Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

(Max’s POV)

Life can change in the blink of an eye. All it takes is one moment, one decision, and your life will never be the same again. I’ve experienced that moment countless times in my short 15 years of life.

And just to make sure you’re up to date with the mess that is our lives before I get into our current life altering moment, I’ll give you a quick recap of the last month:

After we split from Fang’s group in Paris we had gone back to find my sister Ella...What we found was a newly reformed Doomsday Group now calling themselves the Appocalypticas.

To cut the story short, we managed to free the One Light controlled newly made mutants and get my (now) winged sister back.

As an extra surprise apparently our (formerly) normal malamute, Akila, was now a canine/avian like Total as well.

At least she wasn’t talking (one talking dog in the world is enough).

The real shocker though came when we discovered that Angel was still alive and being held captive at the School in Death Valley, California again (full circle much).

We decided to meet back up with Fang ’s Gang (who had freed the mutants at the Lerner School from One Light), only to find a traitorous Star and Kate, and a dying Maya.

Ella healed Maya with her ability to heal using the element of light (for once we were all glad for the School’s experimentation on us). Fang disbanded his group, telling them to go to Paradise like all the other mutants had. And Fang and Maya proceeded to then then join us on our mission to save Angel.

When we did free Angel we learned both of our greatest threat yet, and just how many secrets Angel had been keeping from us.

We learned that the Appocalyticas (headed by Hans) created the H8E virus in order to kill off all the humans, that there was a comet like the one that made the dinosaurs extinct headed our way, and Hans planned to take control of a butt ton of nuclear missiles, let the comet hit, and then proceed to nuke the world.

WTH.

To make things even better. The only reason we knew of Hans’ plan? Because apparently Angel has the ability to see into the future.

Yup you heard me.

Apparently she has been seeing fragments of the future since she was six.

Not only that, but apparently she had been my Voice the entire time (alongside Jeb).

And my so called Brain Attacks? That was Angel and Jeb imparting their fragmented thoughts onto me.

And finally, getting us to secret number 47. She told us that she heard Fang’s DNA was the key to immortality.

Yup you read that right.

Not long after Angel’s rescue Jeb showed up telling us about Fang’s regenerative ability/invincible genes. Needless to say the conversation ended in the eleven of us versing one hundred Not-Aris in a fight for Fang’s right to live.

We managed to win (thanks to Dylan killing Ari II) and flew off into the night.

Yup, the typical life of the American mutant.

So now the nine of us (plus Total and Akila) are heading to Russia in order to stop Hans from implementing his plan.

And that leaves off to where we are now. Us flying across America, and the Appocalyptica ring leaders still at large plotting the destruction of Humanity.

Whether it was my ESP, fate, or divine intervention, I made one decision that ended up determining the fate of the world.

This is that story.

So hang on for the ride.

Chapter Text

(Max’s POV)

We had finally reached Massachusetts.

It had taken longer than I wanted it too, but we needed to do the unimportant stuff like eat and sleep you know?

According to Angel we had about another month before the apocalypse occurred, and in the meantime I’ve been racking my brain on how to go about stopping Hans once we finally got to Russia.

So far I was planning on having Iggy, Nudge and Gazzy work as a tech team and deal with the nuclear missiles and comet while the rest of us take care of Hans.

Gazzy and Iggy actually hugged me when I told them, saying things like “It’ll be the greatest achievement of their pyrotechnic lives”.

The only part that was eating at me was how we would deal with the H8E virus if it was released into the air.

After a few days of pulling my own hair out trying to figure out the answer it was Ella who actually came up with the solution.

All we had to do was find the scientist(s) responsible for creating the virus in the first place, and Angel would plant the idea of making a vaccine into their heads.

Is that entirely ethical? No. But neither was killing millions upon millions of people. You just have to learn to pick your battles.

Anyway, back to our current situation. We had been flying for about five hours now and I knew I’d only be a matter of time before one of the younger kids asked to stop for food. I’d been keeping an eye out for good potential landing areas so we could get a break before sneaking our way onto a plane in order to reach Europe easier.

Looking below us I saw a good patch of woods on the edge of a town, and a pizza parlor right near it. We could go maybe about another hour without stopping before we really needed food. So like always it was up to me to decide what we should do.

Making one of my world famous snap decisions I turned my head around to the Flock.

“Alright guys time to refuel before we head to Europe” I announced, immediately diving down into the cover of the woods.

As I used my wings to hover-stop the Flock floated down next to me.

“So where are we going? A Wawa? A café? Ooo I love cafes they’re so cute! But I like the ones in France better, they’re so mmph”

Iggy (bless his soul) halted Nudge’s ensuing rant.

“I saw a pizzeria not far from here” I said trekking forward.

Looking out from our place behind the trees there wasn’t too many people out and about, and those that we did see didn’t tingle at my danger senses so I figured we were good to go. By the time we had reached the pizzeria I had to keep the younger kids from barreling into the small restaurant and yelling out their orders.

“Total, you and Akila wait out here we’ll bring you out a pizza. This isn’t France” I said firmly, giving Total a look that said the matter wasn't up for discussion.

“Ain’t that the truth” Total muttered miserably.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him and followed the rest of my Flock into the restaurant.

The place was like most small food establishments. Small. One front exit and annoyingly surrounded by non-discrete open windows. Though at least this one had a back exit so that was an improvement at least.

“Go get a large table somewhere” I said looking at Fang.

I knew he would understand what I meant: Get a good getaway spot.

He nodded and the rest of the Flock followed him. Dylan met my eyes for a brief moment before turning away. I felt my face heat up slightly.

Fang and Maya had officially gotten together when she had almost been killed by Ari II. Since then Dylan had been subtly trying to make his presence and availability more known to me.

I liked Dylan.

I could see the potential there for us.

But I just wasn’t ready to start in on another relationship just yet.

I walked up to the counter to see the red headed cashier boy smiling brightly at me.

“And how can we help you today miss?” he said cheerfully.

Humph. If he was happy about the amount of money he thought we were going to spend, I couldn’t wait to see his face after I ordered.

“I’ll have 2 pies with extra cheese and pineapple, 3 pies with extra cheese and sausage, 1 pie with pepperoni and olives, 3 pies with green peppers and onions, 9 large Pepsis and 2 large waters” I said finishing up the order with a flourish.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the kid’s startled look.

“Um, okay…you mean slices right, not pies?” the kid asked frazzled.

“Nope” I said popping the p and putting on a charming smile, “I mean pies as in the whole wheel”

What? I can be charming.

Just ask the blush forming on the cashier-boy's cheeks.

“Uh yea sure. Having a party later?” he asked, putting our order in the back.

“Yup it’s my sweet sixteen” I said keeping up my false smile. Better to lie when it comes to our large orders anyway.

The kid nodded looking more relieved.

I turned around to look for the Flock.

They had pushed two tables together in the middle of the room in-between the back and front doors. Good. Choosing a circle booth would’ve made escaping difficult if we had to make an emergency exit.

Dylan had left a spot open for me between him and Ella.

I tried not to let the cringe of discomfort show on my face.

As I sat down I let all the conversations float around me as I wondered about how we would stop Hans. What if we didn’t make it in time? What if we failed and the world went up in flames because we couldn’t stop him?

As I was losing myself in my own swirling pit of despair I felt someone’s hand wrap around my own.

Without moving my head I glanced down at my hand out of the corner of my eye.

Dylan had slipped his hand into mine without breaking his conversation with Nudge. He was gripping my hand firmly, as if to reassure me that everything was going to be just fine.

I felt as if electric currents were running across my skin. Somehow he always seemed to know when I was feeling off.

I couldn’t help but admire his expressive cerulean blue eyes as he spoke to Nudge about his new fascination with motorcycles.

“Order up” the red head from the counter called out, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I stood up to go get the pizzas. When I had gotten to the counter I noticed the cashier had a disappointed look on his face.

It took me a moment to realize that it was because Dylan had stood up with me and that we had held hands all the way to the register without me even realizing it.

Flushing red, I quickly let go of his hand and picked up the first stack of pizza boxes and walked back to the table.

From there we just looked like a bunch of manner-less, starving children as we scarfed down the pies. But hey we were (mostly) manner-less, starving children so why should we care?

Angel had given Total and Akila their pizza and waters before she started eating hers. Casting a quick glance back at the cashier I could see his mouth had completely dropped open and was watching us with a morbid curiosity on his face. Then I noticed something I hadn’t before.

There was a cell phone in his hand.

I paused mid chew.

Having a cell phone in his hand didn’t necessarily mean anything bad...He could be texting his friends about the weird group of kids each downing a whole pie for all I knew...However, I needed to be sure.

I glanced at Angel and sent a thought in her direction.

“What is the cashier thinking?” I asked her, the tone of my thoughts calm in order to keep her from panicking.

Her eyes snapped up to mine. After a moment she glanced over at the cashier.

“He’s thinking about whether or not we are from some school called the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. He sent a picture of us to his friend who’s from the school asking him” Angel said in my mind.

I started eating again in order not to look suspicious.

“School for the gifted huh? It sounds like another school set up for mutants like us. You think that’s what it is?” I asked her silently, thinking of the Lerner School.

Following my lead she took another bite of her pepper and onion slice.

“I think it is. I mean the friend in his thoughts can freeze things” she replied thoughtfully.

Hmm, interesting.

“He’s not a threat then? I’m not getting any danger vibes from him” I double-checked.

“No I don’t think he is. I think he’s just curious, but he’s going to respect our privacy” she answered, sounding sure.

Well...That was good enough for me (for now anyway).

The situation wasn’t serious enough for me to signal for an emergency escape. We needed the fuel. However, keeping an eye on the red head for now would probably be best. The last thing we needed was to be mistaken for a bunch of truants and have someone from that school come down here.

Satisfied I nodded and went back to my normal scarfing pace. Dylan nudged my shoulder as we were eating and gave me a questioning is-everything-okay look. I nodded and we resumed lunch as normal.

Stuffed and content we all took a moment to digest one of the fuller meals we’ve had in a while.

“I feel like a whale” Gazzy groaned.

I couldn’t help but chuckle when he picked up a piece of stray sausage that had fallen off one of his slices and popped it into his mouth.

“Yea but it was soooo good!” Nudge said happily, leaning back in the seat.

Iggy was making that loud sucking noise with the straw as he tried getting the last bit of his Pepsi.

“Here Ig you can have the rest of mine” Ella said kissing him on the cheek. Iggy blushed and took the cup from her.

“Thanks” he murmured, a small dopey smile on his face.

It was still weird seeing them together. I was happy for them of course, but it was like watching your kid on a date.

Then the door to the pizza parlor opened and three people walked in. A tall red head who looked to be in her twenties, a brown haired man wearing a pair of weird sunglasses Ratchet would be jealous of, and a gruff brown haired man that reminded me of an Eraser.

Chapter Text

(Logan’s POV)

As we walked into the pizza parlor we saw all the potential mutants sitting at a table together.

Bobby had gone to the Professor with a picture someone he knew outside the school had sent to him asking if the particular group of kids were from the school. The Professor had tried to use Cerebro to try and identify whether they were mutants not, but it just left us with more questions.

Cerebro had gotten a fuzzy reading from them. They weren’t human, but the Professor couldn’t say that they were one hundred percent mutant either.

He said that it was possible one of the kids had a power that was blocking him. None-the-less somehow I got roped into going with Jean and Scotty boy to check out said unknowns.

As I observed the brats more carefully I realized that there was an unmistakable smell of bird in the air.

Using my hearing I tried to pick up on their conversation. When I did I noticed a loud thrumming noise.

Their heart beats?

Then I heard a faint whisper. Nothing Scott or Jean would’ve pick up.

“Bandada nayshapay. Three. Back” I heard the long, curly, light brown haired girl say.

My eyebrows scrunched in confusion as I chewed on my cigar as I pondered the words possible deeper meaning.

Suddenly all the kids shot up and sprinted towards the back door.

Before we could even react, the Goth boy and surfer wannabe flipped the tables at us and ran off with the rest of them.

“Shit!” Scott exclaimed beside me as he moved to dodge the tables.

Ignoring him I glanced at Jean. She had already used her telekinesis to halt the tables from crushing us like I knew she would.

Seeing that she was fine I dropped my cigar and sprinted out the back door after the kids.

As I shoved the door open I immediately started sniffing the air for their scent.

Left.

As I ran in their direction I saw that they, along with the two dogs we had seen in front of the pizzeria, were headed towards a large patch of woods near the edge of the town…And running far faster than any normal kids ever could.

I growled in frustration. Why did the Professor have to stick me on this headache of a scouting trip anyway?

Before I could actually use my own enhanced speed to catch up with them, all of the brats were suddenly floating through the air.

I looked behind me to see Jean and Scott running up behind me. Jean was holding her hand out towards the brats.

I smirked in amusement.

Well, that’s one way to catch’m.

It certainly made our job easier that was for sure.

As we got closer I heard the light brown haired girl from earlier mutter “Don’t do anything for now” in a tone far too low for any normal human to hear.

These kids were definitely something alright.

Jean continued suspending them in the air even as we stepped up to them.

“You brats got something you wanna tell us” I asked gruffly.

I was rewarded with a bunch of glares.

And I had to admit, some of them were pretty good. The girl with long light brown hair had a particularly icy one.

“We are from Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. We have reason to believe that you all may be mutants as well. Is that true?” Jean asked in her motherly, comforting tone. The one she usually reserved for the scared runaway kids who come to the school looking for refuge.

“Us? Mutants? Just because we ate a lot of food? Get real and let us go before I go to the police for this” their apparent leader iced out.

I couldn’t help but smirk at her guts.

“You all ran away pretty damn fast for a bunch of brats” I stated, raising an eyebrow.

The girl turned her frigid glare on me.

“What can I say? The three of you scream stranger danger” she snarked back.

I liked her already. “Fair enough” I said taking out a new cigar.

“But one thing’s for sure. Your heart beats ain’t normal and you all smell like you’ve been hiding out in a bird sanctuary” I said lighting the cigar.

She narrowed her eyes at me.

“Fine let’s put our cards on the table shall we?” she said crossing her arms over her chest.

“Fine by me I hate people who take their time beating around the bush” I gruffed out.

“So all of you are mutants then?” Scott asked.

“Who’s to say? What if we are?” the leader asked.

“Then we’ll take you back to the school so you can meet the Professor and we’ll go from there” Scott answered.

I wanted smack the moron upside the head. You can’t say something like that to a bunch of untrusting kids who look like runaways!

The girl’s glare was back and I could see the other kids tensing up as well.

“Look you brats what dimwit over here meant to say was that we can give you temporary stay and food until you choose to leave. You lot ain’t the first bunch of runaways to come to Bayville. A majority of the brats at the school are runaways. So you can either walk with us to our school for freaks or Jean here will levitate you all there. Either way it really doesn’t make a difference to me” I said matter-of-factly.

“Logan!” Jean admonished me.

Scott just shook his head.

“I don’t even know why the Professor even lets you around the kids” I heard him murmur.

I ignored them and continued to match the other girl’s glare. I got the feeling she appreciated my bluntness, as I thought she would. For some reason she reminded me of myself a bit.

“Fine. We’ll meet this Professor of yours. But we won’t be staying” she said firmly.

I nodded, and turned to Jean.

She nodded at me and began letting the brats down to the ground.

“Alright. Now that we’ve all settled down would you mind telling me your names?” Jean asked softly, giving them a genuine smile.

“I’m Alex” the leader said.

“This is Jeff” she said pointing to a tall, pale, strawberry blonde boy.

“Luke” the surfer wannabe.

“Tiffany-Krystal” the African American girl waved.

“Ariel” the youngest girl smiled.

“Maria” the Hispanic girl.

“Nick” Goth boy.

“Harper” the pixie cut leader look-alike.

“Zephyr” the youngest boy.

“And our dogs Total and Akila” she finished.

I huffed out a breath of smoke.

“Well then let’s get moving. I don’t got all day to be babysitting a bunch of brats” I said, turning around in order to start making my way back to the school.

The sooner we get them to the Professor the better.

“If you really wanted to save yourself the trouble you should have left us alone to begin with” Alex growled back.

I swiveled my head to give her an amused smirk.

Things are definitely gonna be interesting with them here.

Chapter Text

(Max’s POV)

The Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters was as pompous and ritzy as you could get. The entire school was literally a castle. And get this! This castle was apparently this Xavier guy’s house.

“It’s pretty charitable of this Professor of yours to let a bunch of freaky kids stay at his house” I said suspiciously.

“The Professor wants to promote good mutant and societal relations, and help any child learn to control their powers in safe environment as they grow up with other like them. The Professor is very aware that people don’t always have the best opinions of us, so the school also acts as a refuge for some of these kids who want a place to fit in” the woman, Jean answered.

From the smile on her face I could tell she was one of those kids.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Nudge was alight with excitement. She might be a problem when we have to leave.

Well, I can always tell her that we can come back here once the world is no longer in danger of going up in flames. Hopeful she won’t be too obstinate about leaving when the time came.

“Here we are” Jean said, coming to a stop at giant double doors.

Rather than knocking she walked right in.

And people call us rude.

“Professor, we brought the kids to see you” Jean said happily.

A kind looking bald headed man in a motorized wheelchair came rolling into the room.

“Thank you Jean, Logan, Scott. I can take things from here” he said.

Jean and Scott moved to walk out of the room, but Logan remained firmly in place.

“It is alright Logan you can go” the Professor said.

Scott and Jean turned back around to watch the exchange.

“No offense but I think I’ll stay here for now Professor” Logan said gruffly.

Surprisingly that didn’t really bother me.

He wanted to make sure we weren’t a threat. I could respect that.

The Professor glanced at me for a moment and then turned his attention back to Logan.

“Well, I can hardly tell you what to do. Jean, Scott, if you wish to stay as well that is fine” the Professor said wheeling his chair behind the desk.

Jean and Scott walked back next to Logan.

“Well, now shall we get started then? My name is Charles Xavier. I am the head of the school here and yes I am a mutant myself” he said.

I made sure to keep my expression blank. I should’ve figured that Xavier was a mutant too.

We had to be careful. Who knows what he was capable of? Wheelchair or not I got the feeling he wasn’t someone to mess with.

And yet…at the same time I wasn’t getting any danger vibes from him.

I hadn’t gotten any from the freaky trio behind us either.

“I can assure you that we are not a threat to you Alex” the Professor said, his tone almost grandfatherly (not that I knew what one sounding like but whatever).

I raised my eyebrow at him.

“And you know my name how?” I demanded, my hackles immediately rising.

As far as I know no one had told him our names.

“Of course. Let me explain. I am a telepath. So I am able to read people’s minds. I got your names from Jean’s thoughts as you all had come in” he explained, never losing his friendly, reassuring tone.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Another mind reader? Great. Now we’re going to have to watch our thoughts.

Angel fidgeted behind me.

"Not yet" I silently ordered her, giving her a steely glance out of the corner of my eye, praying that she would listen.

I could tell she wanted to ask the Professor a million different questions, but until we knew for certain they weren’t a threat we couldn’t risk it.

“As I’ve said before Alex we are not a threat to you or your friends. Have you heard the group the X-men?” he asked, sounding patient.

My eyebrows scrunched together.

“Yeah. They’re a group of mutants that go around helping the public and stopping the Brotherhood or whatever” I said, wondering why there was such a change in conversation.

“Indeed. Jean, Scott and Logan here are a part of those X-men” the Professor stated, gesturing to the adults who'd brought us in.

My eyebrows reached my hairline.

My Flock and I turned back to reanalyze the freaky trio.

Other than Logan they didn’t seem physically able or particularly impressive...Though to be fair we didn’t either.

“So you three are a part of the super-secret mutant boy scouts?” I questioned curiously.

Logan coughed out a laugh, while Scott looked offended by my description.

Jean just smiled. Whether it was at me or Logan’s reaction I wasn’t sure.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself kid” Logan said grinning.

I smirked.

I liked him.

Despite the fact he reminded me of an Eraser, I liked him.

Maybe we could trust them.

Maybe.

“I can give you and your friends a few rooms here if you’d like. I wouldn’t expect you to attend classes until you decide whether or not you would like to stay here” the Professor offered.

I looked back at him.

“I thought you only housed mutants here. We never said that we were” I questioned.

He smiled gently at me.

“Whether you are or aren’t it’s clear that you all do need a place to stay, and I have more than enough room here” the Professor said, “Jean. Can you take them to the W-wing please? You can divide them up in five of the open rooms there”

“Of course” Jean smiled.

As we made our way down to the W-wing I couldn’t help but wonder if this really place could become our new home...

But that hope was immediately shot down once Hans’ face came to the forefront of my mind.

Until people like him are brought down, we’d never be free.

Chapter Text

(Max’s POV)

Once Jean showed us to our rooms everyone filed into mine and Dylan’s.

Don’t judge me.

Fang and Maya, Iggy and Ella, and Nudge and Angel had all already bunked together. And as much as I love Gazzy I didn’t want to be stuck in the same room as him in case he had one of his episodes.

So I was left with Dylan, and Gazzy was bunking with Total and Akila.

“Alright guys we still have to stop Hans. I know we have something like a month so we don’t need to barrel out of here at the moment, but I do want to know what you guys think of this place” I said, opening the floor for them to speak.

“Oh my gosh! I love it here! Please, please, please can we stay Max? It’s everything we’ve been looking for. A home, food, kids like us! And we’d even get to learn at a real school!” Nudge said excitedly, lightly bouncing on Dylan’s bed with her knees.

“I don’t know. The last time we went to a school it didn’t go well even before Anne turned out to be a traitor” Gazzy said warily.

“Yeah I’m not really into the whole school thing” Iggy chimed in, sounding firm in his stance.

I remembered that they both had a hard time with bullies at the North Adams School in Virginia.

“Yeah but this would be different Ig. You would be going to School with people like you this time” Ella said happily, trying to reassure him.

Iggy just scratched the back of his head, looking conflicted.

I switched my gaze to Fang and Maya.

“Well what do you guys think?” I asked them.

They just shrugged.

“I think we might like staying here” Maya said, sounding blase.

Fang, true to himself said nothing, but I could tell from his slack face that he truly was indifferent.

I glanced at Dylan.

“I think this place could be really good for us” he said smiling, not an ounce of hesitation in his voice.

I nodded, having expected his answer already.

Finally I looked at Angel.

She had remained oddly quiet throughout the whole discussion.

I knew she had matured greatly in these past 15 months, but she was still mostly her cheerful self. And a lot less burdened now that she had shared her precognitive abilities with us.

After a moment's consideration she turned her eyes to meet my gaze.

“I really want to stay” she said, her tone hopeful, “I know we need to stop Hans, but I want to come back here after we do. The Professor can help me with my abilities”

I nodded in agreement.

She was right. There could be people here who could help us with our powers. And now that I've heard everyone's opinions I needed to tell the Flock my idea.

“I think we should tell them about Hans” I stated, my tone resolute.

The Flock looked at me in shock.

“If they really are the X-men then they should be able to help us. I mean after all, they’ve saved the world before too right? Maybe we can convince them to help us stop Hans. Because let's face it. We’ve got too many bases to cover and too little time. If we just go after him ourselves there’s always a risk that something could go wrong. But if we get them to help us they might have access to resources we don’t” I informed them, explaining my line of reasoning.

Excluding Angel they were all giving me apprehensive looks.

“It could work” Dylan replied after a moment's contemplation.

“The question is if they’ll actually help us or not” Fang countered untrustingly.

“If we tell them everything about us they would have a reason to help us right? I mean Mr. Xavier is an activist for peace. He wouldn’t want a worldwide massacre” Nudge retorted.

“Unless he’s one of the world’s rich jerks funding Hans and his merry band of scientists” Maya reminded her.

Nudge pursed her lips.

“Don’t any of you watch the news? Xavier is the figurehead for mutant-human peace” Total said, as he stayed snuggled with Akila.

“It could be a front though” I said, playing devil's advocate.

“I read Scott’s mind” Angel revealed, “It’s not a front”

I nodded, making up my mind.

“So. All in favor of telling Professor Mutant our life story raise your hand”

Chapter Text

(Xavier’s POV)

I couldn’t stop thinking about the nine children that had been brought to my school yesterday.

I could sense that they all had been through a lot, but I didn’t want to violate their privacy and delve into their minds when they were so weary to trust others.

I couldn’t help but wonder how they all met and why they all shared a similar scent and elevated heartbeat. I had no doubt that the children were mutants. But for all of them to share traits like that was unusual. I hope that eventually they will be able to open up to us. But I will be patient until then.

I think the girl, Alex, in particular would be good for Logan. From the interactions I saw of the two I could tell they had the potential to bond closely with one another. And I knew Logan hadn’t felt a kinship with anyone like that since he met Rogue.

It was the day after the kids had come to the school, and Logan, Jean, Scott and I were trying to figure out what to do with the children.

“Maybe we could give them a tour of the school?” Jean suggested.

“I’m no tour guide. If you wanna walk the kids around the school the joy is all yours” Logan said, putting an unlit cigar in his mouth out of habit.

“Again, why are you even here?” Scott retorted, glaring at Logan through his glasses.

“Scott, Logan cares for the children here in his own way, never doubt that” I lightly chastised.

Logan smirked at Scott, who just answered with a scowl.

I resisted the urge to sigh. The two of them and their petty childish rivalry.

I heard a knock at my doors. I recognized the feel of the mind as Alex’s.

“Come in Alex” I called out.

Alex pushed open the doors, and walked in. I gave her a warm smile.

“How can I help you?” I inquired curiously.

“We’d like to ask for your help in stopping a really bad guy. The world literally depends on it” she said seriously, no amount of jest in her tone.

I couldn’t help but blink in shock at her omission. That definitely hadn’t been what I had been expecting.

“A little dramatic there don’t cha think kid?” Logan asked stiffly, though I could tell he was curious.

Alex just glared at him.

“I wish it was. We all agreed that we can trust you, and we need your help. We need the X-men” she stated resolutely.

I remained silent, waiting to see how the conversation panned out and what exactly this threat was.

“What kind of bad guy are we talking about here?” Scott asked.

“The kind that wants to kill every single human and repopulate the planet with mutants after he nukes the entire world” Alex stated without an ounce of hesitation in her voice.

For good long minute no one spoke.

I could sense no untruth in her words.

I rubbed my temples.

“You’re joking right?” Scott finally said, breaking the silence.

Alex pinned him with a stare.

“Are you going to hear me out or not?” Alex demanded, the annoyance rising in her tone.

I gave her an affirming nod, “Of course we will Alex. Please have a seat”

Tense, she nodded and moved to sit in front of my desk.

“Well I guess to start I should tell you that my name is not Alex. It’s Max. Maximum Ride” Alex began, sounding apprehensive.

I didn't begrudge her for that. It took a lot of courage to admit to one's lie that had obviously been stated in order to keep them safe.

Scott and Jean gave each other bemused glances while Logan seemed to have an edge of understanding in his contemplative gaze.

“My Fl-friends and I are mutants but not the kind you are” she stated, her face carefully neutral though I could see that she was ready to sprint out of the room at a moment's notice.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. Scott, Jean, and Logan seemed taken back by the omission as well.

“I am not certain that I understand quite what you mean?” I asked her carefully, curiously.

“I mean we are man-made mutants who were experimented on to have an evolutionary feature that allows us to continuously gain other abilities” she said clenching her fists on the armrests.

An hour later my sadness at the people of the world had reached new heights. How anyone could steal, murder, and experiment on children, and plot to kill off the people of the world was something that I could not comprehend.

None of us truly had anything to say. Logan in particular had an angry edge to his mind. The children's situation more than likely was hitting home for him in several ways.

I was just grateful that Erik wasn’t here to hear any of this. It would hit far too close to home for him to not take this matter personally.

“So. Are you going to help us or not” Max said, getting slightly impatient.

“With all the strength we have” I proclaimed.

Max nodded, relief settling in her shoulders.

“First things first. Since you all would like to stay here I’d like to scan all of you to see just what abilities all of you have. You mentioned that you all have multiple abilities and I want to make sure we know the best ways to help all of you” I redirected.

Right now I wanted them to focus on something rather than worry themselves sick about this Dr. Hans.

Max reluctantly nodded.

“I know Angel would definitely appreciate your help. She’s a strong telepath too” Max said.

I blinked owlishly at her.

“Isn’t Angel the one who is able to see into the future?” I asked, wondering if I had gotten my facts misconstrued. The young girl couldn’t possibly have two exceptionally strong powers like that.

“Yup. You’ll find that out of all of us Angel’s hit the genetic jackpot. Those aren’t the only powers she has either” Max said smirking, a proud yet exasperated edge to her voice.

I was flabbergasted.

Exactly how many powers did these children have in addition to all the ones they had naturally from being part avian? The geneticist in me itched to find out just what the so called Whitecoats had done to their DNA, but I tempered that growing curiosity for now.

“I guess we should count ourselves lucky that you kids said F-you to this School or else humanity would’ve kissed itself goodbye a long time ago” Logan said, recovering slightly from his foul mood.

“Hey they created me in order to be the savior of the world. They just never counted on me being the one to decide who to save it from. In the long run they should’ve figured that putting their supposed savior in a cage and performing painful experiments on said person would make them turn on them, but hey, what do I know about making loyal soldiers” Max said sarcastically.

Logan and I chuckled at her dark humor.

“Well, shall we get your Flock and proceed to the testing room?” I asked.

I notice her tense slightly.

“A poor choice of words on my part. I apologize. The testing room is where we identify a student’s abilities and sometimes test them their capabilities through some of our obstacle courses in order to see how much control they have” I reassured her, happy when her tension lessened.

“And how exactly will you be ‘identifying our abilities’?” Max inquired suspiciously.

“One of our students here has the power to instinctively identify a person’s power. He and Hank worked together to build a scanner based off of his ability in order to help understand the overall extant of a new student’s range of capabilities with their powers” I explained to her.

“I’m not gonna be wearing some giant foil hat or something am I” she asked.

“No foil hats I assure you” I answered with an amused chuckle.

She still seemed wary, but I could sense that she would follow regardless.

“Let us go shall we?”

Chapter Text

(Max’s POV)

The Flock and I stood in the entirely white room. Even the tech equipment was white.

It was just us, the Professor and the freaky trio again.

Jean came over to us with a hand held contraption that was, yup you guessed it, white.

“I know that none of you like needles, but this machine is similar to what diabetics use to check their blood sugar. But instead of checking the drop of blood for your blood sugar it will identify the powers you all possess and any subskills within them that you are currently capable of” said explained.

I looked down wearily at the machine. I sucked in a breath and I nodded my head.

If I expected the Flock to trust them I needed to show them that I was willing to do the stuff they asked of us.

I reached my hand over to Jean and pressed my index finger down onto the silver pad. A mild pinprick was all the pain I felt as the computer to our left came to life. The word, processing came up onto the screen.

After an agonizingly long minute the computer filed the data onto the screen:

Maximum Ride

Avian Physiology
- Enhanced Eyesight, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Touch, Enhanced Taste
- Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Reflexes, Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Balance, Enhanced Endurance, Enhanced Durability, Enhanced Jumping, Enhanced Swimming
- Regenerative Healing Factor, Internal Compass, Predatory Instincts, Aerial/Atmospheric Adaptation, Avian Intuition
- Wings, Hollow Skeleton, Enhanced Lung Capacity, Enhanced Metabolism, Accelerated Aging, Enhanced Temperature Regulation, Enhanced Digestion, Blood Transfusion (cellular disintegration, mutagenic blood), Wing Oil Secretion
Augmented Intelligence
- Social Intuition, Tactical Analysis
Extra-Sensory Perception
- Danger Sense, Precognitive Dreams, Psychic Navigation, Reflective Divination
Mind Link
Hi-Speed Flight Mode
Body Manipulation
- Feign Death, Body Temperature Manipulation (Heat Generation)
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance

“Wow Max I never knew you had so many powers!” Nudge squealed next to me.

I couldn’t help but blush.

“I just didn’t think it was important to tell all of you. The most my skills ever did was make me feel like I was losing my mind” I grumbled.

The X-men sent me understanding looks at my omission. Meanwhile, Ella was singing me praises next to Nudge, and Gazzy was reading the information off to Iggy.

I looked over at Dylan and he smiled as if to tell me that he always knew that I was awesome. Blushing, I turned away from him pretty quickly. When I did I caught sight of Maya frowning at the screen.

I wondered if she even had any extra skills. She never did mention any, although I suspected that she might.

“A flying fish huh?” Logan said smirking.

“Better than having dog breath” I retorted, smirking back at him.

“We’ll need to look into your body manipulation skills to see if you’re capable of more with it. And we can definitely have someone help you control your psychic abilities more” The Professor said with kind eyes.

“Who’re you linked with?” Scott asked curiously.

“Jeb. The School experimented on my brain more than once. The link isn’t perfect though. It feels like my skull is splitting apart if he sends any kinds of mental images through it” I said bitterly.

The Professor just gave me a sad look, and the entire room had gone silent.

'Way to once again be a kill-joy' I thought.

“Alright. Who’s next?” Jean asked.

Bless her little heart.

“Physical age order” I said, staring at the Flock. I ignored the raised eyebrow from Logan.

Fang nodded and moved forward. He copied my actions and we all sat back waiting for the screen to add him into the system.

When the screen beeped we all looked up:

Fang

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Sound Manipulation
- Inaudibility, sound amplification, sound nullification
Hi-Speed Flight Mode
Body Manipulation
- Camouflage, hair/eye/skin color manipulation
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance
Invincibility

Looking at his stats it struck me how similar we were. Maybe Fang’s theory about my blood giving him similar powers to my own really did have some merit.

“Invincibility…” we all heard Scott mutter.

“More like my DNA is invincible and infinitely regenerative. Some things that should leave me dead I can come back from…I can die” Fang deadpanned.

Logan was giving Fang a long contemplative glance. Probably wondering if Fang was going to have an extended lifespan like him. I grit my teeth at the thought. Being alone in the world because I outlived the Flock was not a gift. More like a tragic curse. Logan definitely had my respect in that regard. If it was me I don’t think that I would just be a gruff no-nonsense type of person, I’d be insane.

As the X-men tried to process our varied skills, Iggy went up and pressed his finger down onto the pad.

Fang gave Iggy a grateful brush to the shoulder. A minute later Iggy’s data replaced Fang’s:

Iggy

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Echolocation
- Air Current Sense, Water Sense
Enhanced Thermoception
- Infrared Detection
Enhanced Synesthesia
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance

“All your abilities have enhanced your other senses in place of your eyesight. Truly fascinating” the Professor stated in wonder.

Iggy flushed red.

Ella came up and held his hand.

“You really are amazing” I heard her say. I couldn’t help but smile at that.

The X-men were still amazed that they hadn’t noticed Iggy’s blindness before I told them during our little story time.

“I guess I’m up then” Maya muttered.

She didn’t seem too enthusiastic as she waited for her info to come onto the screen.

When it finally did I eagerly read through her stats:

Maya

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance
Heatproof Skin
Mental Shield

“Interesting. Well, like Max we’ll have to test the limits of your shield” the Professor said, clearing pondering something.

And I had the feeling I knew what it was.

It wasn’t a long list like mine, Fang and Iggy’s had been. And I wondered if that had to do with Maya being a clone. In the past she had been surprised by our extra skills, so I wasn’t even sure if our clones were capable of getting extra skills. But looking at Maya’s abilities a chill went down my spine. Her ability to withstand heat nullified my heat generating ability, and her mental shield could potentially block my psychic senses.

Sure I had other skills but I couldn’t help but wonder if she would develop other skills in opposition to mine? Had she been designed that way in order to defeat me? But that should been impossible. The skills we developed were for the most part random unless they developed for survival purposes. Even then, the developments were situational.

Maybe it’s because she’s constantly trying to show everyone that we’re different people?

Before I could delve further into that train of thought Dylan eagerly stepped forward placing his hand on the pad.

All of us already knew he had a lot of powers. I’d be interesting to see them all laid out.

Dylan was practically radiating in anticipation by the time the data came up onto the screen:

Dylan

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Enhanced Eyesight
- Telescopic, Microscopic, X-Ray, Chrono Vision
Empathic Voice
Healing Saliva
Knowledge Replication
- Instant Learning, Adoptive Muscle Memory
Supernatural Beauty
- Mesmerizing Presence, Social Magnetism
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance

Glancing at Dylan I saw that he looked as if he was a male peacock during mating season.

“Wow no wonder you’re such a fast learner Dylan I’m so so so jealous of you right now!” Nudge squealed.

I could’ve sworn Fang scoffed slightly. And judging from the fact Maya elbowed him lightly while smirking I was sure I had heard right.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Men and their egos.

I glanced over at Dylan.

“I always knew that there was something unnatural about your looks” I said to him jesting.

He smirked back at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“What can I say? I’m your siren” he said with a smug grin.

I immediately recoiled back. Embarrassed, I looked away from him.

“What the heck is in their genes?” I heard Scott grumble. Logan was just shaking his head amused.

“Such an incredible variation in powers” I heard the Professor mutter to himself.

“I guess I’m up next” Ella said a little wearily.

I patted her shoulder in encouragement as she sucked in a breath as her abilities came up on the screen:

Ella

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance
Cold Immunity
Light Manipulation
- Elemental Healing (light), Glowing

When her information came up it didn’t surprise me that Ella didn’t have many abilities right now, she had only just been turned into a mutant. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s why Maya didn’t have that many skills either. Dylan had been extensively experimented on by Hans so he didn’t count.

Turns out I wasn’t the only one thinking about the list sizes.

“How come some of you have more powers than others?” Scott asked out loud to no one in particular.

“Because Ella was only just turned into a mutant about a month ago and Maya is less than two years old” I replied shortly.

“But Dylan –”

“Was heavily experimented on” I said cutting Scott short, “The only reason Ella has more than one ability right now is probably due to whatever experiments the Whitecoats did on her”

I looked over to Ella who was talking to the Professor. Mostly likely about who was going to help her with her light manipulation power.

“Me, me, me! I’m up next!” Nudge screeched, bounding over to a flummoxed Jean.

By the time her data came up she was already bouncing in place:

Nudge

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Hacking Intuition
Psychometry
- Retrocognition, Tactile Empathy
Magnetism Manipulation
- Attraction, Repulsion, Lock Manipulation, Metal Manipulation
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance

“Magnetism manipulation…” Logan said sounding uneasy.

I didn’t like how his voice had a weary edge to it. The Professor glanced expressionlessly at the screen. Did they have a bad experience with someone with Nudge’s magnetism ability?

“Ever hack into the Pentagon kid?” Logan asked, changing the subject.

“Nope, but I’ve hacked into a lot of secret government lab computers if that counts for something” Nudge said smiling with pride.

He humphed. “You brats are your own small army” he said lowly, probably thinking back to how we were created to be soldiers. Before the awkward silence could come back Gazzy stepped forward. “Let’s do this thing!” he cheered. I laughed at his attempt to avert everyone’s attention from Nudge:

Gazzy

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Voice Manipulation
- Vocal Replication, Sonic Voice
Omnilingualism
Bodily Secretions
- Noxious Farts, Acid saliva, Nitroglycerin sweat
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance

“You’re a troublemaker aren’t you kid?” Logan stated...It wasn’t a question.

Gazzy gave him his best angelic looking smile.

“Yup. Remind me never to be in the same room as you when you pass gas” Logan said wrinkling his nose.

Gazzy couldn’t help but cackle out a laugh.

Angel just happily skipped over to Jean and placed her finger on the silver pad.

As the computer beeped she gave a quick smile to the Professor:

Angel

Avian Physiology (See archives for further details)
Telepathy
- Mind Reading, Psychic Communication, Mind Control, Telempathy, Emotion Manipulation, Illusion Manipulation, Memory Manipulation, Memory Reading, Sensory Scrying
Animal Manipulation
- Zoolingualism, Animal Mind Control, Animal Empathy
Aquatic Adaptation
- Gills, Water Pressure Resistance
Shapeshifting
- Human/Animal Morphing
Precognition

“So powerful at so young an age…” The Professor said trailing off before glancing at Angel.

I wonder if they were having a mental conversation?

Regardless, I was happy that she had someone to turn to as a mentor. I never did think how hard it probably was for her to hear everyone’s thoughts growing up.

Angel just looked at me and smiled, as if to say "Its okay".

“Shapeshifting too…like Mystique” Jean chimed in, sounding fascinated.

Logan looked down at Angel and bluntly declared, “You are one scary little runt you know that?”

Angel just smiled sweetly at him.

“Max says the same thing” she responded, giggling.

I resisted the urge to stick my tongue at her.

“I know you said that you guys have an evolutionary feature to your genes, but Angel has more powers than most of you and she’s supposed to be only seven right?” Scott asked, confused.

I shrugged.

“We think it has to do with the fact that we were on the run for our lives. We only really started developing other powers after that. Up until then most of us only had one skill” I replied.

“It makes sense” Jean said contemplatively, “When your lives became endangered again it would make sense that evolutionary factor in your genes would activate in order to help you develop more skills in order for you to survive”

“Hans’ genetic accelerant definitely played a part though” Dylan pointed out.

“Genetic accelerant?” Jean questioned worriedly, startled by Dylan's statement.

“Ugh, I remember that! That was horrible! We all got so sick from that!” Nudge said annoyed, her nose scrunching in distaste at the memory.

“Are you all alright? Do you need Jean to scan you or something?” Scott asked worriedly.

“Don’t sweat over it. It was a while ago. The point of his little experiment on us was to increase the speed of our evolutionary factor. Which I guess it did, considering most of our skills really started to expand afterwards” I explained, really hoping they wouldn’t insist on doing a check up (really hoping).

Jean really looked like she was ready to continue arguing for a doctor’s visit when Logan stepped in.

“Let it go Jean. They’ll come to you when they’re ready. Not before” he stated gruffly.

I gave him a nod of thanks. Somehow from the start I sensed that he was a kindred spirit, that he understood us.

“None-the-less, now that we know where all of you stand we can properly come up with a training schedule. I know that most of you are resistant to the idea of schooling but I implore you to at least give the classes a chance. Jean will have schedules prepared for you tomorrow and you may start in on your classes on Monday if you’d like” the Professor stated, changing the topic.

I knew he wouldn’t force us to go to class if we truly didn’t want to right now, but his gentle grandfatherly tone would haunt you and make you feel guilty for not going.

I could see the excitement on the girls’ faces (excluding Maya’s of course). I could also tell from the expressions on Iggy and Gazzy’s faces that they were planning on skipping out on Monday.

As if I’d let them. If we’re going to be staying here then they’re going to have to get used to the idea of homework (mentally shudders).

Fang and Maya seemed indifferent…and more interested in each other at the moment.

Suddenly I felt a hand in mine. I look to the right to cerulean eyes staring back at me.

“Looks like your decision to land here may end up saving the world” he said.

Looking back over to my Flock interacting with the X-men I couldn’t help but agree.

“Well what can I say? I am the best. The ultimate. THE Maximum” I proclaimed.

Chapter Text

(Max’s POV)

It has been two months since the Flock and the X-men saved the world from Dr. Hans. And I really do thank every deity on the face of this planet that we had landed in Bayville. Dr. Evil had an army of both humans and mutants that he was controlling through the One Light, waiting to stall us at his base that he had so modestly dubbed Himmel.

For those not keeping up with their German, Himmel means Heaven (ego much?).

Not to mention Hans had released the H8E virus, causing mass panic around the globe. So in order to get things done we broke off into four groups. The Cure Retrieval Team, the Army Crushers, the Missile Hackers, and the Head Honcho Stoppers.

Angel, Ella and Dr. Hank McCoy helped the Cure Retrieval Team and spread the remedy across the globe through airborne mists and distributions of vials. Meanwhile Nudge hacked into Hans’ computer and allowed Iggy and Gazzy to realize their dream of using nuclear grade explosives to destroy the giant meteor hurtling down to Earth. Surprisingly, Fang’s Gang had returned in order to assist him, Maya, the X-men, and even the Brotherhood in the fight against the army of One Lighters. I could tell Kate and Star hadn’t been forgiven for their betrayal, but they seemed to really want to make up for it. Star in particular was a trump card in breaking the army out of Beth’s hypnotism. Scott and Logan ended up having a competition on who could take out more enhanced Erasers, M-Geeks and Hulks.

That left me, Dylan and Jean to deal with Hans and any other head conspirators to his plan. During our infiltration Jeb had come after me. Even after everything I couldn’t kill him. But Dylan had in order to save me after Jeb had attempted to sneak attack me after I had kicked him into a gurney.

I still don’t really know how to feel about that...

However when Beth the brain-sucker showed up I quickly snapped her neck. Brain-sucker or not she honestly thought she was doing what was best for the world, so I tried to make her death as painless as possible.

I hated having to kill them, but every time people like her, Jeb and Hans got away things just keep getting worse. So I hope that we made the right decision...

When Jean had finally located Hans he had already lost control of the missiles, and unveiled his last resort: He had strapped a detonator to himself as a failsafe in case we removed him from the missile's controls. The detonator itself would be able to remotely activate the missiles if they were within a specific range of him when it detonated. This left me to speed fly him high into the air before the timer went off. Even as I tossed him away from me, he continued to curse me to the high heavens. Speed flying away, I built up my internal body heat in the ten seconds that I had left before the bomb exploded. Needless to say I lost a few feathers that day and had to get a new haircut. Thankfully everything grew back...Eventually.

In the time since Hans was defeated we have been enjoying not being on the run for our lives.

The Flock made the unanimous decision to stay at Xavier’s ritzy school, and so far nothing seemed like it was going to blow up in our faces. Hank continued researching our biology in order to figure out just what the Whitecoats had done to us, and discovered that our evolving arsenal of powers stemmed from the Whitecoats mutating our X-gene to contain an evolutionary factor (the joys).

Soon after we settled in the remnants of Fang’s Gang decided to join us at Xavier’s as well rather than attending one of the other reopened mutant schools. The other students had thought we were unusual at first. Their curiosity soon turned to jealousy when they found out about our multiple abilities. The fact that we had joined the older X-men on a mission to save the world didn’t help either. But they got over it quick enough after learning about our pasts (not entirely in detail though). Bullying was never an issue (we would’ve clobbered them if they even tried), and the teachers wouldn’t have stood for it anyway.

It’s been…dare I say it? Nice.

The learning was tolerable. We got to choose our own specialized classes. The Professor had me getting into politics so I could continue my promising career as an advocate. He even (semi) joked that one day I could be the first female mutant president.

Fang had taken up creative writing and expanded his blog (Should have figured). Maya on the other hand had decided to become a French teacher. Why is totally beyond me.

Iggy decided to triple focus in on chemistry, engineering and cooking. I have no doubt that he would work in his own restaurant by day, and be one of the military’s go-to chemical engineers by night.

Dylan and Ella wanted to go into the medical field as doctors...I still can’t help but cringe at that.

Dylan also decided to further his interest in astrology as well. Can’t say I’m surprised though since he can actually see into space (no telescope needed).

Nudge, like Iggy, is triple focusing in fashion, computers and car mechanics. When Nudge first announced her plans Jean definitely made a face at her choice combination. Hey, what can I say? We’re unique like that.

Gazzy decided to follow in Iggy’s footsteps and go into chemistry and engineering.

We had to have a talk early on after he had purposefully caused in explosion in class.

And Angel? She decided that she wanted to become a vet. She always did love pets, and her powers will definitely help her in the field.

As I walked down the stone pathway in my newly bought studded sandals I couldn’t help but think how my decision to stop in Bayville had changed our lives, and the fate of the world for the better.

“Hello Max”

I looked up into cerulean eyes.

Dylan looked nothing short of incredible in his two piece black suit, his face lit up in the dark of the night by the candles at our secluded table for two.

My last world altering decision had turned out perfectly.

I clutched my yellow one-sleeved sundress and hoped that this next one would finally give me my own happy ending.