A/N: okay, I've had this written for a couple of days, but I just now found time to post it. Thank you to the peeps who reviewed and favorited this story! It means a lot to me!!! Now, I think it's time to introduce our special guests for this chappy! Representing Maximum Ride, please welcome… IGGY!
Iggy: uh… hi…?
Me: our NCIS character of the day isssssssssssssss….. ZIVA!
Ziva: Hello… so Tony wasn't kidding…
Me: Now on with the chappy!
Max's POV:
"Ducky!" called Gibbs as the ten of us entered the autopsy lab, where the horrible smell became almost overpowering. Nudge and Angel pinched their noses and exchanged disgusted looks, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as Fang slipped my hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Come on out, Duck! There's someone here I'd like you to meet! Make that six someones!"
"Yes, Jethro?" I almost jumped out of my skin as a British man around Gibbs's age came out of almost nowhere. When I noticed that he was wearing a white lab-coat covered in blood stains a shiver ran down my spine, and I almost up and ran right then. I had to keep reminding myself that he worked in autopsy which involved cutting open dead bodies.
"Ducky, meet Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel… and their dog, Total. Kids, this is Dr. Mallard, but you can call him Ducky," Gibbs started.
"Pleasure to meet you," Ducky said politely and nodded in our direction.
"Uh…hi…"I responded awkwardly.
"Jethro, may I ask what these children are doing in NCIS headquarters?"
"You'll get the whole story when we get to Abby's lab, which is our next stop," Gibbs answered patiently.
"Uh… I hope you don't mind if I make a small suggestion, but we're taking the stairs this time," I demanded in a no-nonsense tone. There were several nods and "yeah"s in reply and we headed to the stairwell which we descended to yet another lab filled with tech-y computer stuff that I knew Nudge would love. That fact was confirmed when her eyes widened in awe, and her hand flew to her mouth.
"Why is she doing that- is she going to be sick?" Gibbs inquired worriedly.
"No, she's fine. She's just a bit of a chatterbox and she doesn't want to unleash the Nudge-Channel on you guys," I explained nonchalantly.
"Well, it's okay we have a bit of a chatterbox of our own who you're about to meet. Why don't you allow her to talk before she explodes?"
"Okay, but you've been warned. Nudge, you may speak. Don't worry, you won't scare them off. Go on," Iggy urged Nudge as she slowly peeled her hand off of her mouth, parted her lips, and took a long, drawn-out breath. Here we go.
"ZOMG! This place is soooo cool! You guys are actually, like, agents? Well, I mean, we've met agents before, but that was different 'cause you guys seem waaay cooler than them 'cause all they wanted to do was ask us questions and that was boring. And, Max, I was wondering why we could use our real names with these guys. Well, I bet they aren't the names we were born with, but I guess we'll never know, huh? Wouldn't it be so cool if they were? Actually, we know it's not Iggy's real name 'cause we met his parents once and they called him James, but I don't think he's a James. He looks more like an Iggy to me! Speaking of names, you guys have such cool ones! I mean, Ziva David- how fun is that to say?! Hey, McGee, I was wondering, why does everyone call you and Gibbs by your last names, but everyone else is referred to by their first names?" Nudge finished her rant, staring up at McGee with round, innocent brown eyes.
"Wow… you really can talk… and I don't know… it just kind of stuck, you know?" he answered with a smile. Before anyone had time to comment on other things she'd said, a woman dressed in mostly black and skulls entered the room. Her thin jet-black hair was tied into pig-tails on either side of her head. She was about McGee's age and had trusting brown eyes that strangely reminded me of Nudge's, despite the obvious difference in styles.
"Hey, guys, what's up? Who're the kids… and dog?" she asked perkily. She looked Goth, but she sure didn't act Goth.
"Hi, you must be Abby! I'm Nudge, this is Iggy, Angel, Max, Fang, Gazzy, and our dog, Total. It's so nice to meet you and now we can finally explain everything which is where I am going to hand this over to Max! This more her area of expertice…"
"Uh… thanks, Nudge… Okay, I'm going to give you a full summary of our lives, so brace yourselves. It started out when a bunch of insane scientists put their heads together and decided to create a new race of human kind- hybrids of human and animal DNA. They inserted avian DNA into five pregnant mothers' babies. There were six extraordinary children born to these mothers- all taken either forcefully or voluntarily from them, all of them born with wings and the ability to fly. These kids grew up in cages and were only fed enough to keep them alive. The oldest of them tried to take care of the rest as best as she could- even when they were tested on and treated with neglect and brutality. One of the scientists- Jeb Batcheldar- felt bad for them and took them under his wing- hypothetically, of course-and helped them escape. They lived happily hidden away in the mountains with this man for two years until one day, he disappeared. The kids mourned for him for two more years before the scientists- known as the School- found them. They sent their hunters- half-man/half-wolf hybrids called Erasers- after them. They took the youngest child of the six kids, who now referred to themselves as the Flock, back to the School. When the remaining Flock members went looking for her, the Erasers took over their home in the mountains which they used to call safe. Their last shred of a feeling of safety was torn away from them as they realized they were now homeless, even though they found the youngest girl, they were still on the run. They found another branch of the School called the Institute for a Higher Living. They released many experiments from this lab- including a talking dog, which they kept. The kids found out that the man they had thought of as a father had betrayed them and turned his own son- Ari- into an Eraser. A…. A-Ari hunted them down, out for their blood. He'd always been jealous of the Flock… a-and he hid that through a cloud of hate… H-he hurt the oldest boy in the Flock… and the others had to take him to the hospital, where they met a woman from the FBI who helped them… they went to school… a real school, like the ones where you learn. They felt normal for once, like they had a real mom who wasn't just a kid herself… but she was one of them! She betrayed them like everyone else did… they couldn't trust anyone... but each other. Months later… the Flock found out about a bigger company called Itex. When they set out to find and destroy it, they were captured and A-Ari helped them escape. The eldest and the leader of the Flock brought him with them when they escaped, but that didn't make F- the oldest guy happy. H-he didn't trust Ari, and he left her with the two other girls- one six and one eleven, plus their talking dog and an Eraser. She was torn- her best friend and second-in-command had left her and brought her little trooper and her blind pyromaniac. The remaining Flock members and Ari went to Germany to bring down the head Itex Headquarters, with a surprising outcome. The leader found that the first two people she would have picked back in the day were her Mom and Dad- Dr. Valencia Martinez and Jeb Batchelder. She also learned that Ari was her half-brother, and he was scheduled to die sooner than later. They battled Itex with the reinforcements sent by the boys who they met with later-and they won… at a cost. He died protecting me- in my arms… my little brother…. He only lived to be eight years old… only a year older than Angel…" My voice almost cracked on the last word, and I took a deep breath, regaining my composure. I cleared my throat and continued. "After we joined back up, we had a funeral for poor messed-up little Ari, and headed off to Antarctica to do some Global Warming research. We ended up having to fend off this Uber-Director guy- what remained of Itex- and saving the world again. Then we caught Mr. Chu, who kidnapped my mother, and happened to have been dumping toxic waste into the ocean, so we stopped that too… We've been staying in a safe-house provided by the government. Oh, did I mention the wings and special powers? Yeah, well we have those too! Our senses are abnormally acute, and we've developed special… gifts… sooo, despite being treated like trash for the first ten years of our lives, it's pretty darn cool for us." I took another deep breath as the terrible horror-movie-esque memories came flooding into my head and crashing down on me like a tsunami, almost knocking me to the floor. I gripped the cold metal table to stay steady, using it as a life preserver.
"Oh, you poor, poor babies!" Abby sobbed, tears streaking down her cheeks which made her mascara run. She hugged each Flock member in turn- even Fang, who stood rigid against her embrace. The whole team seemed shell-shocked by our horrific past- even smug Tony seemed somewhere in between sympathetic and horrified. Gibbs' brow furrowed and his expression became one of curiosity, as he slowly came to life after being completely traumatized.
"You… said you gained special powers other than flight. Could you be more specific?" he requested.
"I have a Voice in my head that might have been implanted in my head by wacko scientists that gives us helpful hints but annoys me to no end, can fly at super-fast speeds up to 250mph, and breathe under water. Fang can blend into his surroundings completely if he stands still too long, and he can breathe under water also. Iggy can feel colors and see things against a white background. His hearing seems to be even more acute than the rest of ours- which helps him get around using a type of echo-location. Nudge can tell the history of any inanimate object around her just with one touch, attract metal at her will with her bare hands, and has an unusual talent with computers and mechanics. Gazzy can mimic any sound or voice that he's heard in his whole lifetime, and release toxic butt-fumes from his already jacked-up digestive system from which he got his name- the Gasman. Finally Angel… Well… when it comes to super-human powers, little Ange hit the jackpot. She can read and control minds, talk to fish, breathe underwater, and changer her appearance to that of a different little girl, a blue bird of paradise, or, which she just recently achieved, a full-grown woman," I finished finally. You should have seen the looks of utter disbelief on their faces.
"Can you demonstrate any of these talents?" asked Gibbs skeptically.
"Okedokie! Tony, do the chicken dance," Angel ordered in her creepiest, most manipulative voice. The NCIS gang watched with mixed looks of awe and laughter as their colleague, looking utterly confused, started dancing and making chicken noises. "Now, do the tango with Ziva." I was starting to get the feeling she was enjoying this waaay too much. "Stop, both of you, and look at me." A second after they obeyed, the spell seemed to break, and they both seemed confused and embarrassed. "Now, everyone, think of something I would never guess. Are you ready? Okay, let's see… EW! GROSS TONY I'M NOT EVEN GONNA SAY THAT OUT LOUD! Ziva, oh my gosh! That is sooo weird! Multi-limbed cows?! Abby, 'I like pudding' isn't very unpredictable!" Angel rolled he eyes and shook her head. We all gave Abby questioning looks.
"What?! I couldn't think of anything, okay?!"
"McGeeeeee!" Angel whined. "Ugh! You people aren't very creative! I mean seriously, 'Abby likes Caff-Pows'? Hmmm… very interesting memory, Gibbs." He jumped suddenly, and Angel giggled quietly. "Max, we forgot to mention that I can actually send people mental messages. Can I try out my other one, please?" she asked sweetly. When I nodded, her sweet face morphed into that of a woman in her twenties with long, wavy blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. She gave us a bright smile, showing off her cloud-white teeth, and then changed back into her seven-year-old self.
"My turn!" Nudge announced excitedly she directed her hand toward a pen on the other side of the room, and in seconds in it flew across the room and straight into the palm of her awaiting hand. "Abby, where'd McGee go when you missed him so much?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about…" Abby answered a little too quickly, seeming a little nervous.
"I'm talking about the pictures I'm getting of you writing 'I missed you, McGee' and 'Welcome back McGee' on a bunch of things at his desk." Tony chuckled quietly from across the room. "Oh, and is your computer locked? 'Cause I'd like to show you my other talent…" The conversation started off from there, with the flock showing the NCIS team their talents, and the NCIS team telling us stories from past investigations. It was quite pleasant, actually, and it felt a little like home, with a new part of our family connected to us by a bond not one of us had ever expected. Joking, laughing, showing each other tricks- it all seemed like the kind of family I'd always wished for as a little kid. The happy kind you only ever see on TV- the kind that we could've had if we were ever normal. After that was all over with, we said goodbye to Abby and Ducky and returned to the "bull pen" as they called it. We all sat around for a while, being utterly quiet until Gibbs spoke up.
"I think it would be a good idea for the kids to meet the director. Well, at least the older ones should. Max, Fang, come with me. You too, DiNozzo!" he ordered. This should be fun, I thought bitterly as I followed Gibbs back through the maze of cubicles, Fang trailing right behind us.
Still At the Bull Pen…
Nudge sighed dramatically, resting her chin in her hand. She was thriving for something to do other than watch Ziva and McGee work! Hey, Nudge? Angel's unexpected presence almost made Nudge jump up from her perch on Ziva's desk next to Iggy, but her surprising amount of self-control kept her composed. Yeah, Ange? She thought back.
I want to talk to Ziva alone. Can you get everyone else out of here, please?
Sure, but why do you want to talk to Ziva?
It's about something she almost thought earlier before the thing about cows. There was a name- Michael Rivkinn. Nudge nodded to her little sister, then turned to Iggy- he was good at manipulating people and making up stories… "Hey, Igs," she whispered, almost silently, so only he could hear, "we need to get everyone but Ziva and Angel out of this room this instant." He nodded and winked at her – that was one thing she liked about Iggy- he didn't have to ask, he just went with the flow.
"Hey, McGee, Nudge, Gazzy, Total, and I wanted to go down to see Abby again because there was something we forgot to tell her, but we don't know our way around here. Could you take us?" Iggy asked innocently.
"Uh… sure," he answered, and they were gone within minutes. Angel waited until she could no longer see them behind the stairwell door to speak.
"Ziva, can I talk to you for a sec?" Angel asked.
"Of course, what would you like to talk about?" she answered immediately.
"Who's Michael Rivkinn?"
~End Chapter~
A/N: okay, so this one is really long, so enjoy it! Mysterious ending, huh? Especially for those of you who don't watch NCIS or haven't seen that episode and have no idea who that is!
Ziva: that's personal! Why are you bringing him into this?!
Me: Shhhhhh! Don't give it away!
Iggy: I have no idea what you're talking about because I'm blind therefore I can't even read this!