Lips of an Angel (M/L, CC, TEEN) COMPLETE 3/3/10

[Oz]

Title: Lips of an Angel

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Couples/Category: M/L, CC

Rating: TEEN

Summary: Is it ever too late to follow your destiny?

Author's Note: I really shouldn't be starting another story, since I've been a bit slack updating some of my others, but I couldn't get this out of my head - so here it is.

As usual - crap summary. If you haven't already guessed from the title, this fic is inspired by 'Lips of an Angel' by Hinder. If you know the song, you'll have some kind of idea where I'm going with this. If you don't know it, I suggest you do yourself a favor and download it from iTunes

I promise it will be dreamer friendly ... eventually. Assume everything happened in the show up until almost the end of season 1 around the time Tess came to town (say 'Tess, Lies and Videotape' or 'Four Square' - I haven't quite decided).

Let me know what you think and if I should continue (or feel free to tell me not to waste my time and get back to updating my other fics like I should be doing!!)

Thanks Beautiful86 for my brand new beatiful banner!



Prologue

Lips of an Angel - Hinder

Honey why you calling me so late?
It's kinda hard to talk right now
Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?
I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud

Well, my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

It's funny that you're calling me tonight
And, yes, I've dreamt of you too
And does he know you're talking to me
Will it start a fight
No I don't think she has a clue

Well my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

Honey why you calling me so late?


“Thank God I’m finally home.” Tess said, flopping down on the sofa, taking off her shoes and throwing them in the corner.

“Rough day?” Max asked, immediately lifting one of her feet onto his lap and proceeding to massage the sole of her foot.

“Mmmm … that’s good …” Tess groaned. He always knew exactly what she needed. “Tonight we had five overdoses, two car accidents and one sexual assault. I just don’t know what’s happening to this town …”

Max listened as Tess went off on one of her rants about how the emergency room at Roswell Memorial used to be lucky to see one patient a night, and even then it was generally for nothing more than a bad case of the flu. But these days, there were increasing amounts of drug and alcohol abuse, rapes, car accidents and assaults.

Both Max and Tess had been working at the hospital since finishing their medical degree in New York a year earlier. After finishing high school, they had both agreed that until they finally went ‘home’, they might as well do some good while they were stuck on Planet Earth. Max immediately decided that he wanted to use his powers to heal people, and Tess’ mindwarping abilities came in very handy to help him to cover his tracks so he didn’t get caught. They really didn’t want to find themselves back on the Special Unit’s radar.

By the time they had both received their medical degrees, in most cases they were able to help people without the use of their powers. Tess had really taken to her job at the hospital, and was doing really well for herself. Max was happy for her. After feeling ostracised when she had first come to Roswell, she finally managed to find her place in the world. Max and Tess had gone to study at NYU with the intention of leaving Roswell behind them forever, but eventually they stopped running. Isabel and Michael were both still there, and they just didn’t feel complete if the four-square wasn’t together.

After a year back in Roswell, there had still been no call from home and no alien invasion, and eventually the podsquad had resigned themselves to the fact that maybe they would never know what they were doing on Earth and if they would ever see their home.

“… And Mrs Palmer gave birth to a baby with three heads …” Tess finished.

“Huh? What?” Max asked, wondering if he had heard right.

“And I thought you weren’t listening...” Tess smiled. She could always tell when he was thinking about other things while she told him about her day. She didn’t mind though, it was just good to vent her day’s frustrations so she didn’t have to think about them again for the rest of the night. She would go crazy otherwise. Max was different though, he generally preferred not to talk about what happened at the hospital, as if it would contaminate the little sanctuary they had built for themselves.

“Ha ha.” Max smiled, pushing Tess’ foot away and playfully swiping her with the nearest pillow.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” He asked, making his way to the kitchen to grab an OJ. It was after 11pm but he knew Tess always took a while to settle her mind from a day at work. She wouldn’t be ready to sleep for another couple of hours. Max could live on very little sleep himself, which was a good thing since he had a 5am start in the morning. It was rare that their shifts ever coincided.

“I thought maybe we could just watch a movie and laze in front of the TV. I’m so beat.” Tess sighed for effect.

“Sounds good.” Max replied, looking around for his mobile which he had intended to put on the charger after finding it had gone flat during the day.

“Have you seen my phone?” Max asked, scanning the kitchen.

At that moment the home phone began to ring, and Tess reached behind the cushion she was leaning against, to pull out the phone that had fallen behind.

“Will this do?” Tess asked, handing it to Max. She really wasn’t in the mood to answer it, and it was probably for Max anyway – his sister was always calling him this late at night. “If it’s the hospital tell them we’re not here.”

“Hello?” Max answered the phone.

“Max?” A familiar voice said.

“Isabel, hey.” Max said, indicating to Tess that he would take the call in the bedroom. Tess just rolled her eyes - Isabel was obviously having another one of her dramas.

“Liz?” Max whispered, as soon as he was sure he was out of Tess’ hearing range. “What are you doing calling me at home? Tess is here.”

“I tried your mobile but it was switched off.” Liz replied, almost sobbing. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called...”

“No. It’s okay. I’m glad you did. I’ve missed you.” Max softened his voice, mentally kicking himself for sounding so harsh. She sounded upset. “What’s wrong?”

“I … I had a bad dream that’s all. I just needed to know that you were okay.” Liz replied. “I was worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” Max smiled, his heart skipping a beat to hear that Liz was so concerned about him that she would risk everything to hear that he was okay. He couldn’t help but muse about how it was such a long way from where they used to be.

“I was thinking about you earlier.” Max confessed, settling onto the bed.

“Really?” Liz seemed to cheer up at the thought.

“Yeah…” Max smiled. God it was good to talk to her again. He knew he should end the conversation, with the potential risk that Tess could overhear his conversation, but it just wasn’t physically possible to hang up the phone. He didn’t have the willpower. “I was thinking about how much I wanted to be wherever you were.”

“That’s sweet. Especially since I was knee deep in a broken toilet and a broken dishwasher today.” Liz replied, thinking about what a terrible day she had. It wasn’t surprising she was having bad dreams to top off her day from hell. Talking to Max was the only good thing that had happened to her all day.

‘Liz – who are you talking to so late?’ Max heard the unmistakable tones of Liz’s dad’s voice in the background.

“Just Maria, Dad.” Liz replied, covering the mouthpiece of the phone. “I’m sorry to wake you.”

“So your Dad’s in town?” Max said to Liz, when he was sure she had finished talking to her Dad.

“Yeah, he and mum are just blowing through on their way to Santa Fe. They’re staying the night.” Liz explained.

“I take it he still hates me.” Max stated, guessing exactly why Liz had lied about who she was talking to.

“I don’t know that I would say ‘hate’… But I just really didn’t want to start an argument.” Liz explained. That’s all she needed today – to continue the never ending fight with her father over her friendship with Max.

“I’d better go.” Max announced, really not wanting to, but he didn’t want either of them to get caught. He hated this sneaking around. If only things had been different …

“Okay…” Liz replied reluctantly. “Max?”

“Yeah?” Max whispered. God he loved the way she whispered his name – as though he was her lifeline.

“Do you think Tess knows… you know, about us?” Liz asked.

“No.” Max smiled. “I don’t think she has any idea.”

“Okay… Goodnight Max.” Liz replied.

“Goodnight Liz.” Max replied, before hanging up the phone.

“I love you.” They whispered simultaneously to the dial tone.

[Oz]

Wow - thanks for the generous feedback! (and I thought I would get no replies and thereby giving myself an excuse to lie in front of the tv rather than come up with a first chapter).

Acknowledgements to 'The Fray' for their wonderful lyric in 'Over my head (cable car)' which I borrowed for Liz. She'll return it when she's finished with it.

Also acknowledgements to the writers of 'Tess, Lies and Videotape' which is where the story starts.

To avoid any confusion - this part is set 8 years earlier at the end of season 1. It is from the point of view of Liz and Max and what they were thinking around that time (ie Liz writes a diary entry). We'll gradually make our way back to that phonecall.


1

8 years earlier …


Liz POV

March 5th. I’m Liz Parker and I’ve just come to realise something… Love sucks.

Have you ever been so madly in love with someone that you are completely blind to their faults? I mean, completely, utterly in the dark? No? Well, I have. And I swear I will never let it happen again.


“Uh, Miss?” He smiles at me, you know, one of those devilish grins that would make any woman weak at the knees.

Who is ‘he’? I hear you ask – ‘he’ is the one who not only completely crushed my heart, but then reversed, so he could drive over it again. ‘He’ is Max Evans.

“Uh, yes sir?” I reply flirtatiously. Did I mention that smile of his? I couldn’t help myself.

“Refill please.” He smiled even wider, if that was possible. I topped up his cup and lingered a little longer than necessary, wanting so much to kiss him, but it wasn’t the place … Isabel’s death stares weren’t very encouraging either.

If only I had known that would be the last moment we would ever have when everything was perfect. I would have kissed him with so much force that he wouldn’t have even looked twice at a certain blonde-haired gerbil that was about to crash into our lives.

A gerbil by the name of Tess.

Did no one send her the memo that informed her that Max was mine? Was it not Cc’d to Max for that matter? The way he stared at Tess when she pushed her way into our close-nit group – it was the way he used to stare at me. ‘Used to’ being the operative words. Next to her it was as though I didn’t exist.

He may have followed me into the back room to steal a kiss, but it was out of fear and guilt, not because he wanted me, not because he chose me.

In the science lab the following day, things went from bad to worse. Max couldn’t hide his desire for Tess, even his Bunsen burner gave him away. Everyone could see it. I was surprised he didn’t just lay her down on the table and get it over with right there and then. It would have saved us all a lot of unnecessary heartache – like ripping a bandaid off quickly to get the pain over within seconds rather than drawing out the agony.

Maria was worried too. She tried to warn me, but although I could see it for myself, I denied it. I didn’t want to believe what was right in front of my eyes – that I was losing Max and it was effortless.

So what did I do when faced with such stiff competition? I tried to talk to Max, pretending to disguise my real fear with questions about lab partners - acting as though I didn’t see exactly what was going on. And Max’s response? Deny nothing, make no decisions, be indifferent to the wall that was being wedged between us, ask if we could just stop talking about it!

And then Michael opened his big mouth.

“I’m trying to figure out which problem to panic over – you having secret meetings with Valenti or your new girlfriend Tess …”

I looked at Max for some kind of indication as to what Michael meant by that statement, and that’s when I saw his guilt-ridden face. That was all I needed to know that my suspicions weren’t irrational. Max had feelings for Tess.

Max watched me go but didn’t follow me. Apparently the arrival of Valenti was enough for Max to forget that he has broken my heart. I hid out in the back room, waiting for him to come and explain to me what the hell was going on, but he never came. Should I have been really that surprised?

When he finally comes to see me late that night, I am locking up the Crashdown. I hesitate at the door as to whether I should let him in or not. Option 1 – let him in and give him a chance to beg forgiveness, knowing full well that I could never say ‘no’ to him, or option 2 – leave him out in the rain in the hope he’ll catch a very bad cold and thereby prevent him from furthering any romance with the gerbil until he’s recovered. Did aliens even get sick?

Predictably, I open the door to give him one more chance to mess with my emotions.

“What’s going on Max?” I ask. Have you come to heal my broken heart?

“I wanna talk.” He replies.

“About what?” See how innocently I ask the question, as though I don’t already know the answer?

“Liz, about what Michael said before, about Tess…” And there’s that big grey elephant filling up the space between us.

“… I just … I want you to know that I don’t feel anything for her. I look at you, and I know you’re the one I’m supposed to be with. I’ve always known it.”

I almost choke over his words – supposed to be with? supposed?! Not ‘I want to be with’, ‘I crave to be with’, ‘the one I love …’. At that moment I felt like I was his second choice – his consolation prize.

“… What happened here that day, when you got shot, and how that brought us together … its fate…”

I couldn’t help but think that what happened here that day was a cosmic joke that I just wasn’t in on.

“… Look at me.” Max demanded, and predictably, I did what I was told. “You’re the one, Liz. The only one. I could never be with anyone else.”

Did I believe him? God knows I wanted to. Who could refuse those amber eyes anything they asked of me.

*

Max POV

Maybe I should have done some things differently. I will always regret the way I hurt Liz. I used to believe that she was my soul mate – that we were destined to be together forever. But that was before Tess came to town. Before I heard my real destiny.

I didn’t trust Tess at first. I didn’t trust the way I felt when I was around her. I had no control over my own actions. I had never felt such a strong pull to anyone ever before, and it scared me. It made me feel things that I wasn’t ready to feel. Things that I used to believe I could only ever feel for Liz.

When Tess joined us in the Crashdown, interrupting our conversation about the orb, I knew I was being rude by staring the way I was, but it was out of my control - I couldn’t stop myself. Liz noticed, and I think it must have been that moment that she started to doubt me - and that had scared me.

I followed Liz out of the restaurant, partly to escape Tess’ knowing gaze, but also in an attempt to redeem myself with Liz while I had the chance. I really cared for Liz, and I was going to hang onto her for as long as I could - for as long as or difference in species would allow. It wasn’t as though I had never considered how different Liz and I were before. Being together didn’t make sense, and Tess’ arrival only made that so much more apparent.

Tess made me see things – things I didn’t necessarily want to see, but yet I was curious as to what she could show me. When we were in the science lab, I actually felt a desire for her so strong that I would have made love to her then and there in front of the class. That’s what scared me the most – that she could make me do things that were uncharacteristic of me, that drew attention to myself, that would have made me slip up and expose myself to the wrong people.

I had attempted to talk to Michael about it, but he was as useless as ever.

“I guess you’re only human after all, huh?”

But that was the thing – I felt less human when I was with Tess, as though my alien side was coming out of a deep hibernation and it was damn hungry.

And then Michael went from useless to being downright unhelpful.

“I’m trying to figure out which problem to panic over – you having secret meetings with Valenti or your new girlfriend Tess …”

My eyes flew to where Liz was standing behind Michael. She had heard him, and looked at me for some sort of explanation. But what could I say? I had no idea what was going on myself. All I knew at that moment was that I wasn’t ready to lose her.

I was about to follow her out to the back room in an attempt to find the words to explain, when Valenti came in with the orb. How could I turn my back on that gift? I was sure that Liz would understand.

I didn’t return until later that night when I knew she would be the only one left in the restaurant. I wanted to have her alone, where there was no one to interrupt us, no one to overhear our conversation, and I needed time to formulate my thoughts into coherent sentences.

I almost forgot my entire speech when I saw her face, and her hesitation to let me in. I could only imagine what she was thinking of me at that minute – but that was what I planned to change. I needed her to trust me again. I needed to know that I was worth her faith in me.

So I told her that she was the one for me, I practically told her that I loved her without using the exact words. In retrospect, maybe I should have, because I’m sure I felt it. I’m not sure if she believed me, but while I was holding her to me, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t disappoint her. If only I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep that promise for more than a few minutes …

[Oz]

Hey, thanks guys. Glad you are still here after chapter 1. I hope it wasn't too confusing for you all.

Chapter 2 carries on in much the same vein - dealing with the consequences of 'Tess, Lies and Videotape'. I've still relied on a lot of the dialogue, so acknowledgements to the writers of that episode (I have changed it slightly to suit my purposes though.) We will gradually start steering away from the original plot in the next chapter or so.


2

Liz POV

Max left the Crashdown and I finished closing up for the night. I felt slightly optimistic about our future together, but I obviously wasn’t thinking straight. I had believed Max when he told me that I was the one. I was a fool. I was blind. But Max sure did open my eyes.

As I was latching the front door that had been left unlocked after Max had left moments earlier, I saw him. I saw them. Max was kissing Tess with so much passion that I could literally feel my heart ripping in two. Was that how he kissed me? With that much intensity? I couldn’t be sure. All that I was sure of was that there was no way in hell I would let him kiss me again – ever.

I watched them like a voyeur – wanting to imprint on my brain just how unworthy Max was of my love – I needed that reminder for the next time those amber eyes came around asking something of me. When I finally couldn’t take any more torture, I ran upstairs to the sanctuary of my bedroom. But I couldn’t stop myself from picturing them together whenever I closed my eyes. Needless to say – I didn’t get a lot of sleep that night.

Somehow I missed seeing Max at school the following day, but that probably wasn’t hard since he only seemed to have eyes for Tess. And did I mention that I spent the whole of fifth and sixth period, when I should have had biology with Max, in the second stall of the girl’s bathroom? It wasn’t hard to avoid him at all.

Unfortunately, and predictably, he was with Michael and Isabel in the Crashdown after school. My smile dropped as soon as I saw him. What was he thinking sitting there and acting like the world had not shifted overnight? So I did the mature thing - I walked straight passed him without making eye contact, my head held high. I promised myself I would not let him see me cry. I promised myself that I would make him feel as if he meant nothing to me. I felt a shift in the air around us as his panic set in, and I almost smiled at the thought. Almost.

“Liz?” He called after me, jumping up from the booth to follow me, but I kept walking. I was not going to let every patron in the restaurant see me cry, which was what would inevitably happen when he wore my resolve away.

I was at my locker when he entered the back room. I looked at him for a moment, unable to help myself, but then I turned my back on him. Damn those amber eyes.

“Liz…” He said, and I could hear him take a hesitant step towards me, but I refused to turn around.

“I saw you Max.” I stated.

“Liz – it’s not what you think.” He protested.

“How could you kiss her?” I asked, completely ignoring his attempt at a defence. How could it not be exactly what I think? What, he tripped and fell onto her waiting lips? I don’t think so.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s happening.” He confessed. No denial, but also no premeditated lie to explain away what he had done.

“You know all those things you said to me Max? Were any of them true?” I had to know. I had to know exactly just how much of a fool I really was.

“Liz … Liz you’ve got to believe me. It wasn’t me. She was there – she was waiting for me.” He tried to explain, but it didn’t explain anything – didn’t it generally take two to tango?

“Oh, so it’s her fault.” I replied, trying to make him realise how ridiculous he sounded.

“Liz something is going on with her. I’m telling you – something’s not right about her.” Max stated. But I couldn’t help but think that she must have been doing something right for him to be kissing her.

“Not right about her Max! What are you talking about?” I exploded. Did he really think I was that stupid?

“The way I’m drawn to her – it’s not just attraction …” He began, and I wondered if he could tell that the broken pieces of my heart had just shattered into another million pieces. He was admitting that it was more than attraction? More than lust? That it was love?

“… It’s something else. Please Liz, you have to have faith in me. In us.” Max pleaded.

“There is no us.” I replied. “The minute you kissed her, we became history.” I retorted.

“No, please Liz. You have to believe me. I’m telling you – when I kissed her I saw things. I had a flash…” Max replied.

“You had a flash when you kissed her? Like when you kissed me? I guess I’m not so special after all, huh?” Those millions of pieces I mentioned – now billions. He had taken from me the one thing I had clung on to – that he and I shared something special. Now it appeared that he was the only special one. I was nothing … nothing to him at least. He had made that abundantly clear.

I left him standing there to ponder over how his words had cut me, while I ran upstairs, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me crying over him. I would never give him that.

Maria found me crying though. Apparently Michael had sent her up to find me. Who would have thought Michael would be that considerate? I had always thought Max was the sweet one … but I had been blind. I’ve already mentioned that, right?

“Max kissed Tess.” I blurted. I still couldn’t believe it.

“You’re kidding! … You’re not kidding.” Maria stated when she saw the solemn look on my face. “I can’t believe it … that is so unlike Max.”

“Yeah, well, maybe we didn’t really know him at all.” I mused.

“What are you going to do?” Maria asked.

“I don’t know.” I admitted. We were over – I was sure about that. But how was I going to be able to stand passing him in the halls at school? At the Crashdown, with him sitting in my section with Michael and Isabel … and Tess? How could I act as though I was over him? How could I not?


Max POV

Tess was waiting for me. In the rain. Soaking wet. Apparently she was having car trouble. Did I believe that? Not for a second.

But the next thing I knew - I was kissing her. I could hear myself protesting. The words were coming out of my mouth, but my feet kept inching towards her, as though she had me in her tractor beam.

Maybe it was attraction like I had told Liz. But she really wasn’t my type. She wasn’t Liz. There was something else …

When I kissed her I saw images that made no sense, yet they were familiar at the same time. Mysterious writing … places I had never been, yet I somehow recognised them. I kept kissing her, knowing that it was wrong, but worried that the moment I stopped I would lose all the answers that I had waited so long for.

And it didn’t hurt that kissing her made me feel as though I had come home.

The thing that made me eventually pull away? The thought of Liz. Tess wasn’t Liz – she never could be. That beautiful, innocent girl who had let me see her soul. I loved her, and if she knew I had kissed Tess, it would kill her.

Well, apparently not. It seems you don’t die of these things. Dismembered maybe?

When Liz walked into the Crashdown the following day and didn’t look at me, I knew that she knew. I didn’t know how she had found out. Had Tess told her? Unlikely. Had she seen it for herself? God I hoped not.

“Liz?” I said desperately, hoping that she would at least stop and look at me. Anything was better than the complete look of unrecognition, as though I meant nothing to her. But then again, maybe I did mean nothing to her – not anymore.

I scrambled out of the booth and followed her out to the back room, trying to ignore the fact that she deliberately let the door swing back on my face.

“Liz…” I repeated, when I hesitantly stepped into the room. She looked at me for less than a second, but in that moment I could see the look of distaste written across her features.

“I saw you Max.” She stated, and my stomach lurched. She had seen me. What had I been thinking?

I protested. I tried to explain what I did. I tried to blame Tess. But I really couldn’t excuse what I had done. I had told Liz that she was the one, and in the very next minute I had destroyed everything. I begged her to have faith in me, and in us. But I didn’t deserve her faith, and she knew it.

“There is no us. The minute you kissed her, we became history.” Liz retorted.

I protested some more. This couldn’t be the end. Not after everything we had been through. We were connected, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

“… I had a flash.” Why, oh why had I told her that? I had thought it would make her understand if I told her what I had seen, but she didn’t give me the chance. Her face crumpled and I immediately wished I could have taken it back.

When she ran upstairs I knew I couldn’t follow. I had already done enough damage for one day … for one lifetime.

[Oz]

Thanks for all the FB! And thanks for sticking around.

Very, very sorry for keeping you guys hanging there. Too little time ... too much fun happening over on 'Against the Tide'... (okay, maybe it's just me having fun )

Finally getting out from underneath the original episodes and heading off on my own tangent. Things should start to get a bit more interesting from here on in. Although, I do have to give credit to the writers of 'Four Square' because I did still use one or two lines in there somewhere.


3

Max POV

So the truth was out. Tess was Nasedo. We had seen it with our own eyes. There was no other explanation.

Isabel had snuck a wireless spy camera into Tess’ house, and found an abandoned warehouse nearby where we could watch her. We took turns during the night. Maria and Michael, Isabel and Alex, me and … well, just me. Liz wasn’t there and I felt her absence acutely.

Anyway, while Isabel and Alex were watching the screen, they suddenly called the rest of us over – Tess was using alien powers to fix a statue that had smashed on the floor. There it was on screen. Tess was the fourth alien – the one we had been waiting for.

I couldn’t put into words exactly how I felt about that. First of all, it explained a lot – the way I felt drawn to her was because she was one of us, not necessarily because I had feelings for her. But secondly, Nasedo had killed. Did I really want to let Nasedo into our lives? Nasedo was a shape-shifter. God only knew what was beneath its skin.

So we decided to follow Tess wherever she went. Maria seemed to be particularly concerned for my safety, believing Tess would continue her seduction and eventually eat me alive like a praying mantis. I wasn’t so worried about me – I could take care of myself. I was worried about Liz. If Nasedo thought Liz was any kind of threat, I had no doubt that she would not hesitate to remove Liz from the picture. The very thought of that sent shivers down my spine.

That’s how I found myself climbing onto Liz’s balcony that afternoon after school – determined to protect her. I bent down to peer through Liz’s window, and that’s when I saw her lying on her bed, staring at a strip of photos of the two of us that we had taken only a week before. I continued to watch her while she didn’t realise I was there, savouring the sight of every inch of her face. What would I do if I was never able to touch that skin again?

While I watched, I realised Liz was crying, and my heart cried out for her. I had caused those tears, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to make up for it. As I watched her wiping her tears with the sleeve of her shirt, I saw her turn the strip of photos on its side and proceed to rip it in two.

“Don’t.” I begged, stepping through her open window.

Liz looked at me for a moment then continued to rip the photos into even smaller pieces.

“Oops.” Liz grinned, scattering the pieces of the photo on the floor.

I immediately scooped them up, trying not to betray how it tore my heart to see her throw away our memories like that.

“What are you doing here Max?” Liz asked, hands on hips as if daring me to even try and come near her. Didn’t she realise that was the only thing I wanted to do?

“We have to talk.” I stated.

“We have nothing more to say.” Liz replied. “Why don’t you go and say whatever it is that you have to say, to your new girlfriend?”

“Because what I have to say is about her.” I replied.

“So you’re not denying it? You with her now?” Liz choked out, and I mentally kicked myself for the omission. I had been too quick with my response to realise what it would sound like if I didn’t correct Liz’s assumption.

“I’m not with her.” I clarified, but she just looked at me with raised eyebrows. I knew the only way to get myself out of the hole I had dug for myself was to tell her exactly what we had found out about Tess – about Nasedo.

“Tess is an alien.” I blurted. “She’s one of us.”

My statement didn’t get the reaction I was expecting. I thought it would make Liz understand, but it only upset her more.

“Perfect. Well I hope the two of you will be very happy together and make an army of alien babies to take over the world.” Liz replied.

Whoa, where was that coming from?

“That’s what you think of me? That I’m a monster sent here to destroy humanity?”

It was probably good that we got that misunderstanding out the way before, oh I don’t know, our wedding day?

“That’s not what I meant.” Liz replied.

“Well what did you mean exactly?” I spit back. This wasn’t going at all the way I’d planned in my head. But then again, did I really expect Liz to run back to me with open arms after seeing me kissing Tess?

“What I meant was that I’m glad you have been able to find someone like you to make you happy.” She replied, not meeting my eyes.

“No, Liz, you don’t understand…” I tried to explain. Tess did not make me happy, she never could.

“No, Max you don’t understand.” Liz cut in before I had the chance. “Do you know what my biggest fear has been since I met you?”

I shook my head. That underneath, I was really a monster?

“Not that you were too different from me… but that I was too different from you.” Liz finished.

I didn’t understand, and it must have shown because she tried to explain herself.

“You’re an alien Max. I get that. You’re different. But I was never scared of you, I was only ever afraid that I couldn’t be enough for you. I guess my fears were well founded…”

“Liz…” I tried to interrupt.

“No.” Liz replied. “You don’t have to explain. I get it. She’s one of you. She will always be able to give you what I never possibly could.”

“She couldn’t, because she’s not you.” I stated.

“She’s more than I could ever be.” Liz said resigned. “I may be able to attempt to understand what you are going through, being stuck on this planet and having no idea where you came from or what you are here for. I can sympathise, but I can’t relate. I can’t tell you I know exactly what it’s like for you, because I don’t. But Tess can.”

I was silent. She had a point. But then again, I had Isabel and Michael for that. What I had with Liz was more important to me than having someone being able to ‘relate’ to me. I was about to tell her exactly that when she suddenly said –

“Tell me how it felt to kiss her.”

I thought about refusing to answer the question, but I had already lost Liz, surely not saying anything would only make things worse.

“It was upsetting. It made me feel things about myself I didn’t like. Like there was this whole side of me I never even knew about.” I explained.

“Exactly. The alien side.” Liz replied, as though I had proved her point. “I could never compete with that.”

“You don’t have to.” I promised.

“No Max … I do. You and I … we would never work. Eventually you would need more than I could ever give you. You would need Tess.”

“That’s not true.” I protested. “There’s more to Tess than what I’ve told you.”

Liz gave me a look as though she couldn’t possibly take much more, but I had to say it so she would understand what kind of danger she could be in.

“Tess is Nasedo. She’s a shapeshifter. A killer.” I announced.

Liz’s face went white. She almost looked afraid for me.

“That’s why I’m here. I need to make sure that you’re safe. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.” I confessed.

“Why would anything happen to me? I’m nobody.”

“You’re not nobody Liz. You’re the one person standing between Tess and her goal.”

“Well, I’m not anymore. As of last night, we were over. There’s no reason for her to think of me as a threat anymore when it comes to you.”

“You will always be a threat for as long as I love you.” I replied, admitting to her for the first time how I felt about her.

“Then don’t.” Liz replied, stepping away as though trying to widen the canyon already between us.

“I can’t.” I replied, hoping that she would believe me.

“I think you should leave.” Liz replied, wrapping her arms around herself. “You being here is only going to confirm your theory that I’m a threat. So leave. Protect me by leaving me alone.”

“Liz …” I began, reaching for her, but she pulled away even further.

“Goodbye Max.” She said, turning away from me.

I hesitantly climbed out of the window wondering how we would ever get back to the way we were. I sat perched on the window sill waiting for Liz to change her mind, before Liz turned and gave me a look filled with so much hurt that it sent shivers down my spine for the second time that day. Climbing down the ladder I promised myself that I would prove to Liz that I meant what I said – I loved her and I would protect her at all costs.

[Oz]

Must apologise. I really thought I had posted this part already. Sorry to keep you waiting even longer than I already thought I had!

Oh, and for all of you playing at home ... a little Roswell 101 - in 'Four Square' they all thought Tess was Nasedo until she set them straight. Anyway, it should become clearer as we go along.

This part is set somewhere during 'Four Square' and 'Max to the Max' - credit to the writers again.


4

Max POV

Ever had a strange feeling that someone’s watching you? Ever woken up from a nightmare only to find it’s true, and that person is inches from your face? Welcome to my life.

“It’s time. You understand don’t you?” Tess announced, when she saw my eyes flutter open. It was the middle of the night and I had been dreaming strange dreams filled with alien symbols that I couldn’t understand, but which I recognised at the same time.

And I did. I knew I had to follow Tess, Nasedo, whoever she was, if I wanted answers.

“I’ll show you everything and you’ll remember.” Tess promised.

So I went with Tess to the desert. Where we eventually stopped seemed so familiar, like I had been there before but couldn’t place exactly when exactly. The mountain seemed to point towards a v cluster of stars, as though it was pointing towards home.

“This is it.” I announced. “This is what Michael saw in his hallucination.”

“We’ve all seen it. We’ve all been here before.” Tess replied, confirming my suspicion.

Then my eyes narrowed. “What do you mean ‘we’?”

“Hold me Max. You’ll remember.” Tess replied, taking a step towards me. I took an equal step backwards.

“I remember you’re a killer.” I responded.

“What are you talking about? I’ve never killed anyone.” Tess denied.

“Stop lying! I know who you are. I know you’re Nasedo. I know what you’ve done!” I exclaimed – and it was her turn to take a step backwards from me, almost as if she was cowering.

“God, Max. That’s not who I am. That’s not who I am!” Tess repeated, as though she was trying to convince even herself. “Think Max … you’ve seen my face before. You know who I am.” Tess begged.

My mind suddenly flashed to one of my first memories – one that I had long suppressed. I saw myself coming out of a pod, which looked like an ugly sack of jelly. I saw Michael and Isabel, waiting for me. And then I saw the unmistakable blonde curls that belonged to Tess – still unconscious in the fourth pod. For a moment I had debated whether to wait for her or not, but my instinct told me to leave. Take Isabel’s hand in mine and leave.

“You know who I am now, don’t you?” Tess asked, the desperation evident in her eyes. “You understand our destiny.”

I wanted to answer her, but at that moment Michael and Isabel came running up towards us, and I wondered whether Tess had drawn them to the desert too.

“Hey!” Michael yelled at Tess. “What the hell did you do to him? To all of us?” He demanded.

“Michael, stop it.” I said, placing myself between Michael and Tess as if protecting her. “She’s not Nasedo.”

“Then who is she Max?” Isabel asked.

“She’s one of us.” I replied, taking Tess’ hand in mine.

“What do you mean she’s one of us?” Michael demanded. But I didn’t answer him. My attention was drawn back to the image of the cave where the pods were kept. Something was so familiar about this place. Looking up to the peak, I realised what it was. This was where the pods were hidden.

I bolted up the mountain with Michael, Isabel and Tess following closely behind. As they caught up, I ran my hand along the rocky wall, trying to find the opening. Sensing I was in the right place, I placed my hand on the stone, which immediately began to heat up and glow, and within seconds the stone began to roll away from the entrance.

“How did you…?” Michael began.

“I just knew.” I replied confidently, feeling so close to finding out the truth about where we came from.

“What is this place, Max?” Isabel asked, after we had all climbed inside the chamber.

“It’s where we were all born.” Tess said exactly what I was thinking.

Tess. I spun around to face her.

“So if you’re one of us …” I began. “Who is Nasedo?”

“The man you know as Ed Harding.” Tess replied.

“You’re father?” I asked. Did that make him our father?

“Not exactly… He was there when I came out of the pod, and has looked after me ever since. But he’s not our father.” Tess replied, answering my unasked question. “He’s our protector.”

“So we’re the reason he has killed so many people?” I asked, the guilt beginning to smother me.

“I don’t know anything about him killing people. But I do know that he would stop at nothing to keep us safe. It’s what he is programmed to do.”

“What else is he programmed to do?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“He’s programmed to make sure we fulfil our destiny.” Tess replied.

I gulped. For some reason, I didn’t like the sound of that.


Liz POV

I knew I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed that morning. Not only had Agnes called in sick, but I had managed to mess up every order and spill a milkshake on the lap of a customer - all because I couldn’t get Max out of my mind. Even when he was no where in sight he was still screwing with me.

I didn’t think my day could get any worse, but I was wrong …

“Liz, let’s go.” Max announced out of nowhere in the backroom where I was having a five minute break to clear my head.

“I don’t think so.” I replied, attempting to pull my arm away, but he had a firm grip on me.

“Please, we have to talk. It’s important.” Max replied, still not letting go.

“I think we’ve said everything that we need to say.” I replied, my eyes darkening. Why was he doing this?

“There’s been some … developments.” Max explained.

“I can’t leave. We are short staffed as it is. Maria would kill me.” I replied. “Whatever it is can wait until my shift is over.”

“No. It can’t.” Max replied, dragging me out of the back door into the alley and pushing me into a waiting convertible.

“Where’s the jeep?” I asked, my voice faltering from the way he was scaring me. He had never scared me before.

“The transmission needs work so they gave me rental.” Max replied, pulling out onto the street.

“Nice rental.” I mumbled under my breath.

“What was that?” Max asked.

“I said, where are we going?” I replied.

“It’s a surprise.” Max replied, giving me a smirk that made my blood run cold and make me want to jump out of the car then and there. In hindsight, I wish I had.


Max POV

My head was spinning from all the things Tess had told us about our past … and our destiny. One thing was for sure – I was convinced that my destiny was not with Tess – not when I had already given my heart to Liz.

“I know you all have a lot to think about.” Tess said, “Take your time. I’ll be here for you whenever any of you need me.”

I smiled thanks, before the four of us headed into towards the Crashdown. I took Isabel’s hand, worried about the fact she hadn’t said a word since leaving the pod chamber. She didn’t seem to be taking it well.

“Where’s Liz?” Maria demanded, the moment we stepped into the Crashdown.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since last night.” I replied.

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “I saw you take off with her an hour ago.”

“Max was with us an hour ago.” Michael replied in my defence.

“He can’t have been. I saw him.” Maria replied. “I saw him running out the back door with Liz during her last break.”

My heart stopped and I immediately took out my mobile to call Liz.

“Hello?” Liz asked cautiously. She had obviously seen my caller ID.

“Liz? It’s Max. Where are you?” I asked, trying to hide the desperation in my voice. This couldn’t be happening – what did he want with her anyway?

“Who is this?” Liz asked confused.

“It’s Max. Please tell me where you are. Where has he taken you?” I pleaded.

“I …” Liz began, but the phone went dead.

“Dammit!” I cried, slamming the phone, and then turned to Tess. “He has her doesn’t he? Nasedo has Liz.”

“I d-don’t know…” Tess replied.

“Where has he taken her?” I demanded.

“I don’t know. He never tells me anything.” Tess replied, looking a little afraid.

“You better hope to hell he doesn’t hurt her.” I threatened. Or help me God …


Liz POV

“Now you know.” He said, switching off my phone.

“Where … where are you taking me?” I asked, petrified. What the hell was going on? If he wasn’t Max, then who the hell was this guy?

“We are going to set a little trap for Agent Pierce.”

“What am I here for?”

“You’re the bait.” Evil-Max grinned.

[Oz]

Thanks for the FB everyone!

This part is set in 'Max to the Max' so credit to the writers of that episode.


5

Liz POV

“You must be Nasedo.” I concluded. Max had warned me that I might be in danger, and I had just assumed he was overreacting as usual. I mean, what would some evil alien want with me? Seems I was wrong.

“My reputation precedes me.” Nasedo grinned.

“Not in a good way.” I muttered, to which Nasedo grinned some more.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Not while I still need you.”

“And then?” I dared to ask.

“Then … we’ll see.”


Max POV

“We have to go to Valenti.” I announced.

“Are you friggin kidding me?” Michael retorted. “We are not going to Valenti.”

“This is Liz’s life we are talking about.”

“And ours! The minute we tell anything to Valenti – our lives as we know them will be over!”

“Oh, so Liz is just a casualty in all of this – as long as ‘we’ are okay?” I bit back.

“No, that’s not what I meant. We will find her, but we have to do it on our own.” Michael back-peddled, seeing my anger rise at his insinuation that Liz’s life was not as important as ours.

“We need Valenti’s resources. We have no idea where Nasedo has taken Liz. They could be anywhere by now.” I argued. God, Liz could be anywhere with that madman… that killer.

“What if there was a way we could tell Valenti without telling him anything about Nasedo?” Maria began.

I looked at her eagerly. If it was possible, then it would be our best shot.

“As far as Valenti has to know, there’s only one Max. He only has to believe that you’ve taken Liz.” Maria suggested.

My eagerness turned to concern. Sure, don’t tell Valenti that I’m an alien, but its fine to make him believe that I’m a kidnapper? That would only raise his suspicions of me even further than they had already.

“No. We’ll find Liz on our own. We are not involving Valenti.” I replied. “Michael, Isabel, Tess - let’s go.”

“Where are you going to start looking?”

“Everywhere.” I replied, heading for the jeep with the rest of the ‘pod squad’.

“What about Alex and I?” Maria asked.

“Stay here in case she calls.”


Liz POV

Nasedo pulled me out of the convertible and dragged me towards a night carnival. It was the last place I expected him to take me – a place filled with hundreds of people, hundreds of witnesses.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, speaking for the first time since Nasedo’s suggestion that I could die once he was finished with me.

“Waiting for Pierce.”

“And what makes you think he’ll come here?” I asked curiously.

“We’re going to send a sign.”

“I don’t believe in that hokey – there’s no such thing as aliens.” Another crowd goer said, loud enough for Nasedo to hear.

The evil grin I had become accustomed to seeing returned to Nasedo’s face, and in that moment a bright shaft of light seemed to engulf the poor woman, the sound of her screaming masked by the sound of the nearby carousel.

I stared up into the sky and saw a strange alien symbol. Nasedo looked up too, and while he was distracted by his handiwork, I used that moment to slip away from his watchful eye. I knew it would only be seconds before he would realise I was gone, so I had to find somewhere to hide. The closest place was the hall of mirrors – somewhere I knew I could get lost, but where I could also lose him too.

I ran as quickly as I could to the entrance, knowing that Nasedo was hot on my trail, but hoping that my headstart was enough to ensure Nasedo wouldn’t be able to find me with in a room full of illusions.


Max POV

We were driving out of town, headed down the highway when we suddenly saw as shaft of light appear in the air just behind the next hill. At the top, there was a distinctively alien symbol. My heart lurched, despite the odds, we had found Liz.

“I know exactly what he’s doing. He’s leading Pierce straight to him.” Tess announced.

“And to Liz.” I added.

“Why?” Michael asked.

“He wants to kill him.”

“Let’s go.” I ordered.

“We can’t. Do you have any idea what Pierce will do if he gets a hold of you?”

“He’s going to get to Liz if we don’t get there first. I’m not going to let anything happen to Liz.” I vowed.

We arrived at a carnival, moments after the beam of light disappeared from the sky. As soon as I killed the ignition, I jumped out of the jeep and began running as fast as I could into the centre of carnival where I had last seen the beam of light.

As I reached the carousel, I saw myself – Nasedo, disappear into the hall of mirrors. I couldn’t see Liz, but I’m sure that she wouldn’t be far away from wherever Nasedo was.

“Max. Don’t go in there.” Tess warned, grabbing me as though trying to restrain me. “Pierce will torture you. He’ll kill you. I can’t lose you when I’ve just found you.”

I shrugged her off, trying to ignore her warning, and her concern for me. I couldn’t leave Liz, I just couldn’t.

As I entered the hall of mirrors, I saw an image of myself staring back at me. Not exactly unexpected in a place like that, but this image appeared to be frowning at me.

“Get out of here!” Nasedo yelled.

“Where’s Liz?” I asked desperately.

“Leave her. Pierce doesn’t want her – he wants you. Leave now!” Nasedo yelled.

At that moment I saw Liz walk behind Nasedo.

“Liz!” I called, running towards her, only to find myself slamming into a pane of glass separating us.

“Max!” Liz shouted, running towards me.

I beat on the glass but it wouldn’t break. I stared at Liz’s beautiful face, trying to savour the image I had thought that I wouldn’t get to see ever again.

“You have to run Liz. Get away from here.” I begged.

“Not without you.” She replied, placing her hand on the glass. I placed mine the other side, and willed the glass that was separating us to disappear.

What I saw next, made all of the colour drain from my face.

“Run!” I yelled at her.

She turned around to find herself surrounded by four men in suits, with no way out. She struggled aimlessly as one of the men grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. Liz looked at me in fear, but all I could see where the other men who had their guns pointed at me.

Unwillingly, unconsciously, I began to back away.

“Pierce will torture you. He’ll kill you.” Tess’ words rang in my head.

Liz looked at me in desperation, and looked at her with pleading eyes to forgive me. Forgive me for what I was about to do. I ran, hearing the sound of glass breaking behind me as their bullets pierced the glass. I ran as I felt the bullets rush past me. I ran as fast as my cowardly legs would take me.

[Oz]

Two posts in two days ... I must have been feeling inspired. But don't get used to it ...

Thanks for the feedback - I thought then ending would throw you a little. Okay ... a lot.

This episode is set in 'The White Room', with obvious changes. Credit to the writers as usual.


6

Liz POV

When I saw Max back away, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had always thought that our love was stronger than anything. I always thought we would die to protect each other. I was wrong – apparently I was the only one who was willing…

“Where are you taking me?” I asked the nameless suited man who was watching me lying bound on the floor of an unmarked van. I could hear the sound of the tyres travelling on a gravel road, and the sound of a security fence being opened to unblock our path.

“You’re new home.” The suited man replied.


Max POV

I didn’t stop running until I ran smack-bang into Michael.

“Max! Where’s Liz?” Michael demanded, helping me regain my balance.

I stared at him for a moment. I stared at all of them.

“They’ve taken her.” I said, although I still couldn’t believe it. I still couldn’t believe that I had let them.

“Why?” Isabel asked.

“I don’t know.” I replied honestly. What could they want with Liz?

“I thought they were after you?” Michael asked confused.

“Apparently not.” I replied. “All they wanted from me was to put a bullet in me.”

“Why would they want to kill you?” Isabel gasped.

“They didn’t want to kill him.” Tess began. “They wanted to give him a reason to use his powers in front of them. They wanted proof.”

“Did you give them any?” Michael demanded.

“No. I was too busy running out of the way of their bullets.”

“Good.” Michael replied.

“Good? Good?!” I cried, menacing towards Michael. “I left Liz behind. I left her to protect myself! How am I ever going to explain that to her?”

“She’ll understand.” Tess replied. “Liz would want you to stay safe. She would die for you.”

“But apparently I wouldn’t die for her. No matter what I may have protested, when it came to the point, I was too scared. I wanted to protect myself. I wanted to protect the rest of you.”

“Max…” Isabel took a step forward to comfort me, but I stepped away. I didn’t deserve to be comforted. Only Liz deserved that – wherever she was.

Over Isabel’s shoulder I saw an unfamiliar man stride towards us.

“What the hell were you thinking?” He demanded. It could only be Nasedo. “You should have stayed away. I had it under control.”

“Under control?! Is that what you call it? They have Liz – and where were you to protect her?”

“That’s not my job.” Nasedo replied. “My job is to protect the rest of you, which wouldn’t have been a problem if you had just stayed out of it.”

“You have to help us find Liz.” I ordered.

“If that is what the King wants, then I will obey.” Nasedo replied in a mock bow.

“Do you have any idea where she might be?” I asked desperately, ignoring Nasedo’s apparent attempt at humour.

“No idea.” Nasedo smiled.


Liz POV

“Good morning Liz.” A voice came through the speakers above the mirrored wall where I knew they were watching me. The other walls were made of padded white cushions, as though I was in an asylum. After the night I just had, I thought it was appropriate.

“Where am I?” I asked, but not expecting a straight answer.

“Someplace where no one can find you.” The voice replied vaguely. Predictable.

“Why am I here?”

“You have something we need.”

“What’s that?” I asked hesitantly. What could I have that they could possibly want?

“Evidence.” The voice replied.

At that moment three men dressed from head to foot in white protective clothing, and masks on their faces, rushed into the room and grabbed me. Two of them hauled me onto a hospital bed that had been wheeled into the room, while the third prepared a syringe.

“What are you doing to me? What are you doing to me?!” I screamed, attempting to struggle, but knowing it was useless – I was no match for their combined strength.

No one replied, but in a moment I felt the syringe pushed into my arm and saw the blood drawn out. What could they possibly want with my blood?

In a moment it was over, and they left the room as quickly as they had come, leaving me strapped to table to consider what my possibly short-lived future could contain.


Max POV

Back at the Crashdown, I watched as Michael and Isabel hugged Maria and Alex after breaking the news of the fate of their friend. I looked over at Tess, but the last thing I wanted was to go to her for comfort. I needed Liz.

“Why did they take her?” Maria asked, sobbing.

“I don’t know.” I replied sorrowfully.

“Why didn’t you protect her?” Maria demanded more strongly this time.

“I don’t know.” I confessed.

“I swear to God if anything happens to her …” Maria threatened.

“Believe me - I’ll take what ever you want to dish out. I know it is my fault. I should have tried harder, no matter what the consequences.” I admitted. God, why hadn’t I tried harder? Why hadn’t I been willing to expose my powers if it meant saving Liz?

Why? Because I was just a sixteen year old boy, with more than one life in my hands. I shouldn’t have to make life and death decisions. I shouldn’t have to deal with people hunting me down. I shouldn’t have to deal with the people I love being in danger because of who I am.

“You did the right thing Max.” Michael said.

“What?!” Maria turned her anger to his direction.

“Max would have given them proof once and for all, and they would have stopped at nothing until they captured him - until they captured all of us. He did the right thing.”

I listened to Michael but I wasn’t sure that I believed him. Liz’s life was more important than that. More important than me. I risked exposing my powers before – why wasn’t I willing to do it now?

“Listen, we’ll find Liz. We’ll find her before they can do anything to her. We’ll find her without having to expose ourselves to the wrong people. We can fix this.” Michael promised. That seemed to work on Maria, as she let Michael pull her into another hug. I wasn’t as convinced.

“How?” I asked.

“We use our gifts. We combine our strengths to find her, to save her. I know my abilities – what about the rest of you?” Tess asked.

“Our a-abilities?” Isabel stammered.

“Your powers… your gifts.” Tess clarified. “You do have them don’t you?”

“We’re not too advanced.” Michael replied.

“We can do easy things, like change the simple molecular structure of things. But we don’t use them very often.”

“Wait -what about that dream thing you can do?” Alex asked Isabel.

“What dream thing?” Tess asked.

“Sometimes I can go into people’s heads when they are sleeping.” Isabel explained.

“And you can communicate with them?” Tess asked.

“Subconsciously maybe.” Isabel replied unconvincingly.

“You have to try Isabel.” I begged. “You have to help us find Liz.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Please…” I begged.

Isabel nodded. “Okay… I’ll try.”


Liz POV

As I lay strapped to the table, I jerked as the door opened behind me. Into the room walked a man in a suit. He looked like the new deputy, but had slicked his hair back and was obviously not in his uniform.

The chair began to rise so that I was looking directly at him.

“You and I don’t need procedure now do we Liz?” He began. He’d lost his accent too.

“You’re the deputy…” I stated the obvious.

“You can call me Agent Pierce.” He replied. “And you’re Liz Parker. Small town girl who got involved with the wrong crowd.”

“What do you want with me?” I asked.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to find out at the lab.”

“There’s something very strange about your blood test.” He announced, turning on the flurescent screen to put up a transparent sheet.

“This is what human blood looks like under the mircroscope.” He announced. I got that. You don’t get an A in Biology without knowing something like that.

He then changed the sheet to put up something looking a little, well, greener and more triangular.

“And this is your blood.” Pierce announced. Okay - something I didn’t know.

I stared at him in confusion. What was he talking about?

“Completely not human.” He added.

“I don’t understand.” I said. There had to be some mistake.

“Apparently, when Max Evans brought you back from the dead, he changed you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I denied, but my heart was racing. What had Max done to me?

“Don’t play games with me Liz.” Pierce retorted. “We know all about that day in your parent’s restaurant.”

He then reached into his briefcase and pulled out a Crashdown uniform. The blood stains and the bullet hole in the stomach explained how he knew. It was the uniform I misplaced after the shooting. At least now I knew where it had gone.

“Are you ready to be straight with me now Liz?” Pierce asked. “Max healed you. You would have died, but Max healed you. And he changed you in the process. Guess what Liz … you’re now part alien.”

“So what are you going to do with me?” I asked, not meeting his eye.

“We want to see exactly how much he has changed. We’re going to run some more tests.” Pierce smiled, before striding out of the room.

I leant back on the bed, and thought about what Pierce had told me. Max had changed me. Now I was part alien. What did that mean for me? What did that mean for me and Max? Nothing … Max had abandoned me. It was finally over. He had made me more like him, but I had never felt more alone.

[Oz]

Thanks for all the FB and bumps! Sorry I took so long to update, but I'm not able to write as often as I would like to anymore. Apparently I'm eating for two now, and one of us apparently needs more sleep (no more writing until midnight ). Please bear with me ...

BTW - did I hear someone mention they liked a good twist .... ?

7

Max POV

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Isabel confessed now that we were alone in Liz’s room. I had been momentarily distracted by the images of Liz that were flooding over me from being in her room and smelling the scent of her perfume lingering in the air. I was remembering the last time that I had been in Liz’s room – not the happiest of memories. After Isabel’s comment my attention returned to my sister who was looking more than just worried. She looked scared.

“You’ve done it before.” I replied. “Remember how mom had trouble sleeping for months after she saw you in her dream.”

“But she was only two rooms away, and she was asleep. We don’t even know where Liz is!” Isabel pointed out.

“Please Isabel. You are our only hope.” I admitted. If this didn’t work I really didn’t know how we were going to find her.

“Okay … okay.” Isabel nodded before lying down on Liz’s bed.

I took a strip of photos of Liz and myself down from Liz’s pinup board and handed it to Isabel. “Here, use this.” I said, holding out the photo. I liked the thought that in the photo we were together, and Liz was happy - much better than any yearbook photo.

“Stay with me Max.” Isabel begged.

“I will. I promise.” I smiled, sitting down on the bed next to her, cradling her head on my lap.

“Let me in Liz … Let me in.” Isabel whispered before closing her eyes.


Liz POV

“Liz? Liz?” I heard a voice. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Isabel in the room. I couldn’t focus from all the drugs they had given me. Since Pierce had left the room, the technicians had returned and had run so many tests that my head was spinning from the anaesthetic. At least I should be grateful for that small mercy.

“You’re not here. You’re not real.” I said to the Isabel’s image.

“I am Liz… Please you have to stop the room from spinning.” Isabel begged, stumbling across the room to where I was strapped to the table.

“I can’t … they’ve given me something.” I explained.

“Liz. Look at me.” Isabel begged, cupping my face and turning it to hers. “You have to tell me where you are.”

“I don’t know.” I replied.

“How did you get here?” Isabel asked. I tried to think. All I remembered was the van, the sound of the gravel road and the gates opening. When they opened the van they pushed me onto a hospital bed and wheeled me into an army-looking facility.

“Who brought you here?” Isabel asked.

I thought about Agent Pierce … Deputy Fisher.

“Deputy Fisher is Agent Pierce?” Isabel clarified.

“You should go.” I replied, sensing that someone would be entering the room any minute. They hadn’t left me alone this long all morning.

“No. I’m not leaving you.” Isabel vowed.

“You have to.” I replied. Not wanting to be alone, but scared that she would find some way of bringing Max into my mind too. I wasn’t sure how I would cope with that.

My protestations seemed to work, and the minute Pierce re-entered the room, Isabel was gone.

“I want all those drugs flushed out of her system. I want her to be completely coherent for the next phase of our tests.” Pierce ordered the technicians who had followed him into the room.


Max POV

Minutes later Isabel jerked up screaming Liz’s name.

“What is it? What did you see?” I questioned, cupping her face so that she would calm down and focus. The others were climbing into the room from where they had been waiting on Liz’s balcony.

“They’re hurting her. She’s so scared.”

“The deputy… he’s Pierce. He’s hurting her.” Liz rambled.

“Where is she?” I asked. God, we had to get to her before Pierce hurt her any more.

“I don’t know … I don’t know!” Isabel cried.

“Think harder. She must have given you something.” Tess prompted.

“She did … She did. I think I know where she is.” Isabel replied after running through all the things Liz had showed her.

“Thank you.” I hugged Isabel, but directed my eyes at Tess who I saw over Isabel’s shoulder. Tess had managed to focus Isabel’s thoughts more quickly than we had been able to do. She was helping us to find Liz. Something I wouldn’t have expected her to do.


Liz POV

As my head began to clear, I knew that it would only be moments before the technicians reappeared. I was not disappointed.

I felt the freezing water as they pushed me under in an ice bath ….

The pain as electric currents shot through my brain …

Needles …

Burning heat …

Pain …

More pain ….

Nothing gave Pierce the satisfaction that he could find anything ‘alien’ about me besides my blood. I could feel his frustration, and that scared me. Who knew what he would try next.

They left me strapped to the table … waiting. If it wasn’t for the anticipation of what was to come, I could have slept a million years from the exhaustion.

As I heard the door creak open, I braced myself for what the next test would be. Then I saw the scalpel in Pierce’s hand and my blood ran cold. Guess alien blood isn’t that different after all…

“I’ve been going about this the wrong way…” Pierce began. “Your blood is alien… and where does your blood get pumped from? You’re heart.”

Pierce held up the scalpel for dramatic effect.

“What are you going to do to me?” I asked, although I really didn’t want the answer.

“Finally get some answers.” Pierce replied, ripping open my hospital gown and revealing my chest. I watched as Pierce slowly lowered the scalpel so that the tip was touching my skin.

As he dug the scalpel into my skin to the point of drawing blood, I screamed as the pain coursed through my body. As it did, I felt something else course through me – an incredible power.

My hands broke free of the restraints and my fingers automatically curled around Pierce’s neck. He dropped the scalpel and reached both hands around mine in an effort to pull my hand away, but he was powerless. As I watched him struggle, I also noticed the green flicker of electricity coursing through my arm.

I let go as soon as I felt Pierce’s weight give out beneath him, and watched him crumple to the floor. At that moment two guards burst into the room, but backed away as soon as they saw me slide off the table and menace towards them with my arm outstretched.

I used all of my strength to stumble down the hall, away from the white room, away from the technicians, away from the guards and away from Pierce’s limp, possibly dead, body.

I reached the locked gate which required a fingerprint scan and bone scan to access. Without hesitation I grabbed the guard that was attempting to sneak up behind me with a loaded gun, and pushed him towards the fingerprint scan. He screamed as my hand touched his skin and I saw the green flickering flare up again as though it could taste fresh blood.

The door swung open, and I left him lying there, barely able to breath and definitely unable to stand. The thought of harming anyone in my escape scared me, and I quickened my pace so as to lesson the risk of coming across anyone else on my way to freedom.

The path out of the facility was clear, which surprised me, but I wasn’t complaining – it made my escape so much easier. As I surfaced, I found that it was night and the moon was barely a sliver, concealing my escape even further. I stumbled across the vegetation, heading for where I was sure I would find a road. I wanted to stop, but I knew that my life depended on me getting as far away from the facility as I could. Who knew whether Pierce was dead or alive, and I didn’t want to hang around to find out.

“There she is!” I heard someone scream, and I began to run in the opposite direction, away from their shining torches.

“Liz!” They cried, and I stopped running. I knew that voice – it was Maria.

I turned around and waited for them to catch up to me.

“Liz! Thank God you’re okay!” Maria stated, stepping forward to pull me into a hug. I instinctively stepped away and pulled the sleeves of my hospital gown further down over my hands. I couldn’t risk touching anyone.

“What did they do to you?” Maria asked, obviously hurt by my reaction.

“We should get out of here.” I replied, ignoring her question and walking towards the direction they had just come, careful to make an arc around everyone as I went.

“Liz!” Max said as he approached me, putting out his arm to stop me from walking away.

“Don’t touch me!” I spat.

Max visibly flinched away from me as though he had been slapped. I berated myself, but only for a moment before I remembered how Max had just left me to be taken by Pierce … left me to be tortured.

“Don’t touch me.” I replied more quietly but now with venom in my eyes.

I then saw Nasedo approach. He looked different, but from his grin I knew it was him. His smile made me feel sick to the stomach, as though he knew something about me that he shouldn’t know. It sent shivers down my spine.

“There’s some people inside you need to take care of.” I instinctively ordered Nasedo.

“Yes your majesty.” Nasedo bowed with the smile still plastered on his face, before hurrying off towards the facility.

I took one more look at Max who looked momentarily confused, but not as confused as Tess who was standing next to him.

“I’ll take you home.” Maria offered, making sure not to touch me, but guiding me back towards the road.

“Thank you.” I replied, following her.

As the Jetta pulled away carrying Maria, Alex and myself, I watched the pod squad standing by the road watching me. On their faces I saw confusion, hurt, fear, and … pride.

“What did they do to you Liz?” Maria asked, and as I looked over to her I saw that her gaze had settled on the blood that was drying on my chest. I quickly pulled the gown up to my neck, but the blood could still be seen on my gown. I couldn’t hide it even if I wanted to.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I replied. And I really didn’t.


Max POV

When I saw Liz coming over the hill towards us I couldn’t believe my eyes. Liz was safe. She had managed to escape and she was safe. I couldn’t have been happier.

Well, the happiness only lasted until I saw the look on her face when she saw me, and when I saw the way she flinched away from my touch. She was hurt. She was angry. And she deserved to be.

I barely registered what she was saying to Nasedo, but I heard his reply. He called her ‘majesty’, just had he had called me earlier. I was beginning to think there was more to it than his idea of a joke. Tess seemed even more confused than I was.

I watched as Liz walked away with Maria, and I wondered how I was even going to begin to make it up to her. I had run to save myself, but I had hoped that I would redeem myself by putting my life on the line to save her. But she didn’t need saving. She was able to save herself. My heroic gesture had gone unneeded.

The four of us followed behind Maria, Liz and Alex, and watched as they climbed into the Jetta.

“How did she get away Max?” Isabel asked, the question that no one had yet dared ask but everyone was thinking.

“I don’t know.” I admitted.

“She’s stronger than we ever gave her credit for.” Michael replied as the Jetta drove away.

[Oz]

Don't you love public holidays ... so much time to write!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure this will make things any clearer but here goes ...


8

Liz POV

“Do you want me to stay?” Maria asked. She had just taken me home, and helped me get passed my parents without them getting suspicious about where I had been, with lies about having lost track of time watching DVD’s at her house.

I debated silently for a moment. I really wanted to be alone, but I was scared. I was scared that Pierce was still alive and was coming for me to finish what he had started.

“Do you mind?” I asked.

“Of course not.” Maria smiled, pulling out the sleeping bag from under the bed, where we always had on the ready for such occasions.

The fatigue was beginning to set in, and I couldn’t wait for my head to finally hit the pillow. I began undressing to change into my pyjamas, until I heard Maria let out a gasp.

“What happened to your chest?” Maria asked.

I immediately tried to hide it but it was too late, Maria had already lunged across the bed and was inspecting the cut on my chest.

“It’s nothing.” I attempted to dismiss Maria’s concerns, but I could see she wasn’t going to be swayed that easily.

“That’s not ‘nothing’ Liz.” Maria replied.

“It’s just a scratch. It will heal.” I persisted.

“Let me heal it.” A voice came from the window. I spun around to see Max crouched down and peering into my room. I really needed to remember to lock that.

“No.” I replied, pulling my clothes higher up around my neck to cover the cut.

“Why not?” Max asked, climbing into my room. “It’s the least I can do.” He added under his breath, but I caught his comment and smiled dryly.

“I don’t need your help.” I replied. Torn between the need to keep my chest covered, and the need to cover my arms, I pulled my sleeves down over my wrists. I could feel my anger rising with every second that Max was in my presence, and the anger had the effect of causing those green sparks from rearing again.

“Please …” Max begged, reaching out to touch the cut on my chest which was now exposed and beginning to bleed again.

“I said no!” I replied, backing away. “I don’t want you touching me.”

“What are you afraid of?” Max asked confused – he had obvious registered the hint of fear in my voice.

“N-nothing.” I replied, somewhat unconvincingly.

“Are you afraid that I’ll see what they did to you if I connect with you?” Max asked, trying to find the reason for my hesitation. “Please let me see.”

“No.” I replied. Truth was, I was afraid that he would see what I had become. I was also scared of what those pesky new green sparks would do to Max if he touched me. “I don’t want you to heal me because I want to keep the scar as a reminder of what knowing you has cost me.”

Max reeled backwards as though he had been slapped, and I instantly berated myself for saying something so hurtful. But it was true – I needed something to remind me of what would happen to me again if I let my guard down.

“Is that how you really feel?” He asked.

“No… Yes … I don’t know… I just wish that I could have stopped you from saving my life that day in the Crashdown.” I admitted before I could stop myself.

“Don’t say that.” Max pleaded.

“Max, the day that you saved my life, both of our lives ended.”

“No. That’s when our lives began.” Max corrected me. But he didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand unless I told him the whole truth, and that was something I couldn’t do.

“You want to know why Pierce took me? Do you?!” I asked. “He took me because he knew about the shooting. He knew what you did to me, and he wanted to see exactly how it had affected me. He took me because of my relationship to you.”

“Liz…” Max tried to interrupt, but I carried on.

“I can’t change what happened in the Crashdown that day. My life will now always be in danger, whether I’m with you or not. But I can stop anything more from happening to me because of my association with you. You once told me that we don’t belong together… well, you were right. Being with you has changed me – and not for the better.”

“Liz, please. Don’t say that.” Max pleaded. “We can work it out. We can get through this. I know I let you down. I know I failed to protect you, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life. But please give me the chance to make it up to you. Please give me the chance to be the person you expected me to be.”

“It’s too late Max. I’m done. We’re done.” I replied, turning my back on him.

“Liz…” Max said quietly, taking a step forward.

“I think you should go Max.” Maria said, stepping in between Max and myself.

I don’t know what look was exchanged between them, but it must have been deadly because the next thing I heard was Max scrambling out of the window.

“Thank you Maria.” I said, when I was sure he was gone.

“No problem Chica. I’m here for you whenever you need me.” She replied, putting her arms around me.

And standing there in her arms, I allowed myself to cry for the first time. For the loss of Max and for the loss of my life as I knew it.


Max POV

Climbing down Liz’s ladder, I couldn’t have felt worse than I did at that moment. She didn’t want me in her life anymore, and this time I could see that she meant it. It was my fault, I knew that, but when I had first stepped on her balcony earlier that night I had made myself believe that I could make it better. I was delusional, obviously.

“Max. We’ve gotta go.” Michael said, as I stepped off the final rung of the ladder from Liz’s balcony.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. I had left Michael and Isabel at home after we had dropped Tess off. Now I noticed that both Isabel and Tess were sitting in the jeep.

“Nasedo wants us to go to the pod-chamber. He said it’s important.” Michael explained.

“Okay.” I said reluctantly. The last thing I needed right now was a reminder of my non-human status. Not after Liz made her feelings about me clear.

“There’s just one thing…” Michael hesitated, seeing the look on my face. “He said we should bring Liz too.”

I looked back up at Liz’s balcony and then back at Michael.

“I really don’t think Liz will want to come.” I replied. “We can fill her in later if necessary.”

“Whatever. But I’ll let you explain that to Nasedo.” Michael smirked.

At the pod chamber we found Nasedo waiting for us.

“Where’s Liz?” Was the first thing Nasedo asked.

“She couldn’t come.” I lied.

“No matter. That’s probably for the best anyway.” Nasedo replied.

“What are we doing here?” I asked impatiently. I really wasn’t in the mood for this.

“Well, after I went into the facility where they held Liz, I found this.” Nasedo replied, holding up an orb identical to the one Liz and I had found at Pulman’s ranch. Isabel used that cue to take the other one out of the backpack she was carrying.

“What are they?” I asked. We knew they were from our planet but we had no idea what they did.

“They’re communicators.” Nasedo explained. “They communicate with your home planet.”

“R-really?” Isabel replied, looking at me hopefully.

“How do they work?” Michael asked.

“It’s not my job to show you. My only job is to keep you alive, and by using those communicators you will make that job more difficult.” Nasedo replied.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you don’t know who else you may contact in the process.”

“Then why did you bring us here, to give us the 2nd orb but warn us not to use it?” I asked suspiciously.

“Because you have the right to make your own decisions. I’ll just be here to pick up the pieces of you mistakes.” Nasedo smirked.

“What about the people who took Liz?” I asked, changing the subject. “Is she still in danger?”

“I took care of it.” Nasedo replied vaguely.

“Meaning what exactly?” I asked him to clarify.

“Do you need me to spell it out to you?” Nasedo asked in return.

“You killed them.” I replied, not sure if I was upset by that, or relieved that Liz was now safe.

“I did what was necessary to protect you all.” Nasedo replied, and in that statement, I couldn’t help but feel he was including Liz.

“Do you have any idea how she escaped?” Michael asked curiously.

“She killed Pierce.” Nasedo replied matter-of-factly.

“What?!” I spluttered. Liz was obviously dealing with more than I realised.

“She did what was necessary to save herself, and protect the rest of you. I should think about recruiting her…” Nasedo joked.

“If you want to protect us, then you need to shut down the special unit. We will only be safe if no one is chasing us anymore.” I stated, ignoring Nasedo’s last comment. Truth was, sending Nasedo on this task was more to protect Liz from Nasedo than from the special unit.

“Now you’re thinking like a leader.” Nasedo replied, before changing his appearance into that of Pierce, handing me the 2nd orb and striding out of the pod chamber.

“What do we do now Max?” Isabel asked, looking at the orb she was still holding.

“I think we should try and use the orbs. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want answers.” I said, before looking at the other three who all nodded.

“Maybe if we each hold one and concentrate.” Tess suggested.

The four of us stood in pairs, Isabel and Michael, Tess and myself. I concentrated with all my might on getting the orbs to work, and from the tension in the room I could tell that everyone else was doing the same. Within minutes, the orbs shot up a blue light directly up and through the rock above us. A separate ball of blue light shot out on which an image of a woman flickered.

“If you are seeing me now, it means that you are alive and well.” The woman began. “You have lived before. You perished in the conflict that enslaves our planet but your essence was duplicated, cloned, and mixed with human genetic materials so that you might be recreated into human beings. My son…” She said looking towards me. “… you were the beloved leader of our people. I have sent with you your betrothed. My daughter…” The woman now turned to Isabel, and then to Michael. “…the man you were betrothed to, and your brother’s second-in-command.”

“Oh my God, Max. It’s our mother…” Isabel gasped.

“Our enemies have come to the Earth. You will know them only by the evil within. Learn enough to use your skills, your knowledge, your leadership, to combat the enemy so that you can come back and free us. And that I may once again hold you both in my arms. I live for that moment. Help us. I love you…” And with that, the image of our mother vanished.

“I always knew there was something out there.” Michael said. “But I had no idea how important it was.”

“Things will never be the same.” I began. “But whatever happens, we have to stay together. It’s the four of us now.”

I could tell from the look on Michael’s face that he was excited by the message. Tess also looked happy. Isabel seemed to share my feeling – she looked apprehensive.

So I was a leader. A king as Nasedo had suggested? Then by that token, who was my queen? Tess was my betrothed, but Nasedo had called Liz ‘your majesty’.

“I knew this was meant to be.” Tess said, putting her arm around me.

“No.” I replied, taking a step away. “I’m in love with Liz.”

“Liz isn’t your destiny.” Tess replied.

I didn’t reply, but strode out of the pod chamber. Maybe Tess was right, but I wasn’t ready to give up on Liz just yet. Fate had brought us together, and I wasn’t going to let some message from another world ruin everything. I was a different person. We were all different. Destiny would be what we make it.

[Oz]

Hey all! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with the story (and to the few new faces who have left feedback this week...)

The story is still generally following the end of season 1 (and then will step into season 2 very soon) - think of it as a parallel universe where the background is the same, but the characters decisions cause certain things to happen differently. Does that make sense?

Oh, and in case it isn't obvious, the italics at the start are flashbacks (to events that I was too lazy to write ...)


9

Liz POV

“Are you sure you want to do this?” My father asked.

“So what you’re telling us is that you’re destined to be with Isabel, and Max with Tess?” Maria clarified.

“I don’t care what some hologram says. I determine my own destiny.” Michael replied. “And so does Max.” Michael added, turning to me.

Max and Tess… Max and Tess … Max and Tess! It was true – Max and I didn’t have a future.

“I’m sure.” I replied.

“What did that boy do to you to make you want to leave your family?” My father asked - the concern evident in his eyes.

“Nothing…” I replied, but I could tell from the look on my father’s face that he didn’t believe me.

“You’ll call us as soon as you get to your aunt’s, won’t you?” My mother asked.

“Liz? You can’t leave. What am I going to do here without you? We’re like Thelma and Louise, Bonnie and Clyde…”

“Really bad examples.” I replied, cringing at the reality of how close I had been to experiencing the same early death at the hands of Pierce.

“You know what I mean. You’re my chica. It’s just not going to be the same here without you. This whole pod-squad mess – who am I going to talk to about it all?” Maria frowned.

“I’ll call you everyday. I promise.” I replied, suddenly feeling the full weight of my decision to leave.

“I will. I promise.” I replied.

“Okay… you’d better get going. The bus to Florida is due to leave shortly.” My father said, checking his watch.

“Thanks Dad.” I said, stepping into my father’s waiting arms.

“Look after yourself Liz.” My mother said, taking over from where my father’s embrace left off. “Make sure you call us every day to let us know how you are doing. And if you get homesick, you can come home whenever you want. Just call and we’ll send the money for the fare.”

“I will. Thanks Mum.” I replied, trying to will the tears from spilling down my cheek.

Was I really ready to do this? Leave my family and friends behind? I had told everyone that it was only for the summer, but a part of me knew that I wouldn’t be back in a hurry. I needed a new start. A life where no one knew me or my past. I wanted anonymity, where I could deal with my new-found firecracker abilities without anybody watching me – friend or foe.

“I’ll be home before you know it.” I lied, picking up my backpack and heading towards the bus. Taking one last look at my parents, I took a deep breath and stepped on board.

Making my way to the back of the bus, I took one of the empty double seats and placed my backpack on the rack above me. Not long afterwards, an older gentleman took the empty seat next to me, despite the number of double seats still unoccupied.

“Off to Florida?” The man asked, beginning to make conversation.

“Yes.” I replied, turning to stare out of the window. I really didn’t want to spend the entire journey next to someone trying to make small talk. I considered putting my headphones on, but thought that would be too rude.

“You’re not running away are you?” He continued. “A young girl like you really shouldn’t be travelling on her own. You never know what kind of danger lies ahead.” The gentleman warned.

I looked up at him confused, but when I saw his grin, I understood exactly what was going on. Nasedo.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

“I just wanted to check up on you.” Nasedo smiled.

“How did you know where I was?” I asked, wondering how long he had been following me and my family for.

“I had a hunch. You’re human. You’re weak. I knew you wouldn’t be able to deal with the consequences of your visit to the white room. I knew you would run.”

“Well, if you know me so well, why don’t you tell me what the hell is going on with my body?” I asked in hushed tones, not wanting the rest of the bus to overhear.

“Perhaps we should continue this conversation outside?” Nasedo suggested, standing up into the aisle and indicating that I should follow him. I debated for a second whether I should willingly go with him after what happened last time I was alone with him, but he had answers that I needed, so I grabbed by backpack and stepped off the bus.

“We’re leaving in five minutes.” The bus driver called as we passed him getting onto the bus.

Nasedo led me away from the bus, into an empty corner of the carpark.

“As you’ve probably already guessed – Max has changed you.” Nasedo replied, continuing the conversation where we had left off.

“Into what? Am I human? Am I alien? What?” I demanded.

“Oh, you’re definitely human. Just with a few enhancements.” Nasedo grinned. How I wish he would stop doing that.

“What kind of enhancements?” I asked, not knowing if I really wanted the answer.

“Well, as you have discovered, you have the ability to kill people with your bare hands.”

“Pierce is dead.” I confirmed. I had wondered what I had done to him, whether I had actually killed him or just knocked him unconscious. I’m a killer – I should be in jail for what I did.

“Pierce is definitely dead.” Nasedo smiled. “Remind me never to get you angry.”

“So is that when my … powers … come out? When I’m angry?” I asked, having noticed that the green flickering up my arms hadn’t come back since my most recent encounter with Max, and before that with Pierce.

“Because you haven’t learnt to control your ‘powers’, as you like to call them, they will flare up when you experience strong emotions.” Nasedo explained.

And I couldn’t help but think it was another good reason to get as far away from Max as I could. Someone who was currently able to make me feel the full range of possible emotions.

“You said enhancements plural. What else do I need to know?” I asked.

“That’s enough for now don’t you think?” Nasedo replied, obviously knowing more but not willing to share.

“So why did you come here really? You act like I don’t matter, yet you come out of your way to tell me about my abilities? Why?” I asked.

“Because it is my job to protect the royal four, and having you running around like a lightening rod is going to make my life more difficult. No matter how far you run, you will never be safe, and therefore neither will they.” Nasedo warned.

“So you think I should stay?” I asked.

“I didn’t say that. Go. Run. Do what you want. I don’t care. But do you really think Max won’t find you in Florida? He’s a love sick fool, and as always, he’d put the rest of them in danger for the sake of his own happiness. Nothing changes it seems.”

“So where should I go?” I asked, curiously.

“Well, I’ve always been partial to New York… It’s a place you can get lost in.” Nasedo replied, before walking away without looking back.

I heard the motor of the bus start running, indicating that it was finally ready to depart. I stared down at my bus ticket, and then made a decision. Start spreading the news – I’m leaving today…


Max POV

Monday morning, I waited anxiously in the corridor at school for Liz. I knew that Michael had told her and Maria about the message we had received in the pod chamber, and I wanted to make sure she knew that it didn’t mean anything to me. That Tess didn’t mean anything to me.

I had debated going to Liz’s room again over the weekend to talk to her, but decided against it every time I pulled up outside the Crashdown. She had repeatedly made it clear that she didn’t want to be around me at the moment. Instead I decided to wait until I ‘bumped’ into her at school, then I could casually bring it up in conversation.

But I didn’t see her in the hall, or in first, second or third period.

“Where’s Liz?” I asked Maria when we had all met at our usual lunch spot.

“Oh … um …” Maria replied, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“Maria …” I threatened. Okay, I admit, it sounded more like begging.

“Well, since school is finishing this week anyway, she decided to go away for the summer.”

The summer? I gulped. That was almost three whole months.

“She’s already gone?” I asked, suddenly finding in difficult to breathe. “She didn’t even say goodbye…”

I then noticed the number of eyes suddenly looking at the ground – anywhere but in my direction.

“She said goodbye to everyone but me?” I asked incredulously.

“She didn’t say goodbye to me either.” Tess piped unnecessarily.

“Isabel?” I asked, willing my sister to look me in the eye.

“She came around late last night and told me she was leaving.” Isabel admitted.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?!” I cried. “You’re supposed to be my sister!”

“She made me promise not to… She was very insistent.”

I looked away. Was I that horrible that Liz couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye to me? What was she afraid of? That I wouldn’t let her go? Or that I would be able to convince her to stay?

“What did she say?” I asked, picking up my trampled heart from the floor and moving onto the details - maybe then I could track her down.

“She wanted to thank me for trying to find her when Pierce had her.” Isabel replied.

I nodded. Even though Isabel and Liz never really got along, Liz would always do the right thing.

“… And then she started asking me these really weird questions.” Isabel continued.

“Like what?” I asked curiously.

“Like whether I saw anything unusual when I was inside her head… It was though she thought I might notice something unusual about her.”

“Did you?” I asked.

“No. Not that I remember.” Isabel replied regretfully.

“So where’d she go?” I asked hesitantly – would my friends tell me, or had she been that insistent?

“Florida. She’s staying with her aunt.” Maria replied.

Liz once mentioned an Aunt in Florida. Miami I think? I wonder how long it would take to drive therefore from Roswell.

“Don’t even think about it.” Maria glared at me, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking. Okay, maybe I was entirely too predictable.

“Is she alright?” I asked Maria later once Tess and the others had headed back to class.

“I’m not sure.” Maria replied honestly. “She’s pretty messed up over the whole thing. She barely told me anything about what happened in that room. Hopefully the summer away will do her some good. Give her some space to work through it all.”

“I hope so.” I replied, mulling it over. Space could be good for both of us right now… Who was I kidding – I needed Liz like I needed air to breathe.