3Yo peeps! This is a oneshot dedicated to Metal Flowers for putting my character in their story. The story is called The Expiration Date of a Family and I highly recommend it. My character's name is Tess and I am so high on my happiness that I am writing a oneshot of her thoughts around the time that she and Kara are rescued by Max and Angel. If you haven't read her story, go read chapter 8. Actually, go read the whole dang fanfic and review for good measure. You know you want to!
I do not own Maximum Ride
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Without further ado, I present to you Thoughts on a Savior
Tess's POV
We ran down the tunnel at a breakneck speed, so quickly that our wings were pulled outward slightly by the force. The flyboys were behind us and I mentally calculated that at the current speed, taking into account the energy drain, deceleration, constant speed of the fly boys, momentum and countless other things, that we had approximately 30 seconds before they caught us. Then my own speed started lagging. Maybe 20.
Kara noticed me slowing, and shouted to me, "In the air! Wings overrule legs!" I followed her advice and spread my wings, flapping with as much force as I could. My calculations told me the more power, the more lift. The tunnel was quite high, so I wanted maximum lift. I soared, coming about a yard from the ceiling. Kara and Icelyn followed my example, and the flyboys did as well. "Icelyn," Kara shouted, "Go ahead and get help!" It made sense. Icelyn was the fastest, and the best people person. She would be the best one to find assistance.
Grimly she nodded and streaked down the tunnel. In a few seconds she turned a corner and vanished from view.
I re-analyzed the speeds and shouted to Kara, "10 seconds and they get us! Stand and fight!" Me shouting, I know. Not an everyday occurrence. She nodded and dove to the ground. I followed suit and we landed. Kara let out an oof as her legs were jarred by the impact. I landed smoothly, as always. One of the advantages of a super brain.
Kara took up a stance and balled her fists. She looked ready to kill anyone who came near. I was shoved behind her back as the flyboys advanced.
Suddenly I heard footsteps. Kara heard them too, turning and throwing them a look that clearly read, help us! Then the strangest thing happened. The flyboys took one look at two girls there, a brown eyed teen about 18 or 19 and another, blond and around 11, and froze. They fell over like a forest of trees that had suddenly lost its roots. I looked at the girls shocked, uttering a small, "Thank you."
The girl with brown eyes told us to hurry and that was what we did. Kara grabbed me and swung me onto her shoulders. I loved being up there. It made me feel so tall and brave. I wish I could be like that for real. Kara introduced us. "I'm Kara. This is Tess." She ran over to the strangers and we left the tunnels.
Icelyn was waiting. "Kara," she shouted joyfully, "Tess!"
Brown eyes shushed her, and told us to start running.
The two girls led us away to a ladder that we climbed up. We were in an alley, dark and not the nicest place. Brown eyes huffed. "Perfect." She let out her wings. Yup. She was like us. The rest of us let outs out as well. The gently breeze played with the pale gray feathers. I loved my wings, all 12 feet of them. They were so beautiful in the moonlight. I glanced over at Kara, and her 15 foot wings of black and red looked eerie, gothic. Not my kind of thing, but I loved Kara and they described her pretty well.
We took to the sky and felt the wind in my hair, whipping the fine brown strands around my face. Flying was absolutely exhilarating, and I was the best at it. Stunt flying, not speed though. I heard Kara ask brown eyes, "Who are you?"
Brown eyes answered, "Maximum Ride and her merry band of mutants." She cringed as she said it, like it brought back bad memories.
Kara stared. "You're the idiot who willingly went back to the school?"
Maximum shrugged her shoulders. "We had our expiration dates. It was going there or dying."
Kara scoffed. "Dying is better than going back." I admired her proclamation, but I am ashamed to say that personally, I would go back too.
Brow- I mean, Maximum shook her head. "For you maybe, but would you have let Tess die?" I saw the metaphor. Angel and Maximum were crazily close, like me and Kara. One would give up anything for the other. I could instantly sympathize with the girl. I knew that if I got my date Kara would do anything to have it frozen. Anything at all.
My attention turned to myself. To say I was hungry would be a gross understatement. Hunger gnawed at my insides, but I certainly wasn't complaining. I wasn't a baby. My muscles ached, cried out for rest, and my wings wanted to just stop flapping already. But I still didn't speak. I was newly out of the school, and any complaints wee met by more awful tests. That was why I was so quiet. Force of habit and fear.
Angel piped up. "Tess is tired and hungry." I glared at her. Stupid mind reader. Hadn't liked the story descriptions, didn't like the real deal. I certainly did not want her blurting my every weakness and need to everyone. Stupid, stupid mind reading powers.
Icelyn piped up in response to the previous conversation. "It may have been stupid, but you saved us. What now?"
Maximum answered. "Now it's your decision. And ours."
"But for now," Angel interjected, "We stick together."
I wanted to cry from happiness. I had another family.
We landed on top of a building and sat in a circle to introduce each other. Icelyn spoke first, telling about her power to freeze stuff. She sold herself a bit short, but I of course didn't say anything.
Kara talked next, about her ability to know there things are in the dark. She probably had the coolest power of all of us. Not so, little braniac. A voice sounded in my head. Stupid mind reader. Now that isn't very polite, is it. No, your power is the most valuable. You just need to learn to display it.
GET. OUT. OF. MY. HEAD! I mentally shouted, shoving with all my brain power. I met resistance, but she was pushed out. Sweet.
My gaze locked admiringly on Maximum. She saved us, and she was the hero of so many stories. To be here was amazing. Her eyes fell to meet mine. Angel piped up. "Tess looks up to you because you saved them." Again, stupid, stupid mind reader!
I glared.
Maximum and her then told the story of their family, how they had been abandoned for wanting to live. Stupid stupid Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Maya. I blew a huge mental raspberry at them. Angel's voice echoed in my head again. That's the spirit.
Why do you like my head so much? I mentally asked. Poke around in Icelyn's or something! What makes me so interesting?
Well she answered they actually talk. I need to get in your head to know what your reactions are.
Sad but true.
Ok I thought back but could you leave now? Please?
She snickered, but I felt her exit my head.
The others were talking about how awful the former flock was. "If I ever meet them can I beat them up?" Kara asked Maximum
I frowned. "I think they're mean and stupid." Stupid former flock. Stupid mind reader who used to be part of the fart flock.
But despite the sad tale, I was happy.
Then it all turned bad.
The former flock's outline in the sky made me fume. I subconsciously calculated and timed their landing. Three, two, one, time to hate on the fart flock.
"Speak of the devil," I heard Angel mutter.
"Can I rip their heads off?" Kara asked hopefully.
"Maybe later," answered Maximum. Yay.
They landed and Maximum asked coldly, "What's up?"
One of the boys, Iggy, judging by the eyes, stepped forward. "Max! Angel! I missed you so much!"
Amelia let out a low hiss. "Not one step closer, or you'll regret it."
"We'll make sure of that," Natara answered dangerously.
Maximum asked them stonily, "When did you start missing us?"
Angel looked like she was about to cry. "When you decided that we should die alone?"
"And what was with telling my mom we were dead," Maximum shot the words at them like poison tipped darts.
"You were dead. Dead to them, dead to us." The girl who spoke looked just like Maximum, but there were subtle differences that stood out blindingly obvious to me. Her posture, the way her nose tilted.
"That shows what type of people you are," Shadow spat. "Because they are alive to us. They're family to us." My eyes teared up and I slumped to the ground weeping silently for Maximum and Angel.
The dark boy, Fang, spoke. "Max-"
Maximum bent and brought me to my feet as she snapped, "Please just leave. If we're traitors and we're dead to you, leave."
Maya sneered. "You can't tell us what to do." What a hypocrite. First you say you're dead to us, then you refuse to let us be. Make up your mind!
Maximum glanced to the side and I knew what was coming. "Kara, now." A grin spread across the girl's face and she lunged at Maya.
She used the girl as a punching bag, before being knocked out from behind by Fang. Cheater.
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXERPT FROM THE ACTUAL STORY BY METAL FLOWERS
I watched Kara get knocked out by Fang and I fell out of Max's grip.
"Icelyn, help her!" I cried. Icelyn and Max went to fight Fang and I found myself face to face with an injured Maya.
"You little brat," she snarled as she slapped me. The last person I expected to help me came to my rescue- Angel.
"Shut up!" She growled as she tackled Maya away from me. As soon as I was out fo danger, Angel's eyes flared.
She gave Maya a never ending glare and Maya started to float. Angel kept Maya up, but suddenly grew tired. She sank to the ground and Maya came barreling down twenty feet. When she hit the ground, her leg broke. She fainted from the pain.
Nudge was coming for revenge. Her face was twisted in fury.
"There's a reason why we kicked you out Angel! You're always hurting the Flock!" she shrieked. I analyzed her speed and momentum and as soon as she was in range, stuck out my leg quickly. She didn't anticipate my attack and fell to the ground.
I pressed down in the middle of her back (where her wings joined) and she screamed. I saw the way that she carried herself that that was her Achilles heel. She screamed and tried to rise but crumpled to the ground.
I could never win in hand to hand combat usually, but she was distracted. It was easy.
END EXERPT
We stood then with the foes each defeated by someone when Maximum started arguing with herself. She apparently lost, which was just disturbing, and poked Gazzy's neck. He crumpled to the ground.
"Let's move," Maximum ordered, "I'll tell you later."
We flew into the skies. Maximum carried me, Sean carried Angel, and Kara helped Shadow along. Icelyn, Kara, Sean, Natara, and Maximum hadn't gotten very hurt.
We landed in a park soon and they all turned their attention to Maximum.
"I should probably start from the beginning," She took a deep breath.
"We were all created for a purpose. The whitecoats made us to out survive the humans. But later, they decided that we had another path we could go on. We were made to either be a super race or you know, save the world. The reason Sean, Natara, Shadow, and Amelia were never put back in the School is because they had planned for us to become a Flock. The reason they had only sent twenty flyboys after Icelyn, Kara, and Tess is because they had planned for us to find you guys. But it's probably too late to save the world. Now we just have to survive, together." She finished.
"It's too late to save the world?" Angel asked worriedly.
"They said the end was near five years ago." Maximum answered, "If you guys want to try, we'll try. If not, we'll just go to some deserted island until the entire human race is dead."
"All in favor of trying," She said, "Raise your hands."
I weighed my choices. Be guaranteed safe for a little while and be at the mercy of the apocalypse, or do something about it and throw myself into the fray. I am usually timid, but seeing everyone else's faces I knew what I had to do.
And when Maximum raised her hand mine shortly followed.