This is just a super short story, maybe one or two chapters long. It was an idea that I couldn't get out of my head. It takes place during 'The Angel Experiment'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge Gazzy or Angel. Or anything else really. Oh well. I wish I did though…

Max, Fang and Nudge flew in loose formation, thousands of feet above the Arizona landscape. Max looked absentmindedly at the ground, her vision focusing in on minute details on the ground below them. Her raptor vision zeroed in on a man riding a tractor in a field of wheat. He wore a flannel plaid shirt with worn, sun-bleached overalls, was thin and wore a straw hat. The stereotypical farmer.

Max thought about Gazzy and Iggy, who were back at the 'E' shaped house where she'd left them. She really didn't want them to get hurt. Iggy was blind, and that was a huge issue when it came to breaking into the School and stealing Angel out of there. There was going to be blood, Max knew that much. She didn't even know if they were going to come out alive, but she kept that suspicion to herself. It would only worry Nudge. It wouldn't bother Fang too much; or, at least he wouldn't show any sign that he was bothered.

Gazzy and Iggy probably hated her guts, but at least they were safe. She would never forgive herself if one of them were hurt or worse.

Fang had probably already figured that much out on his own. He sure wasn't the type to share his thoughts with them.

Nudge flew on, strangely quiet. She was probably thinking about her parents. Max could think of a thousand things that she'd rather do than tracking down Nudge's parents. As far as she was concerned, she was the mom to the whole Flock. She understood why Nudge wanted to see her parents, but there was just too much at stake here.

She would never tell Nudge this, but the chances that her parents didn't want her were far too high for her liking. Maybe they wanted their little girl that they had lost eleven years ago, their lost human baby. A lot had changed since then, like the fact that Nudge now had wings like the rest of the Flock.

Nudge's parents might turn her away, and that would crush Nudge. Max never wanted to see Nudge so heartbroken like that. The mere thought made her shudder with unwanted emotion.

Nudge's tawny brown wings, which were about eleven feet in total length, tilted downward as she swooped, probably out of sheer boredom.

Fang glided silently next to Max. His wings were a whopping fourteen feet in length, a foot longer than her own wingspan. His wings were pure midnight black that was reflecting an interesting shade of violet in the sunlight. His wings flapped almost silently, not unlike Fang himself.

Fang was her beta, her second in command, her-partner-in-crime and her best friend. He would take her place if she was captured or killed. Quiet as he was, she believed that he could do it. He was strong, he was tough, and he cared about the kids, whether they knew it or not. He just had a different way of showing it… okay, he didn't usually show it, emotion wise. But when they needed it, he was there for them, just like Max.

Max's own brown and white wings flapped, easily maneuvering in the wind current. Then, her vision zoomed in like a fancy digital camera lens. She saw a girl, maybe her age or a year younger. Three husky boys surrounded her. They looked threatening, and Max immediately knew that it wouldn't turn out well for the girl.

Max had to do something, she couldn't just let that poor girl get hurt. Jeb told her that she had a hero complex and that fighting for the underdog was her fatal flaw. She really didn't see it as a flaw at this point. It would only take a few minutes to kick some puny human boy butt, and then she'd be on her way to save Angel.

She would fly extra fast to make up for lost time. A little voice in the back of her head, probably the voice of reason, told her that every second down there was another second that Angel was trapped in that hellhole otherwise known as the School undergoing God knows what kinds of torture. Max's stomach clenched in fury and nausea just thinking about it.

But that girl down there was somebody's daughter, maybe somebody's sister. She couldn't just leave that girl to the mercy of those mean looking guys, who looked a year or two older than Max.

Max would want somebody to save Angel, Nudge or any one of her Flock if they ever needed it. Max made one of her snap decisions right then. She was about to tell Fang to take Nudge and they'd meet up at Lake Mead at sunset. Lake Mead was only a few hours away from the School.

She looked over at Fang.

"No." he said flatly, not even looking at her eyes. Her light brown eyes hardened.

Max opened her mouth to speak again, her eyes narrowed.

"No." he said again.

"Meet me at the northernmost point of Lake Mead," Max said. Fang looked as stubborn as she did. There was no way that he was going to let Max put her hide on the line just to save some random kid. There were other things to worry about they had to save Angel as soon as they could.

Their eyes met, black irises versus light brown ones in a showdown of who would back down first.

Fang wasn't usually like this. Usually, he backed up her decisions. Usually. This time, he was dead set against her. Him and his logic.

Nudge had slowed down. She must have heard Max speak.

"What? What are you talking about?" Nudge asked. "Are we stopping? I'm hungry again."

Nudge's innocent brown eyes looked hopeful. You'd never know it by looking at her, but that girl could eat.

Fang looked at Max dryly.

"Max wants to go be Supergirl, defender of the weak." Fang said in an annoyed tone. Max shot him a glare.

"Oh." Nudge said, sounding both disappointed and confused, but trying to hide it.

Max was already circling in decent. Fang wasn't the leader. It wasn't up to him to tell her what to do. That girl needed help. Why couldn't he see that?

"Oh! Max, remember when you got that little rabbit away from the fox, and we kept it in a carton in the kitchen, and when it was well you let it go? That was cool." Nudge took a breath before continuing, "Do you see another rabbit?" Nudge scanned the ground, looking for small mammals in distress.

"Kind of," Max replied shortly as she descended farther. She didn't have time to argue, that girl could already be hurt. "It'll take two seconds."

"I'll catch up with you guys before you've gone forty miles. Just keep on course, and if anything weird happens, I'll meet you at Lake Mead." Max said. She had to make sure that Fang understood the plan. The results could be disastrous if not.

It would've been better if Fang and Nudge landed with Max, hiding in the bushes if she needed any help in case something weird did happen.

Fang thought that it was a dumb idea to begin with and really didn't want to waste more time. He wished that they could just keep going. Sure, it was sad that the girl was in trouble, but they had other things to worry about. Stuff like the fact that Angel was in terrible danger, worse than what those guys would ever do to that girl.

Fang stared straight ahead, careful to keep his eyes from coming into contact with Max's. He didn't want his eyes to betray his emotions. The wind whipped through his shaggy, pitch black hair. He hated, hated, hated this plan.

At this point, Max didn't care what he thought; she was going to do this.

"Okay," said Max, making sure that Fang knew that the conversation was over, closed, ended, no more arguing with Max. "See you in a few."

Fang rolled his dark eyes as Max looped a few times until she landed on the ground far below.

-XOXO-

Max landed in the scratch bushes behind an old warehouse that looked like it hadn't been used since the Native Americans roamed freely in the wilderness.

Max pulled her wings back tightly against her back. She pulled her windbreaker over the slits in her loose t-shirt. Perfect. She looked perfectly normal.

She smirked. Those dumb boys wouldn't know what hit them. Max walked around the corner of the warehouse to find the three burly boys circled around the girl like hungry jackals around their next meal.

The boys looked around fifteen or sixteen years old. They were a little bit taller than her and she was five feet and eight inches tall. The girl was about thirteen. She had dark, glossy brown hair that went down to her shoulder blades. Her light brown eyes looked a lot like Max's. The girl's almond shaped eyes gave away the fact that she was scared, even though she was trying to hide it.

He boy was yelling at the girl, about how she told someone that he had beaten up another boy. Poor kid.

"He looked like he got hit by a truck! And he didn't do anything to you." The girl fired at the boy in the middle, despite her fear.

Max silently cheered the girl on.

"He mouthed off to me. He exists. He breathes my air." The guy in the middle said. The other boys laughed like the knuckleheads that they were.

Max hated them. They thought that they were better than everyone else and beat up on people smaller than they were. The scary thing was, the guy on the left was holding a shotgun. Why did he have one of those? What a creep.

Max had enough of them scaring that poor girl. She needed to teach these guys some respect. The girl glanced at Max. The boys wheeled around to look at Max.

They turned around without giving her a second glance. They noticed the fact that she still looked like she'd been through an especially rough bar fight from the Eraser attack a day or so ago.

The boys stood their ground on the cracked asphalt. The girl kept looking at Max with interest.

Max had never really anticipated a fight quite like the way that she was now. Those boys deserved whatever they got. The world had way too many dumb bullies around and not nearly the right amount of good people.

The boys spoke, with their backs toward Max.

"So, Ella, what have you got to say for yourself?" the guy in the middle, apparently the leader leered haughtily. "Is there any reason I shouldn't teach you a lesson too?"

"Three guys against one girl. That seems about even." Max said with a sarcastic gleam in her eyes. She walked up through the ring of boys and stepped in front of the girl, whose name was apparently Ella.

"Shut up, chick." One of the boys snapped. Max's hands balled up into fists of fury. Fang, Iggy and Gazzy knew better than to call her a 'chick'. "You better get out of here if you know what's good for you."

Ella looked at Max, silently warning her to just leave before they both got hurt.

"Can't," Max said, staring at the boys coldly. "Actually, I think kicking your stupid butts would be good for me."

They laughed, further proving the fact that they were stupid and really didn't know who they were dealing with. Max couldn't wait to see the shock on their arrogant faces as she knocked some sense into them.

Max was just worried that the Ella girl would get hurt.

"Grab Big Mouth," the lead guy said and his two goon buddies moved in on Max.

Max tensed up; adrenaline pouring into her veins.

Here we go, Max thought.

She'd only practiced fighting with Fang, who was a lot stronger and more durable than humans. This was going to be a new experience for her.

In a flash, Max kicked the lead idiot's chest, and instead of knocking his breath away, like it would have for Fang, it cracked a couple of the guy's ribs. The guy's eyes watered in disbelief and pain as he fell over backwards on the ground.

The other two guys saw their buddy fall on the ground and both came at Max at once. Max realized with disappointment that she had to soften her blows. She would end up killing one of these guys if she didn't. She wanted to hurt them, not murder them.

She snagged the shotgun from one guy and spun around, cracking the side of his head with the butt of the gun.

He staggered backwards, crimson blood pouring from a nasty cut on his temple. He went down. Max glanced at Ella, who looked petrified.

"Run! Get out of here!" Max shouted at Ella. Ella paused, as if wanting to stay to help, but decided to turn and run, leaving a cloud of dry red dust in her wake.

The last guy grabbed Max on the arm, tight enough to leave little, finger sized bruises. Max ferociously yanked her arm away, and swung her arm for a strong punch. She was aiming for his chin, but he moved and the blow landed on his ugly nose instead. Max felt his nose snap under the blow and winced in almost-sympathy as blood began to pour out of it.

The boys were moaning and groaning pathetically. Poor saps. They shakily got up, spitting out blood and muttering curses at Max. The guy picked up the shotgun that was lying on the ground, long forgotten.

He cocked it, aiming for Max.

"You're gonna be so sorry." He promised, his voice clogged by the fat lip that he had received somewhere.

"Bet I won't." Max said as she bolted off into the thick woods.

The boys, wincing and cursing, fumbled through the woods behind her, but at a much slower pace. Max would have taken off into the clouds and be away from that place, but those gun carrying yahoos might see her. She couldn't let those buttheads see her wings. She ran through the underbrush, thanking her stars that she was wearing sneakers. Occasional twigs and leaves snapped and rustled beneath her light gait, but that noise was nothing compared to the noise those boys chasing her were making. They sounded like an angry stampede of elephants.

Max was putting more and more distance. Soon, she'd be far enough from them to open her wings and fly. Then there was the gunshot. That stupid gun.

-XOXO-

Fang and Nudge flew onward. Nudge filling the silence with meaningless chatter. Fang tuned her out and focused on his thoughts instead.

Max. God, she was so stubborn. One of these days, her need to save the underdog would get her killed or worse. That was exactly what he was afraid of.

She was a big girl, she could take care of herself. Fang tried reassuring himself. They really needed to move on. Besides, Max could deck all of those humans in her sleep. If they really were human. They could be a new, teenage form of Eraser.

Uneasiness churned in Fang's stomach. Max was more than capable of handling herself… if they were Erasers, she could just fly off and be gone. She did tend to be thickheaded. She'd never leave that girl to the mercy of the Erasers.

Silently cursing himself and Max's thick-headedness, Fang tilted one of his wings and turned around in the opposite direction, back to where Max landed. Nudge noticed that he had turned around, and assaulted him with a thousand questions at high speed. He tuned her out like he usually did. This went on for a few minutes, Nudge changing subjects constantly and not even getting mad that Fang hadn't even told her why he was turned around, defying Max's direct orders.

Nudge knew exactly why Fang had turned around he liked her, more than a friend it was obvious, Max just didn't see it. Even with Fang being as impassive as he was, it was still kind of obvious by the way that he treated her differently from everyone else in the Flock. He looked at her a lot when he thought that no one was looking. Angel, who had been spying in his thoughts one day, had told Nudge that Fang loved Max a lot. More than he loved the rest of the Flock, even.

Then, Fang's ultra-sensitive ears picked up the sound of a gunshot from the woods. Fang tried to focus his hawk-like vision in on them, but the brush was too thick to see them. His heart rate quickened in peril.

"Nudge, go on to Lake Mead. Find a cave. Somewhere high up. Wait for me there. I'll be back with Max." Fang said shortly.

"Wait? What happened? Do you think that she got shot? What if she did get shot! Would you be able to carry her that far?" Nudge rattle. Fang held up his hand, the motion meaning 'pause the Nudge Channel for a second'.

"I don't know what happened. Here's the backpack. Just go." Fang said, his tone remaining pretty much emotionless except for the tiny bit of impatience.

Nudge knew not to argue with Fang when he was like that. Fang tossed her the backpack and she wrapped a strap around her wrist a few times. It would've been hard to put the backpack on her back while flying in midair.

Without another word, Fang plummeted to the ground. About twenty or thirty feet from the treetops, he suddenly unfurled his wings, ignoring the pain that the sudden jolt of having his wings almost ripped out caused.

He flew above the trees, searching for a clearing to land in. If those guys had hurt her, he was going to kill them.

Then, there was another gunshot. A few birds took off from a tree a dozen yards to the north of him. The gunshot had startled them. Fang heard the boys fumbling through the woods. They were as graceful as water buffaloes.

Fang glided over to the trees where the birds had been frightened out of. There was a small clearing a little ways from the trees; and sprinting across the clearing clutching her shoulder was Max.

Fang swooped down and landed in the clearing without a sound.

"Max," he said, his deep voice echoing through the small field. Max's head whipped over, her face hard. Then, it softened when she saw that it was Fang.

"Fang," She said, obviously trying to keep the relief out of her voice. In a second, he was by her side.

Fang glanced at the shoulder that she was grasping. He saw that blood was oozing through her pale fingers. His eyes hardened to a darker black than before, if possible.

"They shot you?" Fang asked quietly as he gestured in the direction of the loud noises that the fumbling guys in the woods were making.

"Yeah, pretty stupid of me. A bunch of Erasers and whitecoats can't get me, but I get shot by a bunch of stupid human boys." Max said, trying to grin, but it looked more like a grimace. Fang knew that she was in bad shape, and he hated those stupid boys for doing that to her.

"Can you fly?" Fang said. Max cut him off.

Max attempted to unfurl her wings. The muscle of her right wing quivered, but barely moved. Max gritted her teeth and her eyes watered. Blood gushed even more through her tight fingers. The bullet must've hit her wing. For all he knew, the bullet could still be lodged within the muscle in her wing.

"Okay! Go find somewhere safe. I'll catch up." Fang said in an unreadable tone. He eyed the woods coldly. Max knew that look. He usually reserved that soul chilling stare for Erasers, whitecoats from when they were at the School, and when they got in a bad fight.

"Fang," Max said in a warning tone. She winced as a wave of pain emanated through her shoulder. Fang watched her and grew even madder at the boys. They were going to pay for messing with Max.

No one, no one hurt his Flock. Especially Max.

"Go! You don't have time! Just go!" Fang barked, his tone clearly stating that he considered the conversation over. Max scowled at him. He wasn't the leader, she was. She gave the orders around here.

She hated it, but he was right. She didn't have time to argue. She definitely couldn't fight like this. She'd bleed out or pass out or worse. She knew that Fang was going to beat the crap out of those boys. She really didn't have a choice.

"Don't hurt them too bad." Max said flatly. Fang stared at her until his gaze made her uncomfortable. She walked off into the woods, her blood loss making her a little off balance.

Fang stood at the edge of the forest, blending in to the dark shadows.

The first boy stumbled into the edge of the clearing, cursing and tripping over small rocks. Two other boys fumbled out after him.

Fang would've smirked if he wasn't so darn mad at them. Sure, they looked like football players. But they were weak humans hiding behind a gun. If they couldn't defend their own skins by their own fists, then they didn't deserve to keep them. Cowards, they were all cowards.

Fang stood still as the idiot humans approached.

"What are you doing out here?" the boy with the shotgun asked. Fang clenched his fists. So he was the one who shot Max. That guy was going down first.

"Have you seen a chick running through here? We're… we need to show her something." The boy with the gun said with a wolfish grin. The other two thugs sniggered. Fang's blood pulsed angrily through his veins, but he kept silent.

"What's your problem? Did you see her or not?" snapped a guy impatiently. He said it strangely, because he had a fat lip; Max's work, no doubt. Fang maybe would've smirked at him if these guys hadn't shot Max.

"What, are we not important enough to talk to? Maybe we should teach you a lesson too!" snarled the boy with the gun. The two other guys went straight for Fang.

One boy swung high, aiming for Fang's face. He was, of course, taller than them. After all, he was six feet tall. These guys might be older than him, but he was a heck of a lot stringer, taller, and smarter than all of them put together. He knew that they weren't Erasers though. They would have morphed already.

Fang, looking bored, grabbed the guy's fist while it was in motion. The guy looked dumbstruck, but his stupefied expression was soon replaced by one of agony as Fang crushed the guy's hand without blinking an eye. Bones snapped under Fang's lethal grasp and the boy howled in pain. Crybaby.

Fang released the boy's ruined hand and Fang kicked the boy in his chest. Multiple snaps and cracks echoed through the small clearing as the boy's ribs snapped. The boy went down on the ground, soundless, but his expression was that of pure pain. Fang kicked the boy's face for good measure. Fang heard the loud snap of a broken nose and blood dribbled out of the boy's mouth, along with a few teeth. Fang gave the boy one final blow to the side of the head. He wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. That is, if he woke up at all. Fang couldn't have cared less.

The next boy looked less than sure about attacking Fang now that he saw his buddy get beaten into a bloody pulp. That really made Fang mad.

"You can beat up on girls, but won't fight when you have a chance of getting beaten? That's pathetic." Fang stated coldly. The guy looked at Fang in fright.

The thug who wasn't out cold on the ground took a shaky step backwards. Oh, no. Fang was not going to let him off that easy. He had hurt Max. He was going to pay.

Before the boy could run, Fang lunged. Fang punched the guy to the side of his face, and gave him an uppercut just as fast. The boy lurched unsteadily.

Fang grabbed the kid by the collar and slugged him across the face a few times. The boy's nose, which was already broken, was pouring blood and was now probably damaged beyond repair. Fang didn't give a crap. The boy would be lucky to get out of this in an urn.

"Don't mess with people. You don't know who will get even." Fang said darkly into the boy's ear.

The boy's eyes sluggishly closed, as if he was a drunkard passing out. Fang dropped the boy unceremoniously in the ground. The boy slumped into a bloodstained heap. Fang sure hoped that he got the message.

Two down, the ringleader with a gun left to go. The leader was sure looking less cocky now. Fang could see the fear in the loser's eyes. He'd save the best for last.

"So Big Mouth was your girlfriend?" sneered gun-boy. "Figures. She's a wh-" the boy didn't get to finish his insult. Fang slugged him in the gut, easily knocking the breath out of him, leaving him gasping for like a fish out of water.

"Maybe. Now, I teach you a lesson." Fang growled. He sounded so dark and sinister, it gave gun-boy goosebumps and made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. The boy stepped back. Fang kicked the boy where it counts and the boy keeled over. The boy's grip on the gun slacked to nothing and the shotgun clattered to the dry ground.

Fang grabbed the boy's collar and slammed the boy's head against his knee. Then he did it again. Fang released the boy, and gun-boy staggered backwards, spitting out blood, and a few teeth.

"Fine, I won't mess with your chick. Whatever. There's plenty of others to choose from. Oh, when I get my hands on that Ella girl, I'm gonna…" gun-boy started venomously. Fang's glare was so intense, the gun-boy just about died of fright.

Fang picked up the boy's shotgun emotionlessly. The boy was visibly shaking, his eyes big and wide with fear.

Now he knew what it was like to be at th mercy of someone who was bigger and stronger than them.

"Wrong answer." Fang said coldly as he swung the gun around and hit the boy's shoulder. Something cracked, because the boy had tears streaming from his eyes. Stupid wimp.

Fang swung his leg in a powerful swoop and hit the boy's lower leg at such force, that there was another crack.

Humans are as weak as rice-paper. Fang observed. The boy fell on his face into the dirt. He moaned pitifully, but didn't get up.

"No one likes bullies. If you do it again, I will be back and I won't be so nice." Fang said calmly, but there was a cold steel edge within his deep voice.

With that, Fang walked over to a nearby tree, gun still in hand, and swung it like a baseball bat would be swung to hit an out-of-the-park homerun. The gun splintered into dozens of pieces and Fang left its splintered remains at the base of the tree.

As silent as a ghost, Fang walked across the clearing and disappeared into the forest, blending in as if he were a mere shadow.

-XOXO-

"Max," Fang called into the woods. He didn't hear her in the woods. She had to be around here somewhere. Fang's superfast genetically enhanced heartbeat sped up. What if Max had stopped somewhere and bled out? He'd never find her. She could be dead.

Fang couldn't stand the thought and brutally shoved it aside. Max was here, he knew it.

"Max!" Fang called a little bit louder.

"I'm right here, idiot." Max snapped from a few yards to the West of him. Fang was by her side in moments.

"Well, Supergirl, what now?" Fang asked dryly. In response, Max slugged his shoulder with her good arm, but it was weak compared to what he normally would've gotten from her.

"You," Max said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Fang knew that she was in a lot of pain and was desperately insisting on being tough in front of him even if it was the last thing that she ever did. Tough, sarcastic, and a kick-but leader until the end.; that was his Max.

Max let the breath out, but it sounded more like a hiss, considering that it was released through Max's tightly clenched teeth. "You will help me patch this up, we'll get to flying to Nudge before she starts to worry, and then we'll kick some whitecoat and Erase butt while we rescue Angel." Max stated so matter-of-fact.

Fang winced. He was about to get an earful and then they'd both be screwed.

"I left the pack with Nudge." Fang said quietly, looking Max in the eye. Max looked peeved, but didn't say anything.

"At least you didn't leave her with nothing. You could've brought some bandages though." Max said; grimacing as the blood flowed more steadily from her shoulder.

Fang rolled his eyes.

"I left the first aid kit with Nudge in case she got hurt. I thought that you could handle yourself." Fang said. Max glared at him.

"I can handle myself!" Max snapped indignantly. Her hand was completely red from the blood that was gushing out of her shoulder and it was steadily streaming down her arm.

He looked at her arm and looked at her in a 'are you blind?' sort of way.

"Besides, if you thought that I could handle myself, why did you come back?" Max shot at him. He didn't bother replying. He could say a thousand things, but as usual, he remained silent.

"Well, I say let's nick some duct tape from a shed somewhere, wrap this up and get going." Max said, her leader tone faltering. Not good.

She had to be kidding herself. This was bad, something that duct tape could not fix. Heck, the first aid kid probably wouldn't do much good at this point. She was bleeding too much. She needed help.

Oh, they were so screwed. They couldn't go to a hospital. There were whitecoats swarming all the hospitals this close to the School and they'd get put in a freak side show when the doctors got a look at their wings.

Max could die, Max probably would die if they didn't get professional medical attention soon. Fang had one idea, but it was crazy. Nuts. He saw lights ahead in the rapidly darkening forest. The sun was setting and it would be dark soon. Fang let Max ahead, who was arguing and trying to pull away, but her faint pulling was nothing in Fang's vice-like grip.

In a moment, they were standing at the edge of a forest, staring at a house. A house where Max may or may not get help. A house where Max may or may not die.

This ended up being a two-part thing. I'll add the other chapter soon, if anyone bothers to review.