thought I did, but you find out one of their's in this chapter. :P Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Maximum Ride belongs to James Patterson.

CLAIMER: Any new plot ideas and characters in this story are mine, unless otherwise noted.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"All right, Angel, we're going to need some serious mind control in here," I whispered, her tiny hand clasped in mine. She nodded, looking through the revolving doors and into the lobby of the Holiday Inn determinedly. Gazzy still lay in Jayden's arms, weaving in and out of consciousness, his burnt wings extended. Iggy had told him to leave them out, not wanting to risk further damage by moving them.

Angel pulled away from me, pushing the doors open as she strode into the lobby. A few people glanced over at her, but soon returned to their conversations. She paused, concentrating on the occupants of the room. After a few seconds, she turned and nodded at me.

"Good job, sweetie," I whispered, slipping into the room beside her. I saw Iggy wince slightly beside me; the voices echoed slightly with the high ceiling, hurting his overly sensitive ears. Nudge, Fang, Serena, and Jayden were all glancing around the room nervously, checking for exits, just as I was. Gazzy was still out cold, and Angel was focusing on the minds of everyone in the room.

"Go sit over there, guys," I said, motioning to the part of the lobby that was stuffed with chairs and sofas. "I'll be right back."

Fang nodded and headed over to the lobby, falling into one of the sofas. The Flock glanced uncertainly at him, then at me, not knowing whom to follow.

"Angel, come with me, the rest of you can wait with Fang," I said, trying not to let my voice waver. Angel nodded, coming to stand by my side, as the rest of the Flock sat down in the chairs. Jayden looked at Fang and sighed, handed Gazzy over to Iggy, and followed me, since Fang obviously wasn't going to.

"What's up with him?" Jayden whispered as we walked up to the counter. I looked away from him, not letting him see how hurt I was from Fang's actions.

"Nothing," I muttered. Fang had left me back in the sky, but when I told the Flock to wait, I had automatically assumed that he would follow. I figured he would get over it and move on pretty quickly, like he normally does.

Jayden looked like he wanted to say more, but I quickened my pace and arrived at the counter before he got the chance to. A middle-aged woman sat behind it, with a shiny gold nameplate that read 'Amanda Barrett.'

I cleared my throat after a minute, trying to ignore Jayden's piercing gaze. The woman looked up, a slightly startled look on her face. She hurriedly minimized something, then turned to face us, lifting her glasses and placing them in her cropped black hair. "Hello, welcome to the Holiday Inn. How may I help you?" she asked, plastering a strained smile on her face.

"We'd like two adjoining rooms, please," I told her, figuring that there were too many of us to fit in one room.

"May I see some ID, please?" she asked, tapping her manicured nails on the desk impatiently.

"We're eighteen," Jayden quickly lied. She looked him over quickly, an amused look on her face.

"Sure you are," she said, stressing the word 'sure.' "So let's see that ID."

Angel stuck her head over the counter, standing on her tiptoes in order to see over it. "You don't need to see any ID," she said in a low voice, staring at the receptionist. The woman's eyes glazed over slightly, then quickly snapped back into focus.

"Right…" she said, looking around, slightly confused. She shook her head and turned to her computer, typing something into it. "You'll have rooms 117 and 119. The keys unlock both doors." She placed two plastic cards on the counter, which I quickly grabbed. "Have a nice stay!" She flashed a fake smile, stood up, and headed into the back room, still looking thoroughly confused.

"We could have paid for the rooms, sweetie," I said, looking down at Angel. She grinned sheepishly back up at me.

"Sorry Max." She walked in front of us, reaching the waiting Flock quickly, with Jayden and me trailing along behind her.

"All right, guys, let's go," I said, approaching the Flock in the lobby and tossing one of the keys into Fang's lap. Jayden bent down to pick up Gazzy, who was lying on the couch, then led the way down the hall.

Angel grabbed my hand when we got into the hall, forcing me to walk slower and fall behind the rest of the group. Fang reached the door first, slipping his card in and opening the door without a glance back at me, leading everyone inside. Jayden locked his eyes with mine for a minute, asking if he should wait for me, and I shook my head. He looked at me uncertainly for a minute, then joined the others in room 117, leaving Angel and me in the hall.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning to face Angel. She had seemed a little off in the lobby; maybe she was just tired from mind-controlling all of those people.

"We should go into the room, first," she said, ignoring my question and leading me to the unoccupied room. I stuck the key in the slot and opened the door, groping around in the dark before finding the light switch. My eyes scanned the room, noting all of the exits, while Angel hopped up onto on of the stools at the kitchen island.

"Max, I think she suspects something," Angel whispered, her blue eyes wide.

"Who does?" I asked, coming over to join her at the island.

"The lady at the desk, who got us the rooms. When I tried to control her mind, it was like there was a shield up. It was pretty weak, so I was able to get through it, but I've never seen a normal person do that before, only the Flock and whitecoats!" Her voice was high by the time she finished, and her blue eyes were wide and filled with fear. She thought that the lady was going to come and take her back to the School.

"Shh, don't worry about it," I said, trying not to let my worry show in my voice. "It's probably nothing. You were controlling a lot of people in there, so her mind probably just seemed stronger. But I'll go talk to Iggy, and tell him that we're taking watch, even though it's a hotel, just to be on the safe side. Okay?"

"Okay…" Angel replied, obviously noticing that I said 'Iggy' instead of 'Fang.' "Can I go to bed now, Max? I'm really tired," she said letting out a little yawn to prove her point.

"Sure, sweetie," I said. She got up and headed over to one of the queen-sized beds. She crawled under the covers, looking tiny in the large bed.

"'Night, sweetie," I whispered, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"'Night," she whispered back, already slowly drifting to sleep. I walked back over to the main door and flipped the light switch off, making the room dark once more.

I walked over to the door that joined the two rooms and opened it quietly, letting a small beam of light enter the room, illuminating Angel's petite face. I slipped into the boy's room, closing the door most of the way behind me, so I could hear if anything happened in her room. The minute I got into the room, all eyes were on me.

"What's wrong with Angel?" Jayden asked, looking up from the deck of cards in his hands. He was playing Go Fish with Nudge and Serena; where they got the cards I'll never know. Fang was sitting in the corner chair, purposefully avoiding my gaze, and Iggy was bent over Gazzy's unconscious body. Gazzy's wings were still extended, and Iggy was wrapping white bandages around them.

"Nothing; she was just tired from mind-controlling so many people," I lied. Iggy finished with Gazzy's wings, stood, and walked over to me.

"He's just resting now," Iggy said. "He won't be able to fly for at least two days, though, possibly even longer.

I looked back at Gazzy, then at Iggy, lowering my voice so that the others wouldn't hear.

"Is there any way we can move him sooner than that?"

"No, I don't think so. I don't want to risk damaging his wings so much that he can never fly again. And it's too hard for us to carry him for too long, probably a half-hour for Fang tops, and even less for me. Why?" Iggy asked.

I sighed. "Angel thinks that the receptionist might be with Itex."

"Thinks? If she can read her mind, wouldn't she know?"

I sighed, knowing that her evidence wasn't too great. "She said that there was a weak wall up in the lady's mind, and that normal people don't normally have one."

"Do you think she's right?"

"I don't know. If Gazzy can't leave yet, though, then I guess we can just take watches, even though we're in a hotel."

"Yeah. Besides, Angel was probably wrong. She must have thought there was a wall up, when she was really just tired from controlling a room full of minds. There must have been at least fifty people in there, judging by the racket they were making," he said, shaking his head in disgust. "Just leave the door open so whoever's up can watch both rooms at once. Should we trust Jayden or Serena with a watch yet?"

I looked back at the two newcomers, and decided that I didn't need Fang angry with me for anything else. "Not yet. They need to prove that they're trustworthy first."

"You still don't trust them?"

"I do," I said, looking over at Fang. "But Fang doesn't." Iggy nodded.

"Speaking of the devil…" Iggy muttered, obviously hearing Fang get up and approach Jayden, who had abandoned his card game to stand by Gazzy's bed. They began talking quietly, and their hands quickly formed into fists by their sides.

"I'll go take care of it," I said, sighing. I walked over to where the two boys stood, ready to break it up before they hurt each other.

"What's up?" I asked when I reached them. They both stopped talking mid-sentence and turned to face me.

"I was just explaining my power and asking Fang if I should use it to help Gazzy," Jayden explained. He shot a glare at Fang. "Fang here doesn't think it's safe."

"It isn't! We haven't even seen you use your powers before; what if it injures him even more?" Fang asked, ignoring me and turning back to Jayden.

"I've done it before! Do you honestly still believe that I'm going to hurt Gazzy?"

I cut in before Fang could respond. "What power?"

"I can heal," Jayden replied, looking away from me. I knew there was something he wasn't telling me, but I decided not to pry to find out what it was. All I cared about was getting Gazzy better. The sooner his wings healed, the sooner he can fly.

"Go ahead and do it," I told Jayden. Fang gaped at me, shocked that I had taken Jayden's side. "Will he be able to fly soon?"

"Probably not for another day or two. I can make his pain lessen, but his wings will still be burnt. It's just so he feels more comfortable." I nodded, and Jayden stepped closer to the bed, shaking Gazzy awake.

"Wh-what?" Gazzy asked, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He rolled his shoulders and tried to shake his wings a little, then yelped out in pain.

"Urgh. I hate having burned wings," he complained.

"That's what we were just talking about. Do you mind if I make the pain lessen a bit? Your wings will still hurt a little, but it'll be more bearable," Jayden explained. I was glad he asked for Gazzy's permission before healing him; I hadn't even thought about it. I'm being such a great leader lately, aren't I?

"Sure!" Gazzy said, obviously very excited about being healed.

"All right…" Jayden said, placing his hands over Gazzy's wings. He closed his eyes and his hands began shaking a little. He opened his eyes again in about three seconds and stepped back from the bed.

"How's that?" he asked, looking down at Gazzy. He quickly sat up and shook his wings, a smile lighting up his face.

"Much better! Thanks so much!" I smiled at Gazzy's enthusiasm, then turned to talk to the girls. As I walked past him, I brushed gently against Jayden's wings, causing him to wince slightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at him in concern. He looked down at his feet, clearly embarrassed.

"I can't really…heal, exactly. I can only take some of his pain. Or make someone else feel mine," he explained.

"You shouldn't have done that!" I said.

"I only took half the pain. Now he'll get better twice as fast." When I still looked at him worriedly, he sighed. "I'm fine. Don't worry so much." I decided to let it go and walked over to the girls, who were just finishing their game of Go Fish.

"Time for bed, guys. We're getting up really early tomorrow morning!" They looked up at me and groaned, but they packed the cards up anyway.

"What are the sleeping arrangements?" Nudge asked.

"Girls in the other room, boys in here. Angel's already asleep in there," I said, pushing them forward gently. "Don't wake her up!" They both slipped into the other room, closing the door most of the way behind them.

"Same with you guys; off to bed. Fang, do you mind taking first watch? I'm exhausted."

"Sure," Fang said. He grabbed one of the chairs the girls had been sitting in and dragged it to the adjoining door so he could watch both rooms. "I'll wake you for second."

Jayden slipped into the other king bed, and I grabbed Iggy's arm before he could get into the one Gazzy occupied. "Can you check Fang's wings over before you go to bed?" I whispered so only he could hear. "I think he hurt them when he caught Gazzy."

Iggy nodded, and I went to go into the girls' room, knowing that Fang wouldn't let Iggy check him over when I was there. I slipped past Fang and opened the adjoining door, when I heard a knock on the boys' door.

AN: All right, you guys owe me for such a long chapter. :P Review!