M.A.X (Part 1)

M.A.X.

         "Suspended...Again. Sometimes I do not know if I should even try to sign you up for school, perhaps you would be happier in juvenile hall!" The man yelled at his daughter, who was went home from school for the twentieth time. The principal sent her home with a note saying if she got in any more fights she would be expelled. "Well what do you have to say for yourself Taylor?"
         Taylor crossed her arms and huffed. "Maybe if people didn't fuck with me I wouldn't have to knock them out."
         Her father rubbed his temples and groaned. "At one point I might have agreed with you. But you don't seem to choose your battles, you go looking for them! Go to your room and think about what you have done. I have to call the school and see if I can get your book work brought here while we deal with this temper of yours."
         Taylor stomped her foot. "Fine I will, but don't bother trying to talk to me!" She screamed as she stormed up to her room. She slammed the door and pushed her dresser in front of it. She looked out the window at the tall buildings and sighed. No one seemed to understand what she went through. The teachers never saw the dirty looks people gave her, the gossip and the lies. Ever since her parents broke up she had a hard time opening up to people. Because of it she often found herself alone which seemed to deter anyone from approaching her. "It's not my fault...it's his stupid fault for sending me to that crap school." She grabbed one of her pillows and tossed it at a family photo she had on the desk.
         She looked out and sighed as she looked at the bag next to her bed. She always told herself she would leave it all behind and start a new life. Every time she tried she would back out right at the bus stop. Then go crawling back home to more scolding and her father trying to apologize for being so harsh with her. She looked through the bag and tossed in a few more things. Maybe this time she would do it for real. She looked out the window down the fire escape. There was no one out there and it was getting dark. If she was going to escape without being seen, yet still catch the last bus out of town, she had to go now.
         She took a deep breath and picked up the bag. "Even if I don't leave town...maybe I can last long enough to at least make him regret all his scolding." She put the bag on her back and jiggled the window open as quiet as she could. Once the window was open she slipped out and gently closed it. She climbed down the rust old steps and then down the ladder onto the street with a huff. "I have said this so many times...but good bye." She decided to emphasize her discomfort by spitting on the pavement.

         Down the street a young man was humming a song as he swept the outside seating of a very small diner. He looked at his watch as the last few seconds ticked away. The man who ran the place stepped out from the door, with an envelope in hand. "Last day Max...here is your last paycheck in cash as requested. Are you sure you can't stay with us? The Mrs. will sure miss you when you're gone."
          The young man, Max, lowered his head with a sad smile. "I am sorry, but I have stayed longer then I intended. I am grateful for letting me have this job and even letting me have some of the leftovers." He said as he went into the back and took the bandana off his head and slipped the hat over his head before anyone could see. He put a dog tag around his neck with the letters 'M.A.X.' on it. He picked up his bag and slung it over his back. "I will miss you both."
         The man sighed and pulled some bills from his wallet. "The world can be hard boy, take care of yourself." Max tried to turn it down but he put it into his hand. "No complaints, you have more than earned it, not many hard workers like you out there." He hugged Max and patted him on the back. "If you are ever in town again, come visit."
         Max smiled and hugged the man back before stepping back. "I promise I will, goodbye." He said his last farewell before he sadly started walking down the street. He sighed as he smiled and looked through the money he had. "This should get me through a few weeks while I settle in again." He looked up and saw a girl angrily walking down the street. He tried to say hi but she stormed past him before he could say anything. He just shrugged it off and walked a few more steps before he heard something.
         He turned around to see a group of guys walking down the sidewalk, Max could tell they were part of one of the gangs. The girl saw them coming and turned down an alley. The guys saw her go down the alley and smirked as they followed her down. Max stopped in his tracks and quietly made his way back to see what was happening.

         Taylor saw the dead end in front of her and cursed as she quickly tried to turn around to find the guys she was trying to avoid standing in front of her. "What's a pretty thing like you doing out alone after dark? Shouldn't you be tucked into bed?"
         Taylor slowly reached for the pocket knife in her pocket and glared at them. "Screw off you punks, I don't need to be lectured by the likes of you." The leader in charge walked closer to her as she backed up and felt the cold wall behind her. "Stay back...I am warning you!" She pulled the knife from her pocket but he caught her hand.
         He yanked the knife from her hand and tossed it away. "Now that isn't nice, we were just trying to help out. Why don't you let us take you home?" He said with a tight grip on her wrist.
         Taylor tried to pull her hand free and cried out. "Let go of me you asshole!"
         Max gasped as he watched this and dropped his bag to the ground and stepped into the alley. "Hey leave her alone you bullies." His voice made them all turn. Max wasn't very big, and from the look of his baggy jacket he didn't have a lot of muscle either. They just laughed at him. Max took another step forward with confidence. "I said leave her alone...I don't want to have to get aggressive."
         The man holding Taylor's wrist laughed. "You want to get aggressive small fry, then let's get aggressive. Boys show him what we do to nosey brats."
         The three guys starting moving towards Max. Max sighed and took a deep breath as he brought one leg back and raised his hands up. They didn't seem afraid as one of them ran up and threw a few punches. Max wavered back and forth avoiding the punches. Then he grabbed his arm and reached forward grabbing his belt before he lifted him up and slammed him onto his back. He lay their groaning on his back as Max dropped back into his stance with a focused look.
         The other two guys were hesitant, but with their boss urging them forward they both went at Max at once. Max watched them with unwavering eyes as he ducked and moved out of the way of their strikes. One of them got behind him and tried to grab him. Max dropped down and did a sweeping kick making him trip and sending him falling into his pal and they both hit the ground with a flop.
         Max gave them a look and they quickly scurried out of the way as he went towards the leader who was looking in shock. Taylor also looked on in wonder. The guy let go of Taylor. "Stay away from me you bastard." He threw a punch at Max, but he felt his heart sink when Max caught his arm. Max pulled him forward and delivered a swift punch to his stomach. With him reeling over in pain Max gently pushed him to the side, making him fall to the ground.
         Max walked past him and over to Taylor with a smile, offering his hand. "May I escort you home miss, I don't think these guys will bother you anymore."
         The leader was on the ground when he spotted the knife on the ground. He reached out for it and got up on his feet. Taylor saw the knife in his hand and gasped. "Look out!" Max turned in time to see the knife coming and the blade went right into his stomach making him gasp out and fall to his knees. Taylor stepped back in shock as the thug reared back his arm and punched Max as hard as he could sending him to the ground, knocking his hat off and to the side.
         The guy was panting as his men started to get up. "You think your tough shit...HUH? You got nothing you hear me?!" He looked at Taylor who had fear in her eyes as she pressed as hard as she could to the wall. "Now to deal with you sweet heart."
         The guy didn't get two steps before Max started to stir. The sun had just set and the light on the sidewalk just flicked on lighting up the alley. Max stood up and opened his eyes, the light from the lamp making his eyes glow and reflect the yellow in his eyes. From the top of his head two big wolf like ears stood up. A big fuzzy tail slipped out of his jacket as he raised his hands. His nails coming out into claws as he bared his teeth. He had sharp teeth like a dog as he growled at them and glared.
         They stared at Max and felt a cold chill run down their spine as he stepped towards them. The leader dropped the knife as he started to sweat. "Monster...MONSTER!" He screamed as he pushed through his guys to run for his life. The others right behind them as they ran out of the alley and were running down the street screaming at the top of their lungs.
         Max took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted to scare them, but I may have overdid it." He turned back to Taylor, who was staring at him with wide eyed. He saw her take in a deep breath and he quickly ran over and put a hand over her mouth as she started screaming. She started trying to pull away but he held her firmly. "Please don't scream, the noise hurts my ears. I promise I am not going to hurt you." Taylor started panting a bit and after a few moments she finally seemed to calm down. "Are you calm now?" She nodded her head and Max pulled his hands away and walked over to pick up his hat.
         Taylor looked at him as he put the hat back over his ears and adjusted his coat so his tail was hidden under it. "What are you...?"
         Max looked at her and shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I have spent the last couple of years trying to find other people like me, sadly I have had no such luck." He picked up his bag and slung it over his back. "Want me to walk you home?"
         Taylor looked away and sighed. "I guess..." She started walking and Max was walking right next to her. She looked him top and down and without the tail and ears he looked pretty normal. "Are you okay? I mean that guy stabbed you and all."
         Max rubbed his side and laughed. "Lucky for me I heal really quickly. I was just surprised, is all."
         Taylor saw the dog tag hanging from his neck. "So...Max, does that stand for anything?"
         Max look at the dog tag and shrugged. "I don't know, but someone called me Max and the name sort of stuck. M.A.X. could mean just about anything. The last thing I remember was waking up in the street with a busted bumper in front of my face."
         "You were hit by a car?!" Taylor exclaimed.
         Max rubbed his head and laughed. "Yep, got a nice big bump on my head and now I can't remember a thing. Didn't take me long to find out I wasn't exactly...like everyone else. So I decided to go look for where I came from."
         Taylor stepped in front of her house, her father probably didn't even notice she was gone yet. She got on the first step and turned to Max. "Thanks I guess...I hope you find what you are looking for."
         Max smiled and nodded. "Thanks, try not to walk down anymore dark alleys okay?" He waved goodbye and started to walk away.
         Taylor watched him. Thinking about where she stood, could she really give up on her plans after one failure. "I was wondering...If what you're looking for has room for one more." Max froze in his steps and turned to look at her. She blushed and looked away. "Sorry...I just figured traveling alone all the time didn't seem very fun."
         Max looked away and scratched his head. "It can get very lonely at times, but I would hate to take you from your home."
         Taylor smiled a bit and walked over to him and grabbed his wrist. "Well don't worry about that, I am not very welcome there anyway. Let's find this home of yours." Max was a bit surprised by this but he couldn't help but smile as Taylor pulled him along.
         Max picked up the pace with a laugh. "This is going to be great, I have never had a traveling companion before!"
         Taylor smiled as they walked through the streets, but it soon became obvious they passed every bus stop they came across. "Um where are you going exactly? You missed all the bus stops."
         Max looked at her and laughed. "Why take the bus, this is much more fun." Taylor was skeptical as they soon left the tall buildings of the city and walked through the suburbs. They got some odd looks from people on their porches and having barbeques as they walked down the poorly lit streets. As the last house started to vanish behind them Taylor looked back at the city the last time. This was the farthest she had ever been from home. She took a deep breath and turned her back, swearing to not look back again till the city was out of sight.

         After a few hours of walking Taylor was starting to feel worn out. "Do you really walk everywhere? This is exhausting!" Taylor groaned as they walked down the tree lined road.
         Max turned around and started walking backwards. "Well yeah. I don't usually travel this slowly, but I don't think you could keep up with me at full speed."
         Taylor glared at him. "What do you mean slow?! We have been practically power walking this whole time!"
         Max couldn't help but laugh as he looked down the road in both directions. "Well I guess it wouldn't hurt traveling my normal way. Follow me." Max said walking off the road and into the trees.
         Taylor followed him but it was really dark and she kept stumbling and bumping into things. "How is this any better? I can't even see back here! You probably don't even know where you're going!"
         Max turned to her, even in the low light she could see the slight glow in his eyes, almost like a cat. "I can actually see fine. Anyway take my bag." Taylor looked a bit annoyed as she took the bag and Max seemed to do a few stretches before he knelt down. "Since I don't want you to fall behind, hop on." Normally her independent nature would kick in, but with the aching in her feet she wouldn't argue. She slung Max's bag onto her back and with a blush she climbed onto his back. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Now hold on tight, and remember no screaming."
         Taylor huffed at him. "Why would I need to SCREEEEAAAAAM?!" Before she could even finish Max took off running at a speed made she thought was impossible for a normal person to run. She held on tight as Max laughed as he started running faster and faster. She saw a fallen tree up ahead and Max ran up it with ease, using it a ramp as he leapt into the air. Taylor was too stunned to scream, but she wanted to as they flew through the air. Max reached out and grabbed a low branch and swung from it sending him flying towards another branch. His feet barely touched it before he leapt forward. Taylor kept her head low as branches whooshed past her head. "YOU ARE INSANE!"
         Max laughed as he moved through the trees like some kind of squirrel monkey. "Oh come on, I have seen people do this on TV all the time!"
         "Maybe in cartoons!" Taylor shouted back as Max didn't seem to slow down at all. After a particular bumpy jump she could feel her grip loosening. She screamed as she lost her grip, expecting to fall back. Instead she felt something fluffy wrap around her waist pinning her to Max's back. She opened her eyes to see his tail wrapped around her as he come to a halt and slid down a trunk using his claws. The second she felt ground she pulled away and held her heart and panted. She had never felt so scared in her life.
         Max looked around the little clearing and smiled. "This should do until morning, no point in running around all night. You alright?" Max said looking at the pale faced Taylor. She just nodded as she handed Max his bag. Within a few minutes he had a little fire started and was pitching a tent. Taylor sat by the fire and just stared at the flames. Max sat next to her and pulled a colorful box out of his bag. "Snack cake?" He said offering her a snack.
         Her stomach was still doing circles but she didn't want to deny food, so she took it. "Who would have thought such things were possible. You definitely are no human."
         Max laughed as he ate his snack cake. "I thought we established that."
         Taylor just gave him a look. "Any more crazy powers I should know about."
         Max crossed his legs and thought it over. "Well night vision is one, super strength and speed, flexible tail." As if to emphasize this his tail was digging in the bag and when it came out it was wrapped around a thermos. "Retractable claws, fast healing...um super hearing...am I missing anything?"
         Taylor just rolled her eyes. "Love of junk food."
         Max smirked. "Hey they are delicious, I could keep them to myself if you want." He laughed a bit before he went quiet. "It's nice to have someone to laugh with for a change, usually it's pretty quiet."
         "I know what you mean." Taylor said, finishing her snack.
         Max raised a brow. "But I figured you would have lots of friends. You seem nice and you are normal like everyone else."
         Taylor just burst out laughing. "I may look normal but trust me it takes more than that to fit in with regular people. In honesty I don't really have any friends."
         Max frowned for a moment than smiled. "Well you have a friend now, and so do I." Taylor looked at him and smiled. They talked a bit longer before they both started getting sleepy. The tent Max had was pretty specious and even though it took her a moment to find a comfy position she was soon fast asleep.
         Taylor woke with the sun in her face. She sat up and groaned as she got out of the tent to find Max up and stretching again. "Geez how long did you sleep...ten minutes?"
         Max turned to her and smiled. "I don't sleep that much. Plus the sun is up and we have to get moving if we are going to get to the next town before all the good stores are packed."
         Taylor was brushing her hair and huffed. "And how do you plan on doing that? The next town is miles away." She saw the smirk on his face and she give him the dirtiest look. "Oh no you don't, I am not going through that rollercoaster again!"
         Max crossed his arms with a smug smile. "That's okay, we can always walk. We should get to town in a couple of days, but I didn't stock up on tons of travel food so that means we will have to go out in the woods and maybe skin some..."
         "FINE...FINE! You don't have to be gross about it. Just let me change out of this shirt." She said going into the tent. "And if I catch you peeking I am breaking your nose." Max just scratched his head as he made sure the little fire he made was well out. Once Taylor came out he packed up the tent and knelt down again. "Alright let's get this show on the road!"
         Taylor hung on for dear life as Max flew full speed through the forest. Being able to see only seemed to make it worse. Now she could see all the branches flying past her head. She opted to duck her head down and close her eyes for the entire way till she felt Max stop moving. She put her feet on the ground and looked up. In the distance she could see the town.
         Max took his bag from her and put it on her back. "Sorry, I would have got us closer but I can't have people seeing me using my special abilities."
         Taylor sighed as they walked into town. By the time they hit the city streets the people were all moving about and going about their days. "So what exactly do you plan on doing now that we are in another city."
         Max smiled as he walked up to a small diner. "Well first thing we have to do is find work." Taylor had a surprised look as he walked in and walked up to the counter. "Hello sir, my friend and I are looking for some temporary work."
         The guy behind the counter tapped his finger for a moment looking Max up and down. "Well I do need some extra hands around here, but what makes you think you can handle working here." Max smirked as he pulled a piece of paper form his bag and handed it to him. "Wow...quite an impressive resume. I can certainly use someone like you. And what about her." He said referring to Taylor.
         Max smiled a sly grin. "Oh I am sure a fine man like you could find a place for her, she is a bit rough around the edges but she is full of spirit." Taylor gave him a dirty look as the man looked her up and down.
         "So tell me girl, do you have any experience working in a restaurant?" He said with piercing eyes.
         Taylor felt a chill down her spine, but she took a deep breath and puffed her chest out. "No, but I promise you I learn quickly." She wasn't so sure about this, but she wasn't going to get far with the meager amount of cash she had. And she couldn't expect Max to cover her ass after she almost begged to be brought along.
         He raised a brow and then sighed. "Alright I will give you a shot, but you better put your back into it. I don't have time to deal with slackers." He reached under the table and pulled out two uniforms. "Put these on and let's see how you do."
         Max was busy cooking away when Taylor stormed out in a one piece dress with a short skirt and apron. "I refuse to wear this shit outfit!"
         Max turned to her and smirked. "I don't see why, you look cute in it."
         Taylor blushed hard and crossed her arms. "That aside, I thought outfits like this would have been banned by some civil rights or some shit...seriously I feel so vulnerable in this."
         Max laughed as he took the food he was cooking and put it on a plate. "Just take the food to the customers and be polite and I am sure that vulnerable outfit will make you some nice cash."
         Taylor huffed as she ran out and delivered the food. For the next six hours she ran back and forth from the kitchen and with the most complicated orders she had ever heard. She knew some people were picky but this was ridiculous. Every time she stopped to take a breather the guy in charge would yell at her and tell her to move faster. She would peek glances at Max, wearing a bandana over his ears, happily cooking away. She didn't understand how he found joy in such horrible labor, and for minimum wage no less!
         By the end of the day she could barely stand, but she found the strength to change out of that ridiculous outfit and sat out back in the alley while Max finished his shift. As a cook he worked longer then her, but when he finally did finish he came out with two take out boxes and sat down to her and handed her one.
         "How can you look so calm after running around like that?" Taylor said as she cracked open her box, the delicious smell filling her nose.
         Max smiled as he picked at his fries. "Well, probably because of my abilities I don't wear out that easily. But I enjoy having something to do to keep my mind off things." He laughed a bit as bit into his food. "The boss said you act like someone who hasn't worked a day in your life. But he was impressed you powered through the entire shift without blowing your top."
         Thinking about all those picky complaining people made her shift uncomfortably. "Believe me, if I didn't think I needed as much money as possible I would have decked that guy and his stupid gluten free crap." She pulled the wad of money out of her pocket and counted about one hundred dollars in cash. "I must say the tips made it all worth it in the end, I never thought I could make this kind of money embracing my feminine side."
         Max laughed. "Told you that outfit looked good on you." Taylor blushed as they ate their food in silence. She couldn't help but smile, Max may have been a bit odd and the work was hard but she felt really happy around Max. They just met and he seemed to accept her despite all her attitude problems. She didn't think such a laid back person existed.
         "So how long do you think we will stay in this place?" She said to Max, but when she looked at him he had a very serious look on his face. He seemed to be waiting for something. "What are you...?"
         "Get down." He pushed her down as a net flew past them. Five men dressed in black came rushing down the alley as Max jumped to feet. "Get to the street!" Max stood ready as the men pulled out what looked like staffs as they swung at him. Max swooped and dodged before he grabbed one and jerked out of the man's hand before he turned and ran after Taylor. The men were right behind him.
         "Who the hell are those guys!?" Taylor yelled as she ran across the street.
         Max stopped half way across and dropped back into his stance. "My guess is government or FBI...but they don't exactly hand out business cards." They ran out and surrounded him, with batons and staffs. They swung at him but he managed to dodge them with his quick foot work. One swept for his legs and Max did a half jump and planted his hands on the ground as he swung his foot around and kicked the man in the arm.
         Taylor looked over and the people in the diner were staring at the fight, some even had their phones in hand. "Better rap this up, I think we are going to have the cops here pretty soon!"
         Max ducked under a swipe and punched a man in the gut. "I am not exactly the cause here." Trying really hard not the get hit as he kicked another man. The guys he hit started to get back up as Max growled. "These guys won't give up, if this keeps up I am going to have to get serious." Max went wide eyed as the men turned little levers on their weapons and electric prongs sprang out. "Oh this isn't good..." Max started to retreat back as they came at him with more vigor.
         Two cop cars turned around the corner with flashing lights. Max saw them turn towards the cop cars and took the chance to get in a sucker punch to the nearest guy. The cops started to get out of their cars the guys picked up their things and ran off. The cops from the first car ran after them.
         Taylor ran to Max's side and shouted at the men in black. "That's right buzz off you jerks!" Max took a deep breath as the cops came over to him.
         The cop had his hand on his gun as he approached. "Alright you two, you need to come with us to the station right now." He said reaching for Max's arm.
         Taylor smacked him away. "Why are we in trouble?! We were just minding our own business when they attacked us." The cop didn't seem in the mood and he quickly grabbed her. "Hey let go of me you bastard!"
         Max was unsure what to do and tried to help. "Please can we all calm down? We don't want to cause trouble." He tried to go to Taylor to calm her down.
         The other cop saw him moving for Taylor and thought he was trying to resist and pointed his gun at him. "Stop right there buddy, hands where I can see them!" Max seemed to freeze in place and slowly put his hands up and backed up. The other cop pulled Taylor over to the cop car and pushed her in to back and moved back over to Max. "Now let's not make this difficult and put your hands behind your back." Max just started at the gun with blank eyes. "Did you hear me? I said hands behind your back!"
         Taylor looked from the car window and she saw the look on Max's face change. He saw his lip curl back and his eyes narrow. The man with the gun got really close to Max. In a flash Max's knee shot up and kicked the man's gun out of his hand and into the air. He dashed forward grabbing his arm and with the extra force he elbowed the cop in the face, breaking his nose and making it spurt blood. The other cop cried out in panic as he reached for his gun. Max saw him move and quickly turned to the side as the gunshot zipped through the air. The gun fell right into Max's open hand and he pointed it right at the cop. "No...no...n..." He tried to cry before the gunshot silenced him. Max ran over to the car and jumped in the driver seat and peeled off down the street with a terrified Taylor in the back seat.
         One of the man in black sighed as he picked up a phone. They had lost the cops and looped back around in time to see Max drive off in a cruiser. "I am sorry sir but we lost him."
         "What do you mean you lost him?!" The other side of the line called out. "You probably used guns even though I told you not to!"
         "No sir. The cops just got involved and then they set him off, but I assure you that we will catch him."
         "And how will you do that?" The line spoke.
         "Because this time he has a traveling companion..." The man in black said with a smirk.