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Gazzy sat at the edge of the cot, his head in his hands. Everything was falling apart, and it was killing him. The flock should have been together, sitting in Hawaii or something. They had defeated Itex years ago, or so they thought. They had spent years living in Dr. M's house, thinking they were safe. Max and Fang had finally gotten married and had moved out. Iggy was off in college, having the time of his life.

And then the calls had started. Nudge had answered the phone, and freaked. When everyone came running she told them a 'friend of Itex' had called, saying that they were all going to die. Nudge was older and smarter, but she still had the ability to talk way more than necessary. Eventually they got out of her that it was a man on the phone, and he said he'd call back often.

He did. Ella tried to say that maybe it was just some kind of joke on the famous bird kids, but that didn't seem likely. Eventually Jeb got a new, more secure phone system. The flock was unbothered for a quite a while. Nudge graduated and went looking to start a career in the fashion industry. Max and Fang were never told about the calls. Dr. Martinez wanted to keep her daughter unworried and relaxed, after all her work saving the world.

Then Angel was taken. Gazzy had noticed a change in her the week before. Whenever he had asked her what was up, she'd just shrug and say she was a little tired. Angel was soon gone, with a note in her place. Where Angel should have been, on her bed, was the piece of paper that led Gazzy here.

Did I say I'd leave you alone? Maybe Itex is done with you, but we aren't. The world of science isn't done with you yet.

And about Angel? She has limited time. But I'm sure you'll meet with her soon enough.

Kyle

Gazzy had panicked. He'd looked around the house for clues, studied the type of paper used to make the note, and researched any scientists named Kyle. Dr. Martinez had implored that he contact the flock before he went off on his own. Gazzy had refused.

All Gazzy's effort had led him to here, to this dark, underground building. He'd tried to sneak in, but in his desperation he had gotten caught, by a man who'd introduced himself as Kyle. Gazzy had been forced into a collar that could give him a nasty shock if he dared to disobey Kyle.

Gazzy felt tears of frustration. He remembered the last time Angel had been caught, and how everyone went after her. Now he was alone. He didn't know what to do. Angel was counting on him, and now he was stuck here as a prisoner. Or possibly an experiment. Gazzy wasn't really sure what was going to happen to him, but that didn't really matter.

Angel mattered, more than anything. Max, Fang, Iggy, and Nudge all seemed content trying to live new lives. Gazzy wanted the flock to be whole, to stay together. Even Total spent most of his time tramping around with Akila, although he did live with them at Dr. Martinez's house. Angel was the only one Gazzy had left.

Gazzy worried about her. If Angel had been hurt, Gazzy would kill that Kyle, or die trying. He wanted so much to be able to hold his sister, to hug her, even though she had never seemed to need him as much as he needed her. He wanted her to be around so he could even be jealous of all the abilities she had and he didn't. And how had Angel gotten caught? How could she have not seen it coming, the way she always saw things? She had acted weird the week before she was captured, but she would have fought the guys after her. Gazzy knew she would. But how had they taken her, without anyone in the house noticing? And why wasn't Angel using her mind control to break free?

Gazzy felt sick with fear. Angel had been here for about a couple of weeks. What if they had drugged her? What if she was always unconscious, an experiment to test or dissect? What if she was hurt, real bad? What if, what if, what if?

Gazzy looked around the room they had put him in. Distressed, he searched every corner, every wall, every square inch in the room.

It was sealed tight.

How could he possibly save Angel? It seemed that now he was in as much trouble as she.

If only the flock was still together. If only Gazzy wasn't alone.

Abigail opened her green eyes blearily. She wasn't surprised by her surroundings. It was the same small cell as always. She was let out a couple times a day to use the bathroom, and let out way more than that for the experiments.

Sometimes she was unconscious for days, weeks. They drugged her, kept her under to try their more complicated experiments.

Sometimes Abby was glad she wasn't aware of what was being done to her.

The scientist had tried grafting wings on her eight year old body. She had been able to move the wings, but her bones were regular, heavy human bones, despite their attempts to make them otherwise. She wasn't strong enough to move her wings well. She didn't have the ability to withstand higher elevation. She was a failure.

Instead of retiring her, as they sometimes did with other kids, they removed her wings. She had long scars running down her back from that particular surgery.

Abby numbly sat up, rubbing her eyes, which had dark circles under them. She didn't understand why the scientists kept her alive. She was weak, feeble girl, her energy drained from always being tested. Her brown hair was limp and dull, and her face drawn and aged. She looked like she lived a hundred years, not fourteen.

Abby was still sometimes scared at of how quickly she was losing herself. Before the fact that one of the experiments had died would bring her a wave of hot anger, and when she saw another alive experiment she would have an overwhelming feeling of compassion and sadness.

Now it merely touched her slightly, but did not bring any strong reactions. Abby had lived through those kinds of things for six years, so why should it still bother her?

That was what scared Abby. She had always cared about things. Now she didn't. Perhaps that was the worst things the scientists had done; they had taken away her personality. They were slowly turning her heartless, into a numb, feelingless creature.

The only thing that started her fighting, after all these years, was that golden-haired girl. She'd had big blue, knowing eyes. When Abby had seen her, she had felt so sorry for that girl. She felt anger at the man leading her. She'd been surprised by the rush of emotions that, absent for so long, had entered her, almost giving her strength.

She'd had wanted so much to comfort that girl, to help her. She wanted to hurt the people who made her look that way, like she'd seen more than things in her life than any other grown up on the planet. Forever destoryed inside, like Abby sometimes felt.

What really puzzled Abby about the girl was that, when she saw Abby, she had smiled. A small smile, but a smile nevertheless. She seemed comforted by something, or happy about something, not like she was smiling at Abby, although she seemed to be doing that too. It gave Abby hope as she tried to solve the enigmatic girl. She wasn't some zombie. She still had character, and heart. She could still think, and her brain was intact at the moment. There was no way the scientist could take away Abby's self, her life. They couldn't change who she was.

Abby's eyes eventually focused, and she forced herself to be more aware of her surroundings. She wouldn't become some object the scientists studied. She would be Abby, a girl tortured by madmen and madwomen in lab coats.

Abby smiled to herself. There was hope. She wasn't done fighting, not yet.

"I've let them down, especially Gazzy," Max said to Fang, upset. "I should have seen them coming."

Fang looked at her calmly. "Max, we've been over this. You're not Angel. You can't see the future."

"I don't need to see the future! I'm supposed to be smart, Fang. But I've been so stupid. I left the flock, let them go. We should have stayed together. And I should have definitely known that something like this would happen!"

"How?" Fang asked, raising an eyebrow, watching Max pace back and forth over the beige carpeting. He didn't move. Sometimes it was better just to let Max vent.

"Because it's my life. None of us in the flock will ever be normal. Maybe we defeated Itex, but we're still mutants. We're still wanted. We're still not safe."

"Max, calm down," Fang said. "The flock can't stay together forever. The younger kids need space to grow, to mature. I know it's hard, but you can't always be there to protect them."

"Gazzy's by himself after Angel!" Max crossed the hotel room again anxiously, rubbing her forehead with her hand. "Maturing, for most kids, is growing up in school and learning how to make friends and deal with enemies and not dealing with crazy scientists that want you as their next lab project!"

Max's dark blonde hair was splayed about her shoulders, and her brown eyes were narrowed with the kind of intensity that made grown men cower and smart people run away, lest they face her wrath. Fang had always loved that about her, that fighting spirit. Even after fruitlessly searching to the point of exhaustion for Angel, and then Gazzy when they found he too was gone, Max still could not find it in herself to rest.

She was so beautiful. So fierce.

"Gazzy's fourteen," Fang reminded her. "He's the same age you and I were when we were first on the run, remember? The same age you were when you were the leader. The age you were when you managed to bring down Itex. The same age you were when you had to take care of everybody in the flock, protect them, look after them—"

"I get it Fang," Max said angrily. "So we just let Gazzy rescue Angel by himself?"

"No," Fang said gently. "I'm just saying you have to put some faith in Gazzy. We'll find him, but until then, he can take care of himself."

"It's been two weeks," Max said, an edge of desperation in her voice. "Two weeks since Nudge came bursting into our house saying Angel was gone."

"We're doing the best we can. Nudge and Iggy are checking out some leads too, maybe they'll find something. Until then, just relax."

Max was about to protest that there was no way she could relax, when Fang came over to her and put an arm around her waist. He put his lips on hers, and kissed her gently.

"We'll find them, I promise," Fang whispered softly, pulling away. "You're the invincible Maximum Ride, remember? You've never failed yet."

"I think I've already failed…" Max retorted quietly, leaning her head against Fang's steady shoulder. His arm came up around her. "But you're right about one thing. We will get them back."

So that is what's going on with the rest of the flock. Review?