A/N: So, another 'long-awaited' update. I hate this chapter...I want more Fang-Max bits! Any way I can just skip all the action and get to the end? No? Didn't think so. I shouldn't right fics with action in them...

Chapter 15

Break-ins, Hopefully Accompanied by Break-outs

Arizona to Texas didn't actually take very long. Yeah, I appreciated there's a whole other state in-between, but this was on the border of Texas, near Mexico. It would have taken us all a while to travel, sure, but I am Super Max! (Cue corny theme tune)

I was slightly disappointed I couldn't fly as fast as I must to have gotten to Arizona, but I figured I was still breaking human feasible human speed. In a matter of hours I was flying high above the wide red Texas sand. Then I had to slow down to get better bearings. I stopped briefly to eat, and then carried on going until I could these big red mountains swim into view.

According to my map and Jeb's instructions, the facility was seated somewhere inside them. A dirt track led up half-concealed door, and my keen eyes made out a sentry post next to it. There were only two other entrances, concealed somewhere in the rock, and both were alarmed. Neither of us having any high-efficient hacking skills, Fang and I went for something completely obvious and always disregarded- the skylights.

Fang… I wondered what he was doing right now. My guess was that he had probably just woken up and was probably being subdued round about now so that he didn't fly off after me. Not that it mattered much. He'd never catch up.

Keeping far out of sight from the sentry, I flew up towards the tops of the mountains and touched down, searching for the right way in. The entire area was closed off (I'd flown over an electric fence some time ago) so they weren't too bothered about people wandering over the mountain top- the extremely obvious windows were dotted all over the place. The plans said nothing about them being alarmed, but I wasn't taking any chances.

Want to know what our oh-so-clever plan was? To catch a bird and make it look like somehow, it had broken in. Yep, blame it on the bird, that was our fantastic plan.

Which I have to say, for all its flaws, worked remarkably well.

And, OK, I also found a huge lump of rock lolling about the place which looked like it could have fallen over in a gust of wind… so I gave nature a bit of a hand, and hurled it through the skylight.

I then chucked a bird in after it.

Understandably, the rock did receive a response. In another rare stroke of luck, I heard two voices conversing below.

"Jesus Christ! How the bloody hell did that happen?"

"Ah, stupid bird must have toppled it over. I knew this was a bad place to build on. I'll go get a caretaker to clean it up."

I thank God for making stupid people. It makes my life so much easier.

When I heard the door click and was certain there was only one person left in the room, I dropped my head down for a closer look. The remaining scientist had his back both to me, and the door. Unfortunately, I couldn't see anything behind it, not having x-ray vision.

I took a chance. I dropped down silently and legged it, not even breathing until the door was safely closed behind me. I realised that could have gone two ways. The original plan was for Fang and I to go in together, incapacitate anyone in the room, steal their clothes and leave the corridor together. Luckily, this improvising thing was working. So far.

Equally luckily, there were no cameras in the corridors, just in some of the individual rooms. However, if anyone was to suddenly walk out of a room and see a random teenager just waltzing about, the game would be up. I checked my map and headed towards the aptly named 'locker room'.

I pried open the door and checked for any occupants. Empty. Brilliant! Inside, I scanned around and was rewarded for my oh-so-clever forward thinking with three full-body toxic suits. I think this moment reinvented the word perfect.

Less perfect was being discovered on the stairs.

"Hey, aren't you meant to be in Toxicology right now?" I looked up to see a grumpy looking whitecoat staring down at me. Think Max, think!

"Yeah, I was just down there," the suited muffled my voice, making it sound less like a teenager's. "Suit had a tear, came up to change it."

"Well hurry up, then. Don't loiter!"

Well bog off, then. Don't ask…

I sighed a breath of relief and continued downstairs. Just was well I was on the top floor still and knew Toxic-whatty had to be below me.

I didn't want to risk checking the map and counted down the floors one by one. I stiffened every time I remembered how far down I was. The only way out was up. There weren't any windows, just bright, glaring lab-lights. The place stunk of disinfectant. I shivered, it reminded me so much of the school.

Eventually, I came to the floor I wanted. A shiny plaque read 'containment facility'. I gritted my teeth, my blood boiling. They were keeping my flock here, locked up like some kind of animals…

I entered the corridor and tried to look casual. I did fairly well, considering how much I felt like punching a wall.

Steady Max, losing your temper isn't going to help save the flock.

The walls gave way to windows, and suddenly I stopped in my tracks. There, in four metal cages barely big enough for a human to sit in, were the Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel.

I could barely stop myself from punching through the glass and wrenching them free the second I saw them. How dare they do this to my flock? How dare they! Fury gripped me and I clenched my fists. I wished Fang were there. He'd have the sense to stop me, or give me the courage to get them free. Suddenly I felt stupid, why had I come here alone? How was I going to get them out? They all looked warn out, beat, exhausted. In no condition to fight. I was on my own. One person against hundreds.

I'm not all that super.

If Fang was with me, he'd have said something then. He would have said something to cheer me up, to remind me that we could do this, that somehow eventually it would all work out. But Fang wasn't with me, and that was my fault.

Remember though Max, Fang is injured. He'd be no real use to you…

Which is a total lie, because I always need Fang. Always. I'm not even quite me, invincible Max, without him. Because he's what makes me feel invincible.

And I'm so, so glad Angel cannot hear me think that.

Heya, Max.

Angel! You can-

You're thinking loudly again.

Oh Angel, baby-

Where's Fang? He's okay, right? He's not-

He's fine, sweetie. He's hurt, but he's going to be okay.

Yeah, but you won't when he finds us. You going to rescue us now?

Of course.

After that, of course, I had to act. I couldn't leave Angel waiting a moment later. So, plan or no plan, I was going to get them out of there. Screw the plan, the plan sucked.

So I stepped into the room.

And all hell broke loose.

.o0o.

A/N: I'm pathetically short of reviews, so I'm not posting the next chapter until there's at least ten more! I need inspiration, damn it!