Max's POV:

I finally made it to my house and unlocked the door. I still had my house key on me because it was hooked in my phone case. I am pretty forgetful sometimes. I opened the door and walked into the living room. I was immediately attacked by Alex hugging me.

"Max!" she sobbed into my shoulder. I hugged her back relieved that she was okay.

"Alex," I said and opened my eyes to see Macy, Tom, and Rick all sitting in the living room. Then Tom and Rick came over to hug me. I turned to Macy seeing tears in her eyes. I opened my arms and she ran into them.

"Max! I thought you were never coming back," she said crying in my hair.

"Oh Macy, I would never do that," I whispered softfly.

"B-but Alex told me that you were m-missing," Macy stuttered and I glared at Alex. She gave me an 'I had no choice' look and I sighed.

"Well now I am back. Its almost 10:30 Macy, you should head to bed now sweetie. You can't be up this late," I said and she pulled away wiping her eyes.

"Okay Max, I couldn't go to sleep not knowing that you weren't going to come back," Macy apologized.

"Aw, its okay now Macy. Now go to sleep please. You look exhausted. I need to talk to Uncle Tom, Alex, and Uncle Rick okay?" I asked and Macy nodded.

"Okay Max," she said walking upstairs.

"What happened?" Tom asked after we heard Macy close her bedroom door.

"Well get ready for a story then," I said and sat down next to Alex.

"Well we are all listening," Alex said.

"I was walking back to the car I got grabbed by someone. I am guessing that they knocked me out or something. Then I woke up in a pipelined room and two mysterious men came in and told me that they wanted me in their gang," I explained.

"What gang was it?" Tom asked.

"The Viper Gang," I said and Tom stood up abruptly and cursed.

"What's wrong?" I asked genuinely afraid.

"The Viper Gang is the most feared gang in all of New York," Tom said and Alex gasped.

"What did you say?" Rick asked.

"Well I said no of course and I probably blabbered and they were all like 'you leave us with no choice' and left me so I broke the chair that I was sitting on and escaped," I said all in one breath.

"How did you get home and where was the warehouse?" Tom asked.

"Well the warehouse is somewhere close to the Iron Fist and I ran home," I said.

"You must be exhausted Max," Alex said.

"Eh, it's just like my training at the gym, just a little extra cardio," I assured her referring to the extra running.

"Still, that's crazy Max," Rick said.

"You need to be extra careful Max," Tom warned.

"I know, I will be extra careful. I will be even more aware of my surroundings," I said.

"No you need to bring your gun Max and never walk the streets alone," Tom said sternly.

"But who can I walk the streets with?" I asked.

"Walk with me," Alex volunteered and I shook my head.

"I can't put you in danger Alex," I said, "Nobody knows that you know me Alex."

"I know, but can't I just park the car in the front and you can get in from where I get in?" Alex asked and I shook my head.

"People can get my license plate easily then Alex," I said.

"How about you change in a changing room? Bring regular clothes with you and you can leave the building without anyone suspecting you as Stone Fox?" Tom suggested, "I think that's what your father did when he was younger."

"Okay, I will do that," I said and Alex nodded.

"Then you and I can walk out together," Alex said.

"But I am still entering from the same alley because I have to enter the building as Stone Fox," I said and Tom nodded.

"There is more daylight, so I guess that's fine," Tom said, "Just be careful and always bring your gun okay?"

"Okay," I said and Rick nodded.

"Well we should get home Alex," Rick said.

"Yep me too," Tom said, "Are you going to be okay alone with Macy?"

"Yeah I think so and besides Mom gets home at 12," I said.

"Did you make sure nobody followed you home?" Tom asked and I nodded.

"Yeah I ran into a corner and took off my disguise," I said.

"Okay, call me if anything happens okay?" Rick said, "Since I am right next door."

"Okay, I promise," I said and Rick and Alex left.

"I am so glad that you are okay Max," Tom said, "I don't think that you should tell your mom though. You don't want to worry her even more. She already has a lot on her hand."

"That's another reason why I want to street fight. They have raised the stakes Tom. I earn like 800 on one fight sometimes," I said and Tom nodded.

"I know, you want to help your mom and I understand that, but if something happens, you can talk to me," Tom said and I nodded hugging him.

"Okay bye Tom," I said.

"Bye Max," Tom said leaving. I yawned and went to my room to clean up. I saw that I had a busted lip and a growing bruise on my stomach and jaw. I showered and changed into my pajamas, but before I went to sleep I went to check on Macy. I saw her snoring lightly and went in to kiss her on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams sweetheart," I said and went to my bed to go to sleep myself.

***

I woke up and went to my bathroom to brush my teeth. I saw that my jaw was purple and same with my stomach.

"Seriously?" I asked myself and groaned. I applied to foundation to my face trying to cover up the bruise on my jaw. After so many layers I was able to cover it all up. I added some basic eye shadow and tried to cover up my lip with some pink lipstick. Rick gave me the day off today since he thought I needed to rest, so I decided on taking a walk in the mall today. Alex couldn't get out of work though. I went to my closet and picked out a pair of blue jeans with a red plaid shirt and my leather jacket. I put on all my clothes and curled my hair. Then I put on my combat boots and went downstairs for breakfast. My mom was there in her nurse uniform cooking some pancakes.

"Would you like some today Max?" Mom asked.

"Yes please," I said and saw Macy come downstairs. I walked over to her and whispered in her ear.

"Don't tell Mom I was missing please. I don't want to make her even more worried," I whispered.

"Okay Max," she whispered back. We both sat down on a stool at the counter and started eating our pancakes.

"Okay, Macy is going to her school for camp today and I need you to take her okay Max?" Mom asked.

"Yeah sure," I said.

"I need to get to work," Mom said and she came over to us and we both gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye Mom," I said.

"Bye Mommy," Macy said and Mom left out the door. We finished eating and I cleaned up before taking Macy to her school for camp on my motorcycle.

"Have fun Macy!" I shouted.

"Bye Max!" she yelled back and I drove to the café to pick up a latte before going to the mall. I needed some new fitness clothes since mine were old. I pulled up in front of the café and walked inside.

"Hey Max," Alex said walking past me.

"Hey Alex," I said.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked.

"Just to hang here a while before getting some new fitness clothes," I said.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked studying me closely.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your bruises," she said.

"I managed to cover it up with foundation," I said and Alex nodded. Soon I went up to the counter to order a latte.

"Hi Rick," I said.

"Hey Max, what would you like today?" Rick asked.

"Just a vanilla soy latte," I said and Rick nodded.

"Need some caffeine?" Rick asked preparing my latte.

"Definitely," I said taking it from him and paying for it.

"Okay have a good day, you are back at work tomorrow," he said and I nodded.

"Bye Rick," I said and walked to a table by the window and sat down.

"Hey Max right?" Ace walked up to me and smiled.

"Yes," I said.

"Are you late this time?" he asked laughing and I rolled my eyes.

"Nope I am good today," I said.

"I think that you aren't good at managing your time," he said.

"You just run into me at the wrong times," I said with class.

"Can I sit here?" he asked.

"Sure the seat is yours," I said and he sat down. I saw that he had a cup of coffee with him.

"So you are Macy's older sister," Ace said and I nodded.

"Yes I am," I said, "And your Jayden's older brother."

"Yeah, I want to get to know you Max," he said and I laughed.

"Why?" I asked.

"You seem like a cool girl," he said.

"Thank you, so what do you want to know?" I asked.

"Uh just tell me about you," he said and I nodded.

"Okay well, I am 21 years old, I skipped preschool when I was younger so I was always a year younger than everyone else in my class. I am a total nerd. You know my best friend is Alex. I majored in business and fitness and I really like to be outside," I said not really knowing what to say..

"That's cool, I am 23 years old. I majored in mechanics and my best friend is Martin. He is the one that you saw in the garage. I love to ride my motorcycle, probably like you," he said and I nodded.

"I do like riding my motorcycle, though my best friend Alex thinks it is sort of dangerous," I said, "But I still do it."

"It's not exactly dangerous when you know what you are doing," Ace said and I nodded.

"Exactly," I said.

**************************************************

Hey guys I am back! Here is an extra long chapter for you. Please remember to...

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Episode: Endless Fighting by CPearl

Have a great day/night fighters!

-C