The Max Effect. 1

First Mission Nerves.

The vehicle sat nav linked to Max's C.S.A. smartphone and delivered her to the start. This is where mission control had told her Max this should start. Max parked up and got her rucksack out of the boot.

She had a mile or so to walk to the perimeter fence. It was dark with a dull moonlight. This was a registered flying club, all above board, but the intelligence hints that the owners of the club might have been murdered, and the local police paid off. The C.S.A. couldn't confirm that.

It took Max around fifteen minutes to get to the perimeter fence. It wasn't high-tech. There were no cameras, just a six-foot-high chain link fence. She grabbed hold of the flimsy chainlink fence. Max put her hands on the fence and slowly pulled in opposite directions, stretching the fence's links until the fence split apart. Using her C.S.A. Smartphone, Max scanned the area, and she picked up four heat sources in the hangar. Intel suggested there might be six. Max continued through the hole and walked around the airfield's perimeter.

The airfield was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields and wasteland. Max spotted one of the small aircraft. Taking off her rucksack, she crouched down and scanned the area. It was a still night. Max went over to the tarmac, the target near her. Max hurried over in the darkness to the first small aircraft. The moonlight highlighted her muscular physique. Max needed to ensure the plane remained grounded and cautiously approached the first aircraft. Max used the plane's body as cover whilst she figured out what to do. Max was not an aeroplane expert and grabbed the first thing before her. She got up and moved to the front of the plane and, one by one, bent each propellor blade, her hand easily bending the propellors back on themselves. Not content with that feat and thinking they might have a spare, Max went underneath the plane and towards the landing gear. Her hand gripped the metal strut, her fingers indenting the hardened steel like clay. With a swift motion, she bent the landing gear, rendering the plane incapable of a safe takeoff. The hydraulics hissed, and pipes burst in protest, but they were no match for her might. Max didn't realise at first, but after bending the strut, the plane was leaning on her now. She was acting like a human jack. Edging out slowly with the plane resting on her back, she lifted the plane enough to get out from underneath, carefully lowered it and left it resting, tilted on the tarmac. Another note to self: although I have super-strength, I must remember that when breaking stuff, it's going to fall.

Apart from those little hiccups, Max's first mission was going well. She made her way to the hangar. Using the smartphone, she knew that two were in the hangar, but Max was unsure where the other two were. Possibly, the other four.

Max heard the sound of a small aircraft engine roaring into life. It was coming from the other side of the hangar. She started to run over towards where the sound was coming from. As Max approached, she saw that an aircraft was beginning to taxi. Professor Woods had not enhanced her speed yet, but Max ran as fast as she could.

Max sprinted hard and managed to get alongside the accelerating plane. She didn't have long, though, as the aircraft's speed increased. The plane started to lift off the ground. Max leapt, grabbing onto the wing with one hand. The plane lurched from the sudden added weight. With her other hand, she reached for the flaps, bending them just enough to disrupt the aerodynamics and prevent the aircraft from climbing. The crushed flaps caused the pilot to abort the takeoff and bring the aircraft back down. As the plane was slowing, one of the men in the plane was reaching for a weapon. Max ripped the door off and grabbed the pilot, pulling him out, the force ripping his safety belt and throwing him to the ground. Just as the second guy pointed his gun at Max, she swung into the plane, kicking his hand upward, and the gun went off, shooting through the top of the plane. His gun flew out of his hand, and Max quickly followed up her kick with a punch to his face, knocking him unconscious. The plane wasn't stopping. Max didn't know which pedal or lever did what. She moved to the edge of the plane, lowered her leg towards the ground, and acted as a brake. Her quads and calve muscles expanded with power as she pressed her foot down hard onto the tarmac, her powerful leg muscles pushing her foot onto the tarmac, digging it up like a dragging anchor, as the engine kept trying to propel the aircraft forward, but the strain and friction from Max's leg pushing down caused the engine to stall. Max dragged the unconscious male from the plane and took him over to the pilot. Securing the two men using zip ties and masking tape, she pulled them out of the runway to the side and kept them slightly hidden while trying to locate the outstanding suspects.