137
My stomach dropped faster than a falling elevator. No one had told me that.
“Yeah, you idiot,” said the dog.
I gaped at him. Had he just talked? Was this a trick?
Maximum Ride was checking out the mutants, one by one. They hugged her, and I glared at her. I couldn’t believe she had shown up, ruining everything.
“Okay, let’s solve your personality crisis,” the other Max growled, turning to me. Her face was white, and her hands were clenched in fists.
“I was about to say the same thing,” I growled back, getting ready to fight. “Keep your hands off my flock!”
“Oh good, you two have met each other.”
We both whirled to see several scientists in white lab coats standing inside the doorway.
“Max, are you all right?” Jeb Batchelder asked.
I started to say yeah, but then saw he wasn’t looking at me. It was the other Max he was concerned about, the other one he cared about. I was expendable.
Fury rose in me. I was exactly like Max, I was Max, I was better than she was in every way. But to everybody here, I was chopped liver. Nothing. Nobody.
But then I heard one of the other scientists step forward and say in a deep voice, “Take out the old version. She’s no good. She’s got an expiration date.” He was looking at me to do the honors.
Without thinking, I launched myself at the other Max, right over a countertop, headfirst.
The other Max was braced, but I had insane jealousy and rage on my side. I managed to slam into her, knocking her against a wall. Instantly she regained her balance and squared off against me.
“You don’t want to do this,” she said in a low voice. “You don’t want a piece of me.”
“Wrong!” I said snidely.
“Uh, Max?” said Gasman. “There’s something you should—”
“Shut up!” I snapped at him, and threw myself at Maximum Ride again. The scientists and Jeb eased out of the way as we got deadlocks on each other and rolled across the counters. She managed to pull a fis
t back and punch me in the head, making me cry out.
I kneed her in the stomach and heard a satisfying oof!
We were evenly matched—too evenly matched. We attacked in a flurry, with fists flying and roundhouse kicks and bruising connections. But then we retreated, circling each other warily.
“There can be only one Max,” Jeb said softly.
“Yeah, the real one,” I heard Ari say.
The scientist with a deep voice folded his arms across his chest. “Let’s see if what you say about her is true, Batchelder.”
I yelled and lunged for Max again, knocking her down. She held me by my hair and head-butted me so hard I saw stars, but I didn’t let go. I whaled into her side with my fist, once, twice, three times. The third time, I swore I heard a rib crack. It felt sooo good.
“Which one survives is up to you,” Jeb said. “May the strongest Max win.”
138
“Shut up, jerk!” Maximum Ride barked at him, just as I was about to say the exact same thing. She and I jumped up, looked at each other. It was like looking in a mirror. So weird.
But she had to go. There was one Max too many. With another roar I sprang forward, snapping out a side kick that sent her to the ground again. I dropped down onto her, sitting on her stomach, and punched her right in the nose. She winced, her head whipped to the side, and then blood spurted out her nose.