Into the Web

Previously, on Kamen Rider Max:

After getting shot, Max is forced to reveal herself to Ella and Dr Martinez, who finds a microchip in her left arm. Once she regrouped with the rest of the Flock, they are suddenly attacked by Ari, and brought to the "School"! Once there, they are reunited with Jeb Batchelder, who informs Max that she's been turned into a cyborg! Luckily, Iggy and Gasman were able to rescue the others, and Max was able to access her cybernetic powers. But where will the Flock go from here? Find out next.

The Flock had just escaped the hounds of hell that was called the "School," and had rescued Angel. However, they were now homeless, and aimlessly on the run. The six of them were flying above the clouds in the blue, blue sky.

"God!" Nudge exclaimed as she whooshed by Max, "It's just so, so…you know?"

Max smirked. "Yeah, I know. I mean, the air, and we're up so high…" she mused, "...and no one's after us, and we're all together." She then turned her attention to the others. "So, who's up for Ihop for breakfast?" The Flock yelled in agreement.

Into the Web
Written by Multiverse Sentai

Later that night, the Flock made camp in the middle of some woods and were now sleeping around a campfire. Max woke up, making sure that the others were asleep. She then sat up and sprouted her new metallic wings. She reached her arm out and touched them. They were cool to the touch, and yet she could still move them as if they were still her old wings.

"You see, you were created for a reason. Turned into a cyborg for a special purpose." Jeb's voice played in her head, "Max, that reason, that purpose is you are supposed to save the world."

"But why me?" she asked herself, "Why must this happen to me?"

"Max…are you okay…?" she heard Angel ask.

"I'm…better." Max replied, "What are you doing up?"

"Um…" Angel hesitated, "I have something to tell you."

"What is it, Angel?" Max asked.

"I've got a secret. From when I was at the School." she exclaimed, "It was about us. Where we came from…"

This made Max raise her eyebrow. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

Angel then looked uneasy before she explained, "I heard stuff. Stuff people thought. I didn't understand all of it - chunks were missing. And it was from a couple different people."

"Even Jeb?" asked Max.

Angel shook her head. "No. I didn't get anything from him at all. Nothing. It was like he was dead." she continued, "...Anyway, I found out that another place has information about us…like, where we came from…"

"What?" Max exclaimed, "Like, where they got the DNA?"

"...Yeah…" Angel nodded.

"Well, spill it!" the two heard Iggy exclaim, having sat up. They also noticed the others waking up.

"They have files on us. Like, the main files." Angel continued, "They're in New York. At a place called "The Institute"."

"The "Institute"?" Max inquired, "In New York City or Upstate New York?"

"I don't know." Angel replied, "I think it was called the Institute. The "Living Institute" or something."

Max looked at Fang, who nodded.

"There's more…" Angel continued, "While they did test on me, they all kept thinking about us. You know how we always wonder if we were made in test tubes?" The others nodded. "It turns out that we did have parents - real parents. We weren't made in test tubes. We were born…like real babies. We were born from human mothers."

To say that this news was shocking for the Flock would be an understatement. Iggy clenched his fist and lashed out.

"AND YOU'VE SAT ON THIS SINCE YESTERDAY?!" he yelled, "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!"

"Iggy!" Max reprimanded as Angel shuddered into her chest.

"I'm sorry…" Angel sobbed.

"It's okay, Angel." comforted Max, "Can you tell us everything you heard?"

After she calmed down, Angel continued. "It…sounded like we came from different places, different hospitals. They…got us after we were born. We weren't test tube babies. And…it sounded like…like they got the bird genes into us before we were born somehow. With a test? An amino…amino…"

"Amniocentesis?" Max asked.

"Yeah, that's it." Angel confirmed, "And somehow, they got the bird genes into us with it. So, we got born, and the doctors gave us to the School." Her face then went grim. "I heard - I heard that they told Nudge's mom and dad that she had died."

After hearing this, Nudge was almost in tears. "I did have a mom and dad." she gasped, "I did!"

Angel then continued. "And…Iggy's mom…" she said as she turned towards her blind friend, "...died. She died when he was born."

There was now silence around the campfire.

"What about us?" Gazzy anxiously asked, "How did they get both of us, two years apart?"

Angel hesitated to answer her biological brother, "...Our parents gave us to the School themselves."

"WHAT?" Gazzy exasperated.

Angel was now shivering. "They wanted to help the school. They let them put bird genes in us. And gave us away for money."

Now it was Gazzy who was on the verge of tears. "No…That can't be…" Nudge leaned over to comfort him. Meanwhile, Fang was shuffling a stick into the fire.

"...Did you hear anything about me? Or Max" he asked.

"Your mom thought you died. Like Nudge." Angel explained, "She was a teenager. They don't know who your dad was. But they told mom you died."

At the revelation of this, Fang clenched the stick he was holding to the point where his hand started bleeding. Once again, it was silent around the campfire.

"...What…about me?" Max cautiously asked.

"I didn't hear anything about you, Max. Nothing." Angel reluctantly answered, "I'm really sorry."

Gazzy was still in shock. "I can't believe it." he said, "They gave us away. They must be sick. Sick jerks. I'm glad I don't know them."

Max then put on a determined look on her face as she faced the others. "Let's head to New York tomorrow." she announced, "We should try to find the Institute."

The following evening, the Flock found themselves flying above a massive city.

"Oh my god." Gazzy exclaimed, "Look! It's New York!"

Below them, there were various skyscrapers that went for miles, and people walking along the streets.

"Alright guys," Max announced, "we need to rest and figure out how to find the Institute. Let's find a place for the night first."

The group flew down towards a large park with many trees. They landed on one of the many branches.

"It's quiet here, and these branches look thick." said Max, "Let's stay here for the night and start our search in the morning." And with that, the Flock drifted off to sleep.

Early the following morning, Max was awakened to Fang shaking her shoulder.

"Max, wake up." he said.

"Hmm…?…Did I oversleep…?" she asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She then noticed the others down on the ground.

"I think we should get out of here." Fang replied. He then pointed towards a nearby crowd. "Look." Within the crowd were several men in business suits and sunglasses.

Damn… Max thought to herself …They really don't let us rest, do they…?

"...You're right…" she replied to Fang. As soon as the two jumped down from the tree, the men turned to face them.

"RUN!" Max yelled as she led the Flock through the park, with the men closely following them. Soon the Flock came across a group of young people entering a facility. Next to the entrance was a woman holding a sign that read: "STUDENT'S DAY AT THE CENTRAL PARK ZOO"

"Let's merge in." Max told the others as they rushed to enter the zoo. Once inside, Max turned around to see security guards preventing the men from entering.

"It looks like they can't get in." Fang informed.

"Let's take a breather." Iggy panted.

"Wow - Look!" Nudge yelled, "It's a polar bear!"

Suddenly, a scream caught their attention as their eyes caught the sight of what looked like a human-spider hybrid. It was clear that this was one of the men from earlier because this creature was wearing a torn business suit. But now his skin was brown and hairy and had four spider legs protruding from his back. His face now had six more smaller eyes and had external fangs at the edge of his mouth.

"They really don't give up, do they?" Max asked herself. Suddenly, she saw the vision of her transformation movements. With that, she knew what she had to do.

"You guys get to safety," she told the others, "I'll take care of him."

"Are you sure?" Fang asked with concern. Angel, however, was more willing to trust her.

"Good luck." she encouraged her.

Max nodded and went to face the Spider Hybrid. She then began her transformation, swinging her left arm to the right, slowly moving it to the left, then thrusted her right arm at a diagonal to the left. With that, the silver belt appeared around her waist, the turbine fan beginning to spin. Max then jumped into the air as she felt the powerful energy from before, transforming her into her true form. She then flipped through the air and landed a flying kick on the Spider Hybrid.

The two of them then took on fighting stances as they squared off. The Spider Hybrid made the first move and charged at Max. He made a right swipe causing sparks to fly out of Max's chest and send her tumbling along the ground. He then grabbed her by the shoulders and tossed her across the courtyard, making her slam into a nearby building.

The Spider Hybrid then spat out a stream of silk from his mouth, wrapping it around Max's body. He then pulled her in close and pinned her to the ground with his foot. Max struggled but couldn't get out.

"T'ha-ha-ha! Soon the little birdie will return to her cage." the Spider Hybrid taunted as one of his back limbs prepared to strike. But at the last second, Max managed to break free and grab the limb. In the heat of the moment, Max looked down at the two sidearms attached to her belt. She then pulled out the pistol, stuck it in the Spider Hybrid's gut, and shot him. This caused the monster to fly backwards from the blast, his limb getting pulled off in the process.

Max got up, threw the severed limb, and took aim yet again. This time, she felt the powerful energy inside her flow into her pistol. As the Spider Hybrid staggered to get up, Max pulled the trigger. A powerful energy bolt came out of the pistol and hit the monster right in the chest. The blast caused him to tumble for several yards. He did manage to get on to his knees, but sparks shot out from him as he fell forwards and exploded as smoke and fire bellowed from the crater it formed.

With the battle over, Max holstered her pistol and began to breathe heavily when suddenly…

"Kamen Rider!"

She quickly turned to see a young man running towards her with the Flock in tow. He looked to be in his early twenties, with circular glasses and long brown hair tied in a ponytail. He was also wearing a red shirt, black leather jacket, and black dress pants. When he and the Flock made it to Max, the man had a huge smile on his face.

"I can't believe it!" he almost yelled, "You're a Kamen Rider!"

This made Max perplexed. "Kamen…Rider?"

"Exactly! A hero that protects the innocent and is loved by children." the man explained. "What's your name?"

Max's body flashed as she returned to her human form. "Max," she replied, "Maximum Ride."

"Then from this day on, you'll be known as Kamen Rider Max," announced the man, "I'm Mike Robinson and I'd like to help you." He held out his hand while Max just stared at it.

Next Time, on Kamen Rider Max:

Mike Robinson agrees to shelter the Flock as they continue their search for the Institute. Then during a trip to the toy store, Angel reveals that she can mentally influence people. Then the group is suddenly attacked by the Cobra Hybrid. Can Max use her Rider powers to save the day? Find out next time on Kamen Rider Max!

Notes:

And so, the mystery continues.

Fun Fact: Mike Robinson is the only main original character in this story.

Please leave a review, I love to read your feedback. And I'll see next time.