Fallen

Chapter One: A Change in Venue

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Wakey-wakey, sleepy head," murmured a soft familiar voice from the far side of my room. I groaned in response and flipped my pillow over, rolling onto its unbelievable softness. I really, really, really didn't want to wake up. "Max, it's time to get up. Remember?" I heard hard footsteps, meaning Jeb was walking towards my bed. His fingers resting on my shoulder, tenderly shaking me told me I was right. "We're moving today, honey."

I groaned again and rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling and seeing ol' Jeb through my peripheral vision. "Why can't we s'ay 'n A'lan'a?" I muttered, my voice sounding weak and croaky.

I remembered last night when I was out in an alley, trying to stop a bar fight from happening. Both men were drunk 'tards, and I just so happened to be walking down that sidewalk where it was about to take place.

Me, being a person who heavily disliked fights, just had to step in as a 5'7'', 102lbs eighteen year-old girl and get myself roughed up, as well as involved with the police. The cops saw through what happened and knew that I was trying to be "a Good Samaritan" (as Jeb referred to it as), but my body still felt like crap from being thrown around. I was hit hard in the jaw yesterday…yeah, not fun, since it seemed to be screwing up my speech. I faintly recalled one of those idiots running at me with a broken beer bottle and nearly smashing it into my head, but I dunno what had happened. I guess some sort of divine intervention stopped him from doing any real damage. That was probably why we were moving though, right?

Wrong.

Jeb rubbed my head for me, and I was thankful that he was such a loving dad even though I didn't like him much. "Honey, you know why. It's my job," he told me softly. "We have to move to San Diego so that I can continue my research. Otherwise, I'd have to stay here and get a new job, which you know I wouldn't like."

Oh yeah. Jeb's a scientist or whatever. He does research on terminal illnesses, and he's been trying to figure out a way to cure simpler ones, like asthma, with DNA mutations. I think I'd rather live with asthma instead of have something like wings sprouting from my back.

But there were always other reasons for leaving a city.

"There's more than one way to force someone to turn into a ghost."

"But Jeb…" I muttered in annoyance, ignoring the memories from flooding forth. "I'm tired. I 'on't wanna ge' up."

"It's already noon, sweetie," he cooed softly, still shaking me. "I want us to be able to make our flight. You can sleep on the plane, I promise."

I rolled out of his grasp and onto the floor, cursing when I slammed my pained body into hard ground. "'Kay," I finally gave in, my aching muscles not responding. "He'p me up?"

He nodded with a lax smile, holding his hand out and pulling me to my feet. "Are you better now?"

I grinned at him toothily as a confirmation and waddled over to my closet to grab my bags. "I'm all se' fer the tri'," I told him, holding up my suitcases and bags and gently setting them back down.

"Are you sure you don't want to see a dentist before we go?" he asked cautiously.

I shivered. I hated people who worked in that type of field. It didn't matter what their profession was – dentistry, medicinal, you name it, I despised it with a passion. "Nuh, I 'on't wanna. It'll hea' on its own," I assured him. Apparently, I was hit square in the jaw, but fortunately it was only bruised. The thing is, even though I feel like more damage was done to my head than any other place, I still recall not being hit by the drunk 'tard's bottle…

I saw Jeb relax his shoulders considerably. If I had said yes to going to the dentist, he probably would have brought me to a psychiatrist. "Okay, let's get going," he murmured, turning away from me and leaving my room.

I looked around and felt my heart pang in sadness. I would be leaving the home I have had for maybe a year – longer than most times I've stayed in a different city. I didn't really like my room very much, but it was so familiar to me that I almost was able to call it home…my home.

But not anymore.

Hello, San Diego.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I shifted back and forth in my plane seat, not being able to settle. The butterflies in my stomach kept telling me to jump off the thing and stay in Atlanta, but with my seatbelt secured around my waist, I didn't really see any way I could do that.

Jeb's hand closed over mine. "It'll be okay honey. You'll find friends and people to trust in San Diego. You might end up finding a boy to bring home too," he teased, winking at me.

"'ere's no way 'n Hell I'm goin' t' let tha' 'appen," I muttered. "Boys've nev' int'rested me ev'r 'n' it's not goin' t' 'appen now… I mea', I'm jus' not 'nto relati'nships, y'know." I never liked relationships like that, nor did I have many friends. I had a few, like Dylan Seymour, Ari Phoenix and Brigit Jones…but otherwise, no luck. Those three I just mentioned weren't even too close to me. I started zoning out about the old Atlanta times, but Jeb interrupted my thoughts.

"Are you lesbi –"

"Jeb!" I scolded, turning away and blushing furiously. "Don't'cha ev'r sugg'st tha' ev'r 'gain!" No. Way. In. Hell. Was. I. Lesbian. I mean, I liked guys! Yeah, I admit it, I like guys. I just haven't found that specific guy that really makes my heart pound against my chest. I wasn't expecting it, but I've yet to find him.

His smile told me he knew exactly how I was feeling, though. "I'm pulling at your leg, honey. I know you're not. Do you remember Sam Avery from your seventh grade?"

"Jeb!" I shouted again, this time much louder for oncoming passengers to hear. The blush on my face was renewed, but I wasn't sure if it were because of Jeb or the looks the other travelers gave me. It could have been a mix of both.

Jeb's hand reached up to rub my shoulder. He'd always do that to comfort me when I was feeling down or if life was just shitty at the time. "It's okay. I know you're not into boys right now, but who knows? Maybe you'll find the man that's right for you."

I stuck my tongue out. "Tha' gon' be the day when h'mans grow win's," I replied triumphantly, crossing my arms. Now, you're probably thinking, Why didn't you just say, 'That'll be the day when pigs fly?' Firstly, I couldn't speak that well with my jaw screwed up. Second, Jeb actually managed to mutate a pig's DNA to allow it to fly…so…unless Jeb found a way to alter a human's DNA with that of an avian's, I saw no way that a human could have wings.

Jeb laughed and roughly patted my head. "You'll get over your boy troubles, honey. I promise you."

Just as I was going to start arguing, the captain told everyone the procedures and rules on the plane, effectively shutting me up.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

The trip was long and boring since Jeb decided to fall asleep, so I was stuck watching Despicable Me, which wasn't such a bad movie. It was really funny, actually. It was just at the part where Gru finally understood the true meaning of love and ended up caring for the girls – what in the hell was I turning into?

I sighed and closed my eyes, listening to the voices of the actors as they finally managed to win the damn unicorn. For some reason, I was never able to understand myself, or, more accurately, I was never able to understand people of my age. They were either too immature for me to stoop down to, or they were just annoyingly wise. I was caught in between the two – I considered myself a kid at heart, but I knew the fine line between right and wrong. I always wished that I could have that certain someone that understood me, too, but as it ended up, that probably isn't going to happen.

Man, this plane ride sucked.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Wakey-wakey, sleepy head," I heard Jeb call out, just like this morning. "We're here."

I opened my eyes to see the California sun shining against the horizon of the water. It felt so much more different than in Atlanta, but I knew I was going to like this place. It looked so pwetty and sunny! (Sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm…)

I was so tired from the plane ride that, in the car, the instant my seatbelt clasped around my waist, I fell asleep. I couldn't believe how Jeb could still drive after that exhausting trip. "Where are we?" I muttered, still half-asleep. My legs felt like jelly, so I sat up more in the passenger seat and rubbed my legs hard.

"San Diego," he replied nonchalantly, his fingers tapping the steering wheel. "We're in one of the residential areas, honey."

I groaned. Great. I missed all the sights I could have seen along the way here. "Darn. I wanted to see everything…" I blinked in surprise and touched my jaw a few times. I even went as far as to smack myself in the face, but it didn't hurt. IT HAD TO BE DIVINE INTERVENTION. Drop dead where ya stand, folks. The apocalypse is coming.

Jeb leaned over and patted me roughly on the shoulder. "We can go visit Los Angeles if you'd like," he suggested. "I'll most likely have to make business trips to L.A. and Sacramento a few times." He grinned at my new discovery about my jaw, but I noted that he didn't say anything about it.

Realization had kicked me in the ass, anyway.

"You're going to leave me alone in the house?" I grasped, surprised.

"No, no, you won't be alone," he assured. My shoulders slumped over in agony. "I'm renting you an apartment, which means you'll have roomies!" His voice was excited, as if I was supposed to feel that way too.

But then again…an apartment? Other than the whole "you-have-roommates" thing, I didn't really mind. If it meant no Jeb, then I was totally up for it. "Hmm… That sounds fine," I replied, trying to keep my voice casual. "Where will you be staying?"

He shrugged. "I'll probably move in with my sister," he told me, grinning. "It hasn't been finalized yet, but we're thinking about it."

"Didn't Mom – um, I mean, Dr. M live here for a while?" I asked, not realizing how painful it was to talk about her.

Eight years ago, when I was only ten, my mother, Dr. Valencia Martinez divorced my father, Jeb Batchelder, because of his "obsession to his work." I knew what she meant. Whenever a business trip occurred during our family time, Jeb would already be out the door. I never allowed myself to take on the name "Batchelder," nor would I care to have "Martinez." My last name was – and is – "Ride," and I intend to keep it that way. When Dr. M wanted to bring her with me after the divorce, Jeb never allowed it. He somehow had always loved me more than Dr. M and Maya, my twin sister.

Even though Maya and I looked alike, we were polar opposites. I was the fun one; she was the serious and mature one. I loved sports; she loved studying. I loved video games; she loved even more studying. I loved being by myself; she loved being surrounded by admirers. I was crushed on by the guys; she was the one doing the crushing. The list went on.

It wasn't like I hated Maya – no, no way. I loved her to death. She was just too different for me to understand, and we never really ever felt that sisterly-bonding moment. After the divorce, I wish I could have been able to try harder. I missed her, but most of all, I missed my mother. The regret that weighed down my heart will never leave my conscience. Ever.

Dr. M died two years ago in a car accident, along with Maya.

I was not able to visit their graves, nor was I able to make the funeral.

One of these days, I'll go up to Calgary and pray at their final resting place.

If I were allowed to turn back time, I would have pushed myself to get closer to both of them and cherish the few moments I could have had.

But the moment is lost.

When I glanced at Jeb and saw the tears behind his glasses, I knew I had asked the wrong question. "I'm sorry, Jeb – um, Dad. I didn't think it'd be so…painful." I cleared my throat and quickly whispered, "So um, do I have any neighbors? Other than my roommates?"

Jeb paused at a stop sign to take off his glasses and rub his eyes dry. "Yes, you do. The apartment is two stories with maybe two little household-type rooms with other single rooms on each level, so you'll have many people to talk to." His voice was strained and quiet as he slid his glasses back on, so I knew he was trying to compose himself.

I let my sappy emotions have the better of me, so my fingers slid across the chair and onto Jeb's hand. "It'll be okay, Jeb. Dr. M just wanted the best for both of us – no, all of us," I assured him. Again, his eyes began watering. I shivered and pulled my hand away. I was never good at emotions, especially if it were about someone else's. "Do you know who my roommates are?"

He swallowed down the lump in his throat and nodded. "They're the children of…a few old friends. There's James Sparda – he's your age. His foster siblings are Angel and Edward Harmonia, and the two of them are a few years younger than James. Other than that, I'm not sure who they are. I'm sure they're all great kids." He sounded more collected, meaning he was getting around to calming down.

"They're young?" I cried in surprise. I'm soooooo not going to be able to get along with them. "But…"

"Did you want old perverts sneaking into your room and stealing your panties?" he countered. I shook my head: no, I did not. "Then this is a good change. If you have people around your age, and even younger, it'll make you feel better. I know that you've gone through some hard times –" –I noticed his eyes darkening– "–but I'm sure you'll have an amazing experience here."

I smiled up at him and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I'm glad you think so, Jeb. I hope I will, too." Then I glanced over and saw the apartment we stopped in front of.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Oh, you're Max Batchelder?" the realtor person asked, cocking her head to the side. The little tag on her shirt said, "HELLO, MY NAME IS: Anne Walker". She looked down at her clipboard and wrote little notes here and there. "I didn't know you were a girl, and I'm very sorry. From your name, I had assumed you were a boy."

I shrugged. "It happens all the time," I admitted. "But…" I glanced at Jeb waving at me from the car and driving off. Great dad he was, wasn't he? "I don't use that name anymore," I told her quietly, as if Jeb could still hear me.

Anne looked confused. "That's what your father signed you up as."

"I know, I know. But I will never go by that name," I snapped with clenched teeth, my eyes narrowing dangerously. "My name was, is and will always be Maximum Ride." I didn't mean to be, well, mean, but it just sort of came out that way.

She seemed to take it well though. Anne just nodded and just wrote more and more on her clipboard. "I appreciate that you've told me that. I think I'll be able to understand how you feel, Miss…Ride," she noted, smiling gently. She gestured me to follow her into the apartment house.

"Thanks," I replied gruffly, a little embarrassed of how I had barked at her.

I followed her in, dragging my luggage, and she opened the door for me. My feet moved on their own as Anne led me through the first floor and up to the second floor, where I would be living with my new roommates. Most of what she said went in one ear and right out the other without much thought, but when she finally opened the door to my new place, I felt completely surprised.

For some reason, I expected a completely trashed place (probably because of my roommates' youth), but the apartment-house was spotless. When I walked into the living room, I noticed all of the littler details of the house, such as the couch sitting in the middle of the room with the TV on, blaring out rock music on an MTV channel. The kitchen was connected to the living room by an arch, but it was easy to see the oven and other things from my point of view. It seemed to double as a dining room since there was a table set up in there too. Along another corner, the living room split into a hallway, where I assumed were the bedrooms.

Then my eyes traveled even further.

My luggage dropped from my hands.

In all other houses I've been, I had never seen a whole wall be clear. It was just a huge window there instead of a wall. In the living room. In an apartment.

In SAN DIEGO.

Which meant water right there. If the window were opened, I bet I could have jumped from the apartment and dunked right into the ocean – it wouldn't be a good idea, but it was possible.

"Do you like what you see?" remarked a soft, young voice from behind me.

I spun around and saw nothing but the other wall until I looked down. A young girl who looked like she was eleven or twelve looked up at me with big blue eyes. She wore a blue shirt and black short-shorts and didn't have any shoes on. I laughed and put on my best smile for her. "Yeah, I do," I replied, grinning. "Are you Angel?"

She nodded shyly. "Umm… You're Max?" She sounded and looked just as confused as Anne did. It was probably the whole I thought you were going to be a boy thing.

"Yeah, I'm Max," I agreed, crouching down to meet her eyes. "Where are your brothers?" I wondered out loud, my head turning instinctively to look for someone else other than Angel and Anne.

"Iggy is in his room playing video games, and I think Gazzy is with him," she replied, taking my hand and leading the way to the hallway where I thought rooms would be.

It seemed I was right about the rooms. Except… "Who are Iggy and Gazzy?" I questioned, genuinely perplexed. "The names I had been given were 'James' and 'Edward." I glanced down at the young girl.

There was a huge smile plastered across her face. "Those are their real first names. The names 'Iggy' and 'Gazzy' are just their nicknames," she assured me, opening the door to one of the white doors. Angel was unusually calm and composed for a pre-teen. I had expected her to be bouncing off the walls.

Behind me, Anne tapped my shoulder softly. "I'm going to go ahead and fill out the rest of your paperwork for you. Are you content with your living quarters?" she asked politely in my ear.

I nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, I love it," I whispered back.

"I'm glad," was all she acknowledged behind disappearing.

Angel, on the other hand, was all about catching my attention. "Max, Max, Max!" she chortled rapidly. "Come on! They're playing Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 and I wanna watch!" Angel's soft, delicate hands grasped mine harder, oddly pulling me into the boy-infested room. All along the walls were posters of anime, video games and cartoons, things I enjoyed every once in a while, but didn't have much of an obsession over them. "Iggy! Gaz!" she called to the two boys sitting on the twin bed, staring at the TV.

"Wait, wait, wait, Ang," the younger, spiky-blonde haired shouted. "I'm in the middle of a Deadpool combo – oh come on, Ig! That was cheating!"

"You pressed the wrong button!" came from the TV screen, so I knew that Deadpool had gotten his assassin ass kicked. It's not that I didn't like video games…I just didn't play them too much. (Didn't mean I was bad at 'em.)

"I so didn't cheat," the one named Iggy countered, laughing. "It's called 'hyper-armor,' Gaz!"

I shifted my stance to watch the game more closely. On the left side, Gazzy's side, was a downed Deadpool, Captain America as the point character and Nova as the final character. On the right side, Iggy's side, was Nemesis T-Type with about one-fourth of its health, Dante, who had just switched into the point character position with full vitality, and Phoenix Wright with about three-fourths vitality. Judging by the background music, I guessed that Phoenix Wright was in Turnabout Mode too.

I sat down on the floor with Angel, who was watching intensely, barely blinking. She seemed so into something that I was used to seeing every single day. Maybe it was because she was a…what did Jeb say? She was…Iggy's…foster sister? Something like that. I nudged her shoulder with mine. "Do you play too?" I whispered to her softly.

She nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. Normally, I didn't like all of this body contact, but since she was such a cute and little innocent girl, I allowed it. "I do. I love playing these games, especially with my brothers." Suddenly her smile turned into a pout. "I don't like playing against people who are better than me, though…which is a lot of people, actually."

"Oh, I understand. I don't like playing against people who are better than me either. I love to win," I admitted.

"WOOT! DELAYED HYPER COMBO KO!" Iggy shouted, hopping to his feet and doing sort of a happy jig.

"Cheater!" Gazzy shouted, tackling Iggy onto the ground and playfully punching him.

I raised an eyebrow, but Angel just looked at me with a laugh. "What's all this about?" I asked, cocking my head to the side, their actions piquing my interest.

"They're just boys," Angel replied, as if that answered my question in full. (It didn't.)

Both Iggy and Gazzy stopped their fight to look at Angel. "What was that, Angel?" they uttered in threatening voices.

Angel pressed her head to my shoulder, quietly giggling, "They wouldn't dare touch me, Max!"

I looked up at Iggy and Gazzy.

It sure didn't seem that way.

Iggy had dim sea-blue eyes, and messy strawberry blonde hair. He looked very, very pissed off. His rimless glasses pressed against the bridge of his nose, adding to what I assumed was his "good-looking nerd" look. In contrast, he wore a white beater with blue Hawaiian shorts.

Gazzy, on the other hand, had big innocent eyes like Angel, yet right now they looked malicious and evil. His hair was styled into a neat spike, but slightly lopsided. He had on a blue hoodie and black shorts.

Both of them looked like they could kill – and would.

Soon, Iggy went flying for my throat, though it looked as if he meant to grab at Angel. I fell backwards, Iggy lying on top of me, but I saw out of the corner of my eye Angel smiling evilly. Second later, Iggy flopped around wildly on the ground, practically have a seizure. With a loud roar, Gazzy pounced in Angel's direction, but she instead sidestepped to my area. Gazzy fell on top of Iggy with a loud crash! and ended up rolling to the side, smacking his head against a dresser.

Angel and I exchanged a glance. I burst out laughing, and Angel joined in, doubling over. "Whew, that was the funniest five minutes of my life," I gasped, panting for air after recovering my fit of laughter.

Angel was no better. Her hair fell over her face and blonde strands were strewn about her face, sticking up all over the place. "Agreed…that was really funny," she confirmed, still sounding older than she looked.

Just what I needed – a pre-teen with more wisdom than me.

As if reading my mind, Angel grinned toothily at me, suddenly shifting from "Smart Angel" to "Goofy and Immature Angel." Turning to Iggy and Gazzy, who were still failing to recover, she called out, "Come on, boys, why don't you get up?" She glanced at me and winked.

I hopped to my feet and stared down at them. "Yeah! You're not going to let your younger sister insult you like that, right? Right?"

Gazzy yawned and crawled slowly from his place on the floor out the door, probably to his own room. Iggy stayed on the floor, his hand raised as if he were calling for the angels in heaven – or maybe he was just motioning for Angel to come closer. I dunno.

Angel seemed to be thinking the same thing because she knelt down and put her hand on Iggy's chest. "Yes, Iggy?" Awww…she was such a loving sister!

"Put me on the bed?" he muttered, his arm covering his eyes.

I patted Angel's shoulder. "Need some help?" I offered, bending down.

She nodded and hoisted Iggy to sit up. "You okay, Ig?" He smiled in confirmation and moved his head up and down rapidly. "Good." She motioned for me to grab his legs, and she carried his top half with remarkable strength. I helped her load Iggy onto his bed with ease. Either Iggy was really light or Angel was oddly robust for her age. "Is this okay?" she asked softly, fluffing his pillow for him and bringing the blanket over his chest.

Iggy grinned again. "You're the best, Angel!" He glanced over to me, staring at me with those pale, sea-blue eyes. "James 'The Iganator' Sparda," he introduced himself, holding a hand out.

I shook it firmly. "Max… Maximum Ride, AKA 'The Beast'," I joked with a laugh.

He and Angel chuckled in unison. "You certainly are an…interesting one," he murmured, shrugging. "I'm glad that it's someone my age instead of some awkward old pervert or somethin'."

I stuck my tongue out. "Well, who's to say that I'm not –"

"Angel, I think you need to show her to her room!" Iggy interrupted, flipping onto his side and pulling the blankets over his head.

Angel shrugged and patted Iggy's head before leading me out of his room.

"I was joking, by the way!" I assured him, shutting the door.

"I know! I knew that!" he retorted, his voice muffled.

Bringing me away from his room, her hand in mine, Angel knocked on another door, which I assumed to be the other's boy's room. "This my room…well, it's Gaz's too," she explained, opening the door slowly. "Gaz?" Her head poked in, but she didn't enter. Instead, she pulled back quickly and slammed the door shut, backing away.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Experiments," she replied simply, as if that was supposed to be the perfect answer. (It wasn't.)

"Experi –"

I was cut off by a loud blast going off in Gazzy's room. From inside, I heard the maniacal teen shout, "SUCCESS!"

Instead of doing what a normal person probably would do, which was going into Gazzy's room and seeing what was wrong, I told Angel, "Can I go seclude myself in my room now? I would not like to be stuck in between Gazzy and a deadly…experiment."

Angel smiled, as if she knew that was exactly what I was going to say. "Okay." Another door in front of me opened. "Here's your room!" The two of us stepped in.

I looked all around and saw simple white walls as the wallpaper and a twin bed for me set against one wall. There was a computer desk set up along the opposite wall, and I noted the TV and walk-in closet. That was pretty cool, even though I probably didn't need all the space. Two huge white doors caught my attention, so I looked down at Angel and then back up at the doors. "Where does that lead?"

"It's sort of like a patio…but on the second floor!" she replied, smiling that toothy grin again. "I'll go get your luggage." Angel flew out of the room gracefully before I could object.

My feet walked themselves past the computer desk and bed and went straight to the balcony. To make sure I didn't stain the veranda with my dirty shoes, I took off my black and white checkered Vans, setting them on the carpet. I threw open the elegant white doors and stepped carefully onto the pretty white tiles.

My eyes traveled all around, seeing the empty road and dying down beach. There weren't many people around the beach, but I didn't focus on that. The San Diego sun was dying down, and it felt like it was emitting every color of the rainbow and all other colors in between. I stared at the sunset until I had to look away. Seconds later, the darkness cloaked itself around me, and I managed to breathe out.

I needed to get a chair set up here so I could see that sunset every day.

"Max?" Angel's innocent voice brought me back to reality. I glanced down at her and smiled. "You saw the sunset?"

I nodded, speechless.

"I'm glad you're so happy. You didn't seem so sure of yourself when you got here," she confessed, pressing her fingers together hesitantly.

My hand pressed down onto her blonde head roughly, but gently. "I'm sure now, Angel," I promised her quietly. "I'm really glad that I've moved to California and I think I'll enjoy it here."

Her face took on a large grin again. "Yay! I'm so happy for you, Max!" She glanced behind her, looking at the empty doorway. "You'd better be careful until dinner time," she warned, still staring at some invisible force. "Gazzy and Iggy have a way with ticking people off with pranks."

"I think I can survive." I shivered.

The thought of pranks brought me back to my short year in Atlanta, Georgia. At my high school, it was all about prank wars and seeing who could piss the most people off in a short amount of time. In fact, it was one of the most lenient schools down there. Even the principal and staff joined in, which was fun for a while, but got old and annoying. Ari Phoenix, an old friend as I had mentioned before, supposedly got his right eye scarred in a prank gone wrong, so, obviously, he didn't want anything to do with pranking anymore. (Of course, I knew the truth.) Ari switched schools a few weeks ago for various reasons, which made me kind of sad. He was such a fun person, but had such a short temper… In a nutshell, he was sweet, but scary.

"Max?" Angel called out again, forcing me back down to earth. "I'm going to go help Iggy with dinner. Do you want to help?"

I shook my head as hard as I could without getting dizzy. "No, no, no. You do not want me near kitchen appliances."

She looked confused. "Why?"

"Would you think I was crazy if I told you I managed to light a carton of ice cream on fire with a spoon?" I offered weakly.

She paused for a second and looked down at the ground, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. "Nooooo," she responded, but her voice was hallow, so I knew she totally thought I was crazy. "Anyway," Angel put in, "I'm going to go now…so… Have fun by yourself!" She ran out the door with incredible speed for an eleven-twelve year-old.

With a sigh, I trudged to the open door and slammed it shut, wondering what California had in store for me. Anywhere I moved, I always managed to bring in some unwelcome customers – most of the time unintentional. Actually, all of the time unintentional.

As soon as the door closed, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I was instantly focused on feeling someone else's presence – yes, someone was here.

"Max…" I froze. That voice! It couldn't be. How could he be here? "You weren't supposed to leave Atlanta, Max." His deep, rough voice was angry and commanding, so I knew he wasn't in a good mood.

I released my breath and tried to regulate it. I felt a hand on my shoulder and deftly tried to shrug it off, but he wouldn't let me. His hand only gripped harder. "Ari," I whispered in disbelief, "what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Ari Phoenix blew in my ear. "I'm going to take you back to Atlanta… I'm done with these games, Maximum."

The hand on my shoulder clenched harder, but I forced myself not to squeal in pain. "Ari… You know I had to," I spat back, holding the quiver in.

"There is never a question of 'have to' or 'don't have to.' It's always 'you do' or 'you don't'," he growled, twisting me around so that he could get a better look at me. His black hair was spiked backwards as usual, and there still was that horrid scar plastered over his right eye. The look on his face was pure hate and anger, and I could feel it radiating off his skin. "Except for now, of course. You have to."

I pushed him away from me, but that had little effect as he was much larger than me, both in muscle and weight. Not to mention, he was like six inches taller than I was. "I'm not going back to Atlanta, Ari!"

"I was afraid you'd say that," he grunted, shaking his head. "I'm real sorry about this, Max." He bared his teeth, the jagged edges looking more like daggers to me. "Then again, not really. You did cause this damn scar on my face…"

In a flash, Ari dashed forward and lunged for my throat, and I watched as his muscles tightened against his white beater. I felt dizzy and afraid as his arms reached out for my neck. I was slow. I couldn't react in time.

I knew I was finished.

Before Ari's hands actually touched me, something, some sort of divine intervention I was hopelessly wishing for appeared. In between Ari and me came a new person. From my point of view, it looked like a man with short, neck-length black hair, darker than Ari's. He was slightly shorter than the opponent in front of him, but certainly looked strong, though he didn't have the protruding muscles that Ari had. The aura around him was terrifying.

But it wasn't his dark hair or angry presence about him that caught my attention.

It was his wings.

Wings.

On his back flew out two beautifully depressing black wings, spanning about fourteen or fifteen feet long. They looked soft and fragile, yet strong at the same time. With those wings, the newcomer blasted Ari from his place, and Ari flew to the opposite wall, falling onto his butt.

Ari seemed to realize that this person with wings had somehow gotten in. His chilling red eyes glared back and forth from the winged man and me. "You damned Guardian Angels sure know when to fuck up someone's plans," he murmured, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "But you certainly have not seen the last of me." With a loud roar, Ari scrambled to his feet and sprinted out of the elegant French doors, jumping off the balcony.

The winged man neatly folded his wings in and let out a groan. He gave me the impression that he hadn't noticed I was there because when he turned around, a dark eyebrow quirked up in confusion. Now, I finally was able to see him in full detail.

He had long-ish (for a guy) dark hair with bangs that fell over his eyes. His jaw was curved in an almost feminine way, but he had strong and defined cheekbones, assuring me that this was a male. To end my examination of this stranger, I managed to look up into his eyes. A single obsidian orb stared back at me because of his hair blocking his left eye. Within his eye seemed to be two feelings – hatred and worry.

I began to open my mouth to ask him who he was, but heard a knock at the door. I glanced behind me, but looked back up at him. He shook his head, as if indicating there wasn't enough time to explain anything.

"Max? I heard shouting," Iggy called from outside.

I stared at the dark avian pleadingly. "I'm alright, Iggy," I yelled back without breaking eye contact. "Just watching TV." I locked the door as quickly as I could before he could barge in.

"Okay, but let me come in, just in case," he pressed, shuffling around with the doorknob. "Max? Unlock the door."

The stranger smirked softly and put his hand on my head, patting my head roughly. "Fang," he whispered before disappearing into the darkness. LITERALLY. Like a prince of darkness, a blur of black enveloped him. Seconds later, I was alone in the room.

Fang? Was that his name?

My knees shaking, I opened the door to see Gazzy. "Where's Iggy?"

Gazzy shifted weight from foot to foot. "Oh… He's downstairs… Making dinner."

I raised an eyebrow. "But he just called for me, didn't he?"

"Yeah…sorta," he replied mysteriously. "Anyway! I think dinner's ready, so, uh, why don't we go ahead and chow down some grub?"

I hit him atop the head. "Gazzy! You're so lying about something." I didn't really care about what Gazzy had to say, but I wanted to think about anything other than Ari and that avian. Ari had called him a 'Guardian Angel.' What did that mean? Was "Fang" my Guardian Angel? Did that mean he protected me from everything?

"I'm not lying!" Gazzy protested, swatting my hand away. "Come on, come on, come on! I'm hungry! Let's go, go, go, go, and go!"

I rolled my eyes and followed him out of my room and into the kitchen/dining room. Glancing at a clock hung up on one of the walls, I read that it was 6:49PM. With a yawn, I sat down at the table and looked down at the food. It seemed to be a family style way of eating.

Iggy grinned and clasped his hands together. "Bon apetit!" he cried, smiling wide.

"To Maximum Ride!" Angel announced, holding up a glass that looked like it was filled with milk.

"To Maxie-Pad!" Gazzy agreed, causing me to laugh uncontrollably.

Iggy's eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Well?" All three of them stared at me, waiting for something.

"What?" I was genuinely puzzled. What did they want from me?

"Aren't you going to get the first picks of our dinner?" Iggy asked, pouting. "Unless you don't like bacon-wrapped hamburgers and fries?"

"Oh, that's what you guys were waiting for!" I happily grabbed the closest hamburger and piled on my fries, then took a huge bite of hamburger, feeling the tasty juices dribble off my chin. "To me!"

Everyone else took a hamburger and quickly chowed down. Around the table were random chats about video games, movies, normal things, but they were mainly interested in me and where I was from. I answered them the best I could without revealing anything. Overall, it was an awesome first day…

I just couldn't keep my mind off the lingering thoughts of that avian-man.

(end of chapter one)

READ+REVIEW=UPDATES

You know what to do. Read it. Review it. I'll update.

Hope you liked it. *Shrugs* If you've read Music Makes Me Lose Control or Innocence of a Mockingbird, tell me which you like best because I'm just curious. Depending on what you say will change which stories I update most often.

If you haven't noticed, I changed my PenName from anime-heroine to A Broken Heroine. The name is a mixture of an old beta-friend's PenName and my old one. Hope this doesn't confuse you!

~A Broken Heroine

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns the Maximum Ride series and all characters, plots and settings. Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 and all characters belong to either Capcom or the Marvel Comics franchise.

Special Thanks to: aalaal, who is a new beta for me.