Story time!

[Roxie !]

I have got to be crazy. Starting another story. I was re-reading Dawnie's fanfic, which prompted me to re-read Maximum Ride until I could get my hands on the new book. It really inspired me to continue my old fanfic, but...I have no idea what to do with the plot in that one. So somehow, I got this crazy idea for a story.

Title: Untitled, as of yet.
Author: Yours truely.
Rating: PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.
Fandom: Ready for this? -deep breath- Maximum Ride / Alias. Izz a crossover.
Pairings: Fang x Max, A little bit of Iggy x Original Character, and Sydney x Vaughn.
Chapter Summary: Max and the Flock recieve a mysterious phone call. They're promised answers...and given warnings.
Notes: Uhm. Well, I haven't read the newest Maximum Ride book yet, and I haven't seen Alias in forever, so sorry if a few things are off here and there. But this story is totally going to be Alternate-Universe anyways.


Chapter One

"ICE CREAM!"

I was almost knocked over as Gazzy charged ahead of me, target in sight: the bright blue ice cream truck parked on the nearby street. The ice cream man was looking kind of freaked out by the ravenous eight-year-old running at him, but business was business.

Of course, if our wings hadn't been carefully hidden by our baggy sweatshirts, I'm betting he would have been even more freaked out.

This was the only way we could go out in public. Even in a city as crazy as Los Angeles, mutant bird kids weren't exactly the norm. But I had to admit, the Flock needed some fresh air. We'd been staying in an abandoned building a few blocks away. Not my first choice of housing, but so far it had proved to be safe.

But all of us were getting restless, and it felt great to be out in the sun again. I probably would have been a little more uptight about it, except that, that's why we were here: to see the city. Nudge loved L.A., and while we were flying over it a couple of days ago, she somehow convinced me to stop. It was only supposed to be for the day, but the rest of the Flock were really enjoying themselves, and you know what? We all needed a break.

It felt weird to actually be able to take one, though. We've been on the run for so long, and now...well, nothing. For months, we haven't seen even one psychotic mutant or robot--the ones that, you know, try to kill us every so often? Yeah, they're gone. And the voices in my head, or the crazy scientists that keep trying to take over the world? They're gone too. The only fighting that's been going on around here are Nudge and Gazzy's little squabbles over who's the better flyer.

It was making me really nervous. Something just wasn't right.

But the Flock, besides Fang, didn't seem to notice anything. Right now, Angel was tugging on my hand. I only just realized that she was trying to get my attention, and snapped out of my trance.

"Max," She said eagerly, "Can we walk through the park?"

I looked out over the park across the street as Gazzy came hurrying back with a ridiculously tall ice cream cone. It didn't seem like a bad idea, actually. I looked around at the others, who didn't voice any objections, and then I smiled down at Angel.

"Sure, sweetie. Let's go."


We ended up spending the majority of the day there. The sun was setting now, and the park was beginning to clear out. It was actually kind of peaceful when it was quiet like this. It felt safe.

"You know, this isn't so bad. I wouldn't mind spending the night out here." Iggy commented from his perch in the lower branches of a tree.

Nudge looked up at him and nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Under the stars and everything. That'd be cool. Like camping!" She agreed.

We come to Los Angeles, and they want to go camping? I sighed. Sleeping out here didn't seem like such a good idea. It felt...I dunno...exposed? But seeing as there hadn't been any incidents in what felt like forever, I guess we were getting cocky. Taking risks that we shouldn't have been taking. I frowned.

As if he could sense what I was thinking, Fang sat down next to me. For the majority of the day, he'd been quiet as usual, but now it seemed like he wanted to say something to me.

"It's weird, you know?" He spoke at last. "This...quiet."

I stirred, looking over at him. "You feel it too?" I asked, knowing that I shouldn't have been surprised. Fang picked up on these things all the time, sometimes quicker than I did. "It's just," I added quickly, "I didn't want to say anything. The kids were having fun. I didn't want to ruin it for them."

Fang was one of those rare people I could confide in. I guess it's because he understood me--probably better than anyone else I knew. Even now, he was nodding as if he knew exactly where I was coming from.

"Definately weird." He repeated quietly.

We sat like that for awhile. Just...together. Fang had this way of comforting me just by being there next to me. I mean, I've never actually said that to him(God forbid), but I think he knew anyway.

Then, suddenly, a noise made us all jump. I looked around, confused. That was one of the last noises I'd expected to hear...in fact, I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard...

Brrring, brrring!

"Pay phone." Iggy announced instantly.

Sure enough, there was a pay phone right over by the path near where we were sitting. We all stared at it blankly. There was just something that felt really off about that phone.

I tried to block the ringing out of my ears. "Probably I wrong number." I assured the Flock over the noise. Eventually, the phone stopped ringing. There was a moment of silence. Then,

Brrring, brrring!

"Max?" asked Gazzy warily.

"Don't answer it." said Fang at once, before I could do anything. "If someone knows we're here..."

"It could be important." Iggy pointed out.

"Or it could be a trap."

"Fang, if someone needs to reach us, I mean...they could need our help."

I was barely listening to their arguement. My attention was fixed on the phone. There was something about this call, I could feel it. My instincts were usually right about this kind of thing, but the problem was, I couldn't tell whether this particular feeling was good or bad.

The phone stopped ringing again. There. It didn't matter.

But before I knew it, it was ringing again. I stood up, my eyes narrowed.

"Max!" Fang growled immediately, rising beside me.

"I won't say anything." I assured him impatiently. "Not until I know who it is." I couldn't explain what drew me to the phone, but it was almost as if I couldn't control my actions. Slowly, I walked over and picked it up. I listened silently. And then, came a voice that nearly made my heart stop.

"Maximum Ride."

It wasn't a question. They knew who answered the phone. The voice was gravelly, but distinctly female. And she had some kind of accent...Russian, maybe?

I was too shocked to do anything but reply. "How do you know my--?"

"We know your whole Flock, Maximum Ride. There's no need for any sort of pretense here." The voice said coolly.

I was quickly recovering, and within seconds, I was on defense. "Yeah?" I replied steadily, "Then who are you?"

There was a pause. "I, directly, am not important. I work for a group called K-Directorate. We have been watching you for some time."

"Watching us?" I bristled immediately, and glanced back at the others.

"Keeping you safe." The voice assured. "As you've noticed, I'm sure, you haven't been attacked in some time."

Yeah, she had me there. But I wasn't going to let my guard down even for a second. "So, what. You're with the government?" I asked her suspiciously. We'd done enough work with the government to last us a lifetime. I was beginning to wonder what they wanted now, but the voice let out an annoying chuckle.

"The government? We aren't interested in enlisting you to 'save the world', if that's what you're asking. No, my people have been interested in you for quite some time. We have the answers you're looking for. The truth about where you all come from, and the extent of your abilities."

I rolled my eyes. I definately wasn't buying this. "Yeah, I've heard that one before. Listen. If you're so interested in us, why wait until now to contact me?" I demanded.

The voice was immediate. "Because until now, we have had no reason to. But now...the little one. Angel?...She is in danger."

I almost dropped the phone. Slowly, I looked over at the tree where Angel was sitting. I hoped my expression was unreadable.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my throat dry.

"There's something wrong with her. It could spread to the rest of you if something is not done." The voice explained. "It is too dangerous to discuss over the phone. Even now, we are being traced. My people will be at the top of the Hampshire Building at nine o'clock tonight. The roof--there is a party going on there, but the roof will be safe. If you come--all of you--you are obligated to do nothing but hear me out. Consider."

And just like that, she hung up. I felt frozen to the spot. After a moment, I hung the phone back up, and forced myself to move.

"What was that all about?" asked Nudge when I returned.

I was useless. I just stood there, unable to take my eyes off of Angel.

"Max?" Fang called gently. "What happened?"

I glanced at him. Taking a deep breath, I relayed the conversation to the rest of the Flock. By the time I was done, they were staring at me with just as much shock as I was feeling. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel even looked scared.

"So," Iggy said at last. "It's a trap. Right?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know." I sighed, "We believe her, and we're taking the biggest risk of our lives. But if we don't?"

"It's Angel's life on the line." Fang finished at once. "Look, Max. We need to think about this. I don't trust this any more than you do, but we have a chance to find out exactly what they're talking about."

I stared at him, surprised. Out of everyone, I figured that Fang would be the least likely to go alone with this. He always manages to surprise me.

Angel stepped forward. "But I don't feel sick, Max." She told me, her eyes wide. "How would they know about me?"

"They knew about all of us." I said grimly.

"We need to find out who these people are, and what they know." Fang stood firm. "Worst case scenario, they pull out guns, and we fly out of there. It's a rooftop."

Iggy seemed to be thinking this over. "They know about our wings, obviously." He said. "But what could they try in a building full of people? If there's a sponsored party going on..."

I nodded slowly. "We need to know exactly who we're dealing with, here. Friends or foes. If we don't go, they'll probably just keep tracking us." I pointed out. There was still something holding me back, though. This didn't make sense.

"Max," Angel repeated softly. "I want to go."

Silence.

"This is probably the stupidest thing we've ever done." I muttered at last.

Gazzy grinned. "Oh, not even close!"

Okay then. Party time.

[{ tessa }]

o.o whats wrong with Angel?

K-Directorate? aww man. Theyre in trouble.....Syd better save em XD

[Roxie !]

Hehe. Well, she can try, anyway. xD

[Roxie !]

Title: Still working on the title. Any suggestions?
Author: Yours truely.
Rating: PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.
Fandom: Ready for this? -deep breath- Maximum Ride / Alias. Izz a crossover.
Pairings: Fang x Max, A little bit of Iggy x Original Character, and Sydney x Vaughn.
Chapter Summary: Agent Sydney Bristow is assigned to a mission involving the Flock--and she has a feeling she's in over her head.
Notes: Give me a break if anything's off with the characters here, dudes. I literally haven't watched Alias in years. Writing this chapter did make me remember how much I used to love all these characters, though. I should try to find my old dvds.

Also, this chapter seems kinda rushed and confusing. I fully intend to clean up after myself in the chapters to come xP.



Chapter Two


“Left!”

I spun to my left, only to be dealt a painful kick to my ribs from my right.

“Oops, sorry Syd.” Marshall’s voice chuckled through the communicator in my ear. “My left.”

I rolled my eyes. Ever since Marshall had gotten his hands on his new satellite camera toy, he seemed to have taken it upon himself to try and fight my battles for me. The man who’d attacked me aimed another kick, but this time I caught it and hauled him onto the ground. There was a hard thunk as his head connected with one of the pipes.

“Yeah baby! He’s out!” Marshall sounded unusually giddy. I had to wonder if he’d been drinking too much coffee again. “Get him one more time! You know, for kicks. Heh. Pun intended.”

“Thanks for the help, Marshall.” I told him sarcastically. I checked my bag to make sure the files I’d been sent to retrieve were secure, and then looked up and down the empty alley. “Where do I go from here?”

“Uh, well, they actually have cameras—can you believe it—cameras near the front end of that alley, and the entrance to the building. Which is kind of a bummer, but it makes things…you know, fun.” Marshall rambled. “But in the back of the building is the parking lot. Vaughn is waiting to pick you up there.”

I nodded. “Copy.” It wouldn’t be hard to get into the back lot; I could see it from where I was. The only obstacle in my way was the tall chain-link fence that barred the back end of the alley. I sighed, then spoke into my communicator again.

“Vaughn?”

“Sydney?”

“Looks like I’m gonna have to jump the fence. I’ll be out in a minute.” I murmured, glancing back over my shoulder at the dark alleyway. It didn’t feel right. After I’d taken out the last guy, the reinforcements seemed to have just…given up. I knew these guys. They did not give up.

I could picture Vaughn grinning. “I don’t think I’ve jumped a fence since the eighth grade.” He remarked, amused.

I smiled. “Somehow I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re delinquent enough for the both of us. I’m parked to your far right.”

I looked in that direction, and saw a pair of headlights flicker on. Hoisting the bag up over my shoulder, I began to climb. It felt kind of bad-ass, actually. You’d think that something like jumping an eight foot fence would seem pretty tame to a CIA field agent, but I sort of felt like a school kid again.

It was short lived. Marshall came back online a second later. “Uh, Syd? Aw crap. You’re not alone.” He squeaked.

I didn’t have time to react. There was a loud bang, and I felt something zip past my head. Someone was shooting at me from the other side of the fence! Gritting my teeth, I squinted to see six or seven armed men emerging from the shadows of the parking lot. They’d been waiting for me.

“It’s a trap! Vaughn, we’ve got to get out of here!” I gasped. I was all but hanging from the top of the fence now. I felt like a sitting duck.

Vaughn answered almost immediately. ”Hold on! I’m—“

Bang!

I swore loudly as I almost lost my grip on the fence. The bullet had grazed my arm. The unpleasant sensation of warm blood trickling down my arm accompanied a hot pain, but my attention was directed at the sound of footsteps hurrying behind me. There was no going back now. I managed to scramble over the top of the fence, but then another gunshot sounded, and I lost my balance. I fell ungracefully into the parking lot—right on the arm that had just been injured.

Ouch…

I let out a half-strangled cry, clutching my arm tightly while trying to get up at the same time. There was no time to lose here. I glanced behind me. The guys on the other side of the fence didn’t seem to be armed, but whoever was here in the parking lot with me definitely was.

And then, as if on cue: “Freeze!”

Four goons had their weapons pointed right at me. I slowly raised my hands up over my head. “Vaughn…”

The guy who seemed to be in charge of their little ambush stepped forward. “Drop the bag.” He commanded, his English sounding slightly broken.

I couldn’t do that. “Vaughn.” I hissed again.

There was a click, and then his finger was on the trigger. I closed my eyes.

“Sydney!”

A car came hurtling out of nowhere, tires screeching. The men scattered immediately in a wild struggle to get out of the way. My only chance. I lunged forward, opened the car door, and jumped into the passenger’s seat.

Immediately, Vaughn stepped on the gas. Loud bangs still cracked behind us as the men shot at our car. We weren’t out of the woods yet. I made sure to keep my head low as we cleared the lot, and sped out into the street.

“You okay?” Vaughn glanced over to see me clutching my arm.

“Thanks to you.” I shifted to better hide my injury, and picked up the bag I’d just retrieved. “I got it.”

Vaughn smiled at me. “Not bad.”

“I just hope this thing’s worth it.”

“With the amount of security they put around it? It’s likely.” He assured.

I didn’t say anything. The fact was, half the artifacts we’d been sent to retrieve ended up as dead ends. It got frustrating sometimes.

“Did they tell you anything about it?” Vaughn asked, his expression unreadable.

I shrugged slightly. “Just that they were papers from one of Rambaldi’s notebooks. Papers that detailed something…dangerous.” I felt a familiar twinge of frustration at once again being kept in the dark, whether intentionally or not.

I guess he picked up on my tone, because he smirked slightly. “What else is new?”



The rest of the drive back to headquarters was pretty uneventful. We turned the papers in, and I got my arm bandaged, before being called in to a meeting.

“Good work, you two.” Dixon told us as Vaughn and I entered the room and sat down. “We’ve looked over the papers. They’re legit.”

“What exactly are they?” asked Vaughn, his eyebrows raised.

Dixon paused. He seemed to be deciding the best way to tell us something. “For some time, the CIA has suspected that Rambaldi had been working on something that branched off entirely from anything else he had ever worked on.” He began, and then his gaze shifted to Marshall.

Marshall rose to the occasion immediately. “Genetics.” He blurted out. “Genetic experimentation. Which is incredible, because in Rambaldi’s time period—well, they didn’t even know genetics existed.”

He was all but bursting from excitement. I frowned slightly. “What kind of genetic experimentation?” I prompted.

“Well, stuff that would have been impossible back then, and highly unethical now. ” Marshall recited. “I guess Rambaldi kind of realized that, because he stopped all of his research very suddenly, and hid it away. Hardly anyone else ever knew about it. It’s kind of like when you find an old diary, and you’re mortified because you had a crush on Lucy Fraiser, so you…burn it…” Marshall coughed, and trailed off.

I glanced at Vaughn, holding back a grin.

“But Rambaldi never destroyed his research.” Dixon chimed in seriously. “We have reason to believe that several years back, an organization known as ‘The School’ got their hands on it. With modern-day technology, they could have very well conducted experimentations based on it.”

“And we think they have?” I asked incredulously.

Dixon looked grim. “We’re almost certain of it.”

I frowned as I thought this over. Something wasn’t making sense. “But then…what was Anna doing with these papers?” Anna Espinosa, former agent of K-Directorate, was no pretty picture. If I were cliché enough to label someone as my ‘arch enemy’, she’d probably be at the top of my list. I looked over at Dixon, brow furrowed. “We think she’s trying to recreate Rambaldi’s research?”

He sighed, and I realized how tired he looked. We’d all been through a lot lately, and now it seemed like we were plunging head-first into something completely new. “She doesn’t need to.” Dixon said at last. “Somehow, Anna found out about the experimentation already being done by the School. These papers probably gave her a lead.”

“So, she’s just looking for a step up.” Vaughn concluded. “She wants most of the work done for her, so she’s looking use what the School has already accomplished.”

“It would save her a lot of time—time that she probably doesn’t have.” Agreed Dixon. “If someone like Anna Espinosa is that interested in that kind of research, especially research rooted back to Rambaldi’s original notes…well, it can’t mean anything good for the rest of us.”

I was still piecing this all together, but I wanted to verify. “So, you want me to stop her. How?”

“You’ll be going undercover at an event taking place at the L.A. Hampshire building tonight.”

“When you say event, you mean…”

“Party. It’s not as fancy as it sounds. The building’s owner has a daughter, who’s turning eighteen this week. As you can imagine, it may get pretty wild. You won’t be too dressed up.” Dixon explained.

I had to smile. “God forbid.” When Dixon said something like ‘You won’t be too dressed up’, it usually meant something along the lines of ‘We’re gonna put you in some hooker get-up’. “So what am I supposed to do there?”

“You’ll be intercepting Anna. You’ll have to go in alone, but we’ll have a back-up team on hand if necessary. We have a lead that Anna has made plans to collect the research on the building’s roof.”

“Collect the research?” I hesitated. “From who?”

Now I knew there was something I was missing. Dixon and Marshall exchanged a glance, and then Marshall let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, when we say ‘research’, we don’t mean, like. Papers.” He coughed, and then looked at Dixon.

“Several years ago, some of the subjects from the School’s lab escaped.” Dixon began warily.

I tensed. “Dixon?” I asked, “What exactly am I looking for, here?”

There was a pause. I looked from Vaughn, who looked suspicious, to Marshall, who looked nervous. And Dixon…Dixon’s expression was still dark. It worried me. He didn’t say anything, but instead slowly drew out the papers from the back desk. Silently, he handed them to me.

I looked down at the ancient objects, and could barely believe my eyes.

“Oh my god…”

There, centered among Rambaldi’s various codes and equations, was a detailed and disturbingly life-like drawing of a human child.

A human child with wings.

[{ tessa }]

I LOVE MARSHALL!!!

lol Sorry. & I love how you tied Rambaldi into it. is this like season two alias or what?

[Roxie !]

^^ Marshall's really fun to write.

And it's...season two...ish? I just started rewatching the first season; I don't remember that much. Sydney's openly working for the CIA now, but she hasn't been "dead" for two years and Vaughn isn't married, so it cant be the third season...so yeah. Kind of season two, but this whole story is AU like I said.

MR is the same way. Kind of after book three(cause I can't stand book four and I haven't read book five), but with some changes just to make everything fit better.

[Roxie !]

Title: Still working on the title. Any suggestions?
Author: Yours truely.
Rating: PG-13ish. Violence, language, you know.
Fandom: Ready for this? -deep breath- Maximum Ride / Alias. Izz a crossover.
Pairings: Fang x Max, A little bit of Iggy x Original Character, and Sydney x Vaughn.
Chapter Summary: The Flock meet with their mysterious informer, and everything goes to hell.
Notes: Hmm...things are about to get messy xD. It felt weird writing this chapter for some reason. Okay, I really don't have anything to say here, so...-awkward silence-


Chapter Three


It was too late for second-guessing. We were practically right next to the Hampshire building, only I’d found us a shadowy place to hide while I went over the plan one last time.

“Gazzy, concentrate.” I snapped. The Gasman grinned innocently, and reluctantly stopped attempting to inconspicuously push Iggy into a nearby dumpster.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” I called everyone’s attention. “I’m not going to put everyone at risk by sending us all in there.”

“That, and it might look just a little bit strange seeing a six year old and an eight year old at a thing like this.” Iggy pointed out smugly.

I wasn’t really in the mood. “Right.” I said shortly. “Iggy, you’ll take Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel, and fly up over the roof.”

Iggy raised his eyebrows. “Me? Why?”

“You said it yourself, Iggy,” Fang told him with a cool smile. “It’ll look weird seeing kids in there.”

“Someone has to keep them safe.” I tilted my head in the younger kids’ direction.

“But Max,” It didn’t take Nudge long to protest either. “I wanna go to the party. What if we miss out?”

I tried to smile at her. We didn’t have a lot of time here, but I could tell from Gazzy and Angel’s expressions that they weren’t too happy about this either. “You won’t miss out. Fang and I are only going in there to throw them off. They’ll be expecting us to come flying in…”

“And we’re just being careful.” Fang nodded thoughtfully. “Do we know why these people want to meet us on this particular roof? I mean, out of any other place in the city, some girl’s birthday party?”

I had gone over this several times in my head. “They’re probably trying to gain our trust.” I reasoned. “The more crowded a place, the less likely an ambush is. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to be careful.” I turned to Iggy and the others. “Stay in the air. Circle above until you see us come up. If everything’s okay, then you can land.” I instructed.

Iggy nodded.

Angel smiled up at me. “Don’t worry Max. We’ll be okay.” She told me cheerfully. I had to smile at how cute she was. See, aside from being a fellow winged mutant kid, Angel can read minds. And I was on edge—she probably picked up on that.

“At the first sign of trouble, we bail.” I finished. The Flock agreed, and we went our separate ways. I really didn’t like splitting up, but in this situation, it seemed like the smartest thing to do.

Fang and I headed around the corner, and through the front door of the Hampshire building. I didn’t really know what to expect. This might shock you, but when you have wings, you don’t really go to many parties.

We got inside without a problem. There was a grouchy looking guy at the door, but I guess he’d seen worse riffraff than a couple of kids in baggy sweatshirts.

A second later, I knew he’d seen worse. This was not a classy black-tie affair. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything further from a black-tie affair, actually. This was living proof that normal, wingless people could still appear completely insane.

Wild hairstyles and heavy metal music were two of the many, many things in this room that just didn’t fit with the ritzy interior of the building.

This was a teenage birthday party. I was kind of glad I’d been missing out.

Fang was less than amused. “Let’s get this over with.” He growled, pushing through the crowd that had assembled near the entrance.

I looked around, and spotted a door at the far end of the room. “We’re taking the stairs.” I said quickly. Fang didn’t object. Seeing as we’d been raised in dog cages, tight spaces weren’t really our thing. We weren’t big elevator fans.

We shoved our way through the room. Most people were too busy dancing all over each other to notice us. A gigantic birthday cake was being pulled out from a back room. For once, we slipped under the radar.

We finally reached the door to the stairs. I swear, we were this close, and I was beginning to think that this was going to be too easy.

I reached out for the door handle, but another hand got to it first. You need more proof that I was way too on edge? I practically went into defensive kick-butt mode, grabbing Fang’s arm and feeling my wings tense underneath the sweatshirt.

The hand belonged to a girl a couple inches taller than I was, though not as tall as Fang. I sized her up instinctively. She had the most obnoxious shade of bubblegum-pink hair, pulled into pigtails, and she was wearing a black tank top with ripped jeans, along with a ridiculous amount of make-up. But she didn’t seem too interested in us. I watched warily as she stumbled forward drunkenly, opened the door, and peered inside.

“Oops.” Bubblegum slur-giggled, closing the door again and almost falling backwards as she turned to Fang and me. “That’s not the bathroom. Take my advice—stay away from the punch.”

“Duly noted.” I said dryly. Beside me, Fang was looking so mortified at the sight of this girl’s hair that it was almost funny.

We waited for her to move, but she continued to gawk at us curiously. “Do I know you?”

Fang still refused to open his mouth, so I said, “Doubt it. We’re not from around here.”

“Oh?” Bubblegum twirled one of her pigtails. Was this girl going to get out of the way, or what?

“Look, we’re trying to find some place quiet, so—“ The words were already half-way out before I realized how stupid I sounded. Fang smirked.

Bubblegum’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her grin returned. “You two are dating.”

Either she was really drunk, or there was something seriously off with this girl. Either way, she’d been holding us up for way too long. “Uh, no.” I told her shortly, realizing at the exact same moment that I was still clutching Fang’s arm. I wrenched myself away, and pushed past Bubblegum and through the door without another word.

“Smooth.” Fang commented once we were headed up the stairs.

“Oh, shut up.” I huffed.

The building had nine or ten stories, so it was a long way up. When we finally made it, we stopped to take off our oversized sweatshirts. Our regular shirts had holes cut in for our wings, and after that conversation on the phone, I was guessing these people already knew about our…uh…differences. No reason to hide anymore.

“Ready?” I asked Fang.

“Let’s do this.” He replied, leading the way towards the door. When he opened it, I felt a rush of cool night air against my face. Stepping out onto the roof, I stretched my wings to their full span. Somehow, it felt safer up here than down in the party. Then again, we had no idea who or what we were about to find up here.

So far, everything was quiet. I couldn’t see anyone else on the roof, but I knew the rest of the Flock were circling safely overhead. I looked around.

“What a view.” Fang murmured. I had to agree with him. The whole city was lit up at night. I was just thinking how great it would feel to fly over a view like this, when the sound of footsteps echoed across the rooftop.

Out of nowhere, three figures were walking briskly across the roof toward us. I raised an eyebrow. Three people weren’t exactly a threat, but if they thought they could win us over just by abiding the fire code, they were dead wrong.

Two of them were tall, balky men dressed in black—I could tell they were trying to look important. The third between them was a woman who looked like she could have been from Central or South America, but when she spoke, it was in a Russian accent I recognized immediately.

“I am glad to see you have come.”

It was her. The woman I’d spoken to on the phone. I glanced pointedly at Fang to clue him in, and he gave me the slightest of nods.

She tilted her head. “Where is the rest of your Flock?”

“They’ll be here.” I said steadily. “As soon as you tell us who you are.”

The lady smirked. “Very clever.” She drawled. “I am Anna Espinosa, and these are my associates.” She didn’t introduce them by name.

I frowned. “Okay. So how do you and your associates know so much about us?”

“Ah. Your friends should be present to hear that explanation, I think.”

I stared her down, but she didn’t blink. I turned to Fang. He was keeping his expression carefully neutral, but I could tell that he was tense. I sighed, and looked up at the sky.

Sure enough, the rest of the Flock were quick to come swooping down, Iggy in the lead. They all landed gracefully behind Fang and me, staring suspiciously. Anna peered at them with keen interest.

“No one else is here, Max.” Iggy reported quietly.

Angel nodded. “We watched this building the whole time. The only people we saw were those three.” She stared at Anna, and I knew what she was trying to do. See, Angel can read minds. It’s a little freaky sometimes.

Anna listened patiently to all of this. “Do you trust me now?” She asked, amused.

Yeah right. “No one’s going to trust you until you explain yourself.” I told her flatly.

Iggy stepped forward. “You said your company’s name is K-Directorate?” He asked. “I’ve never even heard of them.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have. We’re very top secret, and we do not reside in America.” Anna answered smoothly. “It is you who brought us to the States. Several years ago, a team of ours infiltrated one of our known enemies—I believe you know them as the School.”

I stiffened immediately.

“We found all of their information on you, and we discovered what the true intentions of your creation were.” She continued.

This didn’t sound good. At all. “True intentions?” I repeated blankly.

Anna took a deep breath. “Whatever you think you know about them…it is only a cover. You are part of a prophecy that is hundreds of years old. The School intended to use you to complete that prophecy“

“Hold on.” This was getting a little crazy. I was beginning to get the feeling that K-Directorate was one of those psycho cult groups. “Prophecy? The School was insane. Everyone who worked there was insane. And what you’re telling us is. Insane.” I drew out the last two words slowly.

“Wait, Max.” Fang was frowning. He glared at Anna from under his dark bangs. “What are you talking about?” He asked her. “And how does this have anything to do with Angel?”

“Angel was never meant to complete the Prophecy. When she was very young, the scientists at your school suspected as much. Fearing their mistake, they implanted a virus inside of her meant to terminate her at any given time…all they have to do, is activate it.”

We were all staring at Anna—no, more like gaping, actually. I couldn’t think. You know that feeling when you’re going down the stairs, and you miss a step, and your stomach kind of flips? Magnify that about ten times—that’s what I was feeling.

I blurted out the first thing that came to me. “What do we do?”

“Excuse me?” Anna frowned.

“How do we fix it? Stop it? How do we get it out of her?” I hissed through gritted teeth.

“Did you misunderstand me? The prophecy—“

“I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE PROPHECY.” I snarled at her, my stress making me touchy. “Do you know how many times we’ve been told that we were created for some ‘greater purpose’? It’s bull. All of it. All I care about is how you got you’re information—if you’re telling the truth—and how to fix it.”

Silence. I felt everyone’s eyes on me, and my blood boiled. Anna clenched her jaw. She suddenly looked icy.

“It is impossible to fix it.” She said stiffly. “I’m telling you this for your sake, Maximum. Angel is now a threat to the rest of you—if you come with my men, we will protect you while we further study—“

That was it. As soon as we heard the word ‘study’, I felt the whole Flock tighten up around me. I stared at Anna through narrowed, dangerous eyes. “We’re not going to be your guinea pigs.” I growled, very slowly.

“Don’t be dramatic,” Anna replied at once. I could tell that this was moving faster along than she had wanted it to. “Cooperation is necessary for your Flock’s survival. A few tests would only be to guarantee—“

“I decide what’s necessary for our survival.” I cut her off again. “Not you, and not your thugs.” When Anna said nothing, I turned to Fang and the others. “This was a waste of time.” Turning on my heel, I began to walk away.

“Max!” Nudge’s voice squeaked from behind me. I whipped around just in time to hear a faint click. Anna had withdrawn a gun, and was pointing it directly at Nudge’s head. There was a flutter of dark wings, and then Fang was suddenly lunging forward. In a flash, Anna’s gun was skidding away across the rooftop, and Fang was looming over her grimly.

The goons on either side of Anna stepped forward. She was smirking. “I wish you hadn’t forced me to do this.”

There was a slam, and for a minute I couldn’t figure our where it had come from. But Iggy, whose hearing was better than any of ours, whipped around to face the door Fang and I had just come out of. Armed men were thundering up the stairs and out onto the roof. I counted fifteen, maybe more. At the exact same moment, I heard an ominous chopping sound coming from a way off. I dared to glance at the sky, and saw the unmistakable shape of a helicopter heading right for us.

I couldn’t believe how stupid I was.

“Fly!” I shouted to the Flock, my wings spreading. To my surprise, nobody moved. I turned. I was ready to get out of here—and kick some butt on the way, if necessary. So why…

And then I saw what Anna was holding. In the hand not carrying the gun, she held a small, blinking black device. A chill shot through me.

“If you leave this rooftop,” She said in her slow Russian growl. “I will be forced to detonate the C4 that I have hidden in this building. I took out a little insurance policy, you see…to make sure this meeting went as planned. There is enough of it to kill every single person inside. You leave,” Anna’s eyes gleamed manically. “And all of that blood? It will be on your hands.”

[le Dawnz]

This chapter made me giggle! xDD O.o "You two are dating!" Lmao!
I know nothing about Alias, but I love Marshall! xD And I can totally see potential for Syd x Vaughn. They're actually a little bit like Max x Fang as far as I can tell, although, again, I know nothing about Alias. Can't wait for the next chapter! =)

[{ tessa }]

OMFG anna get out of here!! Max better kick her BUTT. lol I loved Fang calling Iggy a kid & I loved that awkward "are you dating?" moment. PLEASE tell me that "Bubblegum" is Sydney! Hahaha I read "pink pigtails" & I was like "omg that's totally a disguise she would wear."

[Roxie !]

Thanks Dawnz! I love Marshall too. xD It's so fun to pick on Max and Fang. And come to think of it, Sydney and Vaughn ARE kind of like them! Except that(most of the time) they aren't quite so stubborn about admitting their feelings -growls at James Patterson- but from what you told me about book five, it sounds like the Faxness gets better! So at least that's something.

Tessa, xDDDD I'm so glad you're lovin' Anna(btw, reason #1000 to despise her right here- www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzDNsw9Xi8 )I was actually gonna make the villain of this Syd's mommy...but I'm a firm believer that Irina isn't completely evil, especially where Sydney and her dad are concerned. So yeah xD. And chaa, Bubblegum= Sydney! I got my inspiration from the 1st episode ever, where she has that red hair ^^.

[{ tessa }]

I dont think Ive even seen that episode(the link, not the one with the red hair lol)
Irina was the best!!! she definately wasn't all bad. Like when Sydney was in labor and irina got whatever she was trying to get, and she could have just left but she helped Syd deliver the baby

[le Dawnz]

O.o Syd had a baby?!! With who?!?! And haha! I thought it might be, but I wasn't sure. She puts up a great performance, that's for sure!