Hey. This is SugarQueen8490. Call me Sugar...or the Queen. I'll accept either. :) First off, I'd just like to say that I didn't by any means steal James Patterson's idea. Kids with wings was just too cool of a subject to pass up. This will be nothing like Maximum Ride, but I hope you like it despite that fact. Guys, I'm a newbie. This is my first Fanfic, so please be gentle. *sigh* I suppose flames will be accepted. I can always toast my English muffins with them in the morning... Oh yeah, and in this story the Clues won't be mentioned all that much. Just bear with me here.

The War Hawks

Amy Cahill shuddered in fear as she looked into the malicious eyes of Isabel Kabra. Her gaze was full of bloodlust and bad intent.

"Just hand me the Clue, Amy. Hand it to me, and your brother won't have to die," Isabel said while she pushed Dan dangerously close to the opening of the plane. They had gotten on a plane after finding a Clue in the Appalachian Mountains in the U.S., and apparently, Isabel and her two wicked children had sneaked on with them. Now Amy faced a horrible choice. Give the most vile woman in the world the next step to world domination, or watch as her own flesh and blood was turned into an unrecognizable human pancake.

She looked at the clover in her hand, then at Isabel, then at Dan. He vigorously shook his head "no." Then she made a choice.

"No, Isabel. There's one more door, and I'm taking it," Amy said just as she lunged for her enemy. This caught Isabel off guard, and she accidentally allowed Amy to make a hit. With pure rage, the evil woman lashed out at Amy, setting her off balance, and made a final blow to her stomach.

Amy's eyes grew wide. She felt herself slip. She was falling. Down...down...down. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't scream. She couldn't function. There was no way out this time. I'm going to die, she thought. I'm sorry, Dan. It's all up to you now. You have to win...for me. She turned to face the rapidly-approaching earth, drawing water from her eyes.

Then suddenly, something hit her on the side, knocking the breath out of her lungs. She stopped falling. The weird thing was, she was actually going up. She felt strong arms embrace her body as if to make sure she didn't fall. Hesitantly, almost afraid of what she'd see, she looked up.

Her breath caught in her throat. It was Ian, and he had...wings. The coal black feathers shone almost purple in the sun's rays. His wings maintained a slow and steady beat to bring them up to a good flying altitude. His face was strong and full of reserve, looking ever forward. She quickly looked back down.

The ground got a little bit closer every second, and soon enough they were on the ground. The landing was a bit awkward with her in his arms, but they managed not to fall on their faces by making a running landing. As soon as she had come to a stop, she whirled to face him. She opened her mouth but didn't say anything, for she didn't know what could possibly be said. He looked at her, feeling awkward and embarrassed. He had never shown anyone his wings before, not even his parents.

Amy cleared her throat. "You have wings?"

He didn't respond but simply nodded his head.

"For how long?"

"They grew in when I was ten."

The whole idea of people having wings freaked her out, and it took all of her strength not to run away. "Why did you save me?"

His amber eyes flashed up from the ground to look her in the eyes. "We need to talk. It's time."

Amy's jade green eyes gazed at the strange boy before her. Right now she just felt like throwing up.

"So let me get this strait," she said. "I'm a birdkid, too, but I just haven't grown my wings yet, you chose me to be your partner in flying like a flock of two, and the Vespers are looking for all the birdkids of the world so that they can suck their DNA out and do testing on it to improve their race."

"Well actually you left out the part that there's a battle coming up against the Vespers to rid us of our danger forever. Oh, and it's our DNA. You're a part of us, too."

"But how could you possibly have known I'm...a freak of nature?"

"You're not a freak of nature! Neither am I or the rest of our kind. I know because I can sense it."

"How?"

He sighed. "Look there's still so much to explain."

"Well how did you find out about all this?"

His eyes darted to the side. "I...did my research. So do you want to be a part of this or not?"

"Ha! No way, man! Take me to my brother right now!"

"I was afraid of this. Fine. I'll take you back to your brother...but we have to do it my way."

"What? No way. I already know where we were headed. Just walk with me there."

"That'll take forever! No way! It's my way or the highway."

"I am not going up there again! It was horrifying!"

"Fine then, but when you're lost in the middle of nowhere, and no one knows where you are, don't come crying to me," he said as he started to make a running start.

Terrified, Amy didn't know what to do. She made a split second decision. "Wait! Fine! I'll let you pick me up and fly!" she called after him.

With an infuriating smirk, he turned to her. "Glad you see it my way, love."

"Don't call me lo-"

But he had swooped down and carried her thousands of feet in the air, again knocking away her breath. Effortlessly, he glided toward the horizon, but little did Amy know that Ian had no intention of taking her back to Dan. He needed her to be in this. And besides, now that she knew most everything, her wings would start growing in. Most being the key word.

Sorry if it sucked, guys. But if you click that perty little button down there, you can help me improve it. :) Go on. You know you want to. Just do it already!