Ch 13

Max's POV

We waited until nightfall at a park on the edge of the water. As soon as the moment arrived, Fang, Angel, and myself all slipped down into the polluted, frigid water. It smelled awful, but we sank down underneath the choppy surface.

We took a moment to adjust to the murk, then followed the wall to where I saw the submarine enter.

Sure enough, there was a large opening, but it would never be that easy. We each took a few turns to try and find the code to open the gate, but we weren't Nudge. Our gills made it so we could stay under for hours, so long as we don't get too cold. I told Angel in my mind to go back to the surface and tell the others what we found, and she stroked off through the dark water.

Just then, a light shone from deep inside the tunnel and we heard a low whirring sound. Fang and I dove deeper to avoid being seen. As it approached the hole, the sub dimmed it's lights to avoid being seen from the surface. The gate opened and the sub propelled away.

Fang and I quickly swam for the opening as it was getting smaller. I went through first, and then Fang. Suddenly he fetched up; the gate had caught his pants. That would have been bad enough, but the Submarine was coming back.

I fished a knife from my pocket, but it slipped out of my grip. In a panic, I clumsily reached for it, but it was gone. There was only one thing to do, so we began to pull. We braced ourselves against the gate with our feet and pulled with all our strength. Luckily we were able to tare the old fabric away from the gate, but we didn't have time to retrieve the scrap of cloth it left behind.

The sub was almost on top of us, and the gate was closed. We had no choice but to swim into the tunnel, not knowing whether or not we would be able to hide.

We surfaced into a large opening where the sub would be parked, and quickly searched for a corner to hide in. if we left the water, they would see our tracks. Fang pointed to a low dock. It was a long shot but it was all we had, so we swam under it and grabbed a hold of the supports, hoisting ourselves up out of the water and we clung to the bottom of the dock.

Our muscles were burning, but we held on for our life, literally. The Sub surfaced, and we heard as the hatch opened and two sets of feet climbed out onto the dock. As they fumbled to gain their footing, we sank back down into the water quietly until just our faces were above the surface.

The two men stopped right above us, and my heart sank. We have been discovered!

Then they began speaking.

"I still say we need a more hidden entrance," one man said.

"Nonsense. Nobody would dare dive in these waters. They'd come out with scales," the other man laughed. "And if we caught them, they wouldn't be any better off."

As they walked toward the coded door, Angel worked her way into one mans mind unnoticed. She took the numbers as he punched a code into the computer on the wall. A door slid open, then closed.

A minute or more passed before anyone dared move. All was silent, aside from the low slosh of water. Then they dove down into the water and swam back to the gate. Angel punched in the code and the gate creaked open.

Fang took the cloth from on the gate and Max found the knife, I order to conceal that they had been there.

When we were all on the ground and dried off, more or less, we told the rest of the flock and the bug what happened.

"I don't get it," Spider-man said.

"We know how to get in now, how do you not get it?" Fang retorted.

"no, I mean the whole cross-DNA deal. I thought you were birds, but now you have gills? Isn't it more accurate to call you a flying fish?"

Fang gritted his teeth, about to explode. I figured I had best intervene.

"At first, we thought we were just 'bird kids', but as years went on, our powers evolved and now some of us can breathe under water. Angle used to only be able to hear thoughts, but now she can mentally communicate and even control thoughts. Fang could turn invisible, but only if he sat still for a long time; now he can will the ability and even sustain it while sneaking. Nudge's tech abilities have grown, and I have gotten faster and faster, and the pyro over there can come up with the most combustible combinations in a matter of seconds. Iggy can feel colors, and he can hear so well that it almost takes the place of his eyes."

Angel spoke up now, "that is why I know so much about you; how I know your name," she paused for a moment. "I heard the thoughts of the white coats when I was in my second imprisonment. They were testing a new method of crossing DNA, through contact with the original animal. One particular test they thought of, for it was the first success, was a spider."

"me?" He asked, suddenly seeming devastated.

"no, in fact. You were the second. They thought of the result, and it was more spider than man. It stood upright on two legs, but it had six other limbs. It's eyes were evil, and it only thought of it's prey. I came across it's mind once, and it was a cold dark place."

Spider-man felt sick. He never accepted fully that these people told the truth about the experiments, but she made him believe.

"But under all of that, there was an innocent man; taken as a child and raised as an animal. There was a man under the beast, just the same as there is a man under the mask."