Can I just say how totally freaking excited I am that I got, like, 7 reviews in a matter of hours! =D

I guess simple things amuse simple minds. ^_^

Anyway, some quick shout-outs here:

musicfreak61692, thanks for the constant reviews! :)

XxIgnorancexX, did you know ignorance is bliss? haha. Just kidding. ^_^ Thank you so much for the reviews. Also, I'm glad to hear that I have a fellow Gleek reading (and a Gleek that agrees with the Rachel/Puck relationship ;) )! Watching it, I'm always like, "I would've totally joined Glee club!"CHAPTER 39

Max POV

I was standing in front of Marian Janssen, arms bound behind my back, and listening to her drone on and on about her "marvelous escape from prison."

"I guess you're wondering why you're all still here and alive," she said, finally getting to the point.

"To kick your butt again," I answered casually.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes, and said, "Max, you really need to speak to adults with more respect. Especially those who have you and your family in custody."

"Sorry," I replied sarcastically. "I'll get right on that. You see, the people who raised didn't exactly teach me manners."

That struck a nerve in her.

"Well, I understand you've been staying with your mother every so often…" she began.

Oh, God. She better not have my mother, too! Did a group of Flyboys go take over the Lerner School and steal the rest of my family?

"She could've been teaching you manners," she continued. "Then again, my sister never was one for discipline, either, growing up."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Rewind!

Sister?

"Your what?" I asked in total shock.

"Really, Max," she sighed. "I thought you would've figured it out sooner. You share a family resemblance with both Valencia and myself. You definitely get that attitude from your grandmother's side. But that wild side of yours came from your mother and grandfather. I truly believe I was the only sane, disciplined one of the family."

My mind was reeling. This was WAY too much to take in at once.

"I…you…but…" I couldn't seem to get any clear, comprehensable statements to form. "You said you were, like, over 100 years old! My mom is definitely not that old!"

"I thought you, of all people, would know a lie when you heard one," she laughed. "Where is that dear sister of mine, anyway?"

"What? You don't keep tabs on her, too?" I asked in a totally serious tone. "I mean, you've been keeping them on your own niece, who, by the way, you tried to convince was your own daughter. If you've forgotten."

That earned me a nice smack across the face. I was shooting her the best scowl I had.

"I did what had to be done," she shouted angrily. "And of course I'm keeping track of you! You would've been dead years ago without me."

"HA!" I interrupted. "You're the one who keeps trying to kill us!"

"Believe what you want, Maximum Ride," she spat. "But you will learn to behave and respect me very soon! That includes not interrupting me!"

"And what makes you think that?" I demanded.

She gave me her evil smile and said, "Let's not forget who I have locked up in this building."

My eyes widened for two seconds before I looked away. I couldn't let the flock get hurt.

"What do you want with me?" I grumbled.

Roughly, she grabbed my chin, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself," she chuckled. "I need all of you. Not just you. But, if you don't listen, then, I will destroy all of you pathetic experiments. One by one. Starting with the smallest: Angel. Your 'baby,' right?"

My adrenaline was pumping quickly. I was outraged. She wanted to kill them right before my eyes. I'm pretty sure she was hoping I would mouth off again just so she could torture me.

And she thinks she's the only sane one in the family! Yea right!

"And we'll end with Fang," she continued.

Her evil smirk returned when she saw my eyes widen even more than before.

"How does that sound?" she asked, even though she already knew my answer.

"What do you want us to do?" I growled through clenched teeth.

"That's better," she said and released my chin. "We'll need you to rob the government of a few billion dollars. Since a few of our branches have been destroyed, we need to rebuild."

That statement was obviously directed towards me. But the fun didn't end there.

"After that, if you all succeed and are still alive," she went on. "Then, we shall see what else we can do with you."

"So we do your dirty work," I replied. "Doesn't surprise me."

"It's that or lose your little flock," Marian said with disgust. "And, frankly, I do not mind Option Two."

I was taking slow, deep breaths, trying to remain calm and keep my comments to myself. The glare, however, stayed in place.

"Taker her to the others," she called to the Flyboys. "I believe she will want her 'family' to hear this."

I'm not sure how many of you notice this, but, sometimes, in the books, I feel like there are loose ends that are never really tied up. Such as the situation with Marian Janssen in the third book. They talk about how much she looks like an older version in Max and proceed to tell you that she's her mother. Then, they say, "Gotcha!" And then it's over.

Anyway, my point to all of this rambling is that I tried to tie up some of these loose ends.

Another thing I actually wanted to point out was in an earlier chapter of this story (when Iggy and Fang found out they had chips, too), I was trying to show why the guys were attacked when they split up from the girls. The girls weren't attacked when they were in Europe, but the guys were practically bombarded! So yea...

I just wanted to make that point in case you didn't notice. Or didn't care. And probably still don't care. Hahaha.