Tattered Wings

You're not dead

One week later

Max was walking (yes...walking.) back to Stark Towers alone when she felt someone watching her. It wasn't Peter because he was at a Science club thing and it wasn't Tony or Steve because they were at the Tower already. She moved further towards the middle of the crowd to make sure she was almost invisable to anyone walking on the outside or on top of the buildings, but she could still feel eyes burning a hole in her back. Pulling her bag on her back tighter, she quickened her walk till she was almost running and, making sure she had enough space first, took off into the sky. Max was only five minutes away from landing on the roof of Stark Towers when she felt a hand grab her ankle in a death grip. She carried on flying until she reached Stark Towers then she braked suddenly, sending the person holding her ankle head over wings onto the roof. Landing gracefully beside them, she grabbed the stranger by his hair and jolted his head up so that they were face to face. 

And she immediately let go again, stumbling backwards and falling over.

It wasn't a stranger.

It was Fang.

"No" she whispered, "It's not true. I'm hallucinating. I've gone crazy. It's not true. He's dead, He's gone he's not coming back"

Fang groaned and pushed himself off the ground, holding a hand to his head. "Ouch" he stumbled a bit as he stood up, trying to regain his balance, not noticing Max hyperventilating behind him. "Max?" He turned round to see her hyperventilating and ran to her side. Fang tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but she cringed away from his touch and moved away from him.

"Stay away from me," she hissed at him.

"Max?" He sounded hurt. She wasn't falling for it.

"You're not Fang. Fang is dead. All my Flock are dead."

"Max......I'm alive. I'm standing right here in front of you." He gestured to himself, "I'm talking to you Max. I'm alive."

"No your not. I'm hallucinating. DAD! POPS!"

"Max what are doing?" Fang asked shrinking back.

"Attempting to convince myself i'm not crazy"  she replied as Steve and Tony came running out onto the roof.

"Max? Whats happened? Why did you shout?" Steve asked running over to her and hugging her. Max pointed at Fang and hid her face in Steves chest. "Please tell me he isn't there and that i'm going crazy. Please just tell me i'm going crazy."

Tony grabbed Fang by his collar and dragged him over to Max and Steve. "Does anyone care to tell me why there is a teenage guy standing on my roof?"

"Oh God he really is there isn't he?" Max asked, her voice muffled by Steve's shirt.

"Who is he Max?" Tony asked, shaking Fang when he tried to get away.

"He's Fang" she whispered so quietly Tony had to ask again.

"Who?" 

"FANG!!!" She yelled, pulling away from Steve, "He's Fang! Only he's not because Fangs dead, but he's standing right there and i'm not hallucinating because you guys can see him too and it's really confusing and he's not dead but he is!" Max ran inside and dissapeared into her room, slamming the door behind her.

"You have exactly one minute to explain who you are and who sent you" Tony growled, dragging Fang inside, "Or you die."

Whilst Fang was explaining what had happened and where he had come from, Steve had managed to convince Max to come out her room and speak to him. She froze in the doorway of the kitchen where Tony was interrogating Fang, but Steve pulled her forward. "Tony, maybe we should let them have some privacy to catch up."

"But Steve-"

"No buts Tony." Steve grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him from the room mumbling something to JARVIS. Max and Fang left completely alone in the kitchen with only the table to seperate them. Max was the one to break the deadly silence.

"How? How is it even possible?"

"The School. They brought me back to life." Max stepped beckwards and pressed herself against the wall. "Don't. I'm not here because of them. I'm here for you. I'm here because i love you and i need to warn you about Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagan. He's coming for you Max and he's not going to stop until he gets you. I got to you first so i could warn you. but mainly so i could see you again. so i could say, just one more time..... I love you."

Max flung herself across the tabl and hugged him tightly, vowing to herself she was never letting go of him again. Unfortunately, Peter chose that moment to wander into the room and witness the whole thing. "Um hi?"

"Peter? Your back. This is Fang. Fang this is my adopted brother Peter."

"Hi Fang. Sorry i interupted." He backed out the room and Max could here him running down the hallway. Before she could say anything, Fang had swooped down to kiss her, just like he did the time before he left after Total and Akilas wedding.

"Where are you going?" Max asked, pulling away slightly.

"What makes you think i'm going somewhere?"

"You only kiss me like that when you're going somewhere and you're not going to be back for a while."

"I'm not going to be back ever. This is only temporary."

"What's only temporary? Why aren't you going to be back?"

"I love you."

"Answer me Fang!" She yelled. Fang stayed silent and just smiled sadly. Then, as if a switch had been turned off. Fang crumpled to the gound unmoving. 

"NO!" she screamed, dropping down next to him "YOU CAN'T DIE!!! NOT AGAIN!!!"

Tony, Steve and Peter burst into the room and looked around. Peter realised immediately what had happened and knelt next to Max, shielding her eyes from Fangs body as Steve took him away. Tony tried to take Max from Peter, but he shook his head and lifted Max up himself. Tony followed him to Max's room and held the door open for him so he could get into the room. He put Max on her bed, where she curled up and sobbed silently. He didn't know if it would help, but he pulled down the wings that were left behind when the School had first taken Fang and Max had brought home, and laid them next to her. She pulled them too her chest and sobbed harder. He had just made things worse. He left Max's room and shut the door behind him, turned and came face to face with Tony.

"How is she?" Tony inquired.

"She's just watched her boyfriend die in her arms for the second time in four months and has been given no explaination for it whatsoever, been told that her boyfriend was brought back to get her by the people who killed him and her family in the first place and has just realised there is no-one like her left in the world and feels she is completely alone. Yeah, she's singing about sunshine and daisies in there."

"You're right, stupid question."

"Ya think?"