Previously in Falcon
"I command that you have a transformation tonight. And I won't leave until I hear a promise that you will make time to have one once a week." I smiled at him and nodded my promise; he turned and joined the others down the hall and they entered the elevator together, all silently sending their best wishes to their cherished little daughter they had all helped raise...
I then gathered a breath, and howled as I felt myself change into a part of my true form; a Griffith. I felt my legs lengthen; gaining feeling in my now front clawed feet and back pawed feet, and wagged my tail as I gained feeling there. I felt my beak take shape as I felt my face and body take its proper shape as well. About a minute later I stopped howling, my transformation complete. I stretched out my wings, adjusting them so that they were conferrable against my fur, shook, and took off running towards the water.
I located a high rock, and flew up onto it with my wings. I looked out and tried to find a thick wooded area for me to go run around in, and remembered the other side of the mountain fit that description; so that's where I headed.
Wally (A.K.A. Kid Flash's) POV
"So, you know Max?" I asked Robin as we sat and played video games in his room. I glanced outside as he replied. We both decided that we didn't like the movie the others chose, so we headed back to Rob's room.
"Yeah; her and I have spent a few Christmases together and stuff. We're really close friends; she's really nice once you get to know her, although she has a really tough outer skin and a really tough past to match." Robin said as I looked back to the screen pressing pause.
"Can you tell me about it? Maybe it will explain her blowing me off tonight." I looked at him as he looked back at me, for once without his glasses on.
"She'll tell you eventually if you gain her trust. Don't ask me, or she will skin me alive. Plus, don't even think about asking your Uncle or Batman for that matter, because they won't tell you. It's her story to tell, not ours. I respect her more than that." He told me, as I sighed. I decided to go down to the beach for a few minutes.
"Well, I'm going down to the beach, want to join?" I asked him as I headed for the door. Robin remembered that howl he heard earlier and decided to give Max her deserved space.
"Na, I got some stuff to work on here, thanks for the offer though." He said as I nodded and headed down to the teleport.
I got downstairs to see Mgann' and Superboy watching some TV show, while Artimus sat at the coffee table in front of them working on her arrows, and Kaldur reading a book in the chair by her, the movie obviously over. I walked passed them towards the teleport when suddenly I felt Mgann's telepathy stop me.
"Mgann' come on. I just want to go outside for a few minutes! Usually you're all mad at me for not going out often enough! What gives?" I looked at her, clearly upset, then remembering Max's words. But she never said it wasn't ok to go outside so…
"Max asked me personally that no one go outside while she's out there. I'll ask her if its ok, hang on." I felt her enter my mind so that I could hear what Max would say.
"Max; can you hear me? I need to ask you something." Mgann' said as I felt us come into her mind.
"Hey, Mgann, what do you need? I'm slightly busy…" I heard Max respond; something in her voice sounded different.
"Wally wanted to know if he could go outside, but I wasn't sure if you would be ok with him coming out or not so I told him I'd ask you." She asked kindly as I heard a really deep growl and cocked my eyebrow in response, you don't hear that every day.
"Very well. He may come out; just tell him not to speed through the woods. I'm back here running off some steam and I don't want him finding me like this." Max replied as I nodded and headed for the teleport, leaving Max and Mgann's mind.
"Recognized: Kid Flash. B03." The computer announced as I felt the cool night air ruffle my hair and clothes. I took a nice, deep breath and relaxed my muscles. I looked around, and saw Max's sword lying with her mask by the teleport.
"Huh, that's strange; I didn't think Max as the type to leave her stuff lying around." I mumbled to myself as I approached the sword. I leaned down to pick it up and analyze it; first I looked at the sheath. It was a plain metal sheath that held a seemingly heavy and important piece of weaponry. I thought back to the fight earlier tonight, and wondered what it looked like up close when this sword was in that form. I was still amazed at the idea of a sword having the ability to transform like that; I had never seen anything like that before. With that conclusion, I decided that I wanted to unsheathe it, curiosity getting the better of me. I slowly and gently pulled it out and looked at the newly-polished shine of the blade; I noticed that it possessed a red tint. It had intricate carvings into the metal that carried the ability to entrance any onlooker like myself. I didn't understand any of the symbols carved into the metal, but it was undeniably beautiful….
'Just like Artimus. I could get lost in her eyes…' Where did that thought come from? I hadn't even been thinking about her. I audibly sighed. I liked Artimus, but sometimes she was just too much to handle. This new development of Max joining the team gave me some hope about finding a love that might be just what I needed. I want to get to know her better. What was that reaction about earlier? And what are her likes and dislikes? I couldn't tell if I was seeing her true personality tonight or not. Likely not…
Suddenly, I got this shiver down my spine that I instantly recognized; I was being watched. I jumped up and looked carefully through the brush of the woods behind me, when all the sudden I thought I saw a flash of eyes. I carefully and quickly re-sheathed Max's sword, set it down, and took off in the direction I remembered seeing the eyes. As I did, I got another shiver from the creepy howl I heard that ended with a shiver-inducing shriek. I followed an obvious hiking trail, back to a small pond in the heart of the forest. I looked around to see if anyone, or rather anything, was there. I didn't see anyone until I saw a giant hawk jump out of one of the tree's heading straight towards me. I screamed in fear right about the time I should have been feeling an attack instead of the gust that was occurring. I looked up and saw Max staring at me. Man if looks could kill….
"What are you doing out here?!" She yelled at me with ice dripping from every word. Just like Artimus…Again I thought of her out of the blue. I kept convincing myself that I needed to give Max a chance; that I wanted to give Max a chance…
"Sorry! I felt like I was being watched! So I came out here to make sure everything was clear and that we weren't in any danger!" I yelled back. At that point we caught eyes. I saw the deep hazel, blue and pale green in her eyes, like giant islands stuck in a giant ocean…
"Fine; at least you were trying to protect the team." She said dejectedly. I took a mental double take; did I see a flash of sadness run across her features? Before I had time to know for sure, she was off heading straight for the cave.
FALCON'S POV
"That was too close! Way too close!" I thought to myself as I flew back to the teleport for bed. I looked down and saw a trail of dust as Wally speed towards the same location. I knew he would beat me, but I decided to make a race, so I flew down next to him and as he looked over at me I winked and he smirked.
"Bring it on!" He said as I flapped my wings, propelling myself faster. I smiled, when was the last time I'd allowed me to be a teenager; an actual, carefree teenager? I threw my head back and flew way faster ahead of Wally and looked back to see if he was watching, which of course he was. I angled up all the sudden and went into a back flip and smiled the whole time. As I came back down towards the ground, I landed right beside him, I saw him laughing; I then wiped the smile off my face and reminded myself that I needed to get to know everyone before I let my walls down. I questioned myself on why I felt the need to hide in a moment like this, but didn't want to confront that right now. I just wanted to get to bed.
We got back to the entrance calling a tie. He smiled and laughed, catching his breath as I went to get my sword and attach it to my back out of force of habit. After it was on my back, I unsheathed it and held it out in front of me, staring at it for a few minutes, looking over all the engravings on it; and as Wally watched me, I brought myself back to that faithful day, my final step in venting. I felt my eyes glaze over, and I started fighting, totally forgetting Wally's presence.
I swiped and I slashed 'til the exhaustion drew me out of my mental rage. I took a knee as soon as I realized where I was, trying to stop all the tears coming from my eyes. I dropped my sword in front of me and I took deep breaths. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I jumped back, grabbing my sword and holding in offence. I looked after my impulse movements, realizing I had Wally's throat at the edge of my sword.
"Whoa, hang on their warrior; I'm only trying to help." Wally said to me as I kept my sword out in front of me, to make sure he didn't come any closer to me. Finally after about 2 minutes I re-sheathed my sword and I looked straight into his eyes.
"What you just saw never happened; got it?" I looked as fierce as I felt. I didn't want any of this getting out there for everyone to know. He nodded and I headed to the teleport and heard the computer…
"Recognized: Falcon. B07." I looked into the wall of the briefing room and headed straight for the rooming wing for bed, and maybe a shower. I heard Wally behind me as he got called in by the computer and I heard him head towards the rec-room.
"Are you going to say goodnight to everyone, at least?" He asked me as I sighed, and complied, turning around and following him to the rec-room.
We got in there and Artimus was still working on her arrows, Superboy and Mgann' were discussing a TV show, and Kaldur was continuing his book that he was reading earlier. I tried my best to regain my composure, doing my best to hide the fact that I had not even 5 minutes ago been crying my eyes out. (NOT an easy task, let me just note).
"Hey guys! What's going on?" Wally announced our arrival. Artimus just rolled her eyes and went back to her work. Everyone else looked at us and Mgann' called me over.
"Max! Come tell Superboy about our favorite TV show!" I looked at her, walking over and standing on the edge of the gathered group of teens.
"What show?" I hid my look of confusion, but it was hard considering I was so tired. I was tired of hiding all the time. The thought of suicide hit my thoughts all the sudden. If M'gann sensed it, she ignored it and continued on as normal.
"The one about the special crime group that does investigations for the…army…no the….marines….no…" she was rolling off branches.
"For the Navy. The show is called NCIS; it stands for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service." I said as Superboy just stared at me and nodded once, understanding. I tried to hide the huge yawn that overcame me. Suddenly I felt this sharp pain shoot up my leg, only to look down and realize that I had done something to my ankle while I was running or working in Gorilla City. Lovely that it decided to just now catch up to me. I decided to go up and get some sleep. Hopefully it would heal after a goodnight's rest.
"Well guys, I'm really tired and my ankle is killing me so I'm going to bed. Goodnight and may all of you sleep well." I stated simply as I started limping towards the hallway, too tired to fly.
"Goodnight Max, and again, welcome to the team; sleep well. I also hope your ankle feels better." Kaldur said to me.
"Night Max, see you in the morning." Artimus stated.
"Night Falcon, you're sparring with me tomorrow, so get a good night sleep." Robin said as he entered the room, scaring everyone but me. I smiled at him…
"I'll be sure to do that, boy wonder." I said as Wally and Superboy said their goodnights. Mgann' got up too and said goodnight as she followed me to the rooming wing.
"So, tonight must have been a big night for you, I can understand why you're tired. How was your run?" She asked as we entered the elevator.
"It was really good; minus the fact that Kid Flash nearly discovered me." I rolled my eyes at that and leaned back against the wall as the doors opened again. I walked out and started for my room as Mgann' called to me from her room.
"Goodnight Max, sleep well. Oh and I forgot…I really wanted to tell you…" She said and I looked back, hoping what she had to say was quick.
"Don't forget to trust, Max. The others won't betray you like others have, ok? The Max I know is much more beautiful than the one the others are seeing right now…and that thought of suicide, I caught it. Don't do it. You can fight it; you're a fighter. You're emotionally stronger than anyone I've ever met, even Artimus. You better not give up on us." I looked at her a moment, considering what she said, nodded, and walked to my door hearing it slide open.
I entered my room, plopping down onto my bed, and instantly fell asleep not bothering to mess with my covers or anything.
-The Next Morning-
I woke up, feeling great. I looked around my room, and noticed the bright sunshine coming through my window, and I got confused; when all the memories from the night before came flooding back and I sighed. I got up, and stretched my stiff muscles, rolling out my ankle that was feeling better (thankfully), feeling my sword on my back and sighed at the realization of forgetting to take it off last night. I took it off and changed into some other workout clothes, remembering that Mgann' wanted to play some sports, and Dick…er, Robin wanted to spar me. I smiled, hoping we could get a game of soccer going or something, and looked outside. It was a wonderful day; it looked warm, so I changed into my bathing suit with some over clothes instead, and decided to hit the beach. I headed down to breakfast.
*in the kitchen*
"Wally, give me the fucking pop tart! It's the last one!" Artimus yelled, followed by Wally's laugh as I entered the room. Everyone stopped to look at me and stopped fighting. Wally gave her the pop tart and she smiled, satisfied. I yawned, noticing that the whole team was present, I blushed…was I the last one up?
"Uh, sorry I slept in…?" I asked awkwardly.
"It is fine, Max. After you left for bed, Hawkgirl called the cave to see if you were ok, and briefed us on what had happened to you both in the last few days, so it is fine. You needed sleep, and I told her that you seemed fine." I nodded thanks to Kaldur and looked at everyone else, eyes stopping on Robin.
"Heading to the beach…anyone want to join?" I smiled as everyone joyously agreed and ran to get their beach gear on. I smiled and headed out first. I heard the computer announce my exit as Robin followed immediately.
"Haven't done something fun together in quite some time, huh, Max?" I heard him ask me as he approached in his swim trunks and sun glasses, his gaze following mine out over the harbor waters.
"Tell me about it. I miss hanging out with you, Dick. You made me feel….normal. Hug? For old times' sake?" I asked him as he smiled, and we gave each other a HUGE hug, and laughed together. As we finished our hug, the rest of the team came out of the teleport, all 'beachafied'. I turned to everyone and yelled at the top of my lungs…
"LAST ONE TO THE WATERS EDGE IS A ROTTEN EGG! NO POWERS DURING THE RACE SUCKERS!" Everyone laughed and I took off, with Wally calling a no fair, coming up next to me and I stuck my tongue out at him and by then, we were all racing in a straight line, Wally on my left, and Superboy on my right, and everyone else beside them. We reached the water and I smiled as I caught my breath. Kaldur took the water with his controllers, and catapulted himself into the air to do a triple flip into the water. Wally shoved Robin into the water foam, making him do a face plant. I laughed as Wally came towards me….I suddenly stopped laughing as I felt a shove towards the ground and grabbed Wally's arm as he came down with me. He ended up doing a face plant as well, and I heard Robin and Artimus yell "OWNED!" As we all laughed and Wally glared up at me, wiping the sand from his face, and believe it or not joined in on our laughter.
After a great morning at the beach with everyone, Max was sitting up the ledge she had flown onto the night before. She looked out among her teammates. She was in deep thought about what she had observed so far in her life and in the team. She suddenly remembered the first time she tried to go to school. She was in the Earth 8th grade, and she had never been to a real school before, so she slipped out of Wayne Manor and flew after Robin, high in the clouds where she was out of sight, and followed him to school. He, after a 10 minute walk, entered a courtyard, so she took that as her queue to go down and walk with him; when she landed next to him, to say he was surprised would have been the understatement of the year. After a split second of shock, his face quickly switched to a face of grim and shame.
"Max, you shouldn't be here! You'll be discovered as an alien! Do you want Bruce upset with you?!" He quietly screamed at her. She looked back, hiding the sadness in her eyes.
"I wanted to know what it was like to be….normal…" She told him with an honest face. By this time, however, it was too late. People started to circle and aw and comment at her appearance. As the people came, Robin faded into the circle to protect himself, and left her to take the ridicule herself. She still remembered every word they told her…
"Hey! Look at the Freak!" "Hey! Go back to the Circus where you belong, you stupid HYBRID!" "Don't you get it, you little freak? You don't belong here!" After that comment, people started running after her, kicking and punching and throwing rocks to get her on the run. She immediately took to the skies to fly back to Wayne Manor. The only thing she left in her wake was a trail of tears.
She snapped back to reality feeling tears threatening to show their friendly faces again. She looked out at the sky, wide open and calling her, so she took off, leaving the friend of tears forgotten on the ledge behind her. She felt relief when the wind hit her face and made her hair crazy. She flew at a furious speed, just releasing some energy and circled back around when she got about a mile out from shore. She looked down as she thought about her dad….how much he use to always take her to the lakes on Thanagar and swim with her. She sighed sadly as the realization hit her; the older she got, the harder it got to recall those memories to the forefront of her mind. She sighed again and flew onto the shore where everyone was relaxing in the sun, listening to Robin's IPod.
"Hey Rob, you still got that one song I use to listen to all those years ago?" I looked at him, and saw right through the sunglasses he was wearing.
"Yep; you want to put it on?" He looked solemn, and nodded in response as everyone switched glances between us as I walked up to his IPod and looked through to find my old playlist. I smiled a small smile. He must still listen to it sometimes if it was still there after all these years. I put on the song that basically spoke my life. Everyone gathered to listen and enjoy the music.
Prison gates won't open up for me, On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'. Oh, I reach for you
Well I'm terrified of these four walls, These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you. Come please I'm callin'
And oh I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'
Max sat in the warmth of the sun and thought of the stories she would tell Uncle Flash, about her dad and the things he would do with her; the places he would take her, the stories he would tell her. She thought of his death; recalling the scream she let out, and every bloody detail of the death of her father, or rather what she thought she remembered.
Show me what it's like, To be the last one standing.
And teach me wrong from right, And I'll show you what I can be.
Say it for me, Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me
She thought of the 3 men who attacked her, and almost got away with raping her. She threw those thoughts away and went back to the thoughts of Watch Tower memories. She thought of all the battles she went through with all the League members. She thought about how much she learned, how quickly she always caught onto things. She remembered the ice-cream parties she would randomly get to be a part of every time she went to Wayne Manor. She thought of things that made her who she was, despite the life she had been dealt. But even all of that didn't erase the sting of her past, and the sting of being who she was.
Heaven's gates won't open up for me
With these broken wings I'm fallin'
And all I see is you
These city walls ain't got no love for me
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story
And oh I scream for you
Come please I'm callin'
And all I need from you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'
This again brought up the memories of the words from those merciless humans that day at the school. She was embarrassed that she let these kids get to her, but what if they were right? What if she didn't belong here? What if she could never learn to control her powers? What if this team never accepted her? What if, in the end, this ended up like everything else in her life; broken? She was scared to find out…she cast those thoughts aside and tried her best to focus on the now: right now, this was her song, and this was her life, so keep living it. She'd get to the end of the book eventually.
[Chorus]
Hurry I'm fallin'
All I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And oh, I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin'
[Chorus]
Hurry I'm fallin'….
The song came to an end, and everyone was scared to break the silence that blanketed them. Just then, Batman came through on all of their com-links.
"Team, mission; Debriefing in 10. Meet in the Briefing room ready to go."
A/N: Hey guys! So, the song referenced in this chapter is "Savin' Me" by Nickelback. All rights go to the proper owners. All I own is my OC Max. Anyways, feel free to leave reviews! Feedback helps me become a better writer, and helps you guys enjoy my story more. So, hope you guys liked this chapter; report back next time to see what happens on the team's first mission with Max!