A/N- Thanks SOOOOOOOOOSOSOSOSOSOOOO much for reviewing. I actually have 200 reviews!!!!!
Okay, to all the readers who guessed who the mysterious stranger was, (and got it right), a CYBER-COOKIE!!! Thanks, Weasleygrlz07, staplemyfingy, SpringDaze, nellabella41, restart, Bubble Blower, maximum-angel, Myrah, Pheonix, jsorgea, GuardianOfthebrokenhearted, bluoreo, and scarily obsessed! You all get a HUGE cyber-cookie!!!
Disclaimer- If I owned Maximum Ride, do you really think I'd be posting this for free on a website, instead of making millions
-Previously on Hot and Cold-
He must have seen the bewildered expression on my face, cause he kept talking, but in his normal voice. "'I told you not to tell anyone about my little situation with Ortiz!'"
I was still confused, but then I remembered. I gasped. "No. Aren't you José? One of those guys who were giving Ella a hard time?" I added, for Nudge's benefit.
José nodded. "Glad you remember me."
I rolled my eyes. "What have you been doing, stalking me? How did you find me?"
The menacing smile disappeared off his face. "I was just here visiting my girlfriend, Abbey, when I saw you. I couldn't believe my luck. You know, you broke three of my ribs and Dwayne's nose. This time, you're gonna pay."
I forced a laugh. "Oh, yeah, sure, cause that worked out so well last time."
"You won't get away this time. We have friends here." He gestured at the big, burly guys blocking the exits. "And you're going down."
Nudge was looking at me funny. "You know these losers?"
"Unfortunately." I noticed that it had stopped raining. Weird…
José seemed to realize that there was someone else with me. He stepped closer, peering at Nudge through the gloom. "Who is this?" He reached out and stroked Nudge's cheek with one nasty finger.
I opened my mouth to say "I wouldn't do that if I were you" but Nudge moved too fast.
In a lightning-fast flurry of movements and a sickening crack, José was on the ground clutching his wrist.
Nudge spoke through gritted teeth. "Don't. Touch. Me."
José glared up at us. "You shouldn't have done that."
"You deserved it." I countered, giving Nudge a high-five.
José yelled something in Spanish. Like robots, the guys blocking our exits jumped at us. Nudge and I immediately jumped into action.
I snapped my elbow backwards, catching someone in the throat. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath. I nonchalantly stepped over him and punched someone else's face so hard they blacked out.
Nudge was just behind me, throwing out punches to anyone that got close to her.
I moved closer to her until we were back-to-back.
"What do you think?" I called over the turmoil, kicking one guy in the chest. "Should we get rid of them then run, or just run now and save some energy."
Nudge thought for a second as she punched someone in the stomach. "I think we should just go now. We're already kinda kicking their butts."
She was right. There were about eight guys, not including José, originally, and now only two were standing. They were standing on either side of José, talking in hushed tones. Even with my genetically-enhanced hearing I couldn't hear them.
This couldn't end well.
Nudge and I started walking backwards, keeping an eye on José. We were just about to turn around and run when José pulled something out of his pocket with his good hand.
"Don't move." He had a gun, and was pointing it straight at us. "Or I'll shoot."
Nudge and I froze, staring at the gun. Not again!
One near-death experience is enough for one day, thanks.
"Okay, let's calm down, and think about what we're doing." I said soothingly, stealthily stepping in front of Nudge. Angel!
"Do you really want to kill us? Think about the mess that would make. You'd get blood all over yourself, and you'd have to clean up the blood in the alley, and get your clothes washed. I really don't think it's worth it." Angel! Help!
Nudge peeked over my shoulder. "Don't forget the trouble with the police. Everyone would hear a gunshot, and our screams. We can scream really loud."
José laughed. "We can deal with the police. They'll never know who killed you."
He clicked off the safety and put his finger on the trigger. "Any last words?"
"Just a few!" Two dark shadows barreled into José.
They got back to the hotel and ran up the stairs. Angel, Gazzy, and Total ran into their room to take showers and change into their new clothes.
Fang and Iggy walked into their room and sat down on their beds. Fang grabbed the remote just before Iggy did.
Iggy sat up. "Hey, come on. I want to watch the football game."
"Too bad. You can't see."
"You know what I mean."
"No I don't know…"
Iggy punched Fang's shoulder and grabbed the remote. "What channel is football on?"
Fang shrugged. "No idea."
Iggy channel flipped until he found ESPN. The two boys watched (and listened) for a while, then Fang happened to glance at the clock.
"Whoa, dude, it's been thirty minutes since Max and Nudge left. D'you think they're alright?"
"I don't know. Probably." Inside though, Iggy was a little worried. They had been attacked by Flyboys today. What if they were following Nudge? And Max. But they could take care of themselves, right?
Not against thirty Flyboys, Said a little voice in the back of his head.
Fang was worried too. What if they had been attacked by Flyboys? Or just normal gangsters?
Fang stole the remote from Iggy and changed the channel. The news was on, and just as he was changing the channel again the reporter said something about a large fight in an alley, just off of the plaza.
Fang and Iggy sat straight up, listening carefully.
"…Witnesses saw two teenaged girls last entering the alley, an African American and a blond. Then witnesses heard the sounds of a fight, and the police were contacted. If anyone has any idea of who the two girls may be, please contact…"
Fang turned the TV off.
"Max."
"Nudge."
Iggy got up and ran to Angel and Gazzy's room. He knocked frantically on the door.
The Gasman answered. "Oh, hey Ig. What's up?"
Iggy was talking really fast. "Fang and I…need to go. You're in charge 'til we get back. Got it? Good." He didn't wait for an answer. "Don't go anywhere." He ran back down the hall to his room. Fang was already ready, waiting with the window open.
The two boys leapt out the window, opening their wings. They flew high above the city, until Fang spotted Max and Nudge with his raptor vision.
Fang swooped down, with Iggy following close behind.
They landed silently on a rooftop, analyzing the scene below them.
When the person who looked like the leader pulled out a gun, Fang and Iggy took action. They tucked their wings in, and hurtled down into him, saying the same thing at the same time.
"Just a few!"
-Max's point of view-
Fang and Iggy crashed into José, knocking the gun out of his hands. José fell to the ground, with Fang and Iggy beating the crap out of him.
"Leave her alone!" Fang yelled, punching his nose.
"Don't touch my girlfriend!" Iggy cried, snapping a kick to his chest.
The last two guys standing were about to run, but Nudge and I got them. Two kicks and a punch later, Nudge and I were leaning against a wall, making sure nobody had stolen any of our new clothes.
"At least we haven't changed into our new clothes yet." Nudge said conversationally, pointing at the new rips on my jeans.
I nodded. "Yeah. We'd have to buy more new clothes."
Fang and Iggy were finished with José, and they came over to us.
Iggy gave Nudge a huge hug, and she kissed his cheek. They both blushed, and Nudge looked over to see if Fang or I noticed. When she saw that we were in our own little bubble, she turned back to Iggy.
I wrapped my arms around Fang's neck, and after a moment of hesitation he wrapped his arms around my waist. He buried his face in my hair, and hugged me closer.
He took his face out of my hair and looked at me. "God, Max. You can't go anywhere without running into someone that wants to kill you."
I smiled. "Well, you know me, I'm just a danger magnet."
He grinned, and I picked up my bags. "Let's go to the hotel. I wanna shower."
Iggy let go of Nudge and she picked up her bags. She grabbed Iggy's hand with her free one, and they caught up to us.
"I know, I wanna shower too! I hate fighting people. I always feel so… like, dirty, afterwards! Can I take the first shower, Max? Cause, you know, we're sharing a room, and we only have one bathroom. Can we go swimming after our showers? That would be kinda pointless though, cause we would just have to take another shower. But it would be worth it. What are we having for dinner? I really…"
I tuned her out, and started wondering myself. What are we having for dinner?
A/N- I hope you liked it! I know it took me a while, but I finally got to a good stopping point. Anyways, please review, and tell me what you think! I might not be able to update for a while, cause we're going to the beach, (I LOVE THE SUN!!!!!!) but we're not leaving for a couple days. I think…