Maximum Ride, Nevermore Fanfic

     Hearing footsteps behind me, I whipped around. It was Iggy. I flew down from where I was
perched on the branch of a tree, and set down beside him on the small bit of land.
     I touched his arm. “You okay?” I asked, seeing his fixed expression.
     “Mm.” He nodded then closed his eyes. “It’s just, when we broke out of the caves I…I can see
the clouds. Just their shapes, nothing else.”
     My hand flew to my mouth, but I quickly put it down. This didn’t mean anything. He had been
able to see white in Antarctica, why not here?
     “Oh?” I asked, trying not to put too much excitement in my voice.
     He nodded and rubbed his fingers together anxiously. “And…when we were underground I could
see black.”
     “You could see the dark?” I asked.
     “No, just the cave walls. They were black. I could see their shapes.”
     I shook my head. “But you can’t see black up here?”
     Iggy cocked his head to one side and half smiled. “I can see Fang’s shirt. And sort of his hair.”
     I gasped and stood up, emitting an un-Maximum-like squeal. Iggy could see black and white.
And feel color. He was so close to sight, it was unbelievable. If he couldn’t have Dr. Gunther-Hagen’s
replacement-eyes invention, this was the next best thing.
     I snapped open my wings, ready to fly back to the others and deliver the news, when Iggy
reached out and grabbed my wrist with scary precision. “I don’t know how long it will last. I’m – scared
it will leave me. I don’t wanna go back.” I could hear genuine sadness and fear in his voice, which is not
something you usually get coming from a member of my flock.
     I smiled reassuringly, getting a surge of excitement when I thought of how maybe one day Iggy
would be able to see my smile. Finally see what the world looked like, flooded and shaken up or no.
     “It’ll be okay, Ig. It’s always okay.”

     “They’re so beautiful.” Calista gushed, and the girls around her nodded.
     Nudge fluttered her wings, levitating herself a few feet then coming back down. “Yeah, I know.”
She smiled, feeling more confident than she had in a long time.
     “You’re so lucky,” Another mutant with a snake-tongue stared longingly at her. “I would give
anything to be able to fly. I mean, you got wings and I got a tail with a rattle on the end of it.”
     Nudge laughed and beamed again, basking in the compliments. Maybe she wasn’t a normal girl,
but she was the cool one here. She was able to flyyy, like they said it. She was luckier than her friends.
     She was the one they all wanted to be.
     And it felt good. It felt right that she didn’t have to change who she was to be liked.
     Nudge stretched her wings again as the girls admired her speckled plumage, and shook them a
little, for show. They oohed and ahhed, laughing more.
     “I know.” Nudge said again, for the moment glad she was a freak. Normal would’ve made her an
outcast here. Here in the new world.
     Right now, one thing was certain. Nudge was happy, and of her wings, of her soul, of her self,
she was proud.

     Angel sucked in a breath as a tree branch sliced the back of her hand. She glanced at it, and saw blood,
but ignored the pain and pushed on. She wriggled in between Nudge and another mutant girl her age,
who were rapidly discussing who knows what.
     “I’m superman!” She heard Gazzy yell and vaguely saw him diving into the water.
     Now was not the time for that, though. Angel weaved through the last of the mutants, who
were milling around on one of the few pieces of land left above the ocean. Once she was out of the
crowd, she shook open her wings and flew to the top of the remains of one of the tree houses.
     Fang looked up as she settled down beside him.
     “She’ll be a lot like Max, you know.” Angel said quietly.
     Fang looked startled. “Who?”
     “Your girl. You and Max. A long time from now, though.” Angel remembered her vision of a dark
haired kid, flapping her chocolate wings and laughing as she soared up over the treetops. She was Max’s
daughter all right.
     “You have what you wanted now, though.” Angel reminded him. “You should accept Dylan, stop
pushing him away. There’s no reason to anymore.”
     Fang hugged his knees to his chest, looking as small as a Fang could be. “Can’t help it…” He
mumbled into his jeans.
     Angel concentrated, and sent a thought into his head.
     Think about it. Think about Dylan as a friend.
     Fang kept quiet, but Angel could already feel his thoughts slowly switching opinions.
     Angel smiled to herself. Her work here was done. It was a good feeling helping people get along,
fixing people’s decisions. A feeling that gave her power, even. Like she was leading them.
     Like she was a leader.
     Angel smiled again, thinking of Max and their bright future. Max was a girl who had faced
so much of every kind of pain and heartache, and thankfully would never have to face any kind of it
anymore.
     Nevermore.