Fox Broadcasting managed to let me down again. No Glee this week. :(

Seriously, I watch one hour of TV during the week. And that's Glee. Or was Glee. :(
Supposedly, it'll be back on this Wednesday (the 11th), but we shall see.

Sorry about my rant. Anyway, here's the next chapter...

=D

CHAPTER 41

Max POV

Iggy was working faster than I'd ever seen. He was working on one large bomb that I was hoping wouldn't blow up the entire desert.

"Don't you think that's going to be kind of hard to carry, Ig?" I asked, still scanning the halls.

"That's the thing," he replied. "We aren't carrying it. It has to stay here. It's going to be set on a timer. When I flip the switch, we'll have no more than ten minutes to get out."

Would that be enough time? I kept thinking. Could we do it? What if we ran into more Flyboys?

"There's a window just down the hall," Fang said, as if answering my questions. "Try making a small bomb to blow it open."

"If I have time!" Iggy exclaimed in frustration. "I can't mess this one up!"

Needless to say, my nerves were on the edge. We were preparing to blow Itex, the place that tortured us since birth, to oblivion. As much as I hated to admit it, I was scared. I was a little excited and anxious, but mostly scared. We still had to make sure we could get out.

My thoughts were cut short when Fang's had took mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I looked down at our hands, then, up to his face and blushed. His expression was soft and comforting.

Then, I remembered. I had kissed him with no explanation. It obviously didn't bother him, and, surprisingly, it didn't really bother me either. The less talking I have to do about mushy-gushy love stuff, the better.

"Ugh," someone grumbled. "What's going on?"

It was the Gasman. He'd finally woken up.

"Gazzy!" Nudge and Angel screamed excitedly.

The girls ran over to help him up and started blurting questions and comments, one after the other.

"Gaz, do you think you could give me a hand?" Iggy asked.

Rubbing his forehead, he answered, "Yea. I think so. What are you doing?"

"We need a mini-bomb to blow a whole in the wall," Iggy said.

"Alright!" the Gasman cheered but immediately winced from the pain in his wing.

I gave him a smile and a wink as he excitedly joined Iggy in making bombs.

Fang dropped my hand suddenly, and, without even meaning to, I frowned.

His face turned to stone, again, with his gaze locked straight ahead. I followed his line of sight straight into a group of Flyboys.

Just great!

Fang POV

"Don't you think that's going to be kind of hard to carry, Ig?" Max asked Iggy, who was in the process of making a giant bomb.

"That's the thing: We aren't carrying it. It has to stay here. It's going to be set on a timer. When I flip the switch, we'll have no more than ten minutes to get out," Iggy explained.

That answer didn't help Max calm down. I knew exactly what was going through her head.

"There's a window just down the hall, "I said. "Try making a small bomb to blow it open. We'll be able to get out quicker that way."

"If I have time!" Iggy snapped. "I can't mess this one up!"

As I continued my watch over the hallway, I felt Max's emotions. Fear, anxiety, excitement, but mostly fear. She had to calm down if we were going to get the others out in time.

I took her hand in mine and squeezed it in a comforting way. Her face was gradually turning a shade of pink as she looked at our connected hands, then, to my face.

She studied my face a moment longer until we heard someone mumbling behind us.

"Ugh. What's going on?" the Gasman asked, trying to sit up.

"Gazzy!" Nudge and Angel cried together.

Both of them ran to the Gasman and helped him stand up. He winced, but put on his toughest face.

"Gaz, do you think you could give me a hand?" Iggy asked.

The Gasman rubbed his forehead with one hand and said, "Yea. I think so. What are you doing?"

"We need a mini-bomb to blow a whole in the wall," Iggy stated.

The Gasman grinned, saying, "Alright!"

It was good to see the Gasman back to his old self, well, mostly himself. He was still wincing and fighting the pain. But something didn't feel right at that moment. I turned back to the hall and saw a small group of Flyboys. I let go of Max's hand and tensed up.

"Flyboys," I announced grimly.

Max, Nudge, and I got into fighting stances.

The Flyboys began marching toward us, and that's when I realized something.

"It's the older models," I said quietly to Max and Nudge. "Old weak spots."

We decided to meet them halfway and take them down quickly.

Sure enough, two and a half minutes later, we took down eight Flyboys.

"The other ones must be charging still," Max shrugged.

"Then let's take them out now," I answered, running back to Iggy.

"We're ready to go," Iggy smiled evilly.

"Hold on," Max stated. "Gazzy can't fly yet. It could only damage his wing further."

"Come on, Gaz," I interrupted, holding out my arms.

He jumped into them, wrapping his legs and arms around me in a way that wouldn't get in the way of my wings.

"Here, Max," the Gasman smiled, handing her the small bomb.

"Good work, Gazzy," Max commended. "Alright, Ig. Flip the switch!"