Tattered Wings

You're Not Who You Say You Are.

Peter closed the door behind him before turning to face the disaster that occupied the chair in the middle of the room. To him, Dylan looked as though he was asleep, but he could tell that he wasnt. He was awake and aware of everything going on around him and Peter was taking advantage of that, knowing that his words would wound Dylan and cause him harm.

"Max is one of us now. She is not yours and never will be yours."

Dylan looked up at him and smiled sweetly which instantly made Peter suspicious and wary.

"Max belongs to no one. She is only loyal to herself and she will turn against you at a moments notice just like she turned against her Flock."

Peter threw the baseball bat at Dylan and it rebounded off his chest, forcing the air to leave his lungs with a woosh.

"Max would never do anything like that! She is loyal to those she calls her family!"

Dylan barked a laugh and replied snidely.

"Then you obviously dont know the real Maximum Ride, do you?" he asked, grinning, "She turned against her own father when he constantly tried to save her life. She killed her own younger brother! Her blood brother!"

Peter stopped breathing.

"She had a younger brother?"

"Yes." Dylan answered him, smile fading a bit, "He was a good kid. His name was Ari. He was seven years old when she killed him in the subway tunnels of New York."

"No, no she didnt!!!" Peter Yelled, picking the baseball bat back up. "She wouldnt do that!!!" He hit Dylan across the face, splitting his lip and breaking his nose. Dylan just ginned back at him.

"She would and she did." He carried on in a taunting tone. "Max kept making all the wrong choices, bad choices. In the end she went rouge. I was given the task of killing the Flock so we could reel her back in, but that plan went to hell when your Captain America stepped in and caught her falling. I was supposed to do that." Dylan shook his head, but continued anyway. "She betrayed her Flock, the five people she had grown up with. What makes you think she wont do the same to you?"

Peter swung the bat and it hit Dylan across his back, snapping both his wings and his face scrunched up with pain. Peter breathed in a shaky breath and met Dylans eyes.

"Stop lying to me."

Dylan laughed again, a broken sound filling the air.

"What good will lying do for me? Im already doomed. If i dont take Max back, im as good as dead. She betrayed me too."

"But, Max would never... why are you telling me this?"

"Because i never had a choice when it came to Max,.but you? You do. Im telling you about the real Maximum Ride, the one you havent met yet, but you will, soon enough. She is in a position where she can break everybody. And really, what is to stop her? She has Money, Power and Fame. She has everything she needs and the only things standing in her way are You, Steve and Tony. Thats it. There is no reason as to why she cant just kill you now and take everything."

"She cant do that. She wont do that."

Dylan sighed and bowed his head.

"She can Peter and given the chance, she will. She takes every advantage and leaves no prisoners. Everything is done her way."

Peter swung the bat one last time, slicing the air and hit Dyaln on the top of his head and blood poured down Dylans face. He didn't check to see if he was still conscious before he stormed out of the room. As soon as the door was closed once more, Dylan (who was in fact still conscious) grinned and laughed quietly to himself. That should break Max's perfect life apart again. And i get to see the aftermath.

Peter walked slowly down the hallway, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. Surely it wasnt right. Max would never....would she? Questions floated at top speed around Peters head until they made him dizzy and he leaned against the wall so he didnt fall over.

"Peter?" 

Peter spun round to see Steve looking at him with a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah?" he replied, glad that his voice held steady. 

"Are you okay? you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Pops... is Max who she says she is? Like, did you check her background and everything when you found her?" Peter asked, trying to make sense of the questions in his head.

"Well, yes, of course we did. Why the sudden interest?" Steve seemed surprised at his sons outburst.

"Because Dylan said something. And before you yell at me, hear me out. He told me that Max has a biological mother and sister and that they are still alive, but she didnt go back to them because she is here. He also said that she went rouge which was why he killed the Flock. And then he said that she killed her seven year old brother in the subways of New York. Did you find that out when you researched her?"

Steve stayed silent for a moment before he tried to answer, but someone else beat him to it.

"I did kill Ari. But i didnt mean too." Max whispered. "And they brought him back to life a few months before he died in my arms. And i lost contact with my mum and Ella a while ago. A long while ago. And i never went rouge. Ever." Max walked past them silently back to her room and they watched her go. Peter made to go after her, but Steve stopped him.

"She's had a bad night. Leave it till morning. We can all talk then."