The Fight That Changed The World (M/L, Mature) COMPLETE

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:26 pm

***Because you guys were a bit unhappy with the events revealed in the last part,

I am posting this part early. Maybe it'll help. I am crossing my fingers!***

Chapter 10

 3:10 a.m. 

Maria and I go into the kitchen. I take the sheet of paper she gave me and draw two lines down it, creating three columns. At the top of the first column, I write ‘F. Max’s Timeline.’ At the top of the second, I write ‘Both Timelines.’ And at the top of the third, I write ‘Our Timeline.’ Frantically, I start writing down everything that I knew about Future Max’s timeline in the left column. Then I put down everything that has happened to us in Our Timeline’s column.

The center is trickier. Anything that could be the same, that wouldn’t have been affected by our timeline, I put here. It’s just so hard to say what small things we changed just by being apart on a particular day or during a particular event, and what events would have happened anyway. Very little goes into this column: the harvest, the dupes coming to town. Only the events that were set in motion prior to Future Max’s arrival. Maybe if we're armed with more information, we can better plan for the future. Maybe we can still save the planet without Tess.

I also need to work out my thoughts about Alex.

On a second sheet of paper, I started writing my questions. Who knew about the Granolith? Who knew about the book? Who had the power to make Alex believe he was in Sweden? Who wanted to go to Antar?

Obviously, there could be unknowns, so I put a “?” after each question to represent an unknown party. Then, I thought of all the aliens I knew, and put the names in the appropriate columns.

Who knew about the Granolith?
?
Max
Michael
Tess
Isabel
Nasedo (dead)
Nicholas
Rath
Lonnie
Ava

Who knew about the book?
?
Max
Michael
Tess
Isabel
Nasedo (dead)

Who had the power to make Alex believe he was in Sweden?
?
Tess
Ava?

Who wanted to go to Antar?
?
Michael?
Nasedo (dead)
Rath
Lonnie
Ava?

Ok. I started looking over all of my data. That’s what a scientist does. I can’t discount anything. There were only two likely possiblities for Alex’s killer.

The unknown, “?” and Tess.

Oh.

“Maria, do you see what I’m seeing here?”

“That fucking-whore-stupid-slut-bitch. I’m going to kill her!”

Maria gets up and starts pacing.

“It all makes sense! It has to be her! Look what she did to Max! She made him believe she was pregnant! She made him believe that the baby would die if she didn’t go back to Antar! Who else would do it? It’s not like the entire world had access to the information she had, Liz. And she knew Alex. She knew how smart he was and that he could solve their stupid book. Who else had all that information? She’s gotta be the one!”

I feel suddenly calm. Like that itch in the back of my brain has finally stopped, and is now silent. It’s her. Even when I approached her about her powers at Kyle’s house, I didn’t really think she could have done something like this. I was overlooking the obvious. I was letting my feelings cloud my logic. It all makes perfect sense.

“We have to be careful with this information, Maria. Remember what happened last time? We can’t just accuse her because of what she did to Max. We have to go about this the right way. It’s still kind of a stretch.”

“Liz, she did this. I know we didn’t believe you at first, but this is evidence! It’s proof!”

“It’s circumstantial, Maria. Let’s hear what they have to say, and then I’ll show this chart to Max. See if he sees it too. Then we’ll show the others. One thing at a time.”

“Alright. But we won’t have a lot of time. We have to show him in a hurry. I’m sure Michael will believe it. And probably Isabel and Max.”

“I hope you’re right. One thing’s for sure, though.”

I stand up and look at her and put my hand on her shoulder. She meets my gaze.

“If she killed Alex, she won’t be getting off this planet alive.”

TBC

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:29 pm

***Thanks for the feedback! It's quite a motivator.

***

Chapter 11

3:42 a.m. 

We’re getting antsy waiting for the others. Maria called Michael’s apartment, and he didn’t answer, so I guess they’re on their way.

“Where are they?” Maria’s pacing the living room.

I’m on the couch with my head on my arm, just waiting. So Max didn’t get her pregnant. He still slept with her. He admitted that freely. It hurts, and I’m jealous, but if she’s not pregnant; it’s a little better, a little less painful. Hell, who am I kidding? I still hate it. It makes my stomach knot at the thought.

On the other hand, if he weren’t an alien, and we had broken up for a normal teenage reason, he might still have slept with another girl. It hurts, but I can’t change it. Ha! What irony. I can change the future, and did, but even I can’t change the past.

I don’t know if I could be with Max again, even if Tess isn’t pregnant and they stay here. I don’t know if I can get over the fact that he slept with her, even if we were broken up. But I will stand by him until this is over. I owe him that…if only for betraying him with Future Max. And I do still love him. I can’t help myself. He’s the love of my life.

We’ll have to talk again, but we have to get through this first. And if I’m right about Tess killing Alex, what we are about to do could be dangerous.

We see headlights through the curtains. Finally.

Maria opens the door. Shit. It’s Ms. Deluca. She’s in a black skirt, black heels, and a red open-neck top. She looks really pretty….like someone who’s been on a date. Hmmmmm….

“Maria! It’s almost four in the morning! What are you doing up? Liz! Are you spending the night? Shouldn’t you girls be in bed?”

“Mom…we’re just….ah….up talking. You know, about boys. We’re going to bed soon. We just weren’t tired yet.”

“But Maria, you’re both still dressed. What are you up to?”

“Nothing Mom! We’re just…ah…well…where have you been?”

Good cover, Maria.

“Wha….oh. Well, I was out on a date. With Jim.” Ms. Deluca raises her hand to her throat. I think she’s blushing.

“Oh. Would you like some tea or water or something? You can go get ready for bed, and I can get it!”

“No…I guess I’ll just go to bed. You too need to get some sleep, too. At least keep it down in here.”

I guess the distraction worked. Ms. Deluca hugs Maria, then she hugs me.

“Goodnight, girls.”

She leaves the room. A second later, we hear her bedroom door shut.

Maria resumes pacing.

“Where are they?”

Headlights again. This time, we both run to the window and pull the curtain back. A jeep is outside. Three door slam.

Maria opens the front door again, “Be quiet! My mom’s home now.”

Isabel enters first, followed by Michael and then Max. Isabel looks like hell. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her clothes are rumpled. She’s got her arms wrapped around the front of her body. She just stands next to the television, watching me.

Michael goes straight to Maria. He grabs her and they embrace, hugging each other like two people who haven’t seen each other in years. They stay like that, rocking back and forth.

Michael looks over Maria’s shoulder at me. His eyes look haunted, but he doesn’t say anything. Did Max tell them about Future Max already? God, they must really hate me right now. I’m the reason they have to leave. Well….partially the reason.

Max shuts the front door and goes over the Isabel, putting his arm around her. She leans into him and he kisses her on her head.

“Liz, I told Isabel and Michael about the future version of me on the way. That’s what took so long. But there’s still more to tell.”

“You should have told us, Liz. We could have helped.” Isabel’s looking at the ground, but I can hear her loud and clear.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“The time for apologizing is over, Iz. I told you that. Let’s talk about it later. We’ll have time to figure this all out, and since we now know about the future, we might be able to plan for it, to save ourselves and everyone else on this planet.” From Max’s voice, I can tell the conversation didn’t go well.

“Liz. Just for the record, I’m not happy about this either, though I’ve had my suspicions that something was going on with you, and I never believed you would sleep with Kyle. But I have to admit I’m happy that I can stay here…with Maria. It’s the best news I’ve had in a while.” Michael pulls back from Maria, and looks down at her with so much love, even I’m left breathless. She runs her fingers through the back of his hair, and then he softly kisses her.

“I’m sorry Michael.” God, how many times do I have to say that tonight?

“Don’t be.” He looks up and gives me a slight smile before returning his gaze to my best friend.

“So I’ve filled them in on what I saw tonight at the observatory. We’ve been talking. We think we should confront her together, so there’s less of an opportunity for her to mindwarp us. But we think you two should stay here.”

“Max, no. What if you need us?” I want to see her for myself, so I can get an idea if my theory about Alex could be true. We may not get a chance to find out if she’s the killer after the confrontation, and after all the investigating I did into Alex’s death, I deserve to confront her myself.

“What if she does mindwarp us, Liz? What if she mindwarps us all, and gets us on that ship? We need you guys to remain focused. We aren’t going to tell her, or even imply, that you guys know about the mindwarp of the pregnancy. That way, you will still remember if something goes wrong, and can get help…or at least be safe.”

He’s being too logical. I have to tell him about my theories, but I need to negotiate a little first. After I tell him about Alex, and assuming he believes me, there’s no way he’ll let me near Tess.

“What if she mindwarps you all and makes you believe she really is pregnant and that you should leave? We should at least wait for you at the pod chamber. Just in case.”

Max sighs. “Ok. Wait for us by the pod chamber.”

“Actually Max, maybe we should confront her at the pod chamber. That way, we can just shove her on the ship at the last second. Just give her a nice boot to her scrawny ass and send her on her way.” Gotta love Michael.

“And Maria and I can wait out of sight, as backup.” At least that way we can be there for the confrontation about Alex. I’m not missing that!

“Fine. But stay out of sight!”

“What are you going to say to her?”

“I’m going to try and connect with the baby before she has a chance to react. And maybe if we are expecting it, we can sense any mindwarp before it happens. I think if we’re expecting it, we may be able to stop it, or stop her. At least one of us might. Anyway, I want to confirm she’s not pregnant first of all. I know I used a condom, and I feel in my bones that I’m right about this, but I need to be sure. Then we’ll go from there. I know what the future version of me said about needing her, but we may just have to let her go to Antar, since that’s what she really wants to do. Just without me. We’ll figure out the future later. There’s no way she’s staying with us. Not after this.”

He takes his arm from around Isabel and crossing both arms in front of himself.

“Don’t get me wrong. I am mad as hell about her mindwarping me. Honestly, I want to kill her for making me believe we were going to have a baby and manipulating me into activating the Granolith, but I can’t physically harm her for that. I just want her as far away from us as possible. Leaving the planet seems like a good start.”

I remember my vow to Maria that Tess would pay for Alex’s death with her life. Maybe her mindwarp of Max wasn’t enough reason to kill her, but being a murderer would be. And if Max won’t harm her, I will do it myself.

It’s now or never.

“Max? I need to speak to you first. In private.”

TBC

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:54 pm

****So...should Tess die? Who should be the one to kill her? Can the aliens overcome Tess' mindwarp? *****

Chapter 12

4:00 a.m.

Only two-and-a-half hours until the aliens are supposed to leave. I’m dreading opening this can of worms, but I have to. I promised him no more secrets, and I intend to keep that promise.

We enter the kitchen. I stop and turn around to face Max. I clasp my hands. It’s the only thing that keeps me from wringing them.

“What is it Liz? We really need to go. Time is short.”

“I know. I’ll get right to it. While you were gone, I decided to write down what I knew about both the old timeline and ours, and try and see what changed.”

“Okay…”

“I wanted to see if I could get a lead on Alex’s murderer and figure out what we need to know to prepare for the future. So I did it. Let me show you.”

I walked to the kitchen table and pick up the sheet of paper with my chart. I give it to Max.

“Wow, Liz. You did this while we were gone?”

“uh huh…me and Maria.”

“Ok. This will help a lot after Tess is gone. We will need it to plan for the future. If Future Me was right, we needed Tess, so figuring out how to defeat our enemies without her will be crucial. Good job. Is this it?”

I pick up my other sheet of paper, the one with my questions and responses.

“No…there’s more. I did a second sheet, asking myself certain questions about the events surrounding Alex’s death, and entered the names of those who met the criteria. I only used facts, and the logical conclusion was obvious, once I looked at it.”

Reluctantly, I handed the sheet to Max.

“Yo Max!” I hear Michael from the other room.

“Quiet, Michael! My mom’s asleep!” I hear Maria’s voice chastising him in a loud whisper.

Max glances at the paper, then walks to the kitchen door.

“I’ll be right there,” he says softly.

He turns back to me and then studies the page.

A minute or two goes by. I can see his eyes moving from question to question and back again.

“This is impressive, Liz. And I can’t fault your results...”

“But?”

“But I don’t know. According to this, the killer could be…Tess, or it could be some unknown alien. I know she’s done horrible things, but murder?”

He looks dumbfounded. He shakes his head.

“I want to believe this…”

“But you can’t? Look Max, you told me we solved problems best when we worked together. I brought this to your attention because you are going to confront her, and I want to make sure you know what she’s probably capable of.”

“You’re right. We did agree to be honest and open. I just need to think about this. We’re talking about murder. It’s….it’s hard to believe she would be so…ruthless. But I agree it’s best to confront her knowing all the possibilities.”

Damn, he can’t be passive about this! Underestimating Tess would be dangerous. I try again, but I keep any anger out of my tone.

“Just think about this, Max. Who had the most to gain by killing Alex? Yes, it could be some unknown alien, but his death….it’s too personal. Wouldn’t an unknown alien use some random computer brain to solve the book? Why Alex? Why him specifically? I think someone using him would have to have a purpose for doing so, some way to control him, some reason to use him. We know Tess’ specific power is the ability to get into someone’s mind and change it…to mindwarp. And wouldn’t the fake pregnancy, and the fake reason for taking the baby off the planet, be more evidence of her desperation to leave? I didn’t want to believe it either, I can’t believe someone we know, someone in our little conspiracy, could be capable of this, but those are the facts as we now know them.”

Man, I’m on a roll now. I’ve had no sleep and it’s almost dawn, but my mind is finally awake.

“I hear you, I do. And everything you said makes sense. It’s just…murder. We have to know for sure.”

“I know. But the more I think about it, the more I believe I’m right.”

He sighs and runs his hand through his hair, then looks at his watch.

“We need to leave. We’ll discuss this with the others, then go get Tess. But there’s no way you are going to the pod chamber now. If you’re right, and I’m not saying for sure that you are, she’s dangerous…especially to you.” I can see him clenching his jaw, bracing for an argument. But I, Liz Parker, plan to try a different approach. I keep my voice calm and steady, and try to be as rational as possible. If that fails, I’ll get Maria in on it. She can chew him up and spit him out, and after everything that’s happened, she probably will want to.

“Max…look, I know you want to protect me. But I’ve been searching for Alex’s murderer, by myself, for a while now. I can take care of myself. The rules we negotiated a few minutes ago still apply. Maria and I will stay well out of sight. You still need us if something happens and she mindwarps or tries to hurt you. Remember what you told me she did to the skins ? All using her mind? We’ll be safe, I promise. I’ll even bring Kyle, if you want. He needs to know this, too.”

Max just shuts his eyes and rubs them. I hate draining him further, but this is important.

“Fine. I’ll send Kyle out when I go to get Tess, you guys get him and head to the pod chamber. Tell him on the way. I can’t risk you calling him now and Tess overhearing. I’ll tell Tess Kyle is taking something to my parents for us, a note I will write in the car, and we want them to have it as soon as possible after we leave. It’s weak, but it’s all I can think of right now.”

“Let’s go. We need to tell Michael and Isabel. I’ll have to tell them everything…and hope they can understand well enough to help me confront her without messing it up or letting emotions get in the way. From what I discovered recovering my memories at the observatory, I think we have to be calm and focused to beat the mindwarp. If we know it’s coming, maybe we can block it.”

“This will be a lot for them to take in, Max. That’s why I wanted to tell you first, so it’s not an alien-versus-human thing.”

“I know, but it has to be done. She will be expecting us soon, so I need to do this now.”

Max walks over to me and strokes my face.

“It’ll be alright. We’ll be careful.”

“One more thing, Max.”

“What?”

“If she did kill Alex, she’s a murderer. Just letting her leave is not an option. It wasn’t with Leanna, and it can’t be with her.”

He just looks at me, sort of like he’s seeing me for the first time. Maybe he is.

“If she killed Alex, I’ll take care of it.”

With that, he takes my hand and we leave the kitchen.

TBC

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:22 pm

Chapter 13 

5:15 a.m.

Max and I re-enter the living room. Michael and Maria are sitting on the couch, just holding hands. Michael is gently stroking his thumb against hers. Isabel is standing at the front door, and has the curtain over the door window pulled back, looking out into the night. She turns back toward us as we enter the room.

“Liz and I have some information that we want to share with you.”

“When they tell you what I think they’re going to tell you, just keep it down, I really don’t want to explain to my mother why you guys are here at five in the morning.” Maria untangles her hand from Michael and gets up and walks over to me, showing me her support. I’m grateful for it.

“What’s going on? Maria, why are you standing over there with Max and Liz? What more could have happened?” Michael just keeps firing questions at us with a confused and slightly annoyed look on his face. Isabel has completely turned to face us and has her arms crossed over her chest. God, I’m going to hate telling her this…especially her.

I take a deep breath and just start talking.

“Okay, okay, Michael. This is a new development, but I…we, actually, wanted you to know everything before you left to confront Tess about Max. Maria and I were working on what I know of Future Max’s timeline and how it’s changed, so we could try and prevent any future alien attacks. In doing so, it occurred to me that the changes we…that’s Future Max and I…actually made to the future may give us a clue into what happened to Alex.

“He…he didn’t die in the first timeline.” I look over at Isabel, knowing what this new information would do to her. Her eyes grow wide as she processes what I just told her.

“So what you’re saying is that Alex didn’t die…he wouldn’t have died if you hadn’t changed the future? Is that what you are telling us? That Alex lived?” Her chin starts to quiver. Max leaves my side and walks quickly to his sister’s. He tries to take her in his arms, but she pushes him back with her hand.

“No, Max. Liz, are you fucking kidding me? I couldn’t believe that you would keep something like this from Max…I mean, not telling him and changing his life and setting him up with Tess…that was selfish and horrible. But this…Alex would have lived! Oh my God!”

Isabel covers her face and turns toward the front door. Her shoulders and back move as she sobs. Max puts his arms around her, and this time she lets him.

“Iz…please. She didn’t know this would happen. She was trying to save us. Her heart was in the right place.”

Guilt. Overwhelming and all-encompassing guilt. My closest friend. Maria rubs her hand up and down my back. “Isabel, Alex was our best friend. You have to know she didn’t have any idea this would happen.”

Isabel pulls away from Max and looks over at us. Her face is red and covered in tears.

“Look, I don’t think she did it on purpose, Maria. But God, she was playing God with all our lives.”

“I’m so sorry, Isabel. I don’t know what else to say. If I could take it all back, I would.”

“We know that, Liz. Just give her some time,” Max says in a quiet voice.

“Just get on with it, Liz. What did you find out?” Leave it to Michael to get to the point.

“I began writing down what I knew about Alex’s death so we could figure out who really killed him.”

Isabel looks physically ill. “Max told us about Leanna. You have another theory?”

“Yes. I asked myself questions, trying to figure out who had motive for killing him, who had the most to gain from him translating the book, who…shit, it’s easier to show you what I did, let you see for yourself.”

I walk to Isabel with my document, the document that changes everything. Michael stands and joins us. Isabel reaches out for the paper, and I give it to her. She and Michael begin to read. I walk back to Maria, and give them a few minutes. Max moves to the front door and looks at his watch. Isabel looks up first.

“Oh God. This is what you think? That Tess killed Alex? Jesus, Liz! I know she’s a conniving manipulative person, but murder? Max, do you believe any of this?”

“I don’t know. But I know Liz was right about his death, that he was murdered by an alien. Nothing on that sheet of paper is untrue. There’s no opinion there, just facts. I can’t argue with her conclusion, even if it’s hard to believe. We have to be prepared for the fact she could be dangerous…more dangerous than we originally thought.”

At least he’s backing me up. It’s been so long since I’ve felt like we were a team.

“That fucking bitch. She’s gotta pay Max!” Michael has forgotten my notes and has turned to Max. His face is red, and he’s clenching his fists. “I believe it. There was always something not right about her. This proves it! She did it!”

“Michael, calm down! You’re going to wake my mom!” Maria walks over to her boyfriend and puts both hands on either of Michael’s arms. He looks at her, and visibly calms.

“I’m calm.” He’s speaking between clenched teeth now. “We’re gonna find out the truth. She’s not gonna get away with this!”

“She won’t. She will tell us what happened. I will get it out of her.” Max looks at Michael. There’s no doubt in his eyes.

“We’re going to go over there and get here. We’ll deal with her at the pod chamber. You both have to act like everything is normal. She’s expecting you to be upset…you are leaving the only home you’ve ever known. So that’s okay. But you must not betray what we know. We have to have the advantage. We’re going to go to the Valenti’s. Maria and Liz, you follow, but wait around the corner. I will send Kyle to you. Do not pass by the house. Go the back way, and hide the car away from the pod chamber. Then hide yourselves. She can’t see you. For the record, I think you coming at all is a bad idea.”

Isabel’s lip is trembling. Her eyes are full of tears. I’m sure she’s thinking about Alex. We all are. This will be for him.

“Iz? It’ll be okay, I promise. Let’s go.” He puts his arm around her, and they walk to the door. Michael kisses Maria and follows. Maria leaves and goes to the kitchen, grabbing her purse and car keys. By the time she gets back, the others are gone. We rush to the car and take off.

5:38 a.m.

“Don’t you think Tess will think it’s weird if Max tells Kyle to go outside?”

We’re sitting around the block from the Valenti’s, well out of sight. Dawn is approaching. I can see the first colors of light breaking in the sky, giving it a ghostly, surreal haze.

“Max wrote a letter to give his parents, something to explain everything after they’ve left. He’s going to trust it to Kyle, give him instructions, makes sure he leaves to take it. Hopefully, Tess will be too wrapped up in leaving to think too hard about it.”

“Think too hard….that’s a good one. Tess a thinker! Ha!” Maria snorts. I can’t help but laugh with her. Her snorts are infectious.

In the distance towards Kyle’s house, I can see a figure approaching. As it comes closer, I can see it’s Kyle. He slows his pace when he sees the car, then hurries over to us.

“Waiting to see the sunrise, ladies? Or on a stakeout?”

He bends down and puts his hand on the open window sill.

“We’re actually here for you, Kyle. Get in.”

“I can’t. I have to deliver something for the Evans’.”

“I know. We are here to take you. Get in, Kyle.”

“Whatever.”

Kyle gets into the Jetta, and Maria cranks the car. She turns into the closest driveway, puts the car in reverse, and pulls back out into the street, heading away from the Valenti house.

“Ladies? What’s going on? I really need to know. It’s really early in the morning, and I haven’t had my coffee yet. Evans just woke me up and sent me out. I only went because I didn’t want to see him take Tess and leave. He’s caused enough damage to my family.”

It takes everything I have not to yell, but I know it’s not Kyle’s fault. He doesn’t know the truth about Tess.

“Okay, Kyle…I’m going to explain everything from the beginning. But I need to you wait until I’m finished talking before you respond, okay? It’ll take a few minutes, but I need to tell you everything before we get to our destination.”

“Destination? I thought we were going to the Evans’?”

“Not exactly.” Just hear me out.”

“Fine. Get on with it, Liz.”

TBC

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:44 pm

***Thanks for the feedback! It really helps!

***

Chapter 14

6:01 a.m. 

“…so that’s it. That’s everything. Why I had you pretend to sleep with me, what happened with Alex, and the pregnancy. Kyle? Kyle?”

Kyle’s just sitting there, tapping his fingers on the seat. His eyes are blank.

“I get what you’re saying about Tess mindwarping Max into believing she is pregnant. I know why you would think that. Hell, I even believe it could be possible. She’s obsessed with him. But killing Alex? That’s just sick, Liz.” He’s really quiet, his voice expressionless, but he looks at me with disgust.

“But Kyle…think about it. It makes sense…”

“NO! It does not make sense! She’s like a sister to me! I would know if she were capable of that! She’s not! I told you! We were watching Gladiator! I was there! I was….th-th-there…”

Kyle is blinking…his eyes unfocused. His fingers are still tapping on the seat, but they are going faster now. I reach out to touch his hand. He is way too agitated.

“Kyle?” I have to get him to calm down. Suddenly, it comes to me. “Kyle, if you were there the entire night with her, and our theory was right, you were mindwarped, too.”

“I WAS NOT!!” He’s screaming at me now. There’s no way to find out if he was mindwarped if he doesn’t calm down, or if he doesn’t believe me.

“Listen, Kyle. You have to calm down. Please! We can figure this out if you just relax a little.”

“I don’t need to relax, Liz. I need to get out of this car. I can’t believe you! Who the hell are you? I’ve been supportive of your theories about Alex, but this is too much.” He jerks his hand away from me.

“Kyle, listen to Liz, okay? Wasn’t I the one who said she was off her rocker for thinking someone killed Alex? Didn’t I have doubts? I was so angry with her for not letting him rest in peace, but we know something happened, Kyle. We know someone sent him to Las Cruces and wiped his memory. After all I’ve seen tonight, I believe it was Tess.” Maria is looking at Kyle in her rearview mirror, trying to make eye contact with Kyle and drive at the same time.

“Yes, Maria, you did. And I understand you two don’t like her, but…”

“That’s not it, Kyle! I know you don’t want to think about it, but just listen to Liz. If Tess didn’t do it, then she didn’t. But give us the benefit of the doubt for a few minutes. Please?”

Kyle doesn’t say anything, he just turns to look out the window. I leave him that way for a minute, but I know I have to try and help him see around the mindwarp if we are going to have real proof Tess killed Alex.

“Kyle?”

“What?” He’s got his hand against his mouth, making a fist, which makes the word come out muffled.

“Will you trust me for just a few minutes?”

He sighs and closes his eyes. A few seconds later, he nods.

“Okay. When Max was trying to break the mindwarp Tess put on him when he…slept with her, he said he had to calm down, relax, and concentrate on the memories, on the observatory where it happened. I know we’re not at your house, so we have to find something for you to concentrate on.”

“Uh, Liz?”

“Yeah Maria?”

“What about that picture you found in the…w-w-reck? Do you have it?” She has trouble getting the words out.

“Yes! Good idea.” I search my purse for the small notebook I keep with all the information I’ve discovered about Alex’s death on it. Once I find it, I open it and pull out the torn photo that was stuck between the pages.

“Okay, Kyle. Maybe this will jog your memory. Maybe he had it with him.”

Kyle looks at me angrily before taking the torn picture of Alex and Leanna. He exhales loudly and just sits there, looking at the photo.

“Nothing, Liz. I’m getting nothing. I told you.”

“Just wait Kyle, just give it a chance. Think back on that night. Remember everything you did from that afternoon until we found out about Alex. You said you watched Gladiator. Go further back than that. Trust me.”

Kyle visibly relaxes as he thinks back. “Tess was in her room. I was bored, so I thought I’d get us a movie.” He’s started that tapping again! He’s lost in his story, so I don’t reach out to stop him.

“I went to Tess and asked her if she wanted to watch a movie before we went over to the Crashdown to hang out with you guys.” His fingers are speeding up. Wait, wasn’t Max doing that earlier? Maybe it’s a byproduct of the mindwarp?

“I left to go get a movie. The video store was out of a lot of new releases, but they had Gladiator. I had seen it, but I didn’t think Tess had, so I rented it. When I got back…”

He closes his eyes, and his head jerks back slightly. I can see his eyes moving behind his eyelids. I try and remain quiet, thinking maybe he’s remembering something.

His fingers stop.

“Oh God.” His eyes shoot open and he’s staring at me like a deer in headlights. He puts his head in his hands and starts rocking back and forth. I’m facing him from the front seat, but Maria’s still driving. I feel her start to slow the car down.

“Liz? Is Kyle okay? What’s going on?”

“Maria, do not stop this car! Keep going! We have to get there before they do! Kyle?”

Kyle is still rocking. I can hear him sobbing. “Oh-God-oh-God-Oh-God…”

I try again. This time, I reach out and touch his knee. I rub it softly, just letting him know I’m there. He slows his rocking and looks up at me with wet, bloodshot eyes.

“I…I was there. She did it. Tess…she did it.”

Maria slams on her brakes. I’m still moving forward, pulled back only by the seatbelt.

“Maria!”

“What? Oh Kyle!”

She turns around and looks at him. From looking outside, I can see the rock formation that makes up the pod chamber. We’ve passed it, but are still in view of the road.

Kyle’s still looking at me, but he doesn’t seem to be looking at me.

“I didn’t know. Why didn’t I remember? It’s my fault!”

“Kyle…listen to me. What do you remember? What happened?”

Kyle exhales loudly, and in a quiet, barely controlled voice, speaks. “Exactly like I said. I was going to watch a movie with Tess. We were just going to stay in and hang out. I went to the video store and rented Gladiator. When I got back home, I heard voices in Tess’ room. Loud voices. When I got to the door, I saw Alex. He looked terrible. Worse than I’ve ever seen him. He was crying, saying something about the royal four, and how he translated their book, and how she fucked up his mind. I tried to break into the conversation, see if I could help. Tess told me to leave. Then Alex tells her to leave him alone, that he’s gonna tell Max what she did, that his mind was destroyed. He was a wreck, his eyes were red, and he was wringing his hands together and swaying back and forth. I had never seen him like that…seen anyone like that. Tess closed her eyes. I didn’t know what she was doing at the time, but I guess she was trying to mindwarp him again. Then he grabbed his head and screamed. Then he…he fell over. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t breathing!”

It’s so much worse to hear the details, to know the truth, than to think you know the truth. So Tess did kill Alex. She was so intent on getting back to her planet that she used him to translate her book, and she was so selfish that she would rather risk harming him than to let Max find out. I turn to Maria, who’s weeping quietly. It feels like we’re reliving it all over again.

Kyle starts sobbing as he continues. “Then she mindwarped me into believing I was carrying bags to the car for her, so she could sleep over at Isabel’s. It was Alex’s body! She tore this picture” he holds up the torn photo in his hand “and threw it in the car with him. Oh God! What did I do? Why didn’t I remember?”

“Maria? Move the car around the other side of those rocks. Out of sight. I’m going to get Kyle out of the car.”

I open my door and hurry to his. I pull him out of the car. He’s almost limp in my arms. I have to hold him up. I have one arm around him as we start moving to a rock formation just to the left of the pod chamber. With any luck, we can get up there and get hidden before they show up.

I hear Maria slam the door. A few seconds later, I hear her scrambling up behind us.

I feel awful about Kyle. If I had any idea of what he’d been through, I never would have brought him into this. But he’s given us concrete proof. And he’s shown me that we can get around the mindwarp. I hope it’s enough.

As we ascend the rocks, Kyle becomes quiet. He becomes more rigid and starts walking on his own. I stop assisting him and concentrate on the rocks we’re climbing.

After a few minutes, we reach a suitable hiding place. We can still see the road and the chamber, and can get to it from here, but we’re hidden from sight.

I’m worried about the plan now. We know Tess killed Alex. There’s no need to confront her and risk the lives of anyone of us. We can just deal with her, use the element of surprise. I can’t believe I’m thinking this, that I’m capable of this, but she murdered him. Nothing else matters right now but justice for my friend. Funny, I feel no remorse for Tess, but in every other aspect of my life, I feel nothing but guilt and remorse. Go figure.

But how do I let them know this new information? They still think we have to get a confession from her. I can’t call Max’s cell phone, it would be too suspicious. Maria could call Michael, but he can’t afford a cell. Frantically, I search my weary, exhausted mind for an alternative.

If Max was right about the time the Granolith was activated, it will leave in about 20 minutes, maybe a few minutes more. Where are they?

TBC

***The confrontation is quickly approaching. What do you guys think should happen to Tess? If she's killed, who should do it?

Is there an alternative to killing her?*****

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 7:11 pm

Begonia9508: good ideas! And thank you!
Ultimatepickupline: me either! I hope it turns out well. We’re almost there! Just a little longer!

Rie482: Good guess. We shall see.
Midnightstar29: Thank you! And yes, Max has a good motive to kill her. But will he?
Alien_Friend: Thanks for reading! That scene in 4 Aliens and a Baby is one of my faves, too. Who knows? Maybe Liz’s powers will surface?
LJL 76: Thanks, and you will have to wait and see!
Mrsjbehr: noted!
LovinGuerin2Much: thank you so much. I thought they really needed to vent, you know?

I hope you like the rest!

***Okay, for the next few chapters, the time will seem a bit off…a lot is going to happen in a short period of time, so I’m stretching time out a bit. This chapter is a little short, but necessary. Also, the big confrontation is coming. Just not yet…****
Chapter 15

 6:10 a.m.

Watching the sunrise, I think back on the events of the past 24 hours. First I was just a girl who saved the world, lost her love, and was trying to solve her best friend’s murder. Then I was the girl whose boyfriend got his ex pregnant and was leaving the planet to fulfill his destiny. How bad does that suck?

Then that fight. I have never been involved in a fight like that. It was scary and painful and….freeing. It feels good to have everything out in the open, even if the truth scars us all forever. Now that it’s over, I can see that. Hindsight’s 20/20, right?

Max was right…we don’t know what will happen now that he knows. The future’s changing again as we speak. We may never have known about Tess’ deception if Max and I hadn’t had that fight. He would have left with her! And if that had happened, would we have ever known about Tess killing Alex? And if Maria and I had figured it out at some point, what could we have done?

So what happens now? Future Max was sure they needed Tess to save the world. The implications of every action we take is mind-boggling. Can we stop the war if we know about it ahead of time? Will our knowledge be enough? What does all this mean for us? I mean, for all of us? Can we survive what’s coming? And what happens to Tess? We can’t keep her locked up until we need her, can we? She has to pay for what she did.

I have to put thoughts of the future aside for now. We have to get through today. And Max needs to know we have confirmation that Tess killed Alex. But how do we tell him?

“Liz?”

Kyle hasn’t spoken since we left the car. He just sat on a rock, hugging his knees. He startles me out of the thought-filled fog I’ve been in for the past few minutes.

“Yeah?”

“We can’t just hide here. We have to warn them about…Tess. I have to warn them.”

“I was thinking that, too. But how do we do that without tipping her off?”

“I think we’re too late, guys. Look.” Maria nods her head in the direction of the road. From this distance and in the breaking light of dawn, all we can see is a trail of dust moving toward us. It has to be them.

Quickly, we all stand and crouch behind the closest boulder. We still can’t see any of them, just the approaching car. As it approaches, the jeep becomes recognizable.

As the jeep comes to a stop, I see Max and Isabel in the front seat, and Tess, the Sheriff, and Michael in the back. Max jumps out of the driver’s side of the jeep, and walks around to the back. He holds out his hand for Tess, helping her down. She is clutching her stomach.

Lying bitch.

Isabel, Michael, and Jim also exit the vehicle, and each grab a bag. Jim hands Tess’ bag to Max, who slings it over his shoulder. Max has him arm around Tess’ shoulders, and she has one arm around his waste, and one across his front, gripping his t-shirt. She pulls away long enough to hug Jim goodbye.

“That fucking murderer…who does she think she is, hugging my dad? She pretended we were family.” Kyle’s bitter voice is low and gravely. I don’t know how long he’s going to be able to hold it together. I can’t blame him, but I hope he holds up. I have a feeling we’re going to need him.

Jim turns and jumps into the jeep, puts it into gear, and turns it around. After a brief pause, where I assume they are saying final goodbyes, the jeep leaves. The “Royal Four” begin their assent of the rocky cliffs.

We have to stop them before they go inside.

“Maria, I’m going to dial Max’s phone. You will be on it. Ask for Michael…say you just have to say goodbye. Be hysterical or whatever. Get Michael on the phone, have him walk off to talk to you in private. Then get him over here.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

I pull out my cell and hit the speed dial button reserved for Max. Please ring. Please ring. 

The phone starts ringing. Okay, now please answer. Please answer. 

The phone rings once. Twice. Three times. “Hello?”

It’s Max.

I quickly give Maria the phone. “Max? It’s Maria. I just have to say goodbye to Michael. Please Max!” Maria’s fraudulent cries are impressive. That girl can turn it on when she wants to. With cell phones, we just never know if Tess can hear the conversation, so it’s best to be convincing.

“Michael? I need to talk to you. IN PRIVATE. Could you walk away from the others so we can be alone together?” Hopefully, Michael will understand that hint.

“He said okay.” She whispers to me. “Michael? Are you alone? Okay, see the rock formation slightly above you and to your left. Your other left, Michael Okay, now come up here to the other side. It’s about…I don’t know…a hundred feet? We must talk to you. Liz and Kyle and me. Yes, I know you have to hurry. This is important, asshat!”

Maria slams the phone shut and we strain to see Michael over the rock formation. He is slowly making his way over here. A few seconds later, he joins us. He scratches his eyebrow as he scans our faces. A confused and pained look is on his ruddy face.

“What are you guys doing here? Maria, I know this is hard, it is for me too, but I have to leave. You should have stayed at home. Our ship leaves in a few minutes, and as much as I don’t want to go, I have to…”

Huh?

TBC

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 5:36 pm

Ultimatepickupline: here it comes…
AllAboutEyesS09: That's a good idea.

midnightstar29: This part should help. And the confrontation is the next part.
rie482: wait for it…
begonia9508: Thank you, as always.
LovinGuerin2Much: Thank you, and here you go…
frenchkiss70: payment is coming. I can only hope to do it justice.
DreamerMaxBehrian: LOL…I had to break up the tension. And Maria is always so good at that!

Glad you came back. And your feedback was so thoughtful and helpful. Telling this story from Liz’s POV only, I knew it would take a while to redeem both characters, and for Liz to get her head together. I love both characters, but they did need to clear the air. I wanted to let them express everything they needed to say to one another, at least in my opinion. As for Liz’s thoughts about her future with Max in part 11, I think she’s still working it all out. It’s been less than a day, and she’s still working through her feelings and probably overwhelmed, too. Because of everything that’s going on, she’s got so much to think about that it’s tough to think past confronting Tess.
AlienFriend: I hope you like this part!

****Okay, answering your posts was hard this time, given the information in this chapter. Don’t throw things, I just couldn’t resist…****

Chapter 16

 6:17 a.m. 

We all stare at Michael, who just stares right back at us.

“Michael? Michael!! Don’t you remember?” Maria reaches out and grabs Michael’s arms, shaking him.

Michael looks at Maria, shuts his eyes, and shakes his head. “Remember what? What are you talking about?”

Oh God.

Kyle, Maria, and I look at each other. The worst has happened.

A slow grin spreads over Michael’s face. “I just couldn’t resist. You guys are too easy.”

Maria walks over to Michael and smacks him on the arm. “Damn it, Michael! We thought she’d mindwarped you! That wasn’t funny, you dick!”

Michael flinches, but keeps smiling. “Relax. She doesn’t suspect a thing. I really need to get back to do this. We have to do it together so we can protect ourselves. Max said we just need to concentrate and focus on what’s happening and maybe block her mindwarp…or at least sense it when she starts her thing. Kyle? I guess they told you what was going on.”

“Yeah.” Kyle turns and sits on a rock. He doesn’t look up.

“Michael, we called you because…um, we have some important information you need to have before you confront Tess.” Michael looks at me expectantly. I exhale, and begin again.

“When we told Kyle everything, it occurred to me that he was her alibi the night Alex died.”

I look over at Kyle, hoping for some response. I get nothing.

“Anyway, I thought it might be possible, even probable, that Kyle was mindwarped, too. He was sure he hadn’t been, but he was able to calm down and focus and…to make a long story short, he saw what really happened.”

I pause for a second to give Michael time to process this information. Maria is tapping her foot expectantly. Kyle is still looking at his feet.

Michael, however, just looks at me as if to say, “and?”

I relayed what Kyle remembered. Michael never said a word, but his face reddened considerably as I spoke. I could see his jaw clenching.

“So that’s it. We have confirmation. I wanted you to know before you confronted Tess, so you could just…ya know, be on the offense.”

Maria looks at Michael. “Michael? What are you thinking?”

“The bitch is dead.” Michael turns and starts walking away.

“Michael?” Kyle’s voice is low as he gets up off the rock, dusting off the back of his jeans. “I’m coming with you.”

“No Kyle, stay here with them. We’ll take care of this.”

Kyle steps over to Michael and straightens up, looking up into Michael’s face. “No. I was there. She betrayed me, too. And made me an accessory to Alex’s death. I may not have killed him, and I may not have remembered that it happened, but she used me. I have to be there for her trial and punishment. I deserve to be there.”

Michael looks at Kyle, and then nods. “Okay, I guess you do deserve it, but if you show up, it will give us away. She’ll know something’s up. It’s too risky.”

“Then I’ll wait a few minutes and come down there. Keep the door to the chamber open, because I’m coming. You can’t stop me.”

Michael looks angry, and he shakes his head. “Kyle…”

“Michael, we don’t have much time! I’m coming. I’ll give you five minutes to get started, and then I’m coming. Please…I need to do this…I feel…responsible.” Kyle looks down at his feet, his shoulders slumping.

“Fine!” And with that, Michael takes off back down the hill.

For the next five minutes, the three of us pace the small patch of flat rock we’re stationed on. Time seems to drag on forever. After watching Michael leave, we sneak a peek over the rocks down to the pod chamber. I can see them all talking to each other, and then Tess grabs her stomach again. I can see her mouth “Max,” and Max motions toward the opening with his hand. Isabel places her right hand on the rock, and a large, round opening appears. She climbs through, followed by Tess. Max starts to enter, but Michael stops him.

“Oh, he’s gonna tell him!” Maria whispers excitedly.

I can see Michael looking into the opening, then pulling Max aside. He’s talking fast, and he’s very animated, waiving his arms about. Max turns his head slightly toward us, looking right where we are. He nods slightly, then grabs Michael’s arm, pushing him toward the opening. Michael climbs in quickly, and Max follows. As he enters, he casts a quick glance our way again, before disappearing into the hole in the rock.

I can’t wait here, as a bystander, for this to go down. If Kyle’s going, so am I.

“Maria? We’re going, too.”

“You bet your sweet ass we are.”

We all look at each other.

This is it. Showtime.

TBC

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:27 pm

***Okay, kiddies. Here's the confrontation. Not the easiest to write, by the way...but it is what it is.***
Chapter 17

6:22 a.m.

As we descend the rocks, Maria clutches my arm, as I clutch Kyle’s. He’s moving quickly, and I try not to stumble as we walk. A mere moment later, we’re almost at the chamber opening. Kyle stops abruptly, and I, having been looking at my feet to keep from falling, run right into him. Maria runs into me. If it weren’t such a serious situation, it would be funny…our own little comedy troupe.

“Shhh…maybe we can hear something.” Kyle turns to us and holds his finger to his lips. We stand there in silence for about thirty seconds. It’s deafeningly quiet, as if even the birds are holding their breaths.

“Okay…stay here. I’m going to walk to the opening and see if I can see inside. Then I’m going in. Follow when you’re ready, but stay quiet. Maybe we can get an idea about what’s going on before we show ourselves.” Kyle looks down at my hand, which is still clutching the back of his shirt. I realize what I’m doing, and let go of him. He reaches out and pats me on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Just try and stay safe…if it doesn’t go our way, please get out. Save yourselves…and call my dad.” Both Maria and I nod at Kyle. He turns from us and walks the few steps to the opening of the chamber. He stands to the left side of it, tentatively peering his head inside. Looking back at us, he nods, and then quietly steps up and into the pod chamber.

Here we go…

Maria and I step towards the chamber. I mimic Kyle’s cautious peek inside, and, seeing nothing but a dark cave, enter. A few seconds later, Maria scrambles in beside me.

We stand close together, holding hands, as our eyes adjust to the darkness. When they do, I can make out four empty pods. There’s a soft glow coming from behind them. I can hear muffled voices, but the distance to them and barrier of empty pods muffles what they are saying. We move forward slowly. There’s no sign of Kyle, so I assume he’s already in the Granolith Chamber.

As we approach, the voices get clearer. I whisper to Maria that maybe we should stop when we reach the pods, and see what we can hear. As she nods, I can clearly make out Kyle’s voice:

“Who the fuck do you think you are? Don’t touch me! You used me to dispose of my friend’s body! We were family, you alien bitch! Ever since you people entered my life, it’s been hell! But, I guess I’m just lucky you didn’t KILL me!”

“Kyle! You don’t understand! It was an accident!”

“Bullshit! There are no accidents with you. You wanted Max…you mindwarped him over and over until he thought he had feelings for you. You faked a pregnancy…and you wanted off this planet so badly that you mindwarped one of my closest friends, someone who did nothing but help you, into believing he was in Sweden, when he was really doing your dirty work! You were so afraid of the consequences, you kept messing with his mind…no matter what it did to him! Those aren’t accidents, honey, those are deliberate acts. Alex’s death and Michael, Isabel, and Max having to leave their home were side effects of you getting your way. Well, no more.”

“But Kyle…I…I didn’t mean to. I swear.” Her voice is ragged, like she’s crying.

I am seething. She doesn’t get to cry. People like her aren’t ever really sorry for what they’ve done, only that they got caught. Full of rage, I clench my fists. I can feel something prickly run up and down my arms, but it doesn’t register with me to look down. Without thinking, I push my way through one of the pods. I can hear Maria whisper my name, but I can’t stop. Inside the hollow, crusty pod, I finally look down at my hands as I attempt to crawl through. Green light is shooting down from my arms to my hands in spark-like waves. I’m totally freaked out, but I assume it’s some Granolith thing…maybe being this close to it as effects on the body.

As I exit the other side, I survey the room. The Granolith is in the center of the Chamber. Tess is on the other side of the Granolith from me, but at this angle, I can only see the side of her head. She is currently looking down, with her head in her hands. Kyle is closest to her and to my left, as is Michael. Isabel and Max are on my right. No one has seen me yet: all eyes are trained on Tess.

Rage encompasses my body. All I can think about is Alex…Alex at school, Alex at home with us, watching a movie and eating ice cream...Alex’s funeral. I can feel energy building in my hands, radiating from my head down to my fingertips. My soul cries out for vengeance.

I snap.

Without thinking, I raise my left hand, palm out, towards Tess. All my energy is concentrated on her, and I just let it go. Energy is released from my hand, a fast-moving ball of light, and Tess flies backwards into the back wall of the Chamber. She falls to the floor, stunned.

Everyone knows I’m here now. Can I make an entrance or what?

“Get up Bitch.” My voice is controlled. No yelling. I’m too focused on building more energy to realize that what I just did is very not-human. It feels natural, like I’ve been doing it my whole life.

Tess is looking at me with wide, frightened eyes. I guess she thought we humans were easy prey.

I guess I fooled her.

“Liz?” Max looks confused. Not that I blame him. “Liz? What was that?”

“Not now, Max.” I am still holding out my hand to Tess. I never take my eyes off of her. Tess starts to stand up. She’s struggling, and holding her stomach. Oh, I love irony. I guess she really has a reason for stomach pain now.

As soon as she fully stands, I blast her again. She is already against the wall, but her head jerks back and slams into it before she slides to the ground. Oh poor dear, she must have knocked herself out. I look at the wall to my left and see what seems to be a countdown. Must be a timer for the Granolith. “How long do we have?”

Michael glances up at the makeshift clock. “About twelve minutes.”

A few extra minutes. Good.

“Liz?” Maria must have come through the pods while I was blasting Tess. She moves from behind me, walks swiftly to Michael, and puts her arms around his waist. He then circles her shoulders with his right arm.

“Okay, what happened before we got here? I want to know that first…then we’ll talk about what to do with her. And we’ll discuss why I can blast some other time. The short answer is I don’t know, and currently don’t care.”

Isabel steps from around the back of the Granolith, where she had been standing over Tess. “I don’t care right now either, Liz. She deserved it.” She’s crossed her arms over her chest.

“Okay, Max. What happened?”

Max looks over at Tess, then back at me. Kyle backs up against the wall. I guess he witnessed all he wanted to for the time being. Max turns to face me, partially blocking Tess from my view, but I can still see the left side of her body.

“Michael told me what you discovered from Kyle,” Max looks over at Kyle with pity in his eyes, “and I decided to move quickly, to try and get a confession. I wanted to see if she had an explanation.”

That’s just like Max: trying to see good in everyone. It’s an admirable quality, and I love him for it, but I’m afraid it’s going to get him in trouble someday, maybe even killed.

I, on the other hand, have learned my lesson. I think Michael’s idea of ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ is growing on me.

“Michael and I, as you know, were a few minutes behind Isabel and Tess. When we got here, Tess was already waiting by the Granolith waiting for me. When she turned her back to touch it, we surrounded her but spread out, and all concentrated on what we knew to be reality. At Kyle’s house, I tried it by myself, mentally preparing to block her mindwarp. I could feel a barrier in my mind, a sort of mental wall, that I somehow knew would help me against Tess.

“When we got here, we all tried it together. It was stronger than when I tried it by myself at Kyle’s. It was much stronger, like the three of us intensified each other’s powers. It reminded me of checks and balances, like we learned in school. Three powers to check one power, you know? I kind of get the feeling we were built that way on purpose…kind of like a failsafe. To protect ourselves if one of us turned against the others.”

I nod, and look at the clock again. Ten minutes.

“Go on.”

“When we all connected, I realized I could hear their thoughts.”

Wow. This is getting more intense by the minute.

“The short version is I knew that Iz didn’t know we had confirmation about Tess from Kyle, so I tried to tell her with my thoughts. We had never done it before, but I could tell by her face she got the gist of it.

“We silently planned our attack. I got Tess’ attention by calling her name. By the confused look on her face, I could tell she knew something was different. She just looked at the three of us, her eyes darting back and forth, not saying anything.

“She tried to reach for me, but I pulled back. I asked if she had anything to tell us before we left. She shook her head.

“That’s when Isabel stepped forward and grabbed her by the throat.” Max glances at his sister.

I’m totally stunned. Isabel? I look at her. She’s looking from me to Tess, and back again. Her eyes are hard; she doesn’t look sorry or ashamed. I raise my right eyebrow at her.

“I knew we had a plan, but I just couldn’t take anymore lies. Not about this. I just snapped.”

I nodded. I could totally relate. I knew Isabel was grieving for Alex, and I’m glad she doesn’t have mixed feelings about Tess.

Max turns back to me, and begins again. “So anyway, Isabel had her against the Granolith, holding her by the throat. She yelled at her, called her a lying bitch that didn’t deserve to live, and said that she hurt me and she killed Alex. Tess was trying to breathe and clawing at Iz’s hand. She was kicking, too, but couldn’t hit anything, since Iz had her about six inches off the ground.” He looks at his sister with a smirk.

Isabel just shrugs. “Yeah, I was only thinking about what Tess had done. I probably would have just kept choking her until she died or someone stopped me, but then the Granolith started lighting up. I suppose it was because Tess was touching it, but it was enough of a distraction for me to loosen my grip. As soon as I did, Tess was able to hit me in the face, and I let her go.” Isabel reaches up and touches her face. For the first time, I notice the red, swollen mark on her cheek. That must have hurt, but she doesn’t seem to notice any pain.

“Once I let her go, she scrambled over there.” Isabel pointed to the back wall, pretty close to where Tess was now, still unconscious.

“She closed her eyes, and I could feel that she was trying to mindwarp us. I could really tell it was happening.” Isabel looked at her brother and then at Michael.

“Yeah, I felt it, too,” Michael says from his current position with Maria.

“Me, too. But she couldn’t get through. She just kept trying. I could feel her increasing the intensity of the warp, but it didn’t work. We’d beat her. So she tried the only other thing she knew…crying.” Max looked disgusted. I must say, I approve.

“She started apologizing for Alex, she said we all wanted to go back home, and she just wanted to help us get there. That she didn’t mean to hurt him. Then she said she loved me and only said she was pregnant so I would realize I loved her and stay with her. She said we were meant to be together, and that I only resisted because I thought I loved a weak human.” Max looks at me, acknowledging that I am the weak human in question. “I told her that I did love a human, but she isn’t weak…she is the strongest person I know.”

I can’t help but smile a little. Just hearing him say he loves me warms my heart, and almost makes me forget why we’re here in the first place.

Almost.

“Then Kyle showed up. Tess got up and tried to go to him. I suppose she thought he’d be on her side.” Max looks to Kyle to continue.

“She tried to hug me. I pushed her away. She actually had the nerve to say she thought I’d understand, that I would help her.” Kyle chuckles, and shakes his head.

“Okay, so what do we do with her? She can’t just leave.” I ask as I steal another glance at the clock.

Seven minutes to go.

No one will look me in the eye except Maria. They all seem to be fascinated with the floor.

I guess I’m talking to myself. “Hello? Does anyone have a suggestion? Because I do. I vote we put her in a car, and then drive her into a tree, so no one else gets hurt. You know, an eye for an eye.”

Isabel looks up, obviously in pain thinking about how Alex died. She looks at Tess, still unconscious and crumpled on the floor. “That’s not a bad suggestion. Very poetic.”

“I’ll even put her in it,” Kyle says, while still looking at the floor.

Michael lets go of Maria, and walks toward me. “Liz, I know what you are feeling, and you’re right. She deserves to die. But you need to understand something. When I killed Pierce, it was incredibly hard to live with. I know he deserved it, but that didn’t lessen my guilt. I thought I was supposed to be a killer, and it tore me up inside. Maria made me realize I’m not a killer, that I did what I had to,” he looks over at Maria, who beams at him. “I know one thing about you, Liz. You’re a good person. You are not a killer, either. You want this now, but how will you feel tomorrow?”

“I don’t know, Michael, and I really don’t care. This has to end.” I sigh and push stray hair behind my ear.

“What do you think, Max? You’ve been quiet this whole time.” Michael looks to his leader expectantly.

“I…don’t like the thought of killing someone in cold blood. We’re not at war, Liz. We’re just teenagers. How can we kill someone and live with it if our lives are not in immediate danger? If she were trying to kill me, or any of you, I wouldn’t hesitate, but this way…it doesn’t feel right.”

I am so pissed! “You said you’d take care of her if she killed Alex. Well, she confessed, Max. What more do you want? Do you want her to kill us one-by-one while our backs are turned?” I can’t believe this! What the fuck?

“You didn’t let me finish. I didn't mean she should live, I just meant we have to think about it. Do we just blast her dead while she’s unconscious? Or do we wake her and kill her then? Or do we torture her first? I know what that’s like, Liz. I fucking lived it. There has to be a better way, one we all can live with that doesn’t make us murderers like Tess.” He comes toward me and reaches out, lightly touching my arm. I snatch it back, unable to believe what I’m hearing. I know Max is a pacifist, but this is ridiculous.

“Liz, please. Together, remember? We have to stick together. We all have to be alright with this decision…we’ll live with it the rest of our lives. I know you’re angry; so am I. We all are. And I know what I promised you back at Maria’s, but we need to make this decision together, with no regrets. So let’s just think about this a minute.”

A little voice in my head thinks he’s right, but I’m so blinded by rage that I can’t think of any other alternative but to kill the bitch.

“Ok, Max. We're almost out of time. What do we do with her? We can’t send her to jail. We can’t let her go. What are we supposed to do? She is a murderer. She can’t just go free.” I can feel tears welling up in my eyes. Will this ever end? I have pushed thoughts of the future, and even my apparent new powers out of my head in order to mentally prepare to get rid of Tess, and we can’t even seem to do that.

Max again reaches out to me cautiously. He rubs my arm. When I finally look up at him, I can see love in his eyes. Love for me. I let that warmth fill me. His touch calms my soul. He smiles softly.

I’m startled out of my Max trance by a beeping noise. Confused, I look up at the wall where it’s coming from.

“Shit! Max, man, we’ve got to do this quick. That thing’s gonna take off in five minutes!”

“I know, Michael!” Max runs his hand through his hair and looks back at Tess. Isabel walks over to Kyle and puts her hand out to him. He looks up at her questioningly, and his eyes show his shame. He doesn’t believe he’s worthy of Isabel’s friendship. Not after Alex.

“Come on, Kyle, let’s go.” Isabel says in a kind, soft voice. Kyle takes her hand and they walk over to Michael and Maria, waiting for Max and me to make a decision.

I look at Max, still unsure what we are supposed to do with Tess.

“Max, I…” Max’s eyes widen as we falls forward toward me, knocking me off balance. He gasps as we struggle to stay standing up. What the hell?

I look over at Tess, who’s very much awake and standing up, holding her hand out towards us.

She blasted Max!

She smirks at me as I hold Max, who’s obviously hurt. His breath is coming out in ragged bursts. Michael and Isabel come forward with their hands raised, ready to blast her.

“Don’t do it! I’ll shoot Max again. You may kill me, but not before I finish him off. And I doubt he’ll survive two blasts. I did…but that’s because a mere human can’t really hurt one of us.” She looks at me when she says this.

“Blast her,” Max whispers. Tess has moved to the Granolith. She places her right hand on its smooth surface, still pointing her left hand at Max. At the touch, the Granolith lights up, directing energy to the place where Tess’ hand meets the glass.

“You people are so weak. We could have gone back home together, and lived as royalty. But you chose this…planet. You disgust me.” The Granolith is completely aglow, shades of blue and grey swirling beneath the glass.

“Max…” Isabel is looking from Tess to Max, her hand still raised. Her lip is trembling as she tries to make a decision.

I make it for her. “Let’s go. Let the bitch leave and go back to her precious planet. We need to get Max out of here.”

I hate this, but I want to save Max. Michael wraps an arm around Max and helps me get him to the open pods. Kyle and Maria have already gone through. Isabel goes next, and then me and Max. As I enter, I turn back to take one last look at Tess.

She’s no longer standing in the chamber. I can see her inside the Granolith, looking at me. She’s smiling like the cat who ate the canary. She mouths “Fuck you” at me, as the Granolith powers up.

Three minutes left.

We all hurry through the pods and out into the desert morning. Michael lowers Max to the ground when we reach the desert floor. He’s sitting hunched over, not wanting his injured back to touch the rocks. I sit down next to him, holding his hand. Max is awake, but I can tell by the grimace on his face and his shallow breaths that he’s hurt badly.

The ground begins to shake, tearing my thoughts from Max back to Tess. I can’t believe she got the better of us! Rage fills me once again. A now familiar pins-and-needles feelings starts in my hands.

I look down to see green sparks radiate from my shoulder to my finger tips.

Maybe it’s not over.

I stand up and turn to Michael, who’s standing next to Maria, looking up at the pod chamber. “You guys can connect now, right?” He nods at me. “If you all concentrate, can you increase the power of a blast? Maybe I can help?”

He looks at me strangely, trying to figure out what I’m saying, and then it dawns on him. He glances down at the sparks coming off my hands. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Michael shuts his eyes and concentrates. He raises his hand toward the chamber. I close my eyes and see if I can connect with Michael. I feel a strange new sensation in my mind, almost like floating. It’s a little disorienting. I sense a foreign essence in my thoughts…definitely not mine. But the energy in my hands feels stronger, more intense.

Holy shit! You can do it, too! 

My eyes snap open, and I look at Michael. He’s the foreign essence in my head! His eyes are large and staring into me. I nod frantically. I can hear your thoughts! I say back to him in my mind.

Michael goes into soldier-mode. “Isabel! Let’s end this once and for all. If we can unite as a team and increase our power to block Tess, why can’t we do it to stop the ship from leaving? Liz seems to be able to blast, and we communicated in our minds, just like the three of us did in the chamber!” Michael grabs Isabel and drags her up off the ground where she was sitting with Max.

Max is breathing jagged breaths, barely conscious. I know he needs to preserve his strength, and I tell him as much.

Max is sitting against the rocks, carefully avoiding the small of his back where Tess blasted him. I squat next to him and take his hand. “Don’t worry about it, Max. We’ll do it without you. Rest.” The ground continues to shake. Looking back up at the chamber, I can see the jutted rocks begin to vibrate.

“No Liz. Michael’s right. Let’s end this now. The four of us.” He stands up carefully, still slightly bent at the waist. From this angle, I can see his back, where Tess blasted him. I can see through his torn shirt to the black, charred skin underneath.

The three of them raise their hands toward the jutting rocks of the pod chamber. I do the same. We all concentrate. Instead of one foreign essence in my mind, I feel three. But now, it feels like we’re whole, like we’re a unit.

The rocks housing the pod chamber begin to crack. We have to be seconds away from liftoff. All the pain and anger I’ve been feeling surrounds me in what I can only describe as suffocating pressure.

 Now. Max’s one-word command sounds in my head as I release the energy in my body and direct it to the chamber at the same time the topmost rocks explode. The ship exits the rocks as we blast, the two forces meeting in the air just above the chamber. The release of power throws the three of us back at the same time the ship explodes. Debris rains down over the desert, showering us with rock and metal.

Everything goes black.

TBC

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:20 pm

****Hey everyone! Well, this is almost the end.

Several of you voiced concerns over Liz’s powers (among other things), and I planned to address you individually, but the epilogue, which I finished before posting chapter 17, explains some of it, so I’ll wait until that’s posted and hope your questions are answered. If not, let me know, and I’ll address them!

This has been a wonderful experience for me, and thank you for your thoughtful, encouraging feedback. I hope to write another story soon. ****

 Chapter 18

I’m standing at my locker at school with Maria and Alex, and we’re laughing. It feels so good to laugh; I feel like my heart’s going to burst.

I see Max, Michael, and Isabel walking down the hall toward us. The three of them are smiling as they stop to talk to us.

Max comes forward and pulls me into an embrace. He kisses me softly as I wrap my arms around his waist.

Maria is facing me, so Michael grabs her butt and quickly jumps out of the way as she spins around to slap him.

Alex reaches into his locker, which is two down from mine, and pulls out a red rose, which he gives to Isabel. She blushes as he lightly kisses her cheek.

I snuggle into Max’s arms and watch my friends.

This is how it should be: all of us happy and together. It’s the most peaceful I’ve felt in a long time.

“Liz?” Maria turns from Michael and looks at me, terrified. 

“Liz? Wake up Liz!” Suddenly, with a sound like the roaring of a train in my head, the images disappear and everything’s black. Slowly, I open my eyes and see Maria leaning over me. I’m on the ground, and Maria’s holding my head. As I focus, I can see Kyle sitting next to me. Maria visibly exhales as tears fall from her eyes onto my face. “I thought you were dead…that I’d lost you, too!” She starts crying, her whole body shaking.

The events of the past 24 hours, including killing Tess, come rushing back. I lift my head and can see what’s left of the pod chamber. The rock has a large whole where the jutting rocks used to be. The Ground is covered in debris: mostly rock, but lots of black and silver metal as well. The debris is scattered as far as I can see.

Wait…where are the others? I turn my head and seen Michael and Isabel hunching over someone…someone in jeans…Max!

I try and get up, but my equilibrium seems to be off. Maria steadies me as I fight dizziness to stand up. Kyle puts his arm around my waist. After a few seconds, the dizziness passes, and, with Maria and Kyle’s aid, I quickly but carefully walk to Max.

As I reach him, Michael stands and moves back, allowing me access to Max. Max’s eyes are closed, and his face is a deathly white. Isabel is kneeling to the right of her brother, holding his hand and stroking his head, crying softly. Almost oblivious to the soreness in my body, an obvious result of the explosion, I also kneel next to Max. He’s breathing, but it’s shallow. I take his hand, and notice that my hands and arms are normal again: no green sparks, no pins-and-needles. I must admit, I’m glad it’s gone.

Max’s hand is cold and barely squeezes my own.

“Isabel?”

She looks at me, tears streaking through the dirt on her face. “We did it. She’s…dead. No one could have survived that. The blast was really strong, and the impact of that explosion…it threw the four of us back. Michael and I didn’t lose consciousness. But you did…and Max…he was already hurt…” She starts crying again as she looks back down at her brother.

Not this. Not Max. I can’t lose him! He has to stay…God, please. He’s my life! I will do anything if it means Max will live. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. He tries so hard to do what’s right. I need him…we all need him. Please….this can’t be happening. Oh God…I would gladly bring Tess back if that meant saving Max.

The pain roars up inside of me, grief I’ve never felt before. I grieve for Max. I grieve for Alex. I grieve for all of us and what we’ve lost to get here.

I take Max’s hand. I don’t know if he can hear me, but I’ve got to try.

“Max? It’s me…it’s Liz. Can you hear me? Don’t leave me Max. I love you so much. I always have, and I always will. I need you to stay with me. Fix yourself, Max. Help us fix you.” As I say this, I suddenly remember…the healing stones!

I look up at Michael, but he’s not standing there anymore. I search the desert for him, finally finding him near the rock formation, digging around in one of their backpacks. He stands, and turns to run back to us. I can see amber rocks in his hands. Apparently, he thought of the stones, too.

When Michael reaches us, he hands each of us a stone. Isabel and I stand, and Maria, Michael, and Kyle surround us, forming a circle.

We concentrate on the stones. Flashes enter my mind. Max in the center of a circle, with us surrounding him. Michael and Isabel walk forward, hugging him. Maria and Kyle do the same. He looks at me. I run to him and throw myself into his arms. He holds me close to him, running his hands through my hair. Max…you’ve got to come back to me. Help us! 

 I love you, Liz. His voice is like a soft gentle wind surrounding me, penetrating my heart.

The flashes stop. I look down at Max. His eyes are open, staring at me. I drop to the ground as he slowly raises his arms to me.

As I hold him, he opens his eyes and looks up at me weakly.

“Why?” I can barely hear him.

“Why what?” I say to him as I cradle his body to mine, brushing hair off his forehead.

“Why did you save me? Why didn’t you just let Tess kill me? You could have killed her in the chamber. I didn’t want to kill her, I didn’t want to kill anyone. And you could have died because of it. She could have hurt you instead of me, and I was too worried about the moral consequences of killing her. What if we couldn’t destroy the Granolith? All of this is my fault. After everything I caused…Alex, Future Max, hurting you with Tess…” he trails off and looks away, a tear escaping his eye.

I can tell, maybe for the first time, how much guilt he feels because of the events of the past few months. I’ve been drowning so deeply in my own guilt, I never really stopped to notice how hard everything’s been on Max. I’ve been acting like Ms. Badass, pissed at Max because he hesitated about killing Tess, when really he was the strong one, wanting to protect me from my guilt over Alex by taking the hard decisions on his shoulders. He knows me. He knows I would never have been able to handle killing Tess in cold blood, no matter how much I wanted her to pay for Alex. It was my grief talking, surfacing through my rage.

Why did I save him? Why did I choose to get Max out of that Chamber and let Tess go?

I remember his answer to that question when I asked it almost two years ago.

“It was you.” I smile at him and lean down to kiss him gently. “And you saved me, too. From myself,” I whisper, my face inches from his. “No more blame. No more apologies. You did the right thing. You said you were taking back your life, making your own decisions. You were right about how I would feel once my anger was gone. It would have haunted me. If we’d killed Tess in the chamber, it would have been wrong. When she hurt you, and threatened us all, she earned her ticket to hell. You were right, Max. Nothing was your fault. This is over. Let’s go home, okay?”

Max nods. We sit like that, holding each other, until the others come and help us up and to Maria’s car. Kyle called his Dad, who’s on his way with the jeep. I guess he’ll explain everything to the Sheriff on the way home.

As we leave the pod chamber in Maria’s old Jetta, fatigue takes over my body and I close my eyes, resting my head against Max’s shoulder, who’s in the backseat with me. Isabel drove the jeep home with Kyle and the Sheriff.

Over the soft sounds coming from the radio and the hum of the engine, I drift off, and sleep soundly for the first time in months.

~The End~

mel1016 · Post by **mel1016** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:11 pm

Epilogue

One Year Later

It’s been a year, and it’s taken that long to sort out our abilities and begin planning the future. So much happened that night, I’m just glad we came out of it with our lives and sanity intact.

From now on, every step we take will be with full knowledge of the changed future. I’ve got powers now, presumably from when Max healed me. After that day in the desert, we had several meetings about my powers and how I could possibly have them. We were all pretty freaked out, to say the least. After tossing around several theories, we can only conclude that I’m changing. Into what, I don't know. In the first few days after "that night," as we call it, I was afraid of it, and afraid of people outside our little circle seeing my fledgling abilities.

Using my new gifts isn’t as easy as it was the day Tess died, but I’m learning. Michael said he was able to control his blast without thinking when he killed Pierce, too, and now it’s harder for him to do it unless he’s in a high-stress situation. Maybe I’m like that. I don't know anything for sure yet. The green sparks come and go and I can’t control them, but stress always seems to light me up like a fireworks display. I don’t know how to bring them to the surface at will yet, so it’s hit or miss. I think overall, Michael has been the best teacher for me. We understand each other, and he knows what it's like not to be able to control it. We've grown closer as a result, and he helps me practice controlling these new abilities.

As for our group, so much has happened over the past year. We all grew up. And while we have each maintained our personalities, everyone seems to have taken something away from what happened "that night."

Michael and Maria are as close as ever. They still bicker, but, when they think no one is looking, they are so considerate and loving towards one another. Michael proved to all of us that he had become a strong but compassionate person,but I think he's finally begun to believe it himself. Maria has brought out the man in Michael, and he's finally learned what it feels like to be loved. And Michael has tempered Maria just enough to bring out the woman in her, the strong person I always knew she was. They are stronger together, and I think they've finally realized that.

We’re all getting ready to graduate…except Isabel, who finally left for college in California last fall. Max told her to go, and to enjoy her time away. I think he’s trying to relax and stop being such a control freak. It’s hard on him, but it’s good for him, letting other people make decisions and take responsibilties. Isabel and Kyle regularly email. I think they’ve been leaning on each other, sharing their grief about Alex. Isabel is letting him in, and it’s good for her. She needed someone to talk to besides Max and Michael, and Kyle was the perfect candidate. And I think, in a way, Isabel’s forgiveness lessens his guilt over Alex, so she's good for him , too. I don’t know if they’ll take it any further, but I'm hoping they do. Isabel and I have been trying long distance telepathy, but it isn’t working quite yet, so we get together when she can fly down here and practice with us.

As for me and Max…

After he completely healed, I took a week and went to visit my Aunt Elizabeth in Florida. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t run away like I did after last summer. I know that was the wrong thing to do. I just needed time away. I called home to talk to Maria every other day, and to send my love to the others. I knew I loved Max, but I didn’t want to just jump back in and pick up where we left off like nothing happened. And when I told him I was leaving, he agreed he needed a few days, too. We’ve been through so much, and we both needed some time to sort it all out.

There was so much to think about.

Funny thing about traveling alone: you have a lot of time to think. I walked on the beach, took a lot of naps, and even finally grieved for Alex properly. I also grieved for me and Max, and what I know was our future before we changed it: our first time together, our wedding. I grieved for myself, and the feeling that I’m now not completely human. I allowed myself all the self-pity I wanted to feel. I just let it all out, the pain, the anger, the betrayal, and the fear. It was cleansing. After that week, I was ready to get back and face the future. I know my place is with the group, and I was eager to rejoin them. But I still wasn't quite sure if I was ready to pursue something with Max.

I had forgiven Max for sleeping with Tess…but forgetting would be harder. It would be a sore spot for me for a long time, just like I'm sure my betrayal wth Future Max created trust issues for Max. But, on the other hand, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. Since he healed me, I awoke each morning thinking about Max, and went to bed every night doing the same. I still do. He’s my soulmate. I know that. And the fight we had was a breakthrough for us: we’ve learned how to be open and communicate with each other. Love was never our problem…communication always was. Max couldn’t waive his hand over our problems and fix them; only time can do that. We've both been damaged. By circumstances, and by each other. Our relationship was fragile, but I knew my life would be hell without him, and I didn't want to live like that.

The night I got home from Florida, I called Max. He met me on my balcony. I told him what I did while I was in Florida, and he confided that my time away was healing for him, too. He still had a lot to sort out about Future Max, his relationship with me, and what happened to Tess. He was also concerned about me and the changes that were happening to me. We talked, really talked, for most of the night. We talked about everything, and made promises to always be honest with each other and work together to solve any problems that we might face. Max swore that he would never keep secrets “for my protection,” and I swore I would let him know if I was ever visited by any other Future Maxes.

We also agreed to take it slow and just see how it would work out. We agreed to go on dates and work on our powers together, but nothing more serious than that, at least for a while. I think we both needed a little time to get to know the other person again.

That lasted exactly one date.

While getting ready to go on our first date in more than a year, I told myself that I wouldn’t get lost in those beautiful alien eyes…that I wouldn’t kiss him or move forward too quickly…

But when I saw him waiting for me next to his jeep outside the Crashdown, looking timid and unsure of himself, and holding a beautiful bouquet of white roses, I jumped him anyway.

By date three, we were inseparable. As Future Max would say, we “cemented” our relationship. It was the most beautiful night of my life. Max took me out to the desert, near the radio tower where we found the orb, and where we apologized to each other after our fight. The Fight. He made it so special for me, I didn’t think about him and Tess once. Or anything else for that matter. I knew in my heart that being with him was right, and I know he felt it, too. We held each other and looked up at the stars until dawn, just thankful to be together again.

Now, a year later, we’re together for good, planning our future and trying to get a jump start on protecting ourselves from our enemies.

Oh, and Max asked me to marry him. We were on my balcony, about to make love, and he told me he wanted to be with me forever. In that moment, the future didn't matter. We had come full circle, and I knew we were healed.

We’ve agreed to wait until we’ve been in college at least a year, but we know what we’re doing is right, and we know we’re ready. Our relationship isn’t the same one we had B.T. (Before Tess), but I’ve come to realize that, in many ways, its better. We’re not the same people, either. We grew up a lot in those last few weeks before she died, and are closer to each other than I ever thought possible. We always knew what our strengths were as a couple, but now we know we have weaknesses, too, and we work hard to keep the lines of communication open.

Then there’s Alex. Every time I feel happiness, I immediately feel guilty about my part in Alex’s death. I’m sure the others feel the same. But lately, I’ve come to realize that guilt and pain would not be feelings Alex would want me to have. So, I’m trying to move on. To remember him and honor him, but no longer grieve.

As for the future, Max thinks my new powers could complete the four-square, so maybe we can defeat our future enemies, even without Tess. We’ve been practicing telepathy along with our physical powers, and I’ve been having strange visions that I can’t yet decipher. These new powers are scary, not only to me, but to the rest of the group. I've kept up the timeline journal I started "that night," and look for clues to the future wherever I can find them. I think we're stronger as a group than we were in the first timeline, and more cohesive.

As for the days ahead, maybe knowledge of the future will help us prevail against our enemies. Maybe that fateful fight with Max is what Destiny really wanted, to pair us up and reveal my powers. Maybe Future Liz didn’t have these powers, or maybe they found out too late to use them. All of these things are still unknown to us.

But we enter the future with hope, which is more than we had before.

`THE END`