It's a Max Phoebe Thing
Chapter Two
It was exceedingly late when Max finally got Phoebe home. Phoebe had passed out nearly the second he got her into the Thundervan, which worried him. What if that ray thing could kill her? As they drove home, he had the van scan her, and it turned up nothing out of the ordinary. At any rate, she wasn't at risk of dying. Maybe it was just a ray of confusion, or a sleep ray. Come morning, she would probably be perfectly fine.
There were no lights on in the house, which made sense since he snuck out, and Phoebe had to keep odd hours as Hiddenville's designated superhero. So, he got her up to her room no problem. It was when he was just about to slide down into bed that his mother's voice greeted him from the top of the stairs. "Max Thunderman," she called in her angry voice, "do you have any idea what time it is?"
And he was so tempted to tell her it was, in fact, time for her to get a watch. One look at her face, however, convinced him that was not a good idea in the slightest. He glanced down at his own watch. "Almost three," he said, casually trying to stuff his ski mask further into his pocket.
"And just what do you think you are doing up this late, dressed like that?" He glanced down at his black attire. He was still wearing gloves.
"I... Well, funny story. You see... Wow, did you get your hair cut? It looks fantastic." Her glare did not let up. Apparently, it was too early in the morning for flattery to work.
"You know your curfew is ten-thirty."
"I know." Translation: And that's dumb.
"Anything could have happened to you!"
"I know." Translation: You mean, I could have done anything.
"I am very disappointed in you, Max."
"I know." Translation: Sure you are. "So, how long am I grounded?"
She sighed. There was nothing quite like the face she made when she knew grounding him was useless, but it was the only way she could think to punish him. "Two weeks."
"Okay." And he slid down into his lair without another word. The realization of just how tired he was started to hit him.
"So, how did it go?" He heard Colosso ask, voice thick with sleep.
Max grunted. "I'll tell you when I wake up." He undressed quickly, pulling on a pair of ratty sweat pants and a gray t-shirt before flopping down on his bed. As soon as his eyes slid shut, he was out.
~OoO~
It was a long, restless night full of disorienting dreams, disconnected snippets of memories flashing at warp speed.
~OoO~
Max woke just as tired as he fell asleep. He didn't open his eyes for a long moment after consciousness returned to him. As he pulled in a breath, the scent of something sweet caught his attention. Sometimes, when his mom made breakfast, the smell would waft down into his lair. This was not that. It was something more... perfume-y. Like the stuff that Phoebe wore that he would never admit he actually liked the smell of. What was Phoebe doing in his lair?
"Go away, Phoebe," he groaned, cracking an eye open. He didn't see her standing over him, but he also didn't see his lair. He bolted upright, rubbing his eyes. Something fell on his face and he couldn't shake it off.
Why was he in Phoebe's room? He remembered going down to his lair. He even got busted right before! Confused, he ran a hand through his hair. Rather than pulling his fingers through his swoosh, they got tangled. Suddenly, the thing that had fallen in his face made sense. It was hair. Long, dark hair. Phoebe hair!
Max was freaking out. He didn't even want to look down at himself. Instead, he ran over to Phoebe's mirror, praying he wouldn't see what he knew he was going to see. The reflection staring back at Max was Phoebe, dressed in pajama pants and a tank top.
Horrified, he bolted out of the room. "Don't run on the stairs, sweetie," his mother called, looking up from the stove top. "Do you want pancakes?" He couldn't answer. He didn't know what would come out of his... Phoebe's mouth if he did. Instead, he ran for his lair, ignoring his mother's confused 'do I even want to know' face.
"Phoebe!" he cried, hurtling down the stairs to his lair. "Phoebe, wake up!" He barely noticed the fact that his words did, in fact, come out in Phoebe's voice.
"Oh, look," Colosso mumbled. "She's finally lost it." Max ignored the rabbit, running toward his bed. It was just as he had feared. His body was laying fast asleep in his bed.
He shook his body by the shoulder. "Hey, Pheebs, wake up!" His body jerked away with a groan.
"Let me sleep, Mom."
"I'm not Mom," he said. "I'm Max." She didn't respond. Frustrated, he pulled the pillow out from under her head and whacked her in the face with it. She heaved herself up, glaring. "Go awaaaaaaaaay..." Her eyes grew wide as she spoke when she realized where she was and who she was talking to. Her mouth was an 'O' as she looked down at herself, horror spreading over her face.
Max counted in his head. Three, two, one... She screamed. "What... what? What did you do?"
He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I didn't do this! Last thing I remember, I fell asleep in my bed. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in yours and I look like this!"
"How did this happen?"
"Do you remember what happened last night?" She thought for a moment, biting her - his? - lip, and nodded. "I think that ray thing the guy shot you with might have caused this."
"Would one of you please tell me what on Earth you are blabbering on about?" Colosso interjected. Max stood again, walking over to the bunny.
"Look, I'm Max." He pointed over to his body, still wearing a mask of shock on his bed. "That is Phoebe. She followed me to the research facility last night and there was this guy dressed up as a security guard. She was trying to get rid of him, but he wasn't a real guard, and he shot her with some beam thing. She got dizzy, and when I grabbed her to keep her on her feet, I felt, like, this electric charge, but we both seemed okay and went to bed, but when we woke up, we were, well, like this."
"And why should I believe that?" The twins shared a glance.
"Because that's what happened?" Phoebe said, finally getting off the bed. She stumbled a bit, perhaps a bit off balance by Max's body's extra weight. He held out a hand to help support her.
Colosso looked between the two before settling his gaze on Max, er, rather Max in Phoebe's body. "Alright, if you're really Max, tell me something only the really real Max would know." Max thought for a moment before leaning in and whispering something in Colosso's oversized bunny ear. He nodded for a moment, seemingly convinced, then started laughing hysterically.
Phoebe crossed her arms, popping out her hip a bit. The action did not suit Max's body all that well. "Can you help us or not?" she asked.
"Hmm. Maybe." They waited while he thought. "Why don't you two go up and get breakfast or something, and I'll see what I can think of."
The twins shared another glance. The last thing they wanted was to stay like that any longer, but it wasn't as though Colosso could just magically unswitch their bodies. They started for the stairs.
"Look," Max said, stopping Phoebe as they got to the stairs. "Unless we act like each other, Mom and Dad are going to notice something is up, and you suck at lying."
"I do not..." His gaze shut her up. "It's not like this is something you did - for once. Maybe we should tell them."
"And let them know I was breaking into a research lab? It's not exactly as harmless as the school. If they knew that, I'd be grounded for more than two weeks! Speaking of, you're grounded until Colosso can switch us back. Or for two weeks. Whichever comes first." Phoebe rolled her eyes.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Max."
"When do you ever?" He shook his head. "Please, just wait until we talk to Colosso after breakfast, at least. Please?"
Phoebe sighed. "Fine."
"Oh and remember, I'm Phoebe and you're Max," he said.
"I know that," she snapped. And they walked slowly up the stairs, both dreading trying to be the other in front of their family. There was so much room for error. Any slight slip up would make them suspicious. They might not be able to figure out exactly what's going on, but they would be suspicious none-the-less. And that was never a good thing for the twins.