A/N: Welcome back! Feel free to leave reviews, now that the story is actually starting to take shape. Feedback is welcome! Enjoy!
Previously in Falcon...
He [Aqualad] says to everyone now, who nods and gets up to go do their own thing until their new teammate arrives.
Mount Justice - Happy Harbor, August 25 6:30 PM
"Uncle Flash will be proud of you, Max. Don't worry." I smiled, grabbed my bag, and we entered the Zeta Beam. It landed us right outside the mountain. I looked over myself quick to make sure I looked as good as possible. I had a lot of cuts on my arms and body and a lot of bruises, but I looked awesome; aunt Shiera was right. She started walking in...I started to follow her, but paused; nervousness getting the better of me. She was sucked into another Zeta Beam that took her into the mountain and I heard the old computer…"Recognized: Hawkgirl. B06." I then heard Batman call all of the teens that I was about to meet into the briefing room. I was so excited and nervous. This was what I'd always wanted! No one knew that, but I'd always wanted to be on my own team and fight side-by-side like Aunt Shiera. I took a really deep breath, made fists and walked into the teleport as the thought struck me of what day it was; I felt my heart pound harder as I fought my temper and quickly tried to calm down. I heard the computer again and smiled quickly at the small reminder that I wasn't alone. "Recognized: Falcon. B07." And I reappeared in a room looking straight at a rock-bare wall. I quickly removed my smile and put on a blank expression, tucked my wings as tight as possible so that they were nearly out of sight, and looked around to see who was there. I saw Batman and nodded my head to him as he did the same. I looked and saw Aunt Sheira, next to her was Canary; I nodded my head to her as well, and smiled when I saw Uncle Flash. He smiled as he saw me all beaten and opened his arms and I smiled. I took a quick second to see that most of the teens, including Robin, whose gaze I caught, where in the room. I diverted my attention back to Uncle Flash.
"Hey Uncle Flash! I missed you so much!" I said happily as I completed my walk over to him and gave him a big hug.
"Hey how's my favorite little falcon?" He laughed as I glared at him for calling me that. He knew I hated that, even though he'd been calling me that ever since the ride home to Watch Tower. At that thought I felt that bodily tense again within me. I fought it and ignored it as I continued as if nothing happened.
"I'm good. A little tired…" I glanced at my Aunt "…But anyway, are you going to be hanging around long?" I hoped he'd stay so he could at least tell me a new joke or something.
"I'll make sure my Falcon is comfortable before I head out. Don't worry." He smiled at me and I nodded.
"Kay; just wondered." After that I turned and saw my new 'teammates'. I stood tall and nodded my head to them and they all, I could tell, were analyzing me. I started analyzing them as well, until I felt a familiar gust against my skin and caught a glimpse at Uncle Flash. He wasn't moving so I tried to find the source.
"Hey there, beautiful." I heard up from where a normal ear would be, feeling an arm slip over my shoulders, apparently not noticing that it bothered my wings. I didn't even faze; thanks to Black Canary's training, I was used to it. I made a point to narrow my gaze, and frown as I felt my ears pin back, obviously unhappy. I may not have been around many teens, but I diffidently knew when a guy was hitting on me, and I only liked it when I hadn't just met the guy that was into me.
"If you don't mind, I'd like you to get off me. I'm not too fond of people touching me" I said as I shrugged my shoulders, not even turning to look at him.
"Harsh." He said and removed his arm from around my shoulders.
"Sorry, but I don't enjoy someone I just met being all over me like I'm his newly found girlfriend. Got it?" I looked at him this time and immediately recognized him and raised my eyebrows, smiling a small cocky smile. I looked back at Uncle Flash.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree Uncle Flash. You taught him well." I snickered as he laughed and I backhanded Kid in the ribs; my version of a 'friendly gesture'.
"It's nice to meet you Kid Flash…" I looked towards everyone else as I heard him gasp slightly from the hit; going back to analyzing the other teens. I recognized almost everyone, except for 2. Going from the left side there was Aqualad, Robin, Miss Martian, and after her the 2 I didn't recognize.
"Who are you?! How do you know who I am?! And why did you just call my uncle your uncle?! And dang, you hit hard!" Kid yelled. I covered my over-sensitive ears as they pinned back and I glared. Dang he was loud! I looked at everyone else as I answered his question so they all knew.
"Hey guys. I'm Falcon; Hawkgirl's niece. But that's my mission name. You can call me Max." By this time everyone was heading towards me to introduce themselves.
"Hello, Fal…Max. I am Aqualad; but you may call me Kaldur. It's great to have you on our team; welcome." Aqualad said to me as he smiled a small smile and I nodded and shook his hand.
"I assume you're team leader?" I asked just for my own information.
"Yes. If there are any problems, or you would just like to talk, feel free to tell me; at any time." He said and I nodded.
"Hey Falcon! It's good to see you! You already met Kid Flirt over here and I have to say, I'm impressed. You and I will have to spar sometime soon. Nice adjustment to the uniform; it looks good on you." Robin said as I looked over at him, and smiled as I went to give him a hug. Kid Flash watched us as I smiled a very small, cocky smile and nodded.
"Hey Robin, I've missed you and I'll definitely take up that offer of a spar session. Hey Kid Flirt, again." I had to stop a laugh as Kid Flash blushed and looked to the ground. As I offered to shake his hand, he looked up and shook it as I smiled at him.
"It's ok; you're just being yourself I understand. I'll just learn to deal and smack you around a bit." I smiled at him and he smiled back as I heard Robin smirk beside me.
"I think you and I will get along well." Kid said and I moved on. I recognized the next guy, but couldn't put my finger quite on why. I approached him, and could tell by the way he was standing, that he was a very silent type; like Batman.
"Hey." I said quietly as I offered a handshake.
"Hey. Superboy." He responded quietly and shook my hand. I looked at him. That's why.
"That's awesome. Thanks for allowing me to be on the team. I hope we can be friends." I said and let go of the handshake. He simply nodded and I was suddenly trapped in a huge hug from behind; and whoever was hugging me was noticeably being careful of my wings.
"Oomph. Uh, can I help you?" I asked as I looked at a green body with red hair hugging me. I immediately recognized her as Jhonn's niece.
"Oh, hey Mgann'. How are you?" I asked as I patted her shoulder.
"I'm good! I didn't know you were joining! This means you can help me cook and show me some recipes! Oh! And you can show me more on how to play lacrosse and soccer!" I smiled. Darn, I'd forgotten that I'd told her about all of that.
"I guess so, yea. Ha-ha. I'll try my best; maybe we can get a game going sometime tomorrow. Anyway…" I looked toward the other blonde who was smiling at me; she approached me and offered her hand. "Judging by the way you handled Kid flirt over there, I'm guessing you and I will get along really well. Artimus. Nice to meet you Falcon, or rather, Max." She shook my hand.
"Oh, well yea. Thanks I'm sure we'll be friends, seeing as I'm only the third girl. We'll have to show those boy's what we're made of." I smiled and she patted my shoulder.
"You and I will diffidently get along. So, care to show your powers to us?" She asked; I smiled. I looked behind me at Uncle Flash, Aunt Shiera, and Black Canary, smiling.
"Sounds like the perfect time for a spar session. What do you say Canary? You up to it?" Canary smiled and nodded.
"Let's see how you preform after a few days' work. Remember everything I told you about using your wings as balance during a fight?" She asked me as she removed her jacket and we walked onto the ring together.
"Yes I remember that, the fun part will be continuing to find ways to properly apply it." I said as she smiled at me and looked back at the teens behind us, watching.
"Ok, guys. This is the training we are building up to. Remember Max has been training with me since she was a child. Plus, just like the rest of you, Max has her own kinks in her powers she is trying to work out, so don't judge her too hard". They nodded and watched intently, while carrying on their own silent conversation within their thoughts. Kaldur reminded everyone of the comment earlier made by Robin.
'Also keep in mind the anger problems. That's probably what Black Canary is referring to. Let us keep an open mind and give her a chance." A chorus of 'ok' and 'definitely' came as his response.
Black Canary turned back to me, as I was stretching a small bit and I looked at her, seeing the look of mischief she had in her eye that she got whenever we were about to spar.
"Powers or no powers?" I asked her.
"Powers. Seeing as Artimus wants to see what you can do, but only use your sword on the drones, and if in any second, you feel out of control, look at me and go outside immediately". And as she said that, I nodded to her as Batman programmed 2 drones out to the ring. I watched the faces of my teammates. They looked astonished.
'We never get to use the drones! No way!' Everyone heard Kid Flash say. They then turned their attention back to the ring.
"They are programmed to level 7" Batman stated as I nodded, and the jaws proceeded to drop on the teammates except those who knew what I was capable of. As they watched I proceeded to draw out my sword. It pulled out normal and I held it out in front of me as I said the chant that made it and me transform…
"Ibahin Ang Anyo" (A/N this is Pilipino; it means 'transform')
I said with a deep growl as I felt my eyes glaze over. I heard my sword transform into its true nature and spread my wings preparing to take off to the air.
'Man, look at the size of those wings! They've got to be 15 feet wing span! And look at the colors! The sword is big, too!' Wally thought as everyone shushed him and continued to watch, despite the fact that he wasn't the only one awed by the wings and fighting equipment of their new teammate.
I looked around as everyone (including Canary) started to surround me. As one drone came towards me, I leaped and took to the air as its punch barely missed me. I waited a moment, until I saw a chance to attack, and flew at a high speed to the first drone, slicing it in complete half down the middle, the song of metal-clashing-metal filling the air with its looming and haunting tune. Momentarily, I couldn't help but feel like that tune sang of my personal battle within myself. I was brought back by the next drone coming quickly after the first, interrupting my thoughts while throwing a punch that I ducked under and countered by the swing of an uppercut. Canary came up behind me as I was fighting, so I sent a kick backwards as she approached and went into a front handspring and landed next to the drone I had just hit. It was still going strong, as was Canary. I held my sword with both hands as I felt a slight growl escape my lips; it was quiet, but loud enough that everyone in the room heard it. My fangs started to lengthen, not helping my fight against my transformation. Despite these warnings, I continued fighting. I was determined to prove myself. The drone ran at me with super-speed. I forgot that Batman could program that. I side-stepped the charge as the drone pivoted and grabbed my wrist and threw me towards the teens watching. I flew back and skidded to a stop with one leg extended behind me, sword falling away from my grip and transforming back to its useless form as it clattered to the ground right at the feet of Kid Flash. I was breathing heavy, mad that this drone got the better of me like that. The drone was watching me as I could feel the stares of all the others burning into me; something snapped, and I got mad. I glanced over at Batman long enough to send him the message of forgetting the settings he could set; he only smirked. I growled and barked in my fighting voice:
"ENOUGH." I dashed at the drone at a speed that would have given Kid Flash a run for his money, sending a small cloud of dust towards the watching crowd of teens. I slammed my shoulder into the drone before it had time to react to my offense. It stumbled back and I turned to the others quickly.
"You want to see what I can do? Watch carefully." I tuned quickly and flew myself at the drone that was easily 100 pounds heavier and broader than me. I took my two hands and made a fist that I slammed into the chin of the drone, sending its feet off the ground a good foot, as it flew backwards. I followed up with a round house kick to its mid-section. It doubled over, and I slammed my elbow into the back of its metal head, sending it into the ground. I axe kicked its neck, injuring the wiring as it started sparking. I took the breaks in the armor by its neck and waist, and picked it up, showing off my strength. I raised it up over my head and flew upwards, gaining momentum. I brought it down and started to spin in mid-air. After about the fourth turn around, I launched it at the wall, letting lose a grunt of effort as I sent the drone crashing into the rock wall. It collided with a very loud crash, and slumped to the ground. It struggled, trying to get up. I flew at it, and slammed my feet into it, causing dust to rise, and a slight crater in the ground. It ceased moving, and I turned around panting. I walked over to where my sword lied on the ground, passing in front of all the onlookers. I picked up my sword from the feet of Kid Flash, writing him off and turned to locate where Canary was and what she was doing. I kissed my blade and re-sheathed it as I spotted her, seemingly waiting for me to catch up to her. I walked over slowly, going straight into a circular dance with her, wondering who would attack first. As I momentarily got distracted by another muscle tense, she did her signature move, trying to take my feet out from under me; as she dropped and turned, I jumped and planted my hands on her shoulders, launching myself into the air, away from her, facing my teammates at this point. I momentarily got distracted, and got caught in Canary's call, I panicked slightly, mad that I had too much on my mind to truly focus on the fight. I pinned my ears back to mute the sound as best as possible and again took to the air, her call following all the way. I felt my fangs bare as a sign of starting to lose my cool, knowing that I was in a tough situation, and felt my animal kill instincts take over a majority of my body, even though my mind screamed in refusal. I felt the need to transform so strong that I was struggling to fight it. I whipped around in mid-air to face Canary, and when she saw my face, stopped instantly, getting nervous about whether I was in control or not. I flew down and landed behind her, automatically dropping down into a crouch and fought to regain control of my ferocious nature as I felt my face twitch and claws growing; so close to a transformation. I felt everyone staring at me, and heard Canary talking calmly.
"Max, don't lose control. I'm your friend, and you know that. Now go outside and come back when you've regained your control." I fought even as she was saying this, letting lose a terrifying growl/screech that sent shivers up everyone's spines. Flash then quickly walked over next to Canary, looking me dead in the eye with Batman not far behind him.
"Max GO; NOW." Something again snapped within me, but this time, I calmed down instead of gaining an edge. I looked at him standing up, taking very deep breaths and closing my eyes. I spoke quietly feeling my anger subside, my claws returning to their normal length, and I felt my eyes go back to normal. It took all of my strength, and then some that I didn't even know I still had in me.
"I'm ok." I looked at Canary and Flash with a disappointment at myself.
"It won't happen again. I'm sorry Canary. I owe you a good fight. I'm going to my room to cool off a few minutes." They both nodded as Flash went to get my stuff and show me to my room. Everyone else looked at me from the sidelines, some with a worried expression (Robin and M'gann), and others with a confused expression (Artimus, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Superboy). I looked at them all with a face of apology.
"As Canary said, I'm still working on controlling my anger. I have a lot to deal with, and I sincerely apologize for almost losing my cool. As I stated to Canary and Flash, Aqualad, I promise it won't happen again. I hope you guys will still believe in me as a strong member of this team. I'll be in my room if any of you need me." I said as I followed Flash out of the room, leaving a very concerned and confused group of teenagers who all had something to say in their silent conversation within their minds.