Concept of Eternity (HLDR,XO,CC,MATURE) Ch. 24 [WIP]

[Bored to Mundane life]

Parker household, 22:14 p.m, Liz's balcony

'It's October 28th. Sorry, I've missed a few days, but I've been busy. In my absence I've been thinking about some things, about life before I died and came back to life, Marcus telling me what I really am, how I found out that Max Evans is a alien, or even before that, of how I used to pray for something to happen, something that would break the routine, you know, of school and work. Something that would make the small town feel a lot bigger, that would make the small town girl feel bigger as well. Ever since I got my wish and my life was turned into a preparation for the future, for the headhunters, I realized two things. That the bigger the world gets, the bigger the problems get, too. And I finally realized what Marcus told me two days ago. I finally know who I am, WHAT I am, and I'm no longer afraid of it. I have no reason to be afraid of it, because eventually the time will come when I'll be all alone, and my memories are the only thing I have left.'

Liz finishes with her 'special' journal and closes it. Then she took the normal journal and shifted her gaze between the two of them. She moved them both up and down a bit, then stopped. She put the special journal away and got up, still holding her normal journal in her hands. She took a big rusty can from the corner of the patio and put it in front of her. She then took a lighter from the small table beside the lawnchair, and ignited the lighter, setting the journal on fire. She put the journal inside the can and watched how the journal burned brightly, the flames illuminating her features. ["There's no going back to normal. There never was, I just failed to see it. I thought that I could keep this away from my friends, but that's something that can't be stopped. They will find out sooner or later, but I don't care. I'm Liz Parker, Immortal, and the future...the future has finally opened up to me,"] she thought and shifted her gaze up, to the night sky where the stars shined brightly. She smiled and murmured, "Thank you, Grandma. For allowing me to live."

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

Meanwhile, Topolski's apartment

Adam Hills was observing Topolski's apartment. The agent she had contacted with had broken to Sheriff Valenti's home, and searched it through, and left the place in very good condition. The agent hadn't found anything, though. Thus Adam didn't need to get rid off the agent, but he HAD seen someone else entering Valenti's house, and after some memory digging, he had recognized the person. For some reason Max Evans had searched through Kyle Valenti's room, but Adam had no idea why. Topolski and the agent were having an argument about the missions lack of success. He grinned. Topolski was obviously getting frustrated, and she was no where near getting to know the truth about Liz Parker. When Agent mentioned that someone else had also come by and searched the place, Topolski got interested. She asked who it was, and Agent described him. "Max Evans," Topolski mused to herself, and Adam heard it through the receiver. "Thank you for your help, agent. I'll take it from here," Topolski said to the agent, who grunted and left. Later Adam saw the agent heading to his car and drive away. Adam listened a few minutes longer, but Topolski was typing something to her laptop, and after a while, the lights in her apartment were turned off. Adam pulled the receiver off from his ear and made a note to plant a bug on her phone so that he would be able to trace and listen any calls she received or made. With that settled, he drove off.

TBC...

[Bored to Mundane life]

Special thanks to ofwolfandman408, NewYorker18 (x2), LittleBit, girlie_girl (x3), Roswelllostcause, katmcken, Mucina, con angel, Forsaken_Soul, angeleyes, Roswellian504 and calphysics. Extra thanks to Norma Bates from her beta-work.

Forsaken_Soul Hey, a new reader. Here's finally the new part.

Roswellian504 Another new reader. And I really would love to answer your questions, I really would, but then I would reveal some of the highlights of this story. Sorry, but you have to wait. If it's any consolation to you, Alex is going to find out about Liz's Immortality during the part that focuses on 'Heat Wave'. That should be sufficient for now.

Whew!! Here it is, part 18. Sorry it took so long, but here it finally is.

Title: "Concept of Eternity"
Author: Bored to Mundane life
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. If they did, Alex would have lived on and season 3 would have been a lot more different. The only character that belongs to me is Marcus Thorne. I also hope that Bruce Dickinson doesn't mind if I use him in this fic.
Synopsis: Liz Parker is having just a regular day at the Crashdown, when suddenly an argument between two customers gets out of hand, and she's shot. She is raced quickly to the hospital, but she dies en route. But before she is considered as a lost cause, her heart starts beating. Later on, her history teacher, Marcus Thorne, tells her that she's an Immortal. She'll be then pulled into the life of the Immortals, better known as 'The Game'. With no way out. But her apparent resurrection has raised other peoples attention as well. And Liz suddenly finds out that she isn't the only one harboring a considerably large secret. But how does Max Evans, his sister Isabel and Michael Guerin fit into this?
Category: Crossover, Roswell/Highlander, strictly CC.
Rating: PG-13, probably R at some point.
Feedback: Definitely appreciated. And definitely needed, so I know that my writing isn't going to waste. Afterall, this IS my first fic.

PART 18:

West Roswell High, 3rd November, Monday, 10:41 a.m, Mr. Sommers's class

There was a lecture going on. Most of the students were just sitting there, trying to look like they were interested. Other students really were interested about the day's subject. Max, Isabel and Liz were among those listening to the lecture attentively.

"Everybody has secrets. There isn't a single person alive today who are what they appear to be. Exposing these secrets is the job of the historian. Even the most normal of us has extraordinary qualities just waiting to be uncovered," Mr. Sommers, the history teacher, lectured.

Liz was quite interested about today's lecture, but also somewhat worried. ["I can't believe that no one has noticed a change in me, even with the extensive physical training I go through. But maybe they just choose to 'not' see it. I'm an Immortal, that is my secret. Max, Michael and Isabel are aliens, that is their secret. But we are different. I know something about my history, but they don't know their's, and how scary it would be if someone would discover it before they did. I can understand that fear a lot better than they give me credit for,"] she thought, and focused back to the lecture.

"For tonight's assignment, I've paired you into groups. It is your job as...historians, to find out as much as you can about your partner by asking these specific questions and then write an oral history report for tomorrow," Mr. Sommers said, while handing out the questions.

Maria frowned when she saw the questions. "Um, excuse me, but aren't these questions kinda...personal?" she asked.

Mr. Sommers seemed to brighten up by this. "Exactly. Personal is the goal of a professional biographer, and who knows, you just might make a new friend. Alright, so the partners are as follows: Daskal with Hausman, Kalinowski with Nell. Parker with Evans," hearing this, Liz looks straight at Max, "that's I. Evans. M. Evans is with Valenti," Max looks at Kyle, who just raises an eyebrow, "Papas with Cooney, DeLuca with Guerin," Sommers said.

Maria's eyes had widened when Sommers had paired her with Michael, but she needed to confirm it. She silently prayed that she had heard wrong. "Wait, did you say Guerin?" she asked.

Mr. Sommers looked at the pairing list and nodded. "Yes, Michael Guerin."

Maria shook her head. "No, no, I'm sorry, but that's unacceptable," she said.

Sommers's brow furrowed in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

Maria looked around. "I mean, the guy isn't even here," she said, trying to make a point.

Sommers just smiled. "Well, then it'll be like true field work, tracking down your subject," he said, then he looked at the list again. "Oh, I forgot one pair. Trussel with Wolf."

The bell rang, signaling that the class was over. Liz got up, picked up her backpack, and listened to Maria rant when they walked out from the classroom. "Can you believe this? This is cruel and unusual education. I mean, isn't there a Geneva Convention rules against this sort of thing?" Maria asked from Liz.

Truth be told, Liz wasn't exactly that thrilled about the assignment either. She shook her head and felt sorry for Max. "Could this get any worse?" she asked herself.

Kyle and Max were arranging to meet to start the assignment when the girls approached. "All right, so let's meet at the Crashdown after school today and get started on with some of the questions. Get to know each other a little," Kyle said to Max.

Max nodded. "Yeah, sounds good," he said. Kyle nodded in agreement and walked off.

Liz and Maria walked to Max, who still is looking at Kyle's disappearing form. Liz sighed. "I just hope that he doesn't go too personal with these questions. He still doesn't trust you, and now that our relationship is over, he just...hates you," Liz said.

"Hey, it'll be fine," Max said, trying to reassure Liz. Then one of the school staff members announced that there was a phone call for Max and he had to leave. Liz watched him leave and then turns to Maria.

"Maria, could you go to lunch without me? I have to talk with Marcus," she said.

Maria sighed. "Fine, Chica. Just make sure that I don't have to eat alone," she said, and headed to the quad.

Liz made her way to the history classroom, where Marcus was putting his papers into his briefcase. When the last student had left, he addressed Liz. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

Liz bit her lip. "Umm, is it possible to cancel our training session for today? I kinda have this assignment that'll probably take the whole day," she asked.

"What kind of assignment?" he queried. "Must be something interesting if it'll take whole day."

Liz made a face and shook her head. "No. It's an assignment where we are paired and we have to ask one another these REALLY personal questions," she said, and handed the paper with the questions to Marcus. He looked it over and his eyebrows rose from surprise. "Who are you paired with?" he asked.

"Isabel Evans," Liz said, sounding disappointed.

Marcus looked at Liz and grinned. "Let me guess, you would prefer to be paired up with Max?" he asked, his grin deepening.

Liz gave a cold look to Marcus. "It's not THAT funny, Marcus. Besides, this is going to take a while, so..." she trailed off, leaving the rest to Marcus.

Marcus waved her off, still grinning. "Sure, we can cancel today's session. You're going to have a handful with this one though," he said.

Liz scowled at Marcus and walked to the class door but stopped for a moment, then she turned around. "Marcus," she said, and Marcus looked at Liz. "Could you tell me why YOU didn't make us do this type of assignment?" she asked.

"Liz, I teach history, that's it. Sommers is a history teacher as well, but he also likes to use history as a way to get you to know each other, or basically that he could learn you through this observation. I know he has done this type of assignment before, but apparently he has gotten himself some new questions," Marcus said, and then he grinned. "Who knows, maybe you can find something in common with Ms. Evans."

Liz raised an unamused eyebrow to this. "We are from two different planets, Marcus. Both literally and figuratively speaking, and this has nothing to do with the fact that Isabel really IS from 'you-know-where'," Liz said, then headed to the quad.

Marcus's grin disappeared when Liz left the classroom. Those questions WERE personal, and that troubled Marcus. From the first glimpse, those questions didn't seem like the ones that would reveal anything about Liz's own 'specialty', but he hadn't been that thorough when he looked them through. Then he shrugged and called Richie, letting him know that session for today was cancelled. He didn't mind, though Marcus didn't expect anything less from the young immortal. Richie's last match with Liz had left him EXTREMELY sore, and it would be at least a month or so before Marcus would step in. Although, he had noticed some slight improvements in Mr. Ryan's technique over the past month he had been here, which suggested that he was following Marcus's teaching with more interest than he let on. ["Perhaps I should include him on it? He definitely needs more training, and it never hurts to learn something new,"] he thought, and headed to the teacher's lounge.

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

The Sheriff's Station, 11:02 a.m, parking lot

Max pulled over to the parking lot and cursed under his breath. ["What the hell was Michael thinking? Why couldn't he wait a while and let me get the information?"] he thought. When they realized that the dome Michael had been working on was in fact a house, a house that belonged to a man named James Atherton, the writer whose book Max had been reading for quite a while. Michael had been hell bent to find out more about this guy, but Max had said that he would get the information discreetly, and Michael had reluctantly agreed. Apparently his patience had worn thin and he had broken into UFO Center to find the information himself. Max stepped inside the Sheriff station, only to bump into a very shaken Milton. He could see Michael standing next to the deputy. "Evans! Thank God you're here," he exclaimed.

"You ok? I mean, you look..." Max trailed off, letting Milton to finish.

"Shaken. Yes, I'm shaken by the entire incident. I feel so violated," Milton said, rubbing his hands nervously.

Deputy Owen, a Native American in his 50's spoke up. "Max Evans? The suspect claims that he invaded the premises by your behest."

Milton's eyes widened when he heard this. "Please! He's a hoodlum. Max doesn't know people like that," he insisted. Max looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Well, actually..." he trailed off, putting his right hand behind his head in embarrassment.

Milton was shocked. "Evans, say that it's not true."

"Well, I loaned him my keys so he could pick up some research we needed for class," Max said.

Everyone looked at Michael, who shrugged. "I lost them," he said. "The keys, that is. So I decided to sneak in."

Milton shook his head. "I'm shocked," he said, sounding disappointed.

"He wasn't trying to steal anything," Max insisted.

"Yeah, I was just trying to do him a favor," Michael piped in.

"Look, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't press charges. If there were any damages, I'd be happy to work them out," Max pleaded.

Milton looked thoughtful. "Well...I suppose we could work something out," he said.

Deputy Owen looked at Max and Milton. "If nobody's going to press any charges, you're free to go. Pick up your stuff at the desk," he said to Michael.

"Thanks," Max said to Milton, looking grateful. Milton just looks disappointed and walks away. Michael walked to Max, intending to thank him, but Max glares at Michael and said, "Don't do any more favors for me."

Michael gave him an indifferent look. At the desk, the Deputy gave Michael the two pages he had broken into the UFO Center for to print out. Michael thanked the Deputy and walks away. Sheriff Valenti had watched this interaction with interest, and nodded to the Deputy, who walks to him and gives him copies of the same pages Michael had. Jim looked them through, and frowned. Now his interest was peaked, and Jim made a mental note to keep a very close eye on those two.

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

West Roswell High, 14:08 a.m, Football field

Max, Isabel and Michael were sitting on the bleachers, talking about the latest events, and needles to say Isabel was slightly pissed at Michael. Michael on the other hand was really enthusiastic about this.

"This is it," he said, pointing at the dome house in the print out. "The thing from my dreams."

Isabel wasn't exactly interested. "Could we get back to the part where you got arrested?" she asked, a bit irritated about Michael's latest escapade.

Michael just rolled his eyes. "Look, it's over, ok? Max fixed it," he said.

Max shook his head. "No, it's not over. This is getting serious," he said.

Michael nodded in agreement. "I know," he said, while he read the print out. "Marathon, Texas. That's where this place is, and that's where the lock that the key fits is. I'm going there."

Isabel was exasperated. "Have you completely lost it?" she asked.

Michael looked at her. "No, I've found it. And YOU guys are too damn scared to admit it," he said. He extended his hand to Max. "Give me the keys to the jeep. I want to go there."

"Let's just wait until we can find out more about this place," Max said, trying to calm Michael.

Michael glared at Max. "Max, I'm connected to this thing, all right? I see it when I close my eyes, and I dream about it when I go to sleep. It's not letting me wait, no matter what you say," he said, and stormed off.

Isabel looks Max with a worried expression, but Max wasn't that concerned. "He won't get far without a car," he said to her.

Michael stalked to the parking lot, kicking some pebbles in anger. ["They don't understand. That place could hold answers to our existence, but those two are just so god damn wrapped up with their lives that they don't care,"] he thought angrily, but then groaned when he heard Maria yelling behind him.

Maria had been getting into her car, when she saw Michael walking past her. It was a stroke of luck for her to see him. "Hey, wait. Um, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?" she asked from Michael, but he just looks at her with a plank expression. "We have to do this really queer history project for tomorrow."

Michael tried to ignore her. "Sorry, I'm busy."

Unfortunately that wasn't enough of a reason for Maria to leave him alone. "Wait, will you just answer these questions? Ok, umm...who's your favorite relative?" she asked.

Michael shook his head and growled. "Get lost, all right? I got to..." he was started to say, but Maria interrupted.

"What? You got to what?" she asked, slightly curious.

Michael was going to yell at her, but noticed that she had a car. "You driving somewhere?" he asked her, pointing at the Jetta.

Maria was confused, but answered. "Yea, to the Lift-Off gas station to drop off a box for my mom."

"The one near the highway?" Michael asked, realizing that he could get a set of wheels.

Maria nodded. "Yeah, so?" she asked.

"So, you give me a ride and I'll answer your stupid questions," he said, grinning inwardly.

Maria smiled. "Okay."

They both walk to the Jetta and step inside, and Maria tries to get at least some of the questions answered. Not much luck there.

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

Crashdown Café, 16:27 p.m.

Liz and Isabel were working on their own assignment at the counter, while Max and Kyle were sitting at a booth not too far from them. Kyle was a bit more into the assignment than Max was. Both boys had some french fries and a Coke.

Kyle so far has been going through the questions in order. "Ok, number 4. What's your favorite TV show?" he asked Max.

Max shook his head. "I don't watch TV that much. You?"

"America's Most Wanted. I watch it with my dad. But enough of that, let's get to the really good stuff," Kyle said, and starts to look through the paper. Then his eyebrows shot up. "Ooh, ok. What's the best thing that's ever happened to you?" he asked with a grin.

Max just looked indifferent. "Getting adopted, I guess," he said, though he stole a quick glance at Liz.

Kyle studied Max for a moment. "I'm going to shed a tear," he said dryly.

Max glared at Kyle for a moment. "What's the best thing that's happened to you?" he asked.

Kyle smirked. "Winning the statewide junior rifle competition," he said.

At the counter, Isabel was asking Liz questions, but Liz kept stealing glances to the booth where Max and Kyle were. Isabel was not happy about whom her partner was and she was a bit sarcastic about Liz's answer to one question. "Your favorite flavor is vanilla?" she asked. She looks at Liz, and notices that she's looking at her brother and Kyle at the booth. Isabel rolls her eyes and said. "Why don't you just bring them some ketchup or something?" she commented. She was surprised when Liz took a ketchup bottle, got up and walked to the two boys.

Liz puts the ketchup bottle to the table and gives a small smile to them. To their questioning looks, she says, "Just bringing ketchup to you guys." She looks thoughtful for a moment and asks, "How's it going?"

"Great," Max said, lacking enthusiasm.

Kyle felt a bit happier. "Yeah, we're really getting to know each other," he said with a grin.

Liz nodded. "That's good."

Kyle's grin seemed to deeper. "Actually, I'm glad you came over, 'cause I was hoping that we could skip down to question number 8. Have you ever been in love?" he said looking at Max. "Well, how about it, Evans?"

"No," Max said plainly, but inwardly regrets it when he sees the hurt look on Liz. She shakes her head and walks back to Isabel.

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

Outskirts of Roswell, 16:35 p.m, the gas station

Maria parked her Jetta to the parking space. She was feeling a bit disappointed when Michael didn't seem to co-operate with her on the assignment.

"Okay, you can't just make up answers," she scolded to Michael, who just looked indifferently at her.

"Who said I'm making them up?" he asked her, not really caring about it.

Maria glared at him. "You don't watch 'The View'," she stated.

Michael shrugged. "It keeps me in touch with my feminine side," he said.

Maria rolled her eyes and stepped out from the car. "Fine! You know what? I'll just make up the answers for you. Help me with the box," she said.

Michael shook his head. "Lousy back," he said.

Maria muttered something very insulting under her breath, but Michael ignored it. Maria walks to the man in overalls. "C.O.D. That's 126 bucks. And, um...cash is preferable," she said to the man, but then she notices that Michael is sitting on the drivers seat, starting the car.

Her eyes widen and she steps in front of the Jetta. Michael is forced to stop and Maria gets inside, glaring at Michael. "You're stealing my car!" she yells at him.

Michael glared at Maria. "I'm not stealing it, I'm borrowing it. Now get OUT!" he yelled back.

Maria's jaw dropped. "You're telling ME to get OUT?! This is MY car. Actually, it's my mother's car, and if anything happens to it, life as I know it will be over. So, where ever it goes, I go," she said to Michael, still glaring at him.

Michael grit his teeth. "Fine, but just to let you know, you had your chance," he said, and continued to drive.

Maria started to panic. "Oh my God. You're kidnapping me. You're ABDUCTING me!!" she screamed.

Michael ignored her and started to head towards Marathon, Texas, with a VERY loud human with him.

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

Crashdown Café, 17:02 p.m.

"What are your hobbies?" Isabel asked from Liz, who was now focusing on the assignment a bit more.

"My hobbies?" she asked, blinking slightly. Her brow furrowed a bit. "Well, at the moment I'm training with Martial Arts. I also like to read, and I'm into biology," she said honestly, not really seeing a reason to explain herself.

Isabel raised an eyebrow to this. "Martial Arts? What ever for?" she asked, genuinely interested.

Liz looked at Isabel for a while before she answered. "Not that it's any of your business, but I just don't want to end up getting shot again," she said. ["Like that's a big problem these days,"] she added silently to herself.

Isabel was wondering if there was more to it, but ignored it for the moment. Then Liz's cell phone started to ring and Liz answered to it. "Hello." Isabel noticed that Liz's brow furrowed from confusion. "Maria, is that you?" Liz asked.

Isabel rolled her eyes, but continued to listen. "In a car alone with who?" Liz asked from Maria, though she wasn't getting any straight answer. Then she heard someone else talking.

"Is that Michael?" Liz asked, and Isabel's interest peaked.

Liz was getting more and more confused. "You're nervous about being in a car alone with Michael?" she asked from Maria, but only heard Maria and Michael talking.

"South on 285?" Liz asked, still not understanding what is going on.

"Maria? Maria, what..." Liz tried to ask, but then the call was terminated.

Now Isabel couldn't hold on her curiosity. "What's going on?" she asked.

Liz looked at the phone, her brow furrowed. "That was Maria. She's with Michael in a car and she sounded REALLY weird," she said, and noticed how Isabel's look turned into a panic and she ran to Max. "Isabel!!" Liz called after the blonde.

Isabel walked quickly to Max and said urgently, pulling Max up from his seat, "Max, we have to go."

"Come on, things were going so well," he said in mock hurt.

Isabel and Max headed for the jeep, Isabel still panicking, and Max was completely confused. "What is it?" he asked Isabel.

"He found a car," Isabel muttered to Max, slightly peeved with Michael.

Liz had followed Max and Isabel to outside, and she had no idea what was going on, but she'd be damned if she didn't get any answers. "Max, what is going on?" she demanded.

Max didn't even bother to glance at Liz when he stepped inside the jeep. "The less you know right now, the better," he said, and started the car.

Liz was now royally pissed. Maria was in trouble and Max said that it wasn't her concern? She gritted her teeth and jerked Max's jacket collar. "Max, no! Not when Maria is involved," she said forcefully, emphasizing her point by glaring at him.

Max was completely surprised by Liz's sudden outburst, but what she said confused him. "Maria?" he asked, sounding surprised. Mostly from Liz's behavior and what she had said.

Isabel was also surprised by Liz's demeanor. Liz let go of Max's collar. "It would be her car with her in it. They're going south on 285," Isabel said.

Max nodded. "We better hurry," he said, but was completely surprised when Liz was about to step into the car. "Hey, you can't come."

Liz glared at Max with even more colder look. "And what are you going to do about it?" she challenged.

Kyle had followed all three of them, and now couldn't hold his amusement. "What, trouble in paradise already?" he asked, grinning.

Max rubbed his forehead in frustration and worry. Liz was hell bent to come with them, and if he forced her out of the car, he had no idea what she would do. Liz realized what Max was thinking. "If you're going to force me to stay behind, I'm going to follow you, and have Marcus as my driver. And when I tell him the stunt you pulled here, he will hurt YOU," Liz indicated Max, "and probably will knock Michael unconscious. You can avoid that if you don't try to stop me."

Max couldn't believe it. Liz had just given him an ultimatum, and for some reason he even believed that she would do it. And she was right, Marcus was angry at all three of them. Since Max wasn't feeling suicidal, he relented. "Get in," he sighed.

Liz's features softened. She didn't want to give Max an ultimatum, but he didn't give her much of a choice. Maria was in trouble, and if Michael did something REALLY stupid, Liz was certain that SHE would put Michael into a coma. She jumped to the back seat and fastened the seatbelt. Kyle was confused by what they had said, but remained silent. Max then headed after Michael, intending to have a serious talk with him.

Unbeknownst to them, the agent that had searched through Valenti's apartment was watching them from the alley, and he dialed to Topolski with his cell. It took a while for her to answer. "Yeah, it's me. I'm outside the Crashdown. Parker and the two Evans kids just left. And as far as I can tell, they left in a hurry," he said. "Find out where they are going," Topolski said, very interested by the turn of events. "Yes, ma'am," Agent said, and turned the cell off. He started the car and shadowed them.

Too bad for the agent, he had a shadow as well. Adam had been keeping a routine surveillance on Liz Parker, when he had spotted the agent keeping an eye on her and the Evans's. ["This is bad. I have to keep an eye on them, but I have the night shift to deal with,"] he thought grimly. When he was driving, he turned on the computer he had with him. This wasn't just an average computer. This computer looked more like a Global Positioning System that helps with driving directions, but this one had the same features as a laptop. Another one of the perks of being a Watcher. Adam used his right hand to type out a command on the computer, which after a few minutes displayed a map of New Mexico, and several blue dots in it, along with red ones. He them typed 'Highway 285, South' and the computer drew out a blue line all the way along the highway, and it zoomed back a bit, showing now the surrounding states. There were now only 4 blue dots along the way, but Adam seemed relieved. ["Good, I can change the car in the next hour before the agent before me gets suspicious,"] he thought, smirking inwardly. The dots indicated where a Watcher was living, and blue dot meant that the Watcher's car was available. Adam would change his car with the Watcher where the nearest dot was and continued to shadow the agent without him being none the wiser about it.

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

Outskirts of Roswell, 17:19 p.m, South to 285

There was a myriad of thoughts going in Liz's mind now, but she needed to call her parents and give them some sort of explanation. She also needed to call Marcus and tell him what was going on. After all, HE knew about the aliens, and Liz had a feeling that this would take longer than expected, and she didn't want Marcus to get mad at the aliens, or at her. She first decided to call her parents. She had been talking to her mom for some time now.

"Well, it's a really big test. Look, if I spend the night at Maria's, then I can get maximum study time in," she said, then nodded when Nancy agreed. "Ok. And mom, if you need me, just call me on the cell, ok? Bye."

Isabel turned around to look at Liz and smirked, "The perfect Liz Parker lying to her mother? I'm amazed."

Liz gave a cold glare to Isabel, and said, "Well, at least my mom knows what species I am." She didn't show it, but Isabel's statement actually stung more at home than she had thought. ["Mom knows WHAT I am, but she doesn't know what I have to prepare for,"] she thought sadly, and dialed Marcus's number. ["She wouldn't understand, anyway. She would just try to protect me. Even if it would kill me."]

It didn't take too long for Marcus to pick up. "What is it, Liz?" he asked, a bit surprised that she called.

Liz bit her lip. This would be the hardest part. "Marcus," both Isabel's and Max's eyes widened when they heard this, but remained silent, "everything is fine. Well, almost fine," she said.

On the other side of the phone, Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Well?" he queried.

"Well, apparently Michael took Maria's car and her along with it and they both are now heading south on 285. Max, Isabel and I are following them as we speak," Liz said, and was forced to take the cell away from her ear when Marcus's answer blared through it. Isabel and Max jumped slightly for the voice.

"Whoa, Marcus, calm down," Liz said, trying to calm the MUCH older man, with little success. "Hey, you don't have to follow us and beat Michael up because I don't want him to end up in the morgue," Liz said, and Isabel looked at Liz with alarm. Even Max was listening with more than half an ear to the conversation. Liz sighed. "Look, if it's going to make you feel better, I'm going to knock some sense into him just a bit. No, I'm not going to HURT him, just enough that he won't do something like this again," she said, and then smiled. "Thanks, Marcus. And don't worry, Michael will think THREE times before he's going to do something like THIS again. Ok, bye." Liz closed the cell and put it away. When she looked ahead, she saw a wide eyed Isabel staring at her. Liz's brow furrowed. "What?" she asked.

"I hope that you aren't even CONSIDERING hurting Michael, Liz," Isabel said, hoping that Liz had only said it to calm Mr. Thorne.

"If he has done anything to Maria, I will. If not, I won't hurt him TOO badly, but just enough," Liz said evenly, not even looking at Isabel.

"Let's just find them and bring them back," Max said. He was angry at Michael for pulling this kind of stunt, but also worried for him. As much as he liked to believe that Liz was just saying things, he really hoped that she didn't mean it. But somewhere, in the rational part of his head he knew that Liz wasn't bluffing.

Liz looked both of the Evans's and realized that there was something they weren't telling her. "What are you guys NOT telling me about this?" she asked, a slight edge in her voice. "You know what? I have a feeling that you know EXACTLY where he's going."

Max and Isabel exchanged a look. Liz could be really perceptive if need be, and there was no way they could lie to her about it. So that left them no choice but to tell her where Michael was going.

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

Meanwhile, further ahead of South 285

Maria was getting sick of the way Michael was ignoring her, and HE was the one who stole her mother's car. Michael had thrown her cell phone out the window, breaking the thing. Maria was on the last thread of patience, and when she found out where Michael was heading, she lost it.

"Marathon, Texas!!?" she yelled, making Michael wince from the voice. "That's like in another state."

Michael just looked at her. "It's just 3 more hours, nothing big," he said.

Maria was exasperated. "You...you...you're going to get arrested!" she finally spat out.

Michael gave Maria a disbelieving look. "For driving to Texas?" he asked.

Maria narrowed her eyes to Michael. "Well, let's see. Driving across the state line with a minor, and in a stolen car? There ARE laws, you know," she said, and continued without missing a beat. "And that cell phone you just tossed? That's vandalism of personal property." Then she shook her head. "I knew it! I knew that you had criminal tendencies. You even drive erratically."

Michael looked at her, not understanding. "What's wrong with my driving?" he asked, getting tired of this.

"What are you, deaf or something? I TOLD you not to go over 80, the engine won't take it," she said.

Michael muttered, "Maybe it's just tired of hearing you talk."

Maria gritted her teeth. ["Ugh, he SO gets on my nerve!"] she thought. "Alright, what's in Marathon, huh?" she asked, getting mildly curious, even despite the fact that she was still angry with him. "Contraband? Some woman, what?"

Michael shook his head, and muttered, "You wouldn't understand. You don't understand anything about us."

"Hey, I already know more about you than I want to, ok?" Maria said, and tried to ignore him.

Michael looked at Maria. "It's all about you, isn't it?" he asked, but didn't get an answer. "This could be the most important day of my life and all you care about is..." he had to stop when the police siren could be heard and Michael looks at the rear-view mirror, and curses under his breath. The police car signals them to pull over, and Michael did that. He glared at Maria, who was looking at the police car. "Ok, you happy now? Go ahead, tell them I kidnapped you and I stole your car. I mean, what's one more arrest on my record, huh? Damn it!" he said, and hit the steering wheel.

Maria looked at him in confusion. What Michael had said earlier puzzled her and she wanted to know. "What did you mean by 'This could be the most important day of my life'?" she asked.

Michael shook his head, looking at the approaching police officer from the side mirror. "Forget it," he said curtly.

"You got 20 seconds to convince me," Maria said, and finally got some kind of reaction from Michael.

Michael pulled the paper which showed the dome house and pointed it to Maria. "See this?" he asked, and Maria nodded. "It's the first real connection we've ever had to finding out where we come from and it's in Marathon, Texas. If I don't get there, or if somebody else gets there first, the only link we've ever found will be gone."

Maria just looked at him, the intensity of his voice telling her that he really wanted to find some answers. Michael turned to look at the officer, who knocked on the car door slightly. Michael looked at the man in puzzlement, or at least did a one hell of a job faking it. "Do you know how fast you were driving, son?" he asked from Michael, who just shook his head. "94 miles per hour. Do you mind telling me where were you going in such a hurry?"

Maria leaned closer to the driver side window, startling Michael a bit. "I really gotta pee," she said, confusing the hell out from Michael and the officer. "Um, see...I have this really weak bladder condition and I drank a really big gulp at the last station. It had caffeine in it, and it makes me want to go even more, so he was just driving really fast so we could get to the next station so I could pee."

The officer raised an eyebrow and looked at Michael, who just shrugged, although he felt really embarrassed. Officer shook his head and asked, "Can I see your license, please?"

Michael nodded and handed it to him, exchanging a look with Maria. She just raised an eyebrow to him, and Michael shook his head. Officer gave Michael's license back and said, "There's a drive-thru about 3 miles up. They have clean rest rooms." Then he gave a hard look at Michael and added. "And watch your speed."

Michael nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, and watched how the officer walked back to his squad car. He looked at Maria, who glared at him. "You owe me BIG," she said, then turned her head away. Michael shook his head. ["I don't get it. I just don't get it. NO, I don't get HER,"] he thought when he continued to drive to Marathon.

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

Highway 285, 19:45 p.m, a drive-thru mart

Liz picks up the two cups of coffee she had ordered and thanks the man. Max and Isabel had told her that Michael was heading to Marathon, Texas, but they hadn't told her why, and that made her a bit angry, though she held it well so far. But when she would get her hands on Michael, oh, he would be sorry for pulling this kind of stunt. She had reached Isabel now and said her name. Isabel turned around a bit too abruptly, and bumped into Liz and spilled the coffee on her sweater. "What?" Isabel asked.

Liz shoved the still full coffee mug to Isabel's hand and looked at her shirt. It was completely ruined. Isabel just raised an eyebrow when she looked at Liz's shirt. "That's great," she said, and took a sip from the coffee.

Liz gave her a glare. "I was trying to be nice," she said.

"Well don't, ok?" Isabel said, and noticed a small stain on her blouse. She waved her hand over it and the stain was gone. Liz just shook her head to this. "No wonder you always look so perfect," she said, a bit envious about Isabel's powers.

Isabel gave a surprised look to Liz. "You think so?" she asked.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Please, you're like the Elle McPherson of the sophomore class," she said, giving a small smile to Isabel.

"Well, I guess that answers question number 13. 'Who do you envy?'" Isabel said.

Liz raised an eyebrow. "What about you? Who do you envy?" she asked.

Isabel shook her head. "No one," she said plainly.

Liz snorted. "Yeah, right. Don't give ME that crap, because I know it's not true," she said.

Isabel looked at Liz. "I don't envy anyone, and YOU of all people don't know anything about me," she said evenly.

Liz smirked. "You're wrong. I know exactly what's going on in that head of yours. You're envy of the common folk, because their lives are so...normal. You...you have to hide, keep your origin and abilities away from other peoples' sight and you hate it. You may have gotten used to it, but you still hate it. Now look me into my eyes and say that I'm wrong," Liz said, and held her gaze on Isabel.

Isabel on the other hand was surprised. ["I can't be that obvious. I've trained a long time to make sure that I look content with my life, but...how did SHE know?"] Isabel thought, but her hesitation was more than enough to Liz. Then Liz's expression softened and she asked. "What are you afraid off?"

"Nothing," Isabel spat out, a bit overwhelmed that this human was able to tell that she felt envious of average people.

Liz sighed. "Isabel, I'm not...I'm not trying to take him away from you. I could never even do that," she said.

Isabel gave her a blank look. "I know," she said.

"But what if you guys found something from Marathon? Would you take him away from me?" Liz asked, surprising even herself with that question. But that was something Liz was afraid of, even if she still had her own secret to hide from them.

Isabel studied Liz for a moment, then waved her hand over Liz's sweater, removing the coffee stains. Liz smiled and thanked Isabel, who just nodded.

Meanwhile, Max was coming outside from the mini-mart. He heard an argument coming from the phone booth. He turned around and saw a man yelling at a man in a suit, who was on the phone.

"Look, pal, I need to make a call here. I told you, hang up the damn phone if you ain't going to talk. What, do you think that I got all day? Well, I don't."

Max continues to walk to his jeep, but on the way he notices a very expensive looking car, and concludes that it belongs to the man in the suit. He decides to not take any risks with the man, so he uses his powers to flatten the rear tire from the car. He then continues to walk to the jeep and climbed inside. He looks at Liz and Isabel and beckons them to get in. Liz was puzzled a bit, but ignores it and gets into the jeep, and Max drove off.

About 30 yards away, Adam Hills had seen what Max had done to the agent's car, and he was overwhelmed at what he had seen. ["How the hell did he do that?"] he thought, but then turned his gaze to the agent, who was talking on his cell. Marcus checked his personal laptop, which was hooked to the device that was tapped to Topolski's phone. The agent hadn't called her home, which probably meant that he was calling her cell. Marcus closed his laptop and checked the car's computer. Liz Parker and the Evans's were still going south on 285, but where, he had no idea. He was startled when he saw that the agent had walked to his car and was knocking on the window. Adam rolled down the window. "Yes?"

The agent flashed his badge and said, "Federal agent, I need to commandeer your vehicle."

Adam raised his eyebrow to this. Then he shook his head. "Sorry, Agent...whatever, but I'm not going to give you my car," he said evenly. ["And let you take this car to be torn apart in some secret government lab when you see all this high-tech stuff. Yea, right,"] he thought sarcastically.

Agent looked around, then pulled his sidearm and pressed it to Adams head. "You have 20 seconds to comply and live. If you don't, I will shoot you and take the car anyway," Agent said evenly, and cocked the hammer of the gun to emphasize his point.

Adam glared at the agent. He had NO idea where Parker and the Evans's were heading, and NOW this sorry excuse of an agent was trying to take HIS car by force. Good thing he was wearing leather gloves. ["FBI...gotta love 'em,"] he thought angrily, and faster than the agent expected, Adam grabbed the agent's wrist and jerked it away from his head. Adam made sure that he added enough pressure to agent's wrist to make him release his hold from the gun. Unfortunately Adam was unsuccessful, and the agent hit him hard in the face. Adam didn't release his hold, but turned his gaze to the holster next to the car computer. It was a Glock 7 with a silencer. Adam had thought that it might come in handy some day. True, all the Watcher's cars had a holster next to computer, but the type of the weapon always depended from the owner, and Adam preferred silence. True, he hadn't had the need to change his car to maintain his shadow, 'cause apparently the agent was really dumb, or that he didn't had thought that he was being shadowed. Adam gritted his teeth and grabbed the Glock, then pointed it to Agent's chest, whose eyes widened. Adam shot twice, and thanks to the silencer and the close distance, no sound was released. Agent leaned next to Adams car, and looked at him to the eyes. Adam cocked his head and said apologetically, "Sorry, hazards of being on the pay check of a secret organization." Agents eyes glazed and his body stilled. Adam released his hold from the agent's wrist and allowed the body to fall on the ground. He stepped out, but not before he put the Glock back to the holster. He grimaced and looked around. He sighed when he didn't see anything suspicious or that someone noticed what had happened. He knelt next to the body and pondered his options. He needed to get rid of the body fast, but there weren't many places to put it. The dumpster was out of the question. He couldn't drive around with a corpse either, too much of a chance of getting caught. Then he looked behind him and saw some bushes. He grimaced, but he was desperate and there weren't any other options. He stood up and looked around, thanking whoever was up there (or downstairs) that there was no one in sight. Adam knelt again and pulled the body up, and carried it to the bushes. Adam placed the body into the middle of the bushes, and did as good a job at hiding the body as he could, then took away the badge and the cell phone. ["No need to quicken the ID process,"] he thought, and walked back to his car. He tossed the cell and the badge to the back seat and continued to follow Ms. Parker. His interest was also focused to the two Evans kids. At least one of them had special capabilities. ["Aside from Ms. Parker, that is,"] he corrected himself. He still made a mental note to get rid of the gun when he had the chance. There was a big possibility that the body would be found.

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

Meanwhile, further ahead of South 285

The Jetta was suddenly making a strange noise, and Maria looked at Michael with irritation. "Did you pull on the chokey thing?" she asked from him.

Michael rolled his eyes and said tiredly, "Yes, I pulled on the chokey thing."

Then the Jetta started to sputter and smoke rose from under the hood, and then the car stopped. Maria looked at Michael with a scowl. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked him. Michael gave her a puzzled look and Maria sighed. "Just do something. GO!"

Michael gritted his teeth together. "Don't tempt me," he said.

"Come on. Wiggle your nose, blink your eyes, do the Samantha-Jeannie alien thing, what ever, but just do it," Maria said.

Michael grumbled, "I can't."

Maria looked at him with confusion. "Why not?" she asked. When Michael didn't answer, she kept pushing. "Come on! If there has ever been a time to have secret powers, now is the time."

Michael looked at Maria. "They are NOT secret powers," he said, getting frustrated.

"I don't care WHAT you call them! Just use them and get us out of here!" Maria yelled.

"Hey, I'm not that good at it, all right!" Michael yelled, admitting that he had less than adequate control over his powers.

Maria smirked. "Figures! All talk and no show."

Michael opened the door and muttered angrily, "Your car sucks!"

Maria just snorted. "Yeah, well, so do you!" she bit back.

Michael was now very angry. ["Damn it! Why did she ask me to do this?! I'm just going to mess this car up more than it already is,"] he thought, but kept his face impassive. ["Well, you ask and you shall receive."] Michael waved his hand over the hood and the engine exploded, popping the hood up and flames arose. Michael scowled and waved his hand again, extinguishing the fire. He looks at Maria. "There, you happy now?" he asked, but Maria just stared at the mess in front of her. Michael shook his head. "Well, now that I'm humiliated and the battery is dead, I'm going to take the back seat."

Maria was shocked when she heard this. "Wait a minute! You kidnap me, you blow up my car and you expect me to spend a night in here with you?" she asked, exasperated.

Michael had walked to the back door and opened it. He said to Maria, "Well, not exactly my fantasy evening either." Then he reached out for the boxes.

Maria noticed this and exclaimed, "Wait, don't touch that! It's sensitive!" Unfortunately her warning came out too late. The minute Michael started to move the boxes, a green alien balloon inflated from one of them.

Michael looks at the alien balloon, then at Maria. "Cute," he says dryly.

Maria shrugged. "What? My mother makes them," she said, then Michael walked away. "Hey, where are you going?!!"

Michael walks back and points ahead. "See that motel over there? I want to get some sleep, which is going to be impossible with you and that balloon alien sticking out of the back seat," he said, then heads back to the direction of the motel.

Maria quickly got out of the car. "Michael!? Wait up!"

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

Roswell, 19:56 p.m, Sheriff's station

Sheriff Valenti's curiosity has reached the limit to where he just needed answers. Kyle had been trying to contact Liz for some time when he got back home, and when Kyle said that she had gone somewhere with Max and Isabel, he was immediately concerned. Now he was talking with the highway patrol.

"Yeah, that's right, a jeep registered to Philip and Diane Evans, Roswell, New Mexico. 3 passengers, all minors," Valenti said, and waited for a response.

"Computer shows nothing coming up on Evans, but I do have a speeding citation on another minor from Roswell. The name is Guerin, Michael. Car registered to an Amy DeLuca. Does that mean anything to you?" dispatch responded, and it did mean something to Valenti.

"Where were they stopped?" Valenti asked.

"Heading south on 285," dispatch responded.

Valenti looked at the map he had in front of him, and followed the road down. Then he stopped on a city, and he picked up the paper he had copied from Michael. The building in it was located to the place where Guerin was heading. "Thanks, highway. You've been a big help," Valenti said and terminated the connection. This meant something, but Valenti wasn't sure what it was. He took his coat and walked outside, got into a car and headed to Marathon, Texas.

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

Meanwhile, Sultan's Hide Away Motel

Maria and Michael walked to the room they had got for the night. Maria made a face and said, "It's like a porn version of Aladdin."

Michael shrugged. "At least it's warm, which I can't say about your car," he said.

Maria looked at the bed and groaned from disgust. "I don't even WANT to know what I could catch in here."

Michael looked at Maria. "You know, if you'd stop being such a princess about this..." he said, but Maria cut him off.

"Princess?" she asked, wide eyed. "Oh no, I think I've been a pretty good sport up until now, but I'm cold, I'm hungry and I'm in some nookie motel with a guy I...I barely even know, and I...I just...I really want to go home right now," she said, trembling slightly.

Michael sighed. "Look, why don't you stay here? I saw some vending machines out side, so I'll just go see what they have," he said, and walked to the door. Before he left, he turned and addressed Maria. "Lock the door." After he had left, Maria did as he said. Then she looked around again, and grimaced. ["How did I end up into situation like this?"] she asked from herself. Then she groaned again and slapped her forehead. ["Oh God, my mom is going to kill me when she finds out that I didn't deliver the boxes, and THEN she'll get nasty when she realizes that the Jetta was toasted. Literally,"] she thought. She abruptly sat down to bed. "Great, just great," she muttered.

Michael returned a short while later, carrying some snacks with him. He dumped them to the table and Maria walked to him and picked up a candy bar and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Michael shrugged. "Didn't have anything else."

Maria shook her head and took another candy bar and sat back to bed, but kept her gaze on Michael, who sat down to a chair. They continued to eat in silence for about 30 minutes, then Maria asks, "So, um...do you get hungry like the rest of us?"

Michael gave a confused look to Maria. "Yeah, I get hungry like the rest of you," he said.

Then Maria thought of something else. "Well...um...what other human urges do you feel?" she asked.

Michael stopped eating his chips and stared at Maria for a moment. "Not if you're the LAST woman on Earth," he said, shaking his head.

Maria grimaced. "Ditto," she said. Then she grabbed the question paper. "Just to let you know, I'm NOT going to get an 'F' on this assignment, so you better start answering some of the questions." When she noticed that Michael didn't really give a damn, she clarified. "Right now, pal, and I mean for real." Michael sighed and beckoned her to 'go on'. Maria looked at the paper. "Okay, favorite ice cream flavor?" she asked.

"Pistachio," Michael answered, and Maria wrote it down.

"Favorite TV show?" she asked.

"Win Ben Stein's Money," Michael answered.

Maria nodded. "Ok, favorite book?" she asked.

"James Joyce...Ulysses," Michael said nonchalantly.

Maria looked at Michael, but his expression didn't show any amusement. "You have NOT read Ulysses," Maria stated.

"'What incensed him the most of the blatant jokes of the ones who pass it all off as a jest, pretending to understand everything, and in reality, not knowing their own minds.' Page 655," Michael said, after he had quoted the book. He shook his head when Maria looked at him in shock. "Told you you wouldn't understand. Next question."

Maria put the paper away for a moment. "Well, if you're so damn smart, then how come you fail every class in school?" she asked, genuinely interested.

Michael looked surprised for a moment. "What number is that?" he asked.

"It's my own personal question," Maria said.

Michael shook his head. "I don't answer personal questions," he said curtly.

Maria raised her hands in defeat. "All right, fine. Then maybe it's the answer to number 16. What are you afraid of?" she queried.

Michael shook his head in irritation. "I hate this. This is really stupid."

"Tell me about it," Maria muttered under her breath, but then addressed Michael. "How about one personal question?" she asked, but Michael kept ignoring her. "You know, since I didn't turn you in back there before."

Michael sighed and looked at her, silently telling her to continue. "Why is it so important to you to find out where you come from?" Maria asked.

"'Cause there have to be something better out there for me than Roswell," Michael answered, indifference still showing from his features. Maria gave a surprised laugh, but Michael took it differently. "You think that is funny?" he asked, slightly irritated.

Maria shook her head. "No, it's just that...when I was a kid, I used to stay up at night and...make up stories about my father...and who he was and...what he was doing. And they all ended exactly the same way. He would come in a limo and pick me and my mom up and take us off to some exotic place where we'd live like royalty. Because, you know...I thought to myself...there's got to be something better out there for me than Roswell, New Mexico," she said, surprised that they both had similar thoughts about Roswell.

"Change the limo into a spaceship and then you'll understand what I mean," Michael said.

Maria nodded. "Yeah." Then she stifled a yawn. "I'm, uh, I'm getting kind of tired," she said.

"Yeah, it has been a long day," he said, getting up from the chair. Maria nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. Michael pointed at the bed. "I don't suppose we could share?" he asked.

Maria looked at Michael in embarrassment, then glared at him. "Not if you were the LAST alien on Earth," she said, and laid down on the bed. Michael shrugged and grabbed the extra pillow and a blanked and went to sleep on the floor next to the bed.

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

[Bored to Mundane life]

Highway 285, 21:45 p.m, not too far from the motel

The radio had informed Max, Liz and Isabel that a 18-wheeler had jack knifed further ahead, stopping any traffic in between. There had been a speculation that Michael and Maria might have got through that particular spot before the incident, but they had little choice than to wait. Liz sighed and leaned on the seat. She was sitting in the front seat and Max was in the driver's seat. Isabel was out side talking to the police that had traffic stopped a few cars ahead. She was trying to get an update regarding the roadblock. About 80 yards behind them, Adam rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. The scanner in his car that was now monitoring police frequencies told him that it would take at least an hour before the road would be clear again. So far there hadn't been anything regarding a dead FBI agent, which was a plus to Adam.

Meanwhile, in Max's jeep, Liz suddenly tensed and her eyes grew wide. She felt a buzz, and it was someone she didn't recognize. ["Oh my God!"] she thought, but still managed to keep her calm outwardly. It wouldn't do any good for her if she panicked right next to Max. She took a deep breath. ["Just relax. There's plenty of people here, and there isn't a location secure enough here for a challenge. Problem is that there isn't a Holy Ground nearby either, so that leaves the masses here as my cover. Then again, if I can feel them, they can feel me as well,"] she thought, and scolded herself for leaving her sword behind, but she had little choice for the matter. Besides, she would have had a REALLY hard time to explain that piece of equipment to Max and Isabel if she had brought it along. Liz focused on the buzz, trying to determine where it was coming from. It was further ahead on the highway, but she couldn't tell how far away it was. There wasn't anyone looking around either, so that was probably a good sign. She was getting so tense that her neck was aching. She sighed and stepped out of the car, and started to make some stretches to alleviate the tension in her muscles.

Max was looking at Liz with confusion. First and foremost thought in his head was the constant changes in Liz's behavior. Sometimes she would appear all shy and timid, but sometimes she could show a far more aggressive and determined side, and Max had seen the latter just few hours ago when he didn't want her to come with them. Liz had given him an ultimatum, one that he did NOT want to go through, but preventing Liz from coming with him and Isabel meant dealing with Marcus, and Max really didn't like the idea of getting MORE on the older man's bad side. Then there was Richie. A complete stranger to him, even though they had made some small talk when he had saved Max from a really bad beating. Now Liz seemed to be tense, probably because she was worried about Maria. Max inwardly cursed his friend for doing this. When Liz had called Marcus and told him what was going on, he was royally pissed, and judging his voice over the cell, that was an understatement. Max sighed. He couldn't blame Michael for going to Marathon, when truth was that he wanted to go there as well, but he would have get at least SOME information about the place first and make some kind of cover story for him, Isabel and Michael before going there. Now the three, along with 2 of their human compatriots were heading to Marathon, and only ONE of them had a plausible cover story. He started to run through different radio stations, trying to find an update for the roadblock, with little success.

Liz finished her stretches, and glanced around. She saw Isabel talking to one of the officers. ["Probably getting a 'from the source' update,"] she thought. The buzz was still present, and now that Liz was outside from the jeep, she allowed herself more freedom to study it. She started walking towards Isabel, but focused on the buzz. It was strong. Stronger than Richie's, but not by much. That lead to several possible explanations if anything what Marcus had told her held true. One: Whoever he or she was, they were older than Richie. Two: He or she was a young one, but a headhunter, which meant trouble in a grand scale. Three: He or she was far older than the buzz let you to believe, which meant that they were dampening their Quickening. Liz shook her head at the third possibility. There weren't that many OLDER immortals around, and the odds were largely against for the third possibility, so she discarded it. That left options one and two, and both were equally possible. ["I just hope that whoever they are, they're NOT headhunters,"] Liz thought, while she continued to walk towards Isabel. Then she stopped a good distance away from Isabel and the officer she was talking to. The buzz...it was intensifying, which meant that whoever the immortal was, was closing in on her. Liz swallowed and willed herself to remain calm. Then she started scan her surroundings, starting from her left, slowly looking for anyone who would be walking towards her. When her sight focused on Isabel and the officer, Liz saw a woman in her early 30's, wearing a long gray trench coat, red shirt and leather pants. She was about the same size as Isabel, maybe a bit shorter. She had a long auburn hair with blue highlights. ["Blue highlights?"] Liz thought, her eyebrow rising in confusion. The woman was talking to the officer as well, but that's not what stopped Liz. The buzz had disappeared when Liz had laid eyes on the woman. So far the woman hadn't made any indication that she knew about Liz's presence. ["Does she know I'm here, or is she even able to tell where the buzz is coming from?"] Liz wondered, but that thought was dumped when the woman in question turned her gaze straight at Liz. Liz wasn't entirely sure because of the distance and the darkness, but she could have sworn that the woman's eyes had a peculiar color. They were dark blue, which almost made the woman's eyes look completely black. Liz and the mystery immortal held their gazes for a while, which went unnoticed from everyone else, except from Adam. He had followed Liz's movements through his binoculars. ["Now who is that?"] he thought, frowning. Adam put the binoculars away and started to go through the Watcher's database for known Immortals. He typed the description in the car-computer and waited. Adam was familiar with most of the known Immortals alive at the moment, but this Immortal wasn't ringing any bells to him. Then the computer beeped and showed a picture from the woman in question. Adam frowned. ["What the hell?"] The Watcher's only had the woman's name, description and the date of her first death, and nothing else. Adam checked the date and his eyebrows rose in surprise. He then turned his gaze to the Immortal, who he now knew was Aurora. A 580 year old Immortal, whom the Watchers had practically non-existent information. There were some sub-notes about possible challenges, but almost each and every one of those challenges were based on rumors and guesses based on other Watchers visual perceptions. Adam grimaced. That meant that there was no way to tell if the woman was a headhunter or not. Adam picked the binoculars and focused on Liz, who still was looking at Immortal Aurora. Adam shifted his gaze to Aurora, and was surprised when she gave a small smile to Liz, then she turned back to the officer and thanked him and walked away.

Liz sighed from relief. Apparently the woman wasn't into fighting. She had smiled at her and walked away. Isabel was still talking to the officer, so Liz decided to walk back to the jeep. When she sat to the passenger side, Max was still going through radio stations. He stopped briefly on the metal station.

"This is HRZ 65, with an update for all those who were unfortunate to get stuck to the roadblock at 285 south. The 18-wheeler is still stuck and the police's estimate is that the road should be cleared inside an hour or so. Now, let's play out some really good music for all those metal lovers out there who are stuck with some narrow sighted people who don't appreciate this type of music. Here's Iron Maiden with one of their older hits 'Caught Somewhere in Time'. After that we'll continue on with good ol' Metallica, with their song 'Unforgiven'. Keep listening to HRZ 65," DJ's voice stopped, and the music started to play out. Max grimaced and started to change to other station, but Liz stopped him by grabbing his hand gently. "Don't," she said evenly. Max looked at Liz with confusion. ["I didn't think Liz was into metal,"] he thought. Although the fact that Liz had her arm on his own made Max a bit red. Liz's hand felt warm, even though it was a bit chilly outside. Liz on the other hand didn't notice. She pulled her hand away, and Max made a whining noise but it drowned into the music.

If you had the time to lose
An open mind and time to choose
Would you care to take a look
Or can you read me like a book

Time is always on my side
Time is always on my side

Can I tempt you come with me
Be Devil may care fulfill your dream
If I said I’d take you there
Would you go would you be scared

Time is always on my side
Time is always on my side

Don’t be afraid you’re safe with me
Safe as any soul can be... Honestly
Just let yourself go

Caught somewhere in time
Caught somewhere in time
Caught somewhere in time...oh oh

Caught somewhere in time
Caught somewhere in time
Caught somewhere in time...oh oh

Liz knew that it might seem strange to Max, but she just couldn't miss this song. She knew that Marcus listened to this type of music, and ever since she had heard 'Flash of the Blade' from the radio one morning, she was strangely intrigued by the lyrics of that song. They got to her. The fact that the vocalist was an Immortal also intrigued her. Liz started to analyze the song from its lyrics. It was focusing on time, and so far it had something to do with someone who's world is about to change drastically. She was completely oblivious to Max's utterly confused stare. The next set of lyrics got to Liz.

Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing
You try to hide your deepest sins
Of all the things that you’ve done wrong
And I know where you belong

Time is always on my side
Time is always on my side

Make you an offer you can’t refuse
You’ve only got your soul to lose...
Eternally.... Just let yourself go!

Caught somewhere in time
Caught somewhere in time
Caught somewhere in time...oh oh

Caught somewhere in time
Caught somewhere in time
Caught now in two minds!

["Does this song tell about how someone becomes Immortal? Or possibly about the headhunters? It does make some amount of sense in some level, but I really have to ask Marcus. He probably knows if the rest of the band knows about Mr. Dickinson's immortality,"] Liz thought, and the music started to die out. DJ's voice came on briefly, but Liz ignored it and changed the channel to the one that informed them about the roadblock before. Then she saw Max staring at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you listen to metal music," he blurted out, completely slack jawed by this information.

"Um...actually Marcus listens to this type of music, specifically from this particular band. This is actually only the second song I have heard from them," Liz said, smiling for Max's confused look.

"Mr. Thorne listens to Iron Maiden?" he asked, trying to see if Liz was pulling a prank on him. Liz nodded, and Max muttered something under his breath and shook his head. Then there was silence for a while. Max turned his gaze back to Liz. "Liz, I'm sorry," he said.

Liz gave a confused and brief look to Max, but kept her gaze forward. "We're going to get through in an hour or so," she said, quoting slightly DJ's words.

Max shook his head. "I don't mean about the roadblock," he said, and Liz looked at him. "I mean about everything. For Michael taking Maria...for Isabel being so...Isabel...for me from not...," he trailed off, not able to finish his sentence.

"Healing me?" Liz asked, and Max nodded.

Max looked at Liz with a puppy dog look. "We're not all the same, you know," he said.

Liz gave a small smile to Max. "Yeah, I've known that for a long time," she said, then turned her gaze away. "I'm sorry too, Max," she said, which earned a confused look from Max. "You know, for Kyle and...how my stupid, boring life could possibly get you guys into trouble." ["Talk about self denial, Liz. Then again, my Immortal life could DEFINITELY get them into trouble. Much bigger trouble than they think,"] she thought.

Max seemed offended. "First of all, nothing about you is stupid, Liz. Secondly...I think my life didn't really start until I told you the truth that day," he said.

Liz looked at Max. "Good for you, Max. My life didn't start until I got shot," she said, and regretted it when she saw Max wince. She hadn't said the words harshly, and her tone was indifferent, but it still sounded bad. Liz looked at Max again, trying to find out what was going on in his head. "Max?" she said, getting his attention.

"I know that we agreed...you know, not to...feel a certain way about each other," she said. Actually those hadn't been her exact words, but she had been the one to back away, though it seemed to her that Max wasn't showing that kind of interest. At least that was what Liz thought.

Max nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

Liz tugged her hair behind her ear. "I've been having second thoughts about that, but what I really want to know is do YOU think it's a good idea?" she asked, looking Max straight to the eye. Max didn't answer, instead he reached his hand to her. Liz held her breath, but Max directed his hand to a hole in a jeep's canvas top and sealed it. Liz looked at Max for a moment, and he said, "Just wanted to keep you warm."

Liz released her breath. ["God, can he be more frustrating than that?"] she thought, but then scolded herself. ["You're the one who wanted to keep your distance from him to begin with. True, but then HE decided to back away because Kyle's friends beat him up, and now HE is keeping distance from me,"] Liz was now having a mental argument with herself, but she stopped when she thought about the reason for this whole 'trip'. She looked at Max and said, "This place in Marathon." Max looked at her. "All those answers you're looking for. Are they as important to you as they are to Michael?" she asked.

Max just stared at her for a while, but then Isabel stepped inside the jeep. "The officer said that the roadblock should be lifted in an hour," she said.

"Yeah, we heard about that from the radio," Liz said, and Isabel looked at her with jaw agape. Then she slumped to the back seat and growled, "Great! You couldn't let me know when I was standing out there, freezing my ass off."

"It doesn't matter at this point, Isabel. It might too late to reach them when the road is finally cleared," Max said, shaking his head.

Isabel just rolled her eyes and glanced to the side of the road. She notices a red car parked to the bank of the road, not too far from a motel. "Liz?" she says, and Liz looks at her. "What kind of a car does Maria have?" Isabel asked.

"Jetta. Why?" Liz asked.

Isabel started to get out of the car. "'Cause there's a red Jetta parked to the side of the road," she said, and started to walk to the motel. Max and Liz followed suit, but when they were halfway there, Liz abruptly stopped. Max turned to look at her and frowned. "Liz?" he asked.

Liz shook her head and gritted her teeth. ["What the hell is he doing here?"] she thought angrily. Apparently Richie had followed them this far, but he seemed to have kept his distance. Or Marcus had ordered him to follow her. She glanced back at the road, then continued to follow Max and Isabel. It took them a couple of minutes to find out where Michael and Maria were staying, but it was considerably quicker, thanks to Isabel's looks and 'persuasive' talk. Now they were standing in front of the motel room where Michael and Maria were, and Liz could feel Richie getting closer if the 'buzz' was any indication to it. "So, are we going to knock the door or just kick it in?" Liz asked nonchalantly, which earned questioning looks from Isabel and Max.

Isabel shook her head and put her hand to the doorknob, and unlocked it with her powers. "I think this would be more subtle, Liz," she said to the smaller girl. Liz scowls at Isabel and pushes to door open, and then she hears a yelp from Maria. She flips the lights on and Liz's, Max's and Isabel's eyes widen when they saw Maria lying on top of Michael. Maria blushed furiously and got up quickly, smoothing out her clothes.

Liz looks at Maria, then shifts her gaze to Michael, and then back at Maria. Liz raises an eyebrow to Maria. Maria is still looking at the three of them with wide eyes and speaks up. "What are you guys doing here?" she asks.

"Well...we thought that you were in trouble, but apparently we were wrong," Liz says, looking straight at Michael's grinning face.

Maria eyes widen and she pales. "What?! Nonononono, you don't think that I...?" she started to ask, but the looks on Liz's and the Evans's was pretty clear. She looks at Michael. "Would you tell them that nothing happening between us?"

"It's okay, honey, we don't have to hide anymore," Michael said soothingly, which earned a gasp from Maria, and a small giggle from Liz. Maria wasn't amused. She was angry, and started to hit Michael. Not painfully, but it was irritating Michael.

"I believe you," Isabel said, and Maria stopped hitting Michael and looked at her. "The day Michael calls anyone 'honey', it's the end of the world."

Michael rubbed the side of his head and stood up. He the glanced at Max and Isabel, and muttered, "I guess you're here to be supportive, as usual?"

Max shook his head and gave a stern look at Michael. "No, I'm here to clean up your mess, as usual. What were you thinking, Michael?" Max asked.

Michael glared at Max. "I was thinking 'I can't wait around for the 2 of you anymore'. You like Roswell, you like your family and you like your make-believe life. That's great, Maxwell," he said, throwing accusing glances at Max and Isabel. "Keep pretending, but don't think it's gonna last, 'cause one of these days, they're gonna find out about us, and when they do, everyone in this room..." Michael continued, but stopped when Richie stormed inside the room.

Liz rubs the bridge of her nose in irritation. The 'buzz' had been getting stronger every minute, and now he was here. Michael, Max, Isabel and Maria looked at Richie in confusion. Richie had an equally confused look on his face.

"Everyone in this room is what?" he asked, genuinely confused. Marcus had ordered him to follow Liz, just to make sure that she was safe. Now he was standing in a motel room with Liz, the Evans's, the spiky haired kid who constantly threw glares at him, and the blond waitress, Maria. Richie noticed that Liz was the only one who was irritated at him being there, and he had a pretty good guess why. Richie was pulled out from his thoughts when Michael growled, "Get out."

Richie just glanced at Michael, then looked at Liz. "Do YOU mind telling me what's going on here?" he asked.

"Richie, what are you doing here?" Liz asked, but she had a hunch why.

"Marcus told me to follow you, just in case you got into trouble," Richie said, then glanced around the room. "On the other hand, it seems to me that someone is planning an orgy," he commented, which earned gasps from the girls at present. Then all three of them yelled, "NO!!"

Richie held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok." Then his expression turned serious. "Seriously, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I said...get out!" Michael said through his clenched teeth. He was getting angry.

"Michael, don't," Max said sternly.

Richie narrowed his eyes to Michael. "Are you gonna make me?" he asked, imitating Michael's posture.

Michael advanced on Richie, and punched him with a right hook. Richie took a step backwards, and rubbed slightly at the impact spot. ["The guy is strong, but no where near as tough as Marcus or Liz. Or any other Immortal I've faced in the past,"] Richie thought, then he glared at Michael. "My turn," he said, and gave Michael same kind of punch that Michael had given him. The punch was strong enough to send Michael crashing against the wall. Richie advanced on Michael, but stopped when Liz pushed him back. "Stop it!" she said shortly, but strongly. She turned her head and noticed that Michael was going to start an all out brawl with Richie. "You too, Michael!" she said, giving a lot more menacing tone to her voice. Michael looked at Liz with an astonished look. He shifted his gaze back to Richie, and both men glared at each other. When Liz was satisfied that both men weren't going to start another fight, she walked to Michael and slapped him to the cheek, HARD. Both Maria and Isabel were gaping at Liz, and Max just looked shocked. Michael held his cheek and looked at Liz, who was still glaring at him. Richie was trying to stifle a laugh, but with not much success. His smile disappeared when Liz slapped him as well, with more force. Richie was silent for a while, but that didn't last. "AAAOOUUGH!!" he exclaimed. "Why did you do that for?" he asked from Liz, staring at her with eyes wide.

"Richie, I want you to go back to Roswell," Liz said evenly, and held her hand up when she noticed that Richie was going to object. "I can take care of myself. You tell Marcus that it was ME that forced you to leave. That should prevent him from getting too angry at you."

Richie rubbed his cheek and winced. Then he nodded. "Alright. Just make sure you tell him that," Richie said, and when Liz nodded, he walked away. Liz then turned her gaze to Michael, who was still rubbing his cheek, but still had a smug look on his face. "I hope you realize how easily you got off from this, Michael," she said to Michael.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, not getting it.

Liz put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Simple really. Do you have ANY idea how angry Marcus is at you?" she asked from Michael, who shook his head. "Well, I can tell you that he's angry enough to put your sorry ass in the hospital. Lucky for you *I* gave you enough punishment for pulling a stunt like this. Well, me and Maria anyway," Liz said, giving a smile to Maria. Maria blinked for a minute, not understanding what Liz meant.

"Look, it's been a long day. Come on, I'll take you guys home," Max said, gently pulling Liz with him.

Liz jerked her hand away. "No!" she said evenly.

Max looked at her with confusion. "No?" he asked.

Liz held her ground. "That's right, Max! No more secrets from us! Maria and I, we're part of this," she said, pointing her and Maria. "If we don't know everything, how are we supposed to protect ourselves? And how are we supposed to help you?"

"We don't need your help!" Michael said loudly.

Maria snorted. "Yeah, right! Next time, steal someone else's car and try getting away from it," she said, and held her ground even when Michael glared at her.

"Maria's right, Michael. You need us," Liz said, matching Michael's glare with her own.

Isabel sighed. "What do you want to know?" she asked.

Liz looked at Isabel. "Everything."

"That'll make you accomplices," Isabel said, trying to make these two humans to back away.

Liz folded her arms to her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Well?" she asked.

Max looked at Michael, then at Isabel. He looked back at Liz, and noticed that she and Maria were now standing side by side. He scratched the back of his head and started his tale. "Few weeks ago, Michael broke into Sheriff Valenti's office, trying to find that picture Marcus talked about. The one of the dead body with a silver handprint from 1959."

"It's the only proof we've ever had that there is another alien besides us out there. Unfortunately it seems that the FBI beat me to it," Michael said, sitting to the bed.

"I went there to get him out before Valenti caught him, but then Michael found a key. When he touched it, he had a vision," Max continued.

"Of the dome I showed you before," Michael said to Maria.

"The one in Marathon," Maria stated, and Michael nodded.

"So you guys think that this key is going to unlock the dome and then you guys are going to find something there? Something that's going to help you guys to figure out where you actually from?" Liz asked, putting the pieces together.

Max nodded. "Yes."

Liz looks at Maria, silently asking her opinion. Maria nods, and Liz smiles to her. Then she turns her gaze back to Max. "What are we waiting for?"

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

Marathon, Texas, 4th November, Tuesday, 4:23 a.m, James Atherton's home

The group had finally arrived at the dome house Michael had seen in his vision. Last night Max had managed to use his powers to save Maria's Jetta, and now it worked better than it did before, much to Maria's appreciation.

"It's just like you drew it, Michael," Isabel said, in awe.

Michael has a half-smile on his lips. "Told you it was something," he said. Then the group makes their way to the dome's front door. At least the door they THINK is the front door. Michael tries the key to the door, but it won't open. Michael looks at Max, and Max then uses his powers to unlock the door. They walk inside, and Maria waves her hand over her face, trying to clear the dusty air. When they got inside, they saw that the room was systematically searched. Not a single piece of furniture had been left unturned. "Someone has been looking for something specific, that's for sure," Liz stated, and Michael nodded in agreement when he looked around.

"What ever it was, they probably found it a long time ago," Max said, coming from one of the 'lightly' demolished rooms.

Isabel looks at Michael. "Try holding that key again," she said.

Michael nods, and focuses on the key. After a while, he shakes his head. "Nothing."

Maria walks next to him. "Try it again," she said, looking Michael to the eye.

Michael looks at her for a moment, but obliges. Now he does get a flash.

~*Flash*~

It's blurry, but there's a room. A hidden room.

~*End flash*~

Michael looked at Maria, then at Max. "There IS something in here. A room," he said.

"Where?" Max asked.

Michael shakes his head. "I don't know, it's hidden."

Everyone spreads out, stomping on the floors and banging on the walls. Michael examined a rock wall and noticed that there was a loose rock that was supposed to be a part of the wall. He pulled the rock away and found a keyhole in the wall. "Max, Isabel," Michael called out, getting their attention.

Meanwhile, outside Sheriff Valenti had parked his car and looked at the dome house.

Inside, Michael put the key to the lock on the wall, and turned it. A door opened to the wall and there was stairs going down. Michael looked at everyone, and then made his way down. The others followed shortly. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they could see lots of papers there, along with some boxes. Isabel noticed an old lamp hanging from the ceiling, and she used her powers to light it. Max and Michael look around for a while, then looked at each other. "Jackpot, Maximillian," Michael said.

Over them, Valenti was making his way inside the house, looking around. Liz heard his movements over her, and held her index finger in front of her mouth, telling them to be quiet. Valenti was looking at dusty furniture, when he was suddenly knocked out from behind. Topolski was towering over the Sheriff's fallen form, looking around. Unbeknownst to her, someone else was watching her from the doorway. Adam was leaning to the outer wall of the dome, holding his Glock 7 with a silencer in his right hand. Then he aims at Topolski with it.

TBC...

[Bored to Mundane life]

Okay, now we can finally get to the serious business. Special thanks to Asabetha, NewYorker18, LittleBit, ofwolfandman408, girlie_girl, Woobabys, Roswellian504, angeleyes, Roswelllostcause, LEL (x2), Lorilei, KEmperor, calphysics (x2), Eternal Dreamer, PhoenixFlamez and SilverWolfe. Extra thanks to NewYorker18 for beta-work. I'm working on part 20, but it's only halfway through at the moment. I'm hopeful that you readers don't have to wait too long for it.

Title: "Concept of Eternity"
Author: Bored to Mundane life
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. If they did, Alex would have lived on and season 3 would have been a lot more different. The only character that belongs to me is Marcus Thorne. I also hope that Bruce Dickinson doesn't mind if I use him in this fic.
Synopsis: Liz Parker is having just a regular day at the Crashdown, when suddenly an argument between two customers gets out of hand, and she's shot. She is raced quickly to the hospital, but she dies en route. But before she is considered as a lost cause, her heart starts beating. Later on, her history teacher, Marcus Thorne, tells her that she's an Immortal. She'll be then pulled into the life of the Immortals, better known as 'The Game'. With no way out. But her apparent resurrection has raised other peoples attention as well. And Liz suddenly finds out that she isn't the only one harboring a considerably large secret. But how does Max Evans, his sister Isabel and Michael Guerin fit into this?
Category: Crossover, Roswell/Highlander, strictly CC.
Rating: PG-13, probably R at some point.
Feedback: Definitely appreciated. And definitely needed, so I know that my writing isn't going to waste. Afterall, this IS my first fic.

PART 19:

Marathon, Texas, 4th November, Tuesday, 4:43 a.m, James Atherton's home

Max, Michael, Isabel, Liz and Maria were looking up, trying to remain quiet. Problem was, that the door that lead to this hidden room was still open, and it wouldn't take too long from whoever was up there to notice it. Michael grabbed a empty box and started to grab various papers and stuff them into the box. Max looked at Michael with confusion, and when Michael noticed it, he sighed. "Whoever's up there looking for us, isn't going to stop until they find us. I'm going to find out everything I can before they do," he said quietly. Max nodded and started to grab papers as well.

Above them, Topolski looked around, aiming her flashlight to various directions. Hills still held his aim to her head, but maintained his silence. When the cell he had confiscated from the agent he had killed had started ringing, he had removed the battery from the cell and tossed it out from the window at the proper point. Apparently the agent had been more than informative about where Liz and her friends were heading, since Topolski was here. There was only one problem. Sheriff Valenti. True, he could off Topolski and drag her body away, but he had no idea how long Valenti would be unconscious, and judging by the slight stir from him, it seemed that he hadn't been hit that hard. He cursed silently when he noticed that Sheriff's eyes were stirring as well, indicating Sheriff's approach to the real world, with a mighty headache. Adam hid his weapon in his jacket and started to make his way to his car. He had done the smart thing and parked the car a good distance away from the Jetta and the Jeep, just a precaution in case the kids would return sooner than expected, or someone else had followed the kids. Adam had been caught off guard when the Sheriff had appeared there, but not too much when Topolski arrived a couple of minutes later. He had reached his car now, which had a decent view to the house, but no one would be able to see him if they didn't walk to this direction, and that seemed very improbable at the time, considering the fact that the cars currently parked were in the different direction.

Meanwhile, Topolski had finally noticed the secret doorway that lead to the hidden room. She frowned from confusion, because the agents from the Special Unit had been very thorough with their search at the time, and they hadn't found anything like this.

In the hidden room, Max and Michael were still grabbing as much of the papers as they could. Isabel helped out on the occasion. Liz was trying to keep Maria calm, because she was slightly panicking. Then Maria saw a rat crawling not too far from them and she started to scream. Or at least she tried, but Liz had clamped her mouth with her hand, silencing her slightly. Maria's scream was muffled quite effectively, but then Liz saw something else. The rat was scurrying behind a plastic cover, and Liz could have sworn that she saw an some form of an entry way there. She looked at Maria, who glared at Liz for not removing her hand. Liz smiled apologetically, and removed her hand. Maria was about to say something, but Liz made her way to the plastic cover, which obviously was covering something. She pulled it aside, and her eyes widened when she realized that she was looking at a tunnel. Hopefully it would lead outside. She turned and whispered, "Max." At first he didn't hear her, and she increased her voice as much as she could. "Max!" she whispered more demandingly, and finally got Max's attention. He glanced to Liz, and noticed the tunnel Liz was gesturing with her hand. Max grabbed a few more papers and stuffed them to the box. Michael was still trying to find more papers, but he couldn't see anymore of them. Max tapped Michael to his shoulder and pointed at the tunnel, and Michael nodded. Liz had went to the tunnel first, and she beckoned Maria behind her. "Come on, Maria!"

Michael went after the two human girls, pushing the box in front of him as fast as he could. Max went after him, and Isabel started to follow them, but noticed something in the corner of her eye. It was a pendant. Almost identical to the one Marcus had, but it had differences. This one was slightly broken, and the image was different. Whereas Marcus's pendant had an image that resembeled a saturn, this one had something that resembeled a whirlwind. Isabel took the pendant and looked it more closely. She was sure she had seen the symbol before, even the one on Marcus's pendant, but she just couldn't remember where. She was pulled out from her thoughts when Max beckoned her to follow him urgently. In the meantime, Liz, Maria and Michael had already reached the end of the tunnel, and Michael had already reached the surface. Liz was the second one, holding the box in one hand while climbing the ladder. She managed to push the box to the surface, and Michael took it out from Liz's way. When Liz had gotten to the surface, Maria came next, and after a while, so did Max and Isabel. The group then made their way quickly to their two cars and sped off. Topolski's head popped up from the manhole a while later, just in time for her to see the two cars sped away with dust flying. Topolski cursed out loudly, then made her way to her own car. This wasn't her lucky day at all. The agent she had requested had suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, and his cell was unreachable, which in itself was strange, considering the fact that he had used his cell to let her know that the tires in his car had been demolished. How, he hadn't been certain, and the fact that Sheriff Valenti had been at the dome house was also bad enough. She hadn't killed him, just knocked his lights out. She walked to her car, and sped off, trying to get to Roswell as soon as she could. About few minutes later, Sheriff Valenti came out from the house, holding his head. Just in time to see someone drive away. He grimaced. The headache from the hit was still ringing in his ears, and the room underneath the dome house was empty. Valenti decided to get to the bottom of this and soon, but now he would be just content to get the hell out from there, and fast. Soon he was driving back to Roswell as well. The only one left now was Adam, and he lingered a bit before he headed to Roswell as well. He went through the events in his head. For some reason, Liz had followed the Evans siblings to this county, and he still had no idea why. If what Adam had observed was correct, the three had followed Mr. Guerin and Ms. DeLuca here, for reasons unknown. Then Sheriff had shown up here as well, apparently following the trail the kids had left behind, and Topolski wasn't too far behind him, possibly following the trail her agent had left her. Or possibly used the information at hand and used some of the older records the FBI possibly had about this location, but Adam wasn't sure. Unfortunately these facts didn't help his situation at the moment. The Sheriff was now investigating as well, but whom, Adam couldn't guess. Probably the Evans's and Guerin kid, but Adam couldn't be sure. If that was the case, Adam could sigh from relief, but that left Ms. Topolski to deal with. He had checked the place from the Watcher databanks to find out about the person who had lived there, but it turned out to be a home for an UFO author, with no connections to the Immortals OR Watchers. That was a relief for Adam, but it still raised questions. Questions which Adam intended to get answers, but at the moment he would just monitor the situation. Topolski so far didn't threaten the existence of Immortals, but that would change soon, he was sure of it. Because there was one thing he had learned as a Watcher, and that was that secrets would always come to the surface, sooner or later. The trick was to get to know those secrets yourself and then do what ever resources one had to keep the secret as it was. A secret. That would mean that Adam would have to wait that either Marcus or Liz would find out about him, and Adam knew that the older Immortal knew that they had a Watcher present, but Adam was sure Marcus didn't know his identity. That would buy him some time, but not much.

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

Highway 285, 5:51 a.m.

The group was heading back to Roswell, but they all seemed to be deep in thought. Well, at least Liz was. ["It feels weird, you know. Here were my plans for the last night - after finishing the assignment, finish my shift, dinner with my parents, training session with Marcus, talk with Maria about half an hour, then focus on the issue I've been having with Geometry, and then probably exercise a bit, after I would have taped the A&E biography from Madame Curie with timer. Instead, I took off in an open-air vehicle that probably shouldn't be allowed on the road to begin with (not that it would matter to me, being Immortal and all), broke into a house, essentially stole things from it and engaged in general bonding with aliens (and if Marcus finds out, he will be MORE angry than he already is). Welcome to my world,"] Liz thought absent-mindedly, and glanced at Max and Isabel. Isabel was sleeping, albeit unconfortably. Max was driving, but even a blind man could see the intensity in his eyes. He was thinking, but what, who knows. And then there was the Immortal woman Liz had seen when they had been stuck on the road. ["Where she was going? Why didn't she come and talk to me? WHO is she?"] Those were the questions Liz would like to get an answer, but unfortunately she didn't have anything to go on, aside from the rather unique looks she gave to everyone who saw her. ["It seems that I will be bombarding Marcus with more questions than I intended to,"] she thought.

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

Meanwhile, Maria's Jetta

Michael was driving the Jetta at the moment, and thankfully he now knew some 'specific' details how to run this particular car, so it wan't going to get broken anytime soon. Not to mention the fact that both Max and Isabel had used their powers to fix the car, so it was now running smoothly. Michael glanced at Maria, and was surprised that she had been looking at him. Apparently for some time, and very discreetly.

"What?" Michael said, startling Maria a bit.

"Um...well, it's just funny how surprising things can get. All this time that I've known you, I've always thought of you as...like this guy, you know," Maria said, and Michael raised an confused eyebrow to her. "I mean like this weird guy from the other side of the tracks, going nowhere with his life, which you still are, by the way, but...what I didn't realize was that there's this whole other side of you."

Michael looked at Maria for a moment. "What, that I'm from 'up there', so to speak," he said, pointing to the cars roof with his index finger.

Maria tilted her head. "Well, there's that, but putting that aside...underneath that weird, poorly bathed exterior of yours, there's this whole...deeply wounded, vulnerable guy," she said, and kept looking him to his eyes.

Michael was feeling intimated, and he didn't like that one bit. "Listen, in terms of what happened yesterday between us, that was because we were on the road. Ok, so we talked. That's it," he said, cutting the communication short.

Maria nodded. "Of course," she said, and turned to look outside from the side window. Then she sharply turned to look at him. "Wait a minute. You think something happened between us?" she asked, and Michael stared at her for a moment, but didn't answer. Then he turned his gaze back to the road, muttering something under his breath.

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

Evans Household, 7:24 a.m, Isabel's bedroom

Isabel is going through some of her familys old photo albums. The symbol in the pendant she took from Atherton's house had been eerily familiar, and Isabel didn't believe for a minute that it would be a coincidence. Then she found the photo she had been searching for. She looked it for a while, and then at the pendant. She took the photo and headed to Max's bedroom. He was going through some of the papers they had managed to get from the Atherton's house as well. He glanced up and saw Isabel.

"What is it?" he asked.

Isabel sat down his bed. "You remember when Mom and Dad took us to Florida couple of years ago?" she asked.

Max thought it for a minute, then he winced. "Yeah, you had sunstroke all of August and I sprained my ankle on the shuffleboard court," he said.

Isabel shook her head. "Before that. We were on the beach one day, and we drew it together," she said, but Max furrowed his brow when he tried to remember. "Do you remember that?" she asked.

Max shook his head slightly, but he still didn't remember anything like that. "Symbol?" he asked.

"Think," Isabel said, exasperated. "We had never seen it before, but somehow we drew it together. We both knew what it was supposed to look like. Why did we both knew that symbol, Max?" she asked.

Max was confused. "Isabel, where is this coming from?" he asked.

Isabel handed Max a piece of paper. "Draw it," she said, although it sounded like a command.

"What?" Max asked, not getting it.

"Close your eyes and try to draw it," Isabel instructed.

"But I don't remember it," Max said, trying to reason with Isabel.

"Draw it," Isabel said evenly, locking her gaze with Max. The 'Ice Queen' glare always worked, because Max closed his eyes and drawed the symbol on the paper. Isabel then took the paper and looks it through, then she shows Max the photo and the picture Max drew. They match almost completely. Max is amazed by this.

"What made you think this?" he asked, taking the photo and looking at it a bit more thoroughly.

Isabel shows him the pendant. "I found this from the Atherton's house," she said. Max looks at the pendant, and although it was slightly broken, the symbol was still visible. Then they heard Mrs. Evans calling, and Isabel hid the pendant.

"Hello! Where is everydoby?" Diane Evans called out, and then came to Max's room. "Oh, here you are. You kids ready for breakfast?" she asked.

Max didn't say anything, and Isabel managed to say, "Morning."

Diane looked at both children thoughtfully, and said, "You two look exhausted. How late were you last night? I didn't even hear you come in."

Max shruggs sheepishly. "Sorry, we lost track of time when we were cramming for that math midterm," he said, and Isabel nodded in agreement.

Diane sighed. "Well, just do me a favor, ok? Next time when you're studying late, do it here?" she asked, and both of her children nodded. "Ok, let's get a move on. I don't want you to be late from school."

"Ok, we'll be down in a sec," Isabel said, and when Diane was out of earshot, she turned to Max. "I hate lying to her."

Max nodded. "I know, but the alternative would be worse. Besides, we don't know how they would react," he said.

Isabel sighed in irritation, but then thought something. "Max, what about the pendant Mr. Thorne has? I mean, the symbol is different, but the pendant itself is almost identical to this one," she said.

Max scrathed the back of his head, deep in thought. "I don't know. I don't think he lied to us about the way he got it, but maybe we should figure out WHERE he got it. That might provide us with some clues," he said, and Isabel nodded in agreement. Then they made their way downstairs.

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

West Roswell High, 9:48 a.m, school hallway

"The thing about Michael is that...he's weird, but surprisingly interesting," Maria said to Liz when they were walking at the hallway. Since last night, Maria had gotten interested to find out WHO exactly Michael Guerin was. The little she found out about Michael told her that he was by far a lot more complex man then meets the eye.

"He's interesting?" Liz asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, not interesting to me, obviously," Maria said, after she had pondered Liz's question for a while.

Liz nodded and a smirk crept to her lips. "Oh, yes, obviously," she said, but her mind kept telling her that Maria was talking WAY too much about Michael than was healthy.

"I mean, there are number of reasons why it could never work. His hair, his personality and the fact that he was hatched," Maria said, but wondered why Liz was smirking.

Liz's smirk disappeared and she looked at Maria with worry. "Maria, could you please tell me what happened at the motel?" she asked.

Maria sighed. They had been through this. "Liz, I already told you, nothing happened."

Liz worry didn't waver, though she did believe her. Last night, Liz, Max and Isabel had found Michael and Maria, the scene was NOT exactly as...threatening as she had thought. And the blush that shone from Maria's face was giving SOME ideas to Liz what had happened there, but she believed Maria when she said that nothing happened. Just the fact that Michael behaved like the arrogant 'I'm-superior-than-thou' persona as he always did was more than enough to support Maria's statement. She just needed to be sure. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Maria looked Liz to the eyes. "Nothing physical, although it wasn't very verbal, either. What Michael and I share...it's non-verbal. Michael is the type of person my mom likes to refer as a vibrator," she said.

Liz laughed a bit, then stifled it by bringing her hand over her mouth. She managed to ask, "A vibrator?"

Maria shook her head. "You know what I mean, Liz," she said, but Liz kept giggling and shook her head, indicating that she didn't have a clue what Maria was talking about. "He's someone who communicates by, well, sending vibes out in the atmosphere," she said, though she felt a bit embarrassed by the way Liz took her statement.

Liz didn't laugh anymore, but she was smiling broadly. "What kind of 'vibes' was he sending you?" she asked, noticing how Maria blushed slightly to her question.

"Well...vibes that are...you know..." Maria started, but was interrupted by Marcus.

"Do I REALLY want to hear that statement?" he said, which earned a startled gasp from Maria, but not from Liz. From the obvious reasons.

Maria took a couple of deep breaths, and then glared at Marcus. "What is WRONG with you?" she asked, and Marcus raised a confused eyebrow to this. "Could you, like, ONCE in your life just, you know, make noise when you appear behind us?"

Marcus snorted, and shifted his gaze to Liz. "WE need to talk," he said evenly, and Liz nodded in agreement. "Come to my office at 11:30 sharp," he said, and walked away.

Maria kept her gaze on Marcus for a while, then turned to look at Liz. "What was that about?" she asked, but Liz didn't answer.

"Maria, you remember how Richie suddenly appeared into the motel room you and Michael rented?" Liz asked, and Maria nodded. "Well, Marcus had ordered him to follow us, just in case I got into trouble or something."

Maria stared at Liz plankly for a moment, then she shook her head. "You know, I always thought that Marcus exaggerated the fact that you are like a daughter to him, but I was SO wrong. He definitely acts like Jeff would if he had found out," she said.

"Well, there's that, and then there's the fact that Marcus hates the 'you-know-who' with a vengeance, and he hasn't told me why," Liz said, having a concerned look in her eyes.

Maria thought it over, and she remembered something. It was when she had a fender-bender with the Sheriff some time ago, courtesy from 'Ice Queen'. Anyway, on one particular night Maria had had a nightmare about the aliens, and the next day Isabel had said things that she had said herself in her nightmare. She had brushed that thought away, but now she had to wonder. "Maybe one of them did something to him to make Marcus angry at them," Maria suggested, and Liz had nod in agreement. Liz knew that Michael had managed to get onto the bad side of Marcus before, when he stole his pendant, but recently Michael hadn't been that reckless when Marcus was in question. Still, there was a small chance that either Max or Isabel could have done something to aggravate the older man. In a grand scale, considering the open hostility he had showed to the three aliens for some time now.

Maria looked at her clock. "Ok, I probably see you at Max and Isabel's later," she said, and started to head to her class.

Liz frowned from confusion. "Wait, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"You know, to go through those files they brought with them. Michael said they'd pick me up after school, so..." Maria said.

Liz looked at Maria for a second. "Oh," she answered plankly. "Ok, I'll be there."

Maria nodded and continued her walk to her class. Liz headed to other class, wondering what would Marcus have to say for her.

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

West Roswell High, 9:58 a.m, Topolski's office

Topolski was exercising in her office, using a treadmill, while she was talking with Agent Stevens. The reason Stevens had called was that he was very unhappy for the way Agent Topolski had handled her job so far.

"Things are under control, sir," Topolski said to the hands-free set, that acted as a telephone's receiver and transmitter. Topolski wondered why would Stevens call her in the first place. True, she had focused her attention to the Parker girl, but the Evans's had also behaved rather...suspiciously. At least that was her opinion, because of the fact that they had been at the Atherton's house, and apparently they had even found something. Agent Stevens's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Agent Topolski, do you understand the assignment that was given to you?" Stevens asked Topolski.

"Yes, sir. I do," Topolski answered, though she wondered what was that about.

"Repeat it," Stevens commanded, confusing Topolski.

"Excuse me?" Topolski asked, not understanding what had crawled up Stevens's ass and died there.

"Your assignment," Stevens clarified. "Repeat it to me."

Topolski frowned, but in despite her confusion, she did as she was told. "The assignment is to observe the subjects and determine whether or not the theories about them are substantiated."

"You seem to be forgetting something, Agent," Stevens said, and Topolsi frowned. Even though her thoughts were working overtime to solve the puzzle that was her boss at the moment, she was still able to exercise. "The word COVERTLY. To COVERTLY observe the subjects to determine whether or not the theories about them are substantiated. COVERTLY!!"

Topolski flinched to the tone Stevens used, but still kept her pace. "I've been acting covertly," Topolski said.

"Drop-kicking the sheriff. You call that covertly?" Stevens asked, not even slightly amused. "Not to mention the fact that the agent you ordered to follow the Evans's and the Parker girl is dead."

"The sheriff was endangering my..." Topolski started, but stopped when her brain registered what Stevens had said. "Wait a minute. Agent Cavanaugh is dead?" she asked.

"That's right, Agent," Stevens answered, and Topolski stopped the treadmill. She was leaning to the rail now, trying to process this information.

"Was it Nasedo?" Topolski asked.

There was silence. "No," was a simple answer.

"No?" Topolski asked, not understanding.

"So far Nasedo has killed our agents with his powers, leaving that silver handprint behind. Agent Cavanaugh was shot from point-blank range. Two bullets into the chest, and both bullets tore his heart apart. Whoever killed Cavanaugh was human," Stevens clarified, and Topolski's mind started racing, even more so then it already was.

"Who told you about this?" she asked.

"The El Paso police received a call about 3:04 a.m. Apparently a family who was heading to Phoenix from San Antonio had located the body. They had pulled over at the drive-thru mart and stopped there to rest for a while. Their dog had found the body first, then the 14-year-old kid who had gone to search the dog. His parents then called the local authorities, and they called me about half-an-hour ago," Stevens said, and Topolski thought it over. Then she thought something.

"Sir, why didn't the El Paso police contacted us immediately after they had found him?" she asked.

"Because it took them a while to get the results from his fingerprints. Agent Cavanaugh wasn't carrying anything that could have helped to ID him," Stevens said.

Topolksi frowned. "Sir, that can't be right. True, we were working covertly, but Agent Cavanaugh had no reason to leave his badge behind, and he called with his cell at 19:52 p.m, telling me that the had been spotted and that his car was disabled," she said, and Stevens was silent for a while.

"I'm still waiting for the coroner's report, but...sorry, Agent, but I have another call," Stevens informed, and put Kathleen on hold. Topolski thought the evidence she had through. Agent had been killed, presumably by human, if the fact that the agent was shot to death had any credibility. Nasedo COULd have killed the agent, but she was well aware that both hers and Stevens's superior was tracking Nasedo at the Georgia state at the moment, so Nasedo was out of the question. ["Then who did it? Not the Evans's or the Parker, because they drove away before Agent called me,"] she thought, then she heard Stevens's voice from the headset.

"That was the El Paso police. They had just performed an autopsy to the agent, and verified the fact that agent was indeed shot to death. Two bullets into the heart from point-blank range. The coroner also estimated that agent had been dead at least 7 hours before he was found," Stevens said, and Topolski's eyes widened.

"That means that he was killed not too long after he called me and told me the general direction where the Evans's and the Parker girl were heading," Topolski said, and Stevens agreed.

"That's right, Agent. Have you seen anything that would suggest that you have been followed?" Stevens asked.

"No, sir, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Whoever killed Cavanaugh is good, REALLY good if they were able to follow him without him being aware of it. Tell you the truth, sir, there WAS something that caught my attention when I got here. The lights in the motel room I was living when I got here were on, when I was positive that I had turned them off. You probably remember that detail?" Topolski said, and Stevens had to thought it over before he answered. "Well, what if it wasn't a maid who had been there? What if it was whoever killed Agent Cavanaugh?"

"That could be possible, Agent. All right, here are your new orders. First, keep a VERY close eye on anything that might seem suspicious to you, and I don't mean the suspects at the moment. I want to find out WHO is spying on you and interfering our investigation. Second, find out what those kids took from Atherton's house. Whatever they found from there, I want it. So get it. Whatever the kids are doing right now, I want to know about it. Do you UNDERSTAND, Agent Topolski?" Stevens said.

"Crystal, sir," Topolski answered, standing straight.

"By ANY means necessary, Agent," Stevens said, and Topolski acknowledged it, with even tone. "Oh, by the way. I may have something from Ms. Parker and from that history teacher who lives there."

Topolski frowned. "Mr. Sommers or Mr. Thorne?" she asked, because the school had two history teachers, and they both had VERY different teaching methods.

"Mr. Thorne, but I won't tell you any details on the phone. Expect me to arrive there before the end of the month, Agent," Stevens said.

"You're coming here, sir?" Topolski asked, surprised that her superior would bother to come to Roswell.

"Yes, Agent, I will come there. The information I found out is too...'wild' to be talked over the phone, and this line may NOT be secure enough if there is someone spying on you, Agent. Goodbye," Stevens said, before terminating the call.

Topolski pulled the headset away and thought over the information she now had in her disposal. Someone was following her, and this one was EXTREMELY good. She had grossly understated the skills of the shadow she had, because he/she was, a real shadow. Topolski had no idea what so ever WHO this person could be, but it was obvious that her suspects were completely unaware of this person. If they DID knew about his/her presence, they were performing one hell of a good act about it. Then she thought about the last piece of the conversation. ["What does Mr. Thorne has to do with this? Then again, Ms. Parker definitely isn't an alien, that's for certain. I know she's not fully human, either, but I need proof. I wonder what Stevens found?"] she thought. She walked to her desk and dialed a number. Since the agent she had originally called for her aid had died, she needed to get another one as a replacement.

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

West Roswell High, 11:30 a.m, Thorne's office

"Would you mind explaining me WHY Richie came back last night, when I SPECIFICALLY ordered him to keep an eye on you?" Thorne asked, his face betraying nothing from the anger he was feeling, but his eyes were practically glowing.

Liz sighed. "Marcus, I can take care of myself. Besides, it's not like I was alone," she said.

Marcus's jaw twitched, and Liz wondered what could possibly be wrong now. "Really?" he asked, knowing all TOO well with whom she was with. "Tell me with EXACT detail WHAT warranted you to force Richie to get back to Roswell."

"I wasn't in any danger, if that's what you are worried about. Besides, I can take care of Michael. He's not as dangerous as he let's other people think," Liz said, but she had a feeling that when she would tell about the Immortal she had seen, Marcus would go ballistic.

"Yeah, Mr. Guerin isn't exactly someone to be considered as a threat to either of us, but there are 'other' factors to consider as hostile. YOU know that," Marcus said evenly, but Liz could have sworn that Marcus was angry from something else.

"Look, I know you feel the need to protect me, but if I need constant surveillance, how am I going to survive when my training is finished?" Liz asked, and was able to shut Marcus up for a moment. Liz gave a mental pat on her back for that.

Marcus cracked his knuckles, then looked Liz straight to the eyes. Liz knew what he was doing. He was studying her, trying to find out if something else had happened on her little 'road trip'.

"What else happened there, Liz?" Marcus asked.

Liz sighed. "I met another Immortal," she admitted, and expected Marcus to explode, but that didn't happen. Liz wondered about it.

"Did you get a good look at him?" Marcus asked, knowing what she was thinking. If she HAD met another Immortal, it was a good possibility that he wasn't a headhunter. The worst ones didn't give a damn about the civilians, and Liz had been unarmed. A treat a headhunter would NOT have missed.

"The Immortal was a SHE, Marcus, and yes, I did get a good look at her," Liz said, and Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" he queried, and Liz realized that she should tell Marcus what did the woman look like.

"She was as tall as Isabel, or possibly shorter. She was physically in her early 30's, wearing a long gray trench coat, red shirt and leather pants. She had a long auburn hair with blue highlights. The weirdest part was her eyes," Liz said, but Marcus so far hadn't made any indication that he would know this Immortal. "Her eyes were dark blue, but I could be wrong. It was pretty dark there, and the wasn't that much light to be sure."

Marcus blinked. "Dark blue eyes?" he asked, and Liz nodded. "Aurora," he muttered silently, but Liz heard him.

"Aurora?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's her name. I have to admit, I don't know that much about her, except that she's at least 600 years old, maybe a bit younger," Marcus said, and Liz's eyebrows rose for this information. "Where did you see her?" he asked, curious why Aurora was so close to Roswell.

"Did you hear about the 18-wheeler that had jack-knifed at Crown Gulch?" Liz asked, and Marcus nodded his head. "Well, me, Max and Isabel were stuck at the roadblock, and I kinda saw Aurora talking with the same police officer whom Isabel was talking to as well."

Marcus pondered the information carefully. "Liz, I haven't seen the woman for a while, and by Immortal standards, that's a long time," he said, and Liz raised an eyebrow to this. "Last time I saw her was at the start of the 19th century."

Liz nodded, mouthing an silent 'Oh'. "Do you know why she was there?" she asked, and Marcus shook his head.

"Liz, I have no idea why she was there. The only thing I know about her is that she had a thing going on with Bruce some 400 years ago. Don't know what happened, but I haven't ever seen her with Bruce, and what little I DID hear from him told me that their...'relationship' was loose at best. I can only guess her reasons, but that doesn't mean a damn thing at this point," Marcus said, then straightened himself. "You can go for your lunch now, I bet that Ms. DeLuca is worried sick right about now. I'll see if I can figure out a way that'll allow you to carry your sword without causing too much attention."

Liz nodded, but didn't leave immediately. "Um, Marcus," Liz said, and Marcus looked at her, frowning. "The reason why Michael 'borrowed' Maria's car was because he, Max and Isabel found this place that could hold some answers to where they come from. Now they have a box full of papers with them and Maria somehow managed to get Michael to agree that she could help out. Maria then asked me if I would be there, and I agreed. I was wondering if..." Liz said, and Marcus stopped her.

"That I would come with you and help out as well?" he finished Liz's sentence, and Liz nodded. Marcus shook his head. "No. That's not my problem. Besides, if they want help, they should ASK it directly. Otherwise I won't raise a finger to help them," Marcus said evenly.

Liz nodded sadly and left the office. When she was gone, Marcus pondered this development. ["She bumped into another Immortal not too long after she had left Roswell, even for a day. I can't even think what would have happened if the Immortal would have been a headhunter,"] he thought, and then walked out from the office.

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

Not too far from the Evans Household, 14:42 p.m.

Max, Isabel and Michael are heading to the Evans household. Michael was actually feeling anxious to be able to look through the files, but there was a slight detail that was bothering him. Liz. She had slapped him, for Christ's sake! And not too gently, either. Then again, Michael never consireded himself as a violent man, but he could take care of himself in a fight if need to be. Richie and Marcus, now those two men were exceptions. They could mop the floor with Michael, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Heck, Michael was positive that even Liz could beat him into a pulp, and that wouldn't do good to his ego. Michael glanced at Max, and noticed that he was thinking something. ["Probably Liz,"] Michael thought, but couldn't exactly hold it against Max. Michael was thinking about Liz as well, but strictly from the image she was giving to him. Ever since he had returned Liz's journal, Michael was positive that Liz was covering something up as well, but he valued his health too much to find out more. Marcus was a decent man, albeit he was proned to drastic actions if provoked. Richie was a mystery to Michael. Max had said that Richie had beat the crap out from the three jocks who had assaulted Max, and after the punch he had gotten from Richie last night, Michael didn't doubt Max's statement for a minute. ["If I want to find out what is going on, I have to be REALLY discreet, but how am I going to do that?"] Michael asked from himself, but he quickly ignored that thought when he remembered the conversation he had with Maria at school. Maria was someone who Michael could admit that he had something in common with. They BOTH wanted to be anywhere else but Roswell, New Mexico, like yesterday. Then he remembered what he had promised to Maria, and wondered how Isabel and Max would react. "So...there's kind of a lot of stuff to go through?" he said, and both Isabel and Max glanced at him with questioning looks. "The files."

"We'll do it piece by piece, the three of us," Max said, focusing his gaze back to the road.

Michael started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "The three of us...right," he said, and Isabel looked at him a bit more closely.

"Is there something wrong, Michael?" Isabel asked, and Max gives a sideway glance to his sister.

"No, it's just that...well, there's some other people that might want to help out with that stuff," Michael said, scolding himself for letting Maria to worm her way into this.

Isabel raised an eyebrow. "SOME other people?" she asked.

Michael shrugged. "You know, that Maria girl," he said, then turned his gaze away from Isabel.

"That Maria girl?" Isabel asked, feeling slightly offended by the way Michael talked about Maria.

"Anyway, it should be just the three of us," Michael then said hastily, hoping that Max would back him up.

"Probably," Max said, but wondered if Liz would have wanted to help.

Michael sighed. "Yeah, that's what I figured," he said, but decided to lack tact for the moment. "Actually, I sort of told her that we were going to pick her up."

Isabel looked at Michael sharply. "You did WHAT!?"

Michael looked at Isabel with offended look. "Hey, she pushed it, alright! She has this whole 'don't-mess-with-me' attitude going on," Michael said, but only earned curious look from Isabel. Max just looked Michael through the rear-view mirror. "She's like a...a real vibrator," Michael said, and Isabel only barely managed to stifle a laugh, which sounded like a snort. Max decided to keep his gaze on the road. "She keeps sending these vibes. It's..." Michael continued, but Max stopped him.

"Michael, she can't come look through the stuff. It's just us, that's all," Max said evenly.

Michael nodded in agreement. "I know, I know. There's just one problem," he said quietly, but Max heard it.

"What kind of problem?" Max asked, not understanding what Michael was talking about.

"You DO realize that what I told to Maria, she will tell Liz, right?" Michael said, and Max's grip to the steering wheel tightened. He had completely forgotten about that. He already knew that whatever Liz found out, she would tell Marcus. That could be a problem.

"Just call Maria and tell her that she can't come," Max said, though inwardly he knew that he probably would pay for this.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You really are going to go against Thorne with this, are you?" he said, looking at Max. "Because I can tell you now, it's not only VERY un-healthy, but also extremely dangerous."

"Just make the call, Michael. I can handle Thorne," Max said in a tone that clearly said 'End of discussion'.

Michael shook his head. "What ever you say, Maxwell, but don't expect me to back you up when Thorne comes to give his own HEAVY opinion," Michael said, and then turned to Isabel. "Can I borrow your cell, Iz?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Fine, but make sure that she doesn't blabber too much, because I'm low on minutes," she said, and gave her cell to Michael.

Michael was just about ready to dial her number, when they noticed that there was couple of police cars parked to Evans's driveway, and also lot of people looking at the commotion. Isabel had a worried expression, and she said out loud, "What's going on?"

Max pulled the jeep over, not too far from their home. "We better go find out," he said, then turned to Michael. "Michael, you should get out of here."

Michael nodded curtly and got out from the jeep. Isabel on the other hand looked even more worried. She looked at Max. "Wait. Are you sure we should go in there?" she asked.

"It's where we live, Isabel. We don't have a choice," Max said.

Michael grimaced and shook his head. "I don't like this," he said plainly.

Max turned to look at Michael. "Just go, Michael. We'll meet later at the Crashdown," he said, and Michael nodded and left. Max then drove the rest of the way to their home, and both siblings were greeted by Sheriff Valenti.

"Mr. Evans. Isabel. I'm afraid I have some bad news to you," he said politely, and told them what had happened.

Few minutes later, Isabel and Max rush to the living room, where Diane Evans is looking at the mess with a bewildered look. Isabel hugs her mom and Max looks at the mess himself. Diane pulled away from Isabel's hug. "Oh, Izzie, Max. They robbed the house."

"The sheriff told us. When did it happen?" Isabel asked, looking at the utter mess as well.

Diane shook her head. "This morning, I guess. I stopped by at the house during my lunch break, whoever did this was already gone," she said.

"Are you alright?" Max asked.

Diane nodded. "I'm alright, just a bit shaken," she said.

Max looked around. "What did they take?" he asked.

"The tv, the stereo. I haven't looked at the bedrooms yet. I called your dad. He's on his way," Diane said.

Max and Isabel exchanged a look, then Isabel turned to her mother when Max already was heading to his room. "We're going to go check our rooms," she said, and Diane nodded.

When Isabel finally got to Max's room, she noticed that it was practically torn apart in comparison to the mess downstairs. Max shook his head. "The box is gone."

Isabel shook her head. "They didn't come for the tv, did they, Max?" she asked, and Max nodded his head in agreement. "Someone knew what we had here, and whoever broke here wanted it."

Then the sheriff walked in, and said politely, "Sorry for the interruption." Then he looked at the damage in the room, and he was surprised. "Wow. I can only guess what it must be like to have your house broken into like this. A real violation."

Isabel nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"Actually, nothing seems to be missing," Max lied, but the sheriff didn't quite believe him. After Valenti had woken up at that abandoned dome house, he had checked out who had owned it. Then he had went to Milton Ross, a local who had plenty of information about anything relating UFO's. Milton had told him about Atherton, and how he had disappeared 1959. According to Milton, Atherton had supposedly managed to make contact with aliens, but then he had simply...vanished. After that little talk, he had went by his house to find a certain photo. True, Thorne had seen a picture of a body with a silver handprint on it, but no one knew that Valenti had TWO pictures from TWO different bodies, who BOTH had a silver handprint on their chests. Unlike on the picture Thorne had seen, the other picture showed clearly the body's face. Valenti had compared the picture of Atherton to the picture from the corpse, and it had matched. Now he wondered what were these kids doing in the late Atherton's house from the begin with, and did they know something what had happened to him? Now the boy was lying to him, which clearly meant that he had something to hide.

"That's odd. This room has been ransacked worse then the rest of the house. It makes you think that whoever did this was looking something in particular," sheriff said, looking Max straight to his eyes.

Max shook his head, not rising to the bait. "They didn't take anything."

Valenti then turned to Isabel. "What about your room?" he asked.

"Actually, I haven't checked my room yet," Isabel said.

Sheriff raised an eyebrow. "You checked your brother's room before you checked your own? Why is that?" he asked, but Diane had arrived there and she had heard Valenti's question, and to her it sounded like an interrogation.

"Sheriff, excuse me, but why are you questioning my children?" Diane said, causing the sheriff to wince for the tone of her voice. "We're the victims here."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to interrogate anybody. I just wanted to make sure that we do a thorough investigation. Sometimes seemingly meaningless details can be important," sheriff said, and Diane nodded.

"Right. I understand."

"I'm going to go and check my room," Isabel said, and left Max's room. She opened the door to her room, and was surprised that it was almost as clean as she had left it. There were some items lying haphazardly on the ground and her closets were messed up, but other than that, it was in better condition than the rest of the house. She gasped when she heard a knock on the door. She turned around and noticed a deputy there.

Deputy Owen realized that he had startled the girl and apologized. "I'm sorry, Ms. Evans. I just needed to take a statement. I can come back later."

Isabel nodded. "Ok."

Owen was about to leave, when he noticed that pendant Isabel was wearing. "Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing at the pendant.

Isabel looked at the pendant, then at the deputy. "At the mall," she lied. "Kind of like the retro look. Why?" she asked, hoping that she could find out something useful information.

Owen shook his head. "Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen anything like that since I left the reservation," he said, his eyes still on the pendant.

["The reservation?"] Isabel thought, and desided to dig deeper. "Which reservation would that be?" she asked.

Owen looked at Isabel for a moment before he answered. "I grew up on the Mescalero reservation just outside of town," he said.

Isabel nodded, and looked at the pendant. "Um, what about that statement?" she asked.

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

[Bored to Mundane life]

Crashdown Café, 18:47 p.m, the back alley

Michael had been walking here for some time now, constantly looking behind his back. He had a distinct feeling that he was being followed, but he didn't see anything. He HAD seen a man in a suit on some occasions, but now he couldn't see him. He glanced around him one last time before heading to the back entrance of the Crashdown. Suddenly the door was opened and Michael jumped, along with the person who had walked to the alley, who turned out to be Maria.

Michael glared at Maria. "Don't do that again," he said in a low tone.

Maria looked at Michael with a sour expression. "I didn't do anything."

"You startled me," Michael said.

Maria looked at him with a perplexed look. "*I* startled YOU?" she asked.

Michael ignored her jibe and walked inside. "Yeah," he said, and nodded an hello to Liz who was at her locker. Then he asked, "Did Max and Isabel get here yet?"

Liz's brow furrowed. "Why? Were they supposed to be here?" she asked, but stopped when Max and Isabel walked in from the backdoor as well. "Oh."

"We need to talk somewhere. In private," Max said, and Liz looked at Maria. She just shrugged.

"Let's go to the dining area. It's empty now," Liz said, and the five made their way to the café, and seated to one of the booths, which was as far as possible from the windows. Max and Isabel told Liz and Maria about the break into their home, which was a smokescreen to get the papers they had found from the Atherton's house. Michael then decided to say that he had a distinct feeling that he was being followed. "I can't say for SURE I was being followed, Maxwell. It was just a feeling."

"Did you see anything specific?" Max asked, and Michael nodded absentmindedly.

"I'n not sure. A man in a suit. About 30-35, tall, had a short blond hair. He looked suspicious to me," Michael said.

Max was silent for a while. He remembered the man who had 'supposedly' been talking on the phone when he, Isabel and Liz had stopped for a break. "When we were on the road, there was a guy who might have been following us," he said, which earned a surprised looks from Liz and Isabel. "I didn't say anything because I didn't want anyone to get worried."

"But he wasn't following us all the way?" Liz asked.

Max shook his head. "No. I deflated his tire to ensure that he couldn't follow us," he said.

Liz nodded, but her mind was absent. Aside from the fact that she had seen another immortal, she had a strange feeling that they still had been followed. It was a similar feeling she had had just before she realized that her journal had been 'borrowed' by Michael.

Isabel was shaking slightly. "I can't believe what's happening. Someone broke into our house. Someone is following us. It...It's just too real," she said. Liz and Maria exchanged a worried glance.

"It's going to be okay," Max reassured her, and grasped her hand into his own gently.

Michael looked outside, but he didn't see anything. If he HAD looked a bit more higher, though, he would have seen a figure there. Unfortunately he didn't. Then he paced a bit, but stopped when his gaze fell to the pendant Isabel wore. Isabel noticed his stare and frowned. "What?" she asked.

"I know that. I know that," he blurted out, but then frowned. "How do I know that?"

"The three of us know it. We think it's from the past," Max answered.

"Pretty wild, huh? I found it from Atherton's," Isabel said with a half smile.

Michael looks at the pendant a bit more closely, then his eyes widen. "Max, it's almost identical to..." he started, and Max finished.

"Thorne's pendant, I know. The image is different, and this one is broken, but they still look almost identical," Max said, then looked at Liz. "Do you know where he got it?"

Liz shook her head. "No, but I could find out," she said.

"You don't need to bother him, Liz. I already know where this is from," Isabel said, and Max looks at her in confusion. Isabel decided to explain. "You know that Native American deputy?" she asked, and Max nodded. "Well, he said he recognized it from the Mescalero reservation."

Michael immediately shots a impatient look to Max, and Max knows that look all too well. "No. We can't go anywhere right now. We can't make any suspicious moves," he said.

Michael looked indignant. "Come on. We have to go," he insisted.

Max shook his head adamantly. "No one's going anywhere. Not right now," he said, and Michael grimaced. Then the three aliens started to make their leave, and after they were gone, Liz started to take off her waitress uniform and put on her street clothes. "Maria, could you lock the doors when you leave? I have something to do," she said while pulling her dark green sweater on.

"What are you going to do?" Maria asked.

Liz glanced at Maria. "I'm going to ask something from Marcus, THEN I'm going to the reservation," she said.

Maria looked bewildered. "What about..." she started, but Liz stopped her.

"I don't think they're following me. Sure, Topolski was nosy about my immediate recovery, but now someone is focusing on Max, Isabel and Michael. Besides, I think Marcus could help us out in more ways than one," Liz stated, then grabbed the keys of the truck his parents used to move equipment or groceries for the café.

"Be careful, chica," Maria said, and Liz gave her a half smile.

"I will," she said, and walked outside.

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

Thorne household, about 20 minutes later

"You want to borrow the pendant?" Marcus asked incredulously, and Liz nodded. "Why?" Liz had already told him about the break into Evans's home and that the three aliens were being followed. Marcus didn't like that one bit. As if the Watcher wasn't bad enough as it is.

"It might help Max, Isabel and Michael to find some answers to their questions," she said.

Marcus examined Liz closely. "Let me guess. Michael wanted to go there immediately, and Max vetoed the idea, because it would be too dangerous. Am I right?" he asked, and Liz nodded.

"There's some people following them around, so they can't go anywhere without being spotted. They're not following me, so I can go to the reservation without causing suspicion," Liz stated.

Marcus thought it over. Liz was right, she wasn't being followed by these people, but she was being followed by a Watcher, and now Marcus was pondering should he tell her about them. He had planned to keep the fact that Liz had a Watcher studying her every move for a while, train her senses and awareness for a while, and let her find out herself. Then Marcus realized something. There was a huge possibility that the Watcher had followed Liz to where ever she had went with Max and Isabel. There was also a chance that Watcher had seen either Max or Isabel to use their powers, and if that was the case, he or she had to be found, and soon. He knew from experience that Watcher's wrote EVERYTHING from the life of the immortal they were assigned to. "Actually, you are being followed, Liz. Even longer than the aliens have been followed so far," Marcus said, and Liz looked at him in puzzlement.

"What are you talking about? I haven't seen anyone following me," Liz insisted.

"This has nothing to do with FBI or any other government agency. For the past 800 years, majority of Immortals have noticed that they have been followed by mortals who carry somekind of a chronicle with them. These mortals record the lives and deaths of immortals to these chronicles, and I mean everything from their lives," Marcus said.

Liz looked at Marcus with wide eyes. "Are you telling me that there's someone spying on my personal life in explicit detail?" she asked, and Marcus nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure about that, until your journal disappeared. After our training session, I had a feeling that I was being watched, but I didn't see anything suspicious. That doesn't mean anything when you are dealing with Watcher's," Marcus said.

"Watcher's?" Liz asked.

"That's what they are called. Watcher's. They watch and never interfere with the immortals life. The last time I bumped into a Watcher was 300 years ago, and I have been able to avoid them since. Well, until now, that is. The reason it took me this long to realize we were being watched was because he or she has YOU as an assignment, not me," he said.

"If they don't interfere with our lives, then why are we worried about them?" Liz asked, but then realized something. "Wait a minute. If they write EVERYTHING down, and keep following me, that means that there's a big chance that he or she knows about Max, Isabel and Michael."

Marcus nodded. "Right, and if the people who are following the aliens finds out about the Watcher, and get their hands on their chronicles, the immortals will also be in danger along with Max, Isabel and Michael. Though that may be very unlikely thing to happen."

"What do you mean?" Liz asked.

"Liz, the Watcher's are the ultimate spies. They can be anyone and everyone. The common folk, shop owners, even some of the bums you might come across in your life. You wouldn't know if they were following you unless you know where to look for. There is one way to identify a Watcher, though," Marcus said.

"What?" Liz asked, finding this information important.

"All the Watchers have a tattoo. A very peculiar tattoo, to be exact. Usually on their right wrist, but the location of the tattoo might wary from individual to individual."

Liz suddenly remembered something. She HAD seen a tattoo on Dr. Hills's right wrist, just before he unwrapped his shirt sleeves. She couldn't see it's shape completely, but if she'd see it again, she could identify it. "What does it look like?" Liz asked.

"It's hard to describe, but it could be best described as a trefoil-in-circles. That's the best I can give you. I did have a picture from it somewhere, but I don't think I will be able to find it any time soon," Marcus said.

Liz frowned for the information, but it did give her a suspect. Still, Adam hadn't shown any sort of hostility towards her.

"You said that they've been around for almost 800 years?" she asked. Marcus nodded. "Who do they work for then?"

"They are an independent organization, that has no ties to any existing government. The only ones who know that they exist are the immortals. Well, some of them, anyway. They don't have main headquarters as far as I can tell. They have connections to everywhere in the world, and they also have people working on various government agencies, like CIA, NSA and FBI. Let's not forget hospitals, libraries, bars, schools and other public buildings," Marcus said.

"So you're saying that they pretty much have access to everywhere, and the rest of the world, including most of the immortals, don't know anything about it," Liz summarized.

"In short, yes," Marcus admitted.

Liz looked grim for a moment. "That changes nothing. Still, I'd like to know WHERE you got your pendant, Marcus? Isabel said that the one she found from Atherton's home could have come from Mescalero reservation," she said.

Marcus looked at Liz for a while. Then he averted his gaze. "Before Howard and Rebecca got married, Howard had taken a short trip to Los Angeles with some of his co-workers, and during that time, he noticed this pendant," he said, and took the pendant to his hand, "at the pawn shop. He never told me WHY he bought it, but he did, and gave it to Rebecca as a wedding gift. After she died, he gave it to me. That's it," Marcus said.

Liz looked at the pendant for a while, then at Marcus. "Can I still have it?" she asked. "I will return it."

Marcus kept his gaze on the pendant for a while. Then he nodded. "Alright," he said, and extended it to her. Liz cupped her hands and Marcus lowered the pendant to her hands. "Just remember to bring it back INTACT," Marcus said sternly. Liz nodded and put the pendant securely away into her jean pocket. She thanked and made her way to the front door. Before she was able to leave, Marcus hollered, "Wait a minute."

Liz stopped and looked him in confusion. Marcus walked to her. "When you told me that you bumped into Aurora on your little 'road trip', you didn't have your sword with you," he stated.

"Yeah, but it's not like I had a way to hide it, not to mention the fact that they were going to leave me behind," Liz insisted.

"I know that, but NOW I'm going to ensure that you are NOT going to go anywhere unarmed," he said, and grabbed a long canvas duster. From the surface it didn't look that different, just a black duster. However, inside the duster had been sewn two sheaths. One for Liz's Wakizashi, and one for a knife. Marcus extended the duster to Liz, who eyed it with a puzzled expression.

After a while, she looked at Marcus. "What's this for?" she asked.

"This duster has a sheath inside for your Wakizashi. With this you can carry your sword with more ease than if you'd carry it yourself. There's also a sheath for a knife where the breast pocket normally would be," Marcus said, extending the duster to Liz. She tentatively took it and put it on. Against her initial thought, the duster wasn't hot. Actually, it felt rather cool, and it didn't look too bad on her. "Wait here," he ordered, and walked to the basement. Liz shrugged, and looked at her new long coat a bit more closely. It looked like it was hand made, but she couldn't be positive about it. She noticed the sheath for her Wakizashi, and wondered if she would be able to sit with this thing on, WHILE she had her sword concealed inside it. Then she examined the knife sheath, which was easily accessible. Marcus came up from the basement a while later, carrying a regular Wakizashi and a knife with him. He walked to Liz, and extended the sword to her. "Sheath this," he said, and Liz did that. She was about to sheath it, when Marcus shook his head. "You're doing it wrong. You have to put it that way that the handle is pointing forward, not towards you," he said, and sheathed the sword properly. "Now, pull it out," he said, and Liz did as told. She figured that since the sword was on her right side, she should pull it with her left, but when she did that, Marcus shook his head again. "Use your right hand, and hold it in a way that the back of the blade is against your elbow, like this," Marcus said, and posed how it was done. Liz studied him for a moment, then nodded. She pulled the sword with her right hand, and held it now in a way as Marcus had showed her. Marcus nodded in approval. "Good," he said shortly, and took the sword from her. He sheathed it and leaned it against the wall. Then he took the knife into his hand. It was a Alaskan survival knife, which would be ideal to use in the woods. The handle was made from black Spanish micarta, with brass liners and stainless steel guard. The handle had carved pits to accommodate the fingers and to have a better hold from the knife. The blade itself was 6 7/8" long, making the whole knife 12 1/4" long. Liz looked at the knife in bewilderment. Did she really have to carry that thing in her breast pocket? True, there was a sheath weaved there to ensure that the blade wouldn't harm her, but still, this was ridiculous. The stern look on Marcus's face told her that he was VERY serious, so she took the knife, reluctantly, and sheathed it. She was surprised how light it felt, and how easy it was to pull out. Marcus smiled. "NOW I can let you go to the reservation. Just make sure that you get your own Wakizashi before you go there," Marcus said, and stared Liz to her eyes, waiting for her answer.

Liz nodded. "I will," she said.

Marcus's smile deepened. "Now scoot, and get some answers to that stoneheaded alien boy," he said, chuckling slightly.

Liz couldn't help but to giggle to this. She still couldn't understand the way how Marcus's mood kept making 180's in a second notice. Well, that was a mystery she hoped to unravel in time. ["Because time is something I have,"] she thought while she walked to the truck, and headed back to the Crashdown. She knew that Marcus was being paranoid, but that paranoia wasn't just a 'thing'. Marcus didn't want her to wander around unarmed, in case another immortal decided to appear, and last night had been a stroke of luck on her part. Now, if the next immortal would turn out to be hostile, she would be ready. As much as she hated that thought.

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

Evans's household, 19:37 p.m, Max's bedroom

Max was reading a book, when he suddenly heard knocking from the window. He groaned. No doubt Michael was going to try to convince him to go to the reservation, no matter how dangerous it could be. He walked to the window, muttering, "Michael, we're NOT going to..." He stopped when he noticed that Liz was standing other side of the window. He opened the window. "Liz, what are you doing here?" he asked. He noticed that Liz was wearing a long canvas duster, and it wasn't that cold outside, which was a relief, considering the way how the temperature dropped dramatically at the desert. He wondered why Liz suddenly decided to wear something like that.

Liz felt a bit akward at the moment. Not from the fact that she had TWO bladed weapons concealed inside her duster at the moment, but from the fact that she would be talking with Max in private. In his room, no less. "Can I come in?" she asked softly.

Max seemed to be taken back by the question. "Uh...yeah. Of course," he said, stepping away from the window.

Liz placed her left leg on the window ledge, and pushed herself over it, crouching slightly to prevent hitting her head and landed nimbly in Max's room. Max watched in awe for the pure grace Liz had used to get in. He wondered how in the world Liz had gained such a high agility. ["She must be a natural, or her 'training' sessions with Marcus and Richie are consisted from something more than Martial Arts,"] he thought.

Liz tugged her duster a bit, making sure that her sword hadn't poked out, but that fear proved to be pointless, because Max hadn't freaked yet. She glanced his room a bit, then looked at Max.

Max had to shake his head slightly to clear his brain. His brain always seemed to cloud up every time he looked into Liz's eyes. "So, um...what's going on?" he asked.

Liz looked Max straight into his eyes. "Max, I'm going to the reservation," she stated.

Max looked at Liz in shock. Did he hear her correctly? "No, you're not. We're being watched," he said adamantly.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe you're not just being watched?" Liz asked, and Max looked at her in puzzlement. "Think about it, Max. Today they came for the files. What if tomorrow they come for you?" she asked, but Max was unable to answer, still staring her. "If there's anything there, any possibility at all that this means something, we need to find out about it."

Max blinked. "Thanks for the offer, but no," he said, completely ignoring what Liz had said, even though it was possible.

Liz's features hardened. "Max, let me do this. At least I'm able to help out this way, and make up the fact that it was me who caused this in the first place," she said.

Max looked at her like she had just grown up another head. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Max, the reason Topolski is here because of my 'rapid' recovery. I'm the reason whoever she is working for was brought in to this. When they finally realized that I wasn't the one they were looking for, they focused on you, Michael and Isabel. At least let me help you to pay up the damage I have done," Liz said, her eyes hardened from determination.

Max looked at Liz. He knew it was true. Topolski had arrived not too long after Liz had been shot and her immediate recovery was well documented on the tabloids. Still, it would put her in danger, and if anything happened to her because of it, he wouldn't be able to live. "Liz, I already said no," Max said, sticking with his decision.

Liz clenched her left hand into a fist. ["Damn it! I don't need protection, Max. I can take care of myself. Why can't you see it?"] she thought bitterly, then relaxed. Seething silently wouldn't help. Besides, what gave him the right to order HER around? "Max," she said with a silent, but firm tone. "I didn't come here for permission. I came here to tell you what I am going to do. I already have the pendant Marcus gave me, and it would help if I had the pendant you got from Atherton's. If you DON'T give it to me, I draw the image and use the other pendant. Either way, I'm going, and you can't stop me. Besides, I'm not the one being followed now." ["Except by that Watcher, but he or she is focusing on me, not the aliens,"] she thought.

Max looked at Liz for a moment. ["She did it again,"] he thought in amazement. She did similar thing yesterday, and she did it again. He shook his head, and walked out from the room. He came back after a few minutes, carrying the pendant. He handed it to her, and she put it into her duster pocket. She turned to leave, but Max pulled her shoulder gently, turning Liz to look him. Now it was Max's turn to look her straight into her eyes. "Liz, the minute anything weird happens, anything at all, you come back," he said.

Liz smiled sweetly, but Max had to wonder why it looked like a mischievous grin. "I promise," she said, and climbed through the window.

Max followed her disappearing frame for a moment, then shook his head. ["How does she do that?"] he wondered while he walked to his bed. He grabbed the book he was reading, but realized that he couldn't focus on it. Liz's peculiar behaviour kept swirling in his mind. Along with his confusion regarding Richie, and the way Marcus seemed to hate his, Michael's and Isabel's guts. True, Marcus had a good reason to hate them, but still, it made him wonder. ["All three of them have secrets, but as far as I can tell, they have nothing in common. Or do they?"] he wondered.

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

Mescalero reservation, 20:19 p.m.

Liz parked her truck at the side of the dirt road. She stepped outside, and looked at her duster. She was surprised by the ease she was able to sit on the car, even with the sword sheathed into the coat. She glanced around. There wasn't that much buildings at sight. A small convenient store, a trinket stand and some small cottages. She walked to the trinket stand, and started to browse through the selection of bracelets and pendants. She did that for a minute or so, not finding anything that would resemble the two pendants she had. The trinket stand owner, a Native American woman on her mid 30's eyed her for a moment, then took one particular bracelet from her selection. "A beautiful bracelet for a beautiful lady," she said.

Liz looked at the pebbler, and smiled. "Um, thanks. They're really beautiful, but...I'm actually looking something like this," she said, and pulled the pendant she had 'bargained' from Max out from her pocket and showed it to her. "I was wondering if you have seen this symbol before or if you know what it means."

The pebbler looked at the pendant closely, then said, "It means 'tree of knowledge'."

Liz looked at her hopefully. "Really?" she asked, not able to hide her smile.

Then the pebbler shook her head. "Actually, I have no idea what it means," she said, then she added. "It looks old, though,"

Liz sighed from frustration. She got her hopes up too soon. "Right. Um, do you know what..." she started, but stopped when a hand graps Liz's own hand. She sees an Native American in his early 80's looking at the pendant she was showing to the pebbler. The old Indian then looked at Liz, and walked away. Liz was confused what had taken place, but she recognized interested eyes when she saw them. Whoever the old Indian was, he knew what the pendant meant. Unfortunately he disappeared before she had a chance to talk to him. Liz looked at the pebbler. "Who was that?" she asked.

Pebbler looked at her. "Stay away from him," she said vaguely, then started to gather all the bracelets and pendants, then she left. Liz gazed the pebblers disappearing form for a while, then sighed. She started to make her way to the truck. She looked around her, studying her surroundings. There weren't that many people present now, but still, Liz knew that SOMEONE was watching her. ["The Watcher,"] she thought. She couldn't see anything, and she had made sure that she wasn't being followed. Still, that didn't mean anything if what Marcus told her was true. ["Watchers, the super-spies. Who knows, maybe they could give James Bond a run for his money,"] Liz thought, finding the idea hilarious. She was about to step into the truck, when the old Indian gently graps her arm. Liz was taken by surprise, and by instinct, her right hand reached for the knife. She looked at the Indian to his eyes, still having a death grip from the knife's handle. Still, she refused to pull it out. The Indian then pointed at her pocket. "Give it to me," he said.

Liz's gaze didn't waver. "Let. Go," she said in a low and dangerous tone. The Indian looked at her closely, as if studying her. Then his gaze fell to her right hand, which was still concealed inside her duster. "I mean it," Liz said a bit more loudly, and pulled the knife slightly out from the sheath. She hadn't pulled it out completely, but you could see the handle. The Indian also saw the handle, and removed his hand. Liz relaxed, and sheathed the knife. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice changed into a softer tone.

The Indian slowly extended his hand and uttered, "Please."

Liz pulled the pendant with the whirlwind symbol out and handed it to the old man. He studied it more closely now, turning it slightly. Then he fixed his gaze to Liz. "Where did you get this?" he insisted.

Liz pondered if she should tell him how the pendant had been found. "We found it," Liz said curtly. She was far from a timid girl everyone seemed to perceive her.

"We?" old Indian said in alarm.

"Yes, we. There were five of us when we found it," Liz said.

"Who else knows?" the old man insisted. "Tell me."

"Just the five of us," she said, keeping the fact that Marcus knew as a secret on purpose.

The old Indian was, if possible, more worried now. "How did you know to come here?" he insisted. "Were you followed?"

["More than likely,"] Liz thought. She shook her head. "No, I wasn't followed," she said, then grabbed the Indian from his hand where he hold the pendant. "What does this mean to you?" now it was her turn to insist an answer. "Please, tell me."

The old Indian shook his head. "This is dangerous. It brings death," he said, and walked away.

"Wait!" Liz hollered, but the man had disappeared. Liz looked around in bewilderment. ["How did he do that?"] she thought. She stepped into the truck, and drove off from the reservation, but there was a pair of eyes following the disappearing lights from the truck. A figure stepped out from the darkness, who turned out to be the pebbler Liz had talked earlier. Then a man walked behind her. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her for me, Anna. I appreciate it," Adam Hills said, and Anna turned around to look at him.

"She has a strong will," she said, and turned her gaze to the road where Liz had disappeared.

"You're right, and I have a feeling that Marcus has been a better teacher than any of us expected," Adam said, and pulled out his chronicle. "Shall we?" he asked.

Anna turned to look at him, and smiled coyly. "It's been a long time since you came to visit me, and now you suddenly show up and ask me to keep an eye out for an fledgling immortal for you," she said, then her cheeks reddened. "I missed you."

Adam smiled. "Well, after you tell me what happened, and I have written it down, we could take a walk or something," he said.

Anna's smile turned into a wicked one. "Or something," she said huskily, and they walked into one of the cottages, their elbows locked together.

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

Martial Arts studio, 5th November, Wednesday, 17:53 p.m.

Liz exhaled, then inhaled. She was keeping a steady breathing rhythm to keep herself calm, all the thoughts what happened yesterday gone from her mind. She was standing on the mat in a battle stance, her Wakizashi held in her hand. Richie was standing on the other side of the mat in a battle stance as well, holding his Bastard sword. Marcus was on the sidelines, watching. So far Liz and Richie had had regular sparring matches when it came to the swords. There had been only one accident since then, and with immortals it wasn't too bad. After that the sword matches had been more bloody, because they could inflict wounds to one another. The un-armed matches were different. Once a week, they would go at it with everything they had, and Liz had the upper hand in those fights. Now though, Marcus took the sword training to new level. Now, they would go against each other with everything they had, with swords. There was one rule. No beheading. That's it. It was trying to follow that one rule that bothered Liz. In a un-armed combat she could beat Richie into a pulp, without a risk of him losing his head. Now, she had to keep her head clear as a crystal so that she wouldn't accidentaly cut Richie's head. So far Richie had the upper hand in the sword fights. That line was fading every day when Liz learned something new. The bout would start soon. Liz closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled for a few seconds, then opened her eyes. She was as ready as she could be. All she had to do was to remember that one rule. No beheading.

Marcus examined both of the combatants. This was a regular sword fight with a little something extra. In this fight, there was a big chance that one of them would die. Not permanently, he had made sure of that. The last thing Marcus wanted was that Liz would get Richie's Quickening in a accident, not to mention the fact that the resulting energy release would definitely get the attention of the local authorities. No, he wouldn't allow that. Truth be told, he actually liked Mr. Ryan as a friend. Besides, even Mr. Ryan had benefited from Liz's training sessions. He had learned new tricks and moves, both in un-armed combat and swords. Necessities that were vital in a challenge if one wanted to survive. Marcus was well aware that Liz could wipe the floor with Richie in an un-armed fight, but Richie had the upper hand now. He was more experienced with a sword than Liz was, but thanks to Marcus, that line was vanishing so fast, that Marcus was already making plans for the final test. If Liz would pass it, Marcus would personally step in to the mat. Then, the REAL training would start. He examined the two fighters one more time. ["They're ready,"] he thought, and blew the whistle. The fight was on.

Liz made the first move, a quick slash towards Richie's chest. Richie parried, and they started to dance around the mat, their eyes locked to one another. When ever Liz had the free time, she would study the different swords there were in the world, and memorize what their strengths and weaknesses were. True, Marcus had insisted that she should study the weapons, and it had paid off. Her Wakizashi was small, graceful and fast. VERY sharp as well, designed for surgical attacks. In other words, very efficient and deadly in the skilled hands. There were weaknessess in this type of weapon. In order it to be efficient, you would have to get close. Normal Wakizashi's were designed to be offence weapons, due to their small size they weren't the best weapons in defense. The sword she had countered that weakness by being made from more durable material, with no drawbacks in the weight. If Marcus really had crafted this sword, he was extremely skilled blacksmith. Now, Liz studied Richie's Bastard sword. It was longer than her own weapon, giving Richie space between them. Normal Bastard swords were designed to be two-handed weapons because of their weight. Richie's Bastard sword could be held with one hand, though he seemed to rarely do that. His sword was lighter as well, allowing him more freedom of movement. Still, his sword, in a skilled hands, could be best called as a buzzsaw. Richie always used the weight of the weapon for his advantage, multiplying the damage done by the slashing attacks drastically. Judging by the way he kept moving, Liz concluded that Richie had studied ALL the weaknesses from the Bastard sword and turned them to his advantage. Still, Liz remembered that there were some times during their sparring sessions that he didn't have that expert use of the weapon. Apparently he had been heeding Marcus's advice as well, having a new level of control and skill over his sword. Liz had also been practicing with her Wakizashi, but she didn't have the years of swordfights to provide insight for the training. They both moved again, this time both parrying and slashing at one another, sparks flying when the metal touched metal. After a while of this, Richie suddenly spun and made a slashing motion towards Liz's feet. Liz saw it, jumped backwards before the blade connected. When she landed, she quickly rushed forward and jumped to his right side, her blade held in a horizontal position. She didn't jump straight at Richie, she jumped past him, her blade cutting a deep gash into Richie's left side. He howled in pain, and dropped to one knee, holding his side. Liz turned her forward leap into a somersault and got up and turned towards Richie almost immediately. Richie was getting up, and Liz saw her possibility for a quick ending. The rules said no beheading, but the match would only end if the blade would be in a position that would be ideal for a beheading move, and the blade had to be VERY close to the neck. Timing was everything. Liz pulled her sword back, but Richie suddenly dropped to his knee again, rotating around himself, his sword held in a similar manner as Liz had. Liz saw the move and stopped. Unfortunately, too late. The spin Richie had executed worked, and his blade cutted open Liz's abdomen. Liz screamed from pain, sinking to her knees, holding her bleeding stomach with her left hand, her right still clutching her sword. Richie got up, still holding his side. He could feel the Quickening doing its magic, but it still slowed him down. That last stunt he had pulled was extremely painful, but his gamble had worked. Liz was immobilized, but the feat to do it, with the pain produced by it, made him blind. He clutched his left side with his left hand, and leaned to his sword, trying to get his breathing in check. Everything was black for a while, then things started to go white. He hoped that he hadn't killed Liz, but then again, she would eventually get up from it.

Liz, amazingly, didn't feel anything anymore. She was conscious, holding her abdomen with her hand. That meant only one thing. ["I'm in shock,"] she thought. She didn't feel any pain, but she was fairly sure that she could feel her guts on her hand. The blood was pouring out from the gash Richie had managed to create. There was also blood coming out from her mouth, creating a taste of iron. Then she felt it. The Quickening started its work on her injury, starting from the inside. It already fixed the torn blood vessels, stopping the bleeding. Now it worked on the muscles and damaged organs. Liz's lip was trembling, which was more than enough proof for the fact that she was in shock. She raised her head slightly, and saw Richie leaning against his sword. Apparently the damage she had caused hadn't been so minimal as she thought. She struggled to get up, her whole body shaking from the effort. Then she felt the pain from her guts, which forced her back on the ground. Her nerves were working again, removing the shock from her system. ["'If you feel the pain, you have a better chance for survival. The only problem is to overcome that pain, and to stay conscious,'"] she remembered what Marcus had said about this type of situation. He was right, overcoming the pain was the hardest thing to do, and now the pain was immense. Still, despite the pain, she struggled to get up. Richie got up, wavering slightly because of something, Liz wasn't sure. Liz was now up as well, slightly bent to alleviate the pain. She started to move away from Richie. ["Distance! Keep your distance, Parker!"] she mentally yelled herself. Until she had healed enough, she wouldn't stand a chance against Richie.

Richie shook his head, clearing the blaring light that had penetrated his eyes. The wound on his side had healed enough, but it could still open if he overdid this. Then the blinding light subsided, and he could see something. He tightened his grip on his sword, and turned to the spot where he last 'saw' Liz. He was surprised to see nothing but a pool of drying blood there. He turned his head and saw Liz backing away from him, holding her stomach. The wound was still open, and there was some blood coming out from it, but not as much as it should be. That meant that she was recovering as well, but because of her fledgling status, it would take time. He moved towards her and tried to stab her, with no success. Liz parried the strike, her face grimacing from the pain the motion did to her. Richie also winced from the pain on his side, and he felt something wet there. ["Damn it! The cut opened,"] he thought angrily.

Marcus was still watching the fight. Liz's resilience had surprised him, because even some of the older immortals had a hard time getting up from the blow Liz had received. He was also surprised to see that Richie wasn't feeling any better than Liz was, though he still had the upper hand because his age and experience. The fact that Richie had been blinded by the pain made him wonder something. The cut Liz had done to Richie seemed like a normal one to his side, and it had forced him on his knee, giving Liz an opening. Richie had anticipated it, and despite the pain, had countered it with a move of his own, opening Liz's stomach. Still, Richie should have recovered a lot quicker than he did, and Marcus could clearly see a new batch of blood coming from the wound. Marcus started to examine the things that he had seen so far, and came up with a possible answer. Richie HAD severely damaged Liz, but Liz's cut had actually been deeper than it had looked, probably reaching as far as Richie's spine. Then, when Richie performed his move to disable Liz, the damage had multiplied, probably causing friction to his nervous system, temporarily blinding him. That fact bought Liz enough time to recover enough to move, and it still helped her to keep her distance. Marcus had never thought to disable his opponents like that, because they never had the chance to counter the openings the wounds always left. Liz knew her limits, but she probably hadn't anticipated Richie to move, hoping that the damage she had done would have blinded Richie immediately. ["I wonder how long it will take her to become my level, and when that happens, will she be able to defeat me one day?"] Marcus thought, and turned his attention back to the fight.

Liz's wound was still healing, alleviating the searing pain, but it was a slow process, and time was something she didn't have. Richie would definitely recover faster than she would, and even though his wound had opened, it was closed again, giving Richie more freedom of movement. Now he was keeping his distance, giving stabbing attacks. Liz decided to dodge them, and noticed that it was less painful than actually parrying them. Still, she couldn't keep doing this forever. Then she thought something. It was risky as hell, but hopefully it would ensure her victory from this match. Richie made another stabbing attack, and Liz dodged it again. Then, she cut Richie's wrist open with her Wakizashi, forcing Richie to drop the sword. When Richie brought his free hand to help closing the wound, Liz moved closer and brought her sword's blade very close to Richie's neck, the edge of the blade scraping his skin. Richie stopped moving. He didn't even breathe. They both were standing there what felt like an eternity to both of them, when the spell of the moment was broken by Marcus's whistle. Liz blinked, pulled her sword away and tightened her grip from her abdomen. Richie increased the pressure to his wrist, reducing the bleeding.

"Well, that was an interesting match," Marcus commented, and ignored the glares both Richie and Liz gave him. "Richie, go refreshing yourself a bit, I'll help Liz."

Richie nodded, and made his way to the locker room. Liz dropped her sword, her knees buckling dangerously. The adrenaline in her system was evaporating fast, and now she was losing her strength. Marcus grabbed her gently before she would fall, and guided her to the benches. There was one bench that was long and flat, something that could be used as an emergency bed if needed. True, it wasn't comfortable, but it beat the alternative, and that was to sit. He helped Liz to lay down to the bench, Liz's face grimacing from the effort. Once still, she sighed from relief, regretting it immediately when pain shot through her system. Marcus examined the wound closely, pulling Liz's completely ruined shirt from it. The tell tale sign of the Quickening was doing its job, and if Liz would now lay down for 'at least' half an hour, she would be able to walk back home. Liz looked at him. "Am I going to die?" she asked tiredly, fatigue of the fight getting to her.

Marcus shook his head. "No, you're not," he said, and grabbed some towels and pressed her wound with them one at a time.

Liz grit her teeth from the pain. "That's a shame. That would have probably been a better option," she said.

"No, it's better to stay awake through the whole match. If you die, you're more vulnerable for scavengers," Marcus said.

"Scavengers?" Liz asked, her eyes threatening to close.

"Stay awake," Marcus ordered, but he didn't yell. Liz forced herself to stay awake, her stomach closing as they talked. "The Scavengers are immortals who lurk around a fight between two immortals, watching who will win, and then kill the victor for an easy Quickening. There were some of them around the 15th century, but there hasn't been any sign of them for the past century. Either they are all dead, or killed by true headhunters. However, I know for a fact that even though there isn't anyone following that particular method to kill immortals, that doesn't mean that there won't be one. That's why you have to be awake and alert after the fight, even if the Quickening was still roaring in your ears."

"I'll try to...remember that," Liz said, using every ounce of her willpower to stay awake. Marcus changed another towel, and noticed that the deep gash was now a thin, bleeding line. He looked at Liz, grabbed a towel and walked to the sink not too far from the bench. He soaked the towel with cold water, and put it on Liz's forehead. Her scientist mind was going through the feelings she had from the healing wound. The pain was disappearing in steps, lessening every second. She looked at the wound, and was surprised that there was now even thinner line there than what Marcus had seen. The electric streaks from the Quickening were lessening as well, but they hadn't lost their effectiveness. She looked at her clothes, and grimaced from the amount of blood she could see. ["Good thing I brought some spare clothing, but if this keeps going on, I won't be having anymore clean clothes to wear,"] she thought bitterly. She pulled herself to her elbows, glaring at Marcus. Marcus noticed this and wondered what was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I need more clothes," Liz said evenly.

Marcus blinked. "Excuse me?" he asked, not getting it.

"Marcus, I'm running out of clean clothes at a rapid pace, and soon I won't have any clothes left to wear," she stated.

"So?" Marcus asked.

"So, it won't take long for my parents to wonder where all my clothes are disappearing," she said, hoping he would get it.

"And they wouldn't wonder about it if you'd tell them about this," Marcus countered.

"Do you honestly think my parents would be okay with THIS?" Liz asked indignant, gesturing her bloodied clothes.

Marcus scratched the back of his head when he mulled over that statement. She had a point. "Then buy new clothes for the ones that you got rid off," he suggested. There was a furnace here, which they used to get rid of Liz's and Richie's bloodied and torn clothes. Sure, when the un-armed combat was in question, that wasn't necessary, but since they took a step forward with the swords, it had been a necessity.

Liz shook her head for his suggestion. "I don't have enough money to cover the empty space in my closet to keep the illusion up," she said.

Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head. He muttered something about women and their unhealthy need for shopping, and fished out his wallet. He pulled out a credit card and handed it to Liz. "Here, use this to get you more clothes. Just in case your parents get suspicious," he said, the last one in a sneer. He still wanted Liz to tell her parents, but she still refused to do it.

Liz looked at the credit card with wide eyes. It was a gold card. Then her brow furrowed. She looked at Marcus. "What's the catch?" she asked.

"You only use that card to buy clothes that you need to keep your closet 'full'. You won't use it for anything else," Marcus said evely.

Liz eyed at the card for a while. "You do realize that this is registered to you, and that if I use this, I'll end up in jail," she said.

"Liz, this credit card can be used by anyone. It's limit is connected to one of my bank accounts, and once you've maxed up the card, and that'll happen when the bank account is empty, the card will be destroyed. No signatures needed, and you can buy ALL the clothes you need," Marcus said.

Liz blinked. She was almost afraid to ask the next question, but she had to. "What's the limit?"

"700,000 dollars," Marcus said, while picking up the bloody towels.

Liz's jaw dropped. She switched her gaze between the card and Marcus, her mouth hanging open. "Oh, and you'll only buy the clothes you NORMALLY wear. You don't buy the latest, most expensive clothing with that thing. You got that?" Marcus ordered.

Liz wasn't able to say anything. She just nodded. She then noticed that Marcus hadn't removed his gaze from her, and she said, "Yes, I understand."

Marcus nodded. "Good. Just make sure you remember that. Just don't loose it, alright?"

Liz shook her head frantically. "I won't," she said quickly, then looked at her stomach. There was a scar, and it was disappearing as well. She tentatively got up. It still hurt to move, but at least it didn't knock her from her feet. She then headed to her locker room, her eyes still on the card.

Marcus followed her with his eyes. He just hoped he hadn't made a mistake when he gave that card to her. Well, losing 700,000 dollars wasn't exactly something that would eat up his financial standing too much. Actually, he had so many different bank accounts on more than one country, so it was hard to tell how much money he actually had. One of the perks being immortal. You could buy stocks and then sell them somewhat 50-60 years later, making a fortune. He just hoped that Liz wouldn't become too lightheaded with the amount of money she had.

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

Crashdown café, 18:56 p.m.

"So you think this old Indian could know something from 'you-know-who'?" Marcus asked when they got closer the Crashdown. Richie had gone straight to his own apartment, and Marcus wanted to talk to Liz about what had happened yesterday, and to make sure she got home with minimum fuss. She still wasn't 100% from her injury. Liz had told to Max at school what had happened, and he had told Isabel and Michael. Needless to say that neither Michael or Isabel were happy about the turn of events.

"That's the impression I had. He said it brings death," Liz said, then frowned. "I wonder what he meant by it."

"I don't know, but if it has anything to do with the asshole who killed me 40 years ago, I'd be more than glad to find out where he is so I could repay the favor. The only problem probably would be the fact that he wouldn't get up anymore," Marcus said, while he and Liz stepped inside the café. Once inside, he froze. ["That can't be right,"] he thought. He felt a baby buzz. He looked around, trying to find the source. He SO did not need this right now. He just wondered how he hadn't felt it before. Then he spotted the target. A young Native American, probably in his early 20's, who was talking to Liz.

Liz had been completely oblivious to the fact that Marcus had stopped at the entrance to the café. It wasn't too long until the café would be closed, and most of the patrons were already leaving. a Native American had walked to Liz before she had reached the break room. Liz was now standing next to the Native American. "Can I help you?" Liz asked.

"My name is Eddie, and I have a message from River Dog," Native American said.

Liz's brow furrowed from confusion for a moment, then she realized who 'Eddie' was talking about. "You mean...?" she started, and Eddie nodded quickly.

"He'll meet you at 10 o'clock tonight," Eddie said.

"Tonight," Liz repeated.

Eddie nodded. "Come alone," he said.

"Where?" Liz asked.

"The reservation. Someone will meet you," Eddie said, and handed her the pendant the old Indian, whose name apparently was River Dog, had taken from her. She also realized that Eddie had handed her the missing piece from the pendant. She looked at Eddie, who turned and left. He passed Marcus, who kept a very intense gaze on him. Eddie looked at him to the eyes, contemplating why the man was staring at him. Eddie then shook his head and left. Marcus kept his gaze at the door, even though Eddie had walked away already. Some other patrons were also leaving, two of the regular waitressess ushering them out. Liz now noticed that Marcus was standing not too far away from the door, watching something.

"Hey," Liz said gently, pulling Marcus's attention to herself. "What is it?" she asked.

"Who was he?" Marcus asked quickly.

"Eddie. He said that River Dog would meet me tonight at 10. Why?" Liz asked.

"Because the Native American you were talking to is a pre-immortal. That's why," Marcus answered, and Liz's eyes widened.

"How come I didn't..." she started, but stopped herself. Marcus had told her and her parents how it worked. You had to be old in order to feel pre-immortals, and she was barely 2 months old as a immortal. "Never mind," she said, shaking her head.

"What did he give you?" Marcus asked.

"He gave back the pendant River Dog took," Liz said, and to Marcus's confused look, she clarified. "The old Indian."

"Ah," Marcus nodded in realization.

"He also gave something extra," she said, and showed Marcus the pendant and the missing piece.

"Well, I'll say that proves it that 'River Dog' knows something. I'm coming with you," Marcus said.

Liz shook her head. "I have to go alone," she said.

"You and I both know that Max is going to go with you, no matter what. Besides, I have some questions of my own to this River Dog," Marcus said.

"I can ask those questions myself, Marcus. Besides, if Max does come with me, I don't doupt for a minute that he wouldn't ask the same things you would," she said.

"Fine, but I have to hear EVERYTHING from word to word what you talked with him then. Understood?" Marcus asked, and Liz nodded. Marcus nodded as well, then left the café. Liz headed to the break room, and from there to the apartment upstairs. She picked up a phone, and dialed a number Max had given her. Now the only problem was to elude the people who were following the three aliens.

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

Streets of Roswell, 21:12 p.m.

Max, Michael and Isabel were driving around. Liz had called Max that an old Indian called River Dog knew something about the pendant and from the symbol in it. She had said that she should go alone, but Max had insisted that he should be there with her. He was the one who knew about the symbol in the first place, and he could protect Liz if something went wrong. Liz had agreed, but as if knowing what Michael would think, she had said that only him and her would be going, no one else. Max had agreed, just from the fact that they were being followed. Liz had come up with a plan to elude their followers, and now Max, Michael and Isabel were driving around at the streets of Roswell, Michael periodically looking behind them to see if they were followed. The answer to that statement would be yes.

"Is he still following us?" Max asked from Michael, who was looking behind them.

"I don't know," Michael said, and looked a bit closer at one particular car he had seen not too far from them for the past 20 minutes. "I think so."

Isabel was shaking her head. "I can't believe this. I...I just wish things would go back to normal," she said, the only thing betraying her fear being her eyes.

"I still think this plan sucks," Michael said from the back seat.

"Michael, the plan does not suck," Max stated, keeping his gaze forward.

["No, it doesn't because Liz had been the one to plan it in the first place,"] Michael thought bitterly. "I'm being used as a pawn. I want to go meet this River Dog guy," he said indignantly, but still kept an eye on the person who was following them.

Isabel turned to look at Michael. "Michael, would you relax?" she said, and turned her gaze to Max.

Max and Isabel shared a look, and Max pulled over to the movies. Then Michael steps into the drivers seat and drove off, while Max went inside the cinema. The car that had been after them from the start kept following Michael and Isabel, and Michael increased the speed. The plan was to ditch their follower, and that needed speed. He was now speeding and heading to the alley Liz had mentioned. "Here we go," Michael said.

Isabel looked at Michael. He hadn't done anything yet, and their tail was closing. "Go!" she yelled.

"I'm going!" Michael yelled, and pulled to the alley, and immediately turned to the fenced area and stopped the car a good distance away from the entry way. The car that had been following them drove past them, not seeing them. Isabel sighed from relief, but Michael kept his gaze on the road. After a few minutes, Michael revved the car and drove to the location they would pick Maria.

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

A block away, few minutes later

The car that had been following Max's jeep was trying to track the jeep down, with little success. The car pulled over to the side of the road, and then a police car appeared behind it. Sheriff Valenti stepped out from the patrol car, and walked to the car that had been violating traffic regulations in a BIG way. He looked inside the car and noticed Topolski sitting on the drivers seat. "Did you lose something?" he asked.

Topolski looked at Valenti. "What about you, sheriff?" she asked, and sheriff looked at her with a plank expression. "Do you always chase cars when you're off duty?"

"Only when they blow through 3 red lights, 2 stop signs and do 70 in a 30-mile-an-hour zone. You, Ms. Topolski, are a walking, talking, moving violation," Valenti said.

"I'll take that the best way I can," Topolski said nonchalantly.

"Now, I could bring you in, hold you overnight and, while I'm at it, do a thorough backround check to find out what our new guidance counselor is really up to, or we could just have a nice conversation," Valenti said with a smile, the casualness of his voice surprising Topolski.

Then a car drove past them, but neither of them bothered give it any attention. They should have, because Adam had given it to them. He had seen Topolski following the jeep around, while he had followed Ms. Parker. She had gone to the movies, and later met up with Max Evans. Then they had exited the cinema from the back and headed to an alley, and from there went somewhere with Maria's Jetta. Adam had lost them after that, because Evans's jeep pulled over and picked up Maria. Still, Adam had a good guess on where Ms. Parker and Mr. Evans were heading. This was too well orchestrated distraction to be anything else than an information hunt. They were heading to the reservation.

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

Mescalero reservation, 21:52 p.m.

Max and Liz stopped Maria's Jetta at the reservation. They both stepped out, and Max looked around. Liz did the same, but with more casualness than Max did. She was wearing her canvas duster again, but this time had decided to leave her Wakizashi home. She still had her knife, but only for a precaution. Still, if someone would try to jump at them, whoever they were would be sorry. Max, after seeing nothing suspicious, turns to look at Liz. "Where do we go now?" he asked.

Liz shook her head. "He just said to come back tonight. That's it," she said, and leaned against the Jetta's hood. Then, when Max turned around for another look for their surroundings, Liz caressed her abdomen gently. The cut had disappeared, but her stomach was still sore. Then they heard foot steps, and Liz saw Eddie heading to them. Liz tried to feel what Marcus had called 'baby buzz', but she couldn't feel a thing. A confirmation to the fact that she would have to be older to know the difference with pre-immies and mortals.

Eddie look at Max suspiciously. "Who's he?" he asked.

"A friend," Liz said plainly, her even voice surprising Max.

"I invited you. JUST you," Eddie said, giving a glare at Max.

"I know that, but he's the one this is important to, not me," Liz said.

"Sorry," Eddie said, turned and started to walk away.

"Wait a minute! You can't just leave!" Liz yelled.

Eddie stopped and turned to look at Liz. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because I know this symbol. It means something to me," Max said, showing the pendant to Eddie.

Eddie looked at Max for a while, then at Liz. "Please, it's important," Liz said.

"There will be a test. If you pass the test, River Dog will answer all your questions," Eddie said, after pondering the situation for a while. He didn't know what was going on, he only had to give the message to the girl, and then escort her to the cave where River Dog waited.

Liz and Max exchanged a look, then Liz turned to Eddie. "Well? Are we going?" she asked.

Eddie nodded, and started to walk towards the woods. Liz's brow furrowed from confusion, along with Max's. Eddie stopped at the edge of scarse forest, and looked at them. "Are you coming?" he asked.

Liz looked at Max, and shrugged to his questioning look. Then she followed Eddie, Max not too far behind.

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

[Bored to Mundane life]

Crashdown café, 22:18 p.m.

Michael, Maria and Isabel were at the Crashdown, waiting for Max and Liz to return. Maria and Isabel were at the counter, and Michael kept pacing around.

Then he slams his hands on the counter. "What do we do again?" he asked, a sarcastic edge in his voice.

Isabel sighed. "We wait. They've only been gone a little over an hour," she said.

Michael ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I'm telling you, this plan sucks the big one, all right?" he said, Isabel and Maria looking at him with raised eyebrows. "They're out there on MY vision quest and I'm sitting here in the kitchen with 2 girls yakking."

Maria looked at Michael. "Well, that's interesting, Michael. You know, some of the women of the 20th century might find that last remark just a tad bit offensive," she said, smiling sweetly, when what she really wanted to do was to whack him with anything that would be at her disposal.

Michael looked at Maria weirdly. "Why?" he asked nonchalantly.

Maria's eyes widened from disbelief. "Why!?" she repeated.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Welcome to Michael-Land," she said.

Then there was a knock on the front door. Michael and Isabel immediately tensed, but Maria saw who it was, and rushed to the door. She opened it. "Marcus!" she exclaimed. Michael shook his head and muttered something, and Isabel sighed and leaned on the counter. "What are you doing here?" Maria asked.

Marcus stepped inside, wearing his own black long overcoat, with gray shirt and jeans. He shrugged the coat off and put it to the booth bench. "I came here to wait Liz. I have some things I need to talk to her," he said.

Michael was helping himself with some cake, and Maria noticed this. "I sure hope you intend to pay for that," she said.

Michael just looked at her. "I do not," he said plainly.

"Well, then that's theft, buddy," Maria said in a huff.

"Arrest me," Michael said, and started to eat the cake.

Maria looked at Marcus, who was rummaging through the interior of his coat. Then she switched gazes between Marcus and Michael, and a wicked grin appeared to her lips. Isabel raised an eyebrow in question, but then realized it. ["Oh no,"] she groaned inwardly. ["Michael just got his foot into his mouth."]

"I don't have to 'arrest you'," Maria said in a sweet tone, which was anything but. Michael looked at her in confusion. Maria tapped Marcus's shoulder gently, getting his attention. "Marcus, would you be kind and try to 'persuade' Michael to pay for that piece of cake he's eating," she said, and Marcus looked at Michael with a questioning look. Then he turned his gaze to Maria for a moment.

"Do you have ANY money at all, Mr. Guerin?" Marcus asked, surprising the hell out from Michael.

"Not really," he said, a small shiver running through his spine.

"Then why are you eating that cake in the first place?" Marcus asked.

"I was hungry," Michael said, giving a pleading look to Isabel. She just shook her head and backed away from him.

Marcus glanced at the cake, than at Michael, who backed away. "You DO realize that the only ones who could allow you to eat 'on the house' would be Liz and Jeff, right?" Marcus asked, and Michael nodded his head. Marcus looked at the prize tag for the cake, then fished out his wallet, grabbed a 5 dollar bill and handed it to Maria. "This should cover at least 6 more pieces of cake and a Coke," he said to Maria, who looked at the bill with wide eyes. Then Marcus turned his gaze to Michael. "If you EVER do anything like this again, I'll rip your left hand off. That's the punishment given to thiefs by the laws of Islam. Do I make my point clear, Mr. Guerin?" Marcus asked, and Michael nodded quickly. "Carry on," Marcus said, gesturing the cake Michael had eaten slightly. Then he walked to the kitchen, calling out to Maria, "Is the CD player still in its place?"

Maria blinked. "Um...Yeah, it should be," she said loud enough for him to hear. Michael tentatively started eating, but then grimaced and fished out a Tabasco bottle. Maria walked to the cash register and put the 5 bucks there. Then she glanced at Michael, and frowned. "Ok, what's with the Tabasco sauce?" she asked.

"Sweet and spicy," Michael said while pouring the Tabasco to his cake.

"Sweet and spicy?" Maria asked, not understanding the connection.

"We all like things extremely sweet mixed with extremely spicy. It's our little dietary quirk," Isabel said, getting herself a cup of Coke, and spiced it up with the same Tabasco Michael had used.

Maria looked at Michael. "Well, I...I'll have to, um, keep that in mind," she said, turning a bit pink from her cheeks.

Michael looked at her. "You do that," he said, and continued with his 'sweet 'n spicy' cuisine.

Isabel shifted her gaze between the two and groaned. "Oh my God, are you two flirting?" she asked outloud.

No answer.

"Could my life get ANY more worse than this?" she asked, and walked away from the two. Suddenly Marcus came from the break room entrance, carrying the CD player. Michael studied him warily, but he was curious about what he was doing. ["Hell with it,"] he thought. "What are you going to do with that?" Michael asked.

Marcus put the CD player to a table next to the counter, not too far from the power outlet. He plugged the player and walked back to his coat. He noticed the slight flush on Maria's cheeks and frowned. "You alright, Ms. DeLuca?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Maria said silently and sat on the stool not too far from Isabel.

Marcus shrugged and started to rummage through his coat again. Then he fished out a stack of CD's from one of the coat pockets. Michael was now interested, as was Isabel. Marcus walked back to the CD player, carrying his own CD's with him. He noticed that there was a small box housing at least 4 CD's behind the CD player, and he browsed through them. "Crap, crap, crap, c..." he said, tossing the CD's at the side, until he saw the last one. He grimaced from disdain. "Mega crap," he growled, and put it aside. Michael walked to him, and studied the CD's he discarded. There was Britney Spears, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan and...Mariah Carey. Then he glanced at Marcus's CD's and his jaw dropped. 5 Iron Maiden CD's were there, and they all had an autograph from Bruce Dickinson. Michael looked at Marcus, wondering if he had some other bands hidden inside those CD cases, or if they were the real deal. Marcus grabbed the album '7th Son Of A 7th Son', and opened it. He took the CD and put it into the player. Then he dialed the settings so that 4th song of the CD would start. Michael took the CD case and looked behind it for the song list. Number 4 was 'The Evil That Men Do'. Then the music came out, and Marcus started to tap his foot along the rhytm.

Love is a razor,
and I walked the line on that silver blade
Slept in the dust with his daughter,
her eyes red with the slaughter of innocense
And I will pray for her
I will call her name out loud
I will bleed for her
If I could only see her now

Living on a razors edge
Balancing on a ledge

Living on a razors edge
Balancing on a ledge
Balancing on a ledge

Living on a razors edge
Balancing on a ledge, you know, you know

The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...

Circle of fire, my baptism of joy, at an end it seems
The seventh lamb slain, the book of life opens before me
And I will pray for you
Some day I may return
Don't you cry for me
Beyond is where I learn

Living on a razors edge
Balancing on a ledge

Living on a razors edge, you know, you know

The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...

"You really like this kind of music?" Michael asked from Marcus, clearly dumbfounded by the information. Marcus just looked at him in puzzlement. Michael shook his head, walked away and muttered, "Metallica is better." He didn't see the murderous glare Marcus gave him. Isabel and Maria did, and they both shivered.

Living on a razors edge
Balancing on a ledge

Living on a razors edge, you know, you know

The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...
The evil that men do lives on and on...

The evil, the evil, the evil that men do
The evil, the evil, the evil that men do

The music died out and the next song started to play out. Marcus walked back to his coat and pulled out a small book from its pocket. He walked to the counter and sat on the stools, reading the book while the music blared. Maria didn't like the music, so she walked to the break room.

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

A good distance away from the reservation, 22:36 p.m.

Max and Liz had been following Eddie for almost half an hour by now. Eddie was in good shape, so he wasn't too tired. Max was panting slightly, but he wasn't tired either. Liz on the other hand, she wasn't even sweating. Her breathing was even and she kept her pace with ease, even if it was slightly faster now than her average walking pace. Normally she would have been tired from the walk, but thanks from the intense physical training she was still going through, she could do this type of walk with ease. If they would have jogged this long, THEN she would be sweaty and slightly tired. Liz studied her surroundings as they continued their walk. They were walking at a hill, which couldn't be even considered to be steep. Still, she was getting tired of this. Not physically, but mentally. "Eddie," she said with too even voice, which didn't show any sign of weariness from her part. "How much further is it?" she asked.

"It's very close," Eddie said, and continued to walk up the hill. Still, inwardly he was wondering how the girl wasn't tired at all. She was small, and probably should have put some extra effort to keep up with him and the other boy. No, she was outmatching BOTH of them in stamina.

Liz frowned to the information. She studied her surroundings a bit more closely, but because of the night, she couldn't see that much. The moon did give some light, but not even nearly enough. Eddie was carrying a flashlight to give some more light, which wasn't much. So was Max, but his didn't help much either. So she focused on listening. Marcus had told her that when he would start training her with more intensity, they would focus on honing her senses. Mainly her sight and hearing. Sight for getting the details out from her surroundings more quickly, but the hearing would be used when her eyes would deceive or betray her. There were some birds singing, but that was it. She didn't hear anything suspicious that would put them in danger. Still, she had a bad feeling from this.

"Eddie, where exactly are you taking us?" Max asked, but to Liz it sounded like a demand. She wondered what was that about?

Then Eddie suddenly stopped. "You're here," he said plainly.

Max and Liz looked around. "We're where?" Liz asked, seeing nothing but grass and bushes.

Eddie then walked past them and started to head back to the reservation. "Good luck," he said.

"Wait a minute," Liz said, indignant. "You can't just leave us here!"

It was too late. Eddie had already disappeared. "HEY!" Max shouted, but no one answered.

"Great, just great," Liz muttered under her breath, looking around. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Friggin' Eddie," Max muttered, and gave a hard knock to his flashlight when it threatened to dim.

Liz kept looking around her, ignoring what Max was doing. Then she saw something. "Max," she said, but he didn't hear her. She slaps him to his shoulder, getting his attention. "Look, over there," she said, and pointed at the cave opening not too far from them. Max looked at her in puzzlement, who just shrugged, and made her way towards the cave. Max lingered a bit, then followed Liz. It was so dark that even Max's flashlight didn't give that much light, and the batteries were running out quickly. They finally reached the cave entrance, and walked into the cave. Then they heard a noise.

"What was that?" Max asked quietly, then his flashlight died out. "Damn it," he muttered.

Suddenly, Liz felt someone pulling her away from Max. "HEY!" she yelled, and started to struggle against who ever had grabbed her. She didn't use all her strength at first, hoping that who ever it was would get a hint.

"LIZ!" Max yelled to the darkness, having a hard time to see anything, even with his alien senses.

"Let me GO," Liz demanded, and when it was ignored, she decided to do something. She could feel the hand which was pulling her away from Max. She grabbed it, and squeezed. HARD. It had the result she wanted. The grip from her hand disappeared, and she was free. The only problem was to find her way in this darkness, and the chance to that was from zero to nothing.

"Liz, where are you?" Max said loudly, but was still unable to see a damn thing. Then, as if from pure instinct, he started to pool up his energy to his hand. It was somewhat similar to the healing he did, but this time he didn't intend to heal anyone. He wanted to see around him, so he created a ball of light into his hand. It was small, and its light wasn't strong, but it did reveal Liz standing there. There was also someone else not too far from her, holding his hand. Liz was looking at Max's hand with wide eyes, as was the older man. "Who are you?" Max asked from the old man, who looked at Max's hand with wonder.

"You have passed the test," was all he said.

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

Meanwhile, at a bar somewhere in Roswell

Sheriff Valenti and Topolski were making small talk, avoiding so far certain topics. Valenti grabbed his beer and sipped some of it. Topolski on the other hand took a big gulp from her own beer. Valenti chuckled and shook his head. "I would have never taken you for a drinker," he said.

"Why is that?" Topolski asked, studying the sheriff.

"You seem like the healthy type," he said, and Topolski raised an eyebrow in a silent question. "Working out at the gym, shopping the health food aisles."

"How long have you been following me, sheriff?" Topolski asked.

Valenti shrugged. "A while now," he said, taking a sip from his drink.

"Observed anything unusual?" she aske, focusing on her own drink.

"Well, besides an FBI agent being assigned to our local high school, yes, I have. That's a hell of a kick you got there. It about gave me a concussion. It's a good thing I'm not the sensitive type," Valenti said.

Topolski studied him for a while. "Aren't you?" she asked in a surprised tone. "It seems to me a man who spends his entire life trying to to avenge his fathers mistakes could be considered sensitive."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about my fathers mistakes if I were you, Agent Topolski. It seems you've made a few mistakes of your own," Valenti said, and now Topolski looked at him in genuine interest.

"Such as?" she asked.

"Well, such as letting them slip through your fingers," he said nonchalantly, gulping the rest of his beer.

"Them?" Topolski asked, feigning ignorant.

"Whoever it is you're after. Such as exposing yourself to the local?" Valenti said.

Topolski was silent for a while. "Maybe we're taking the wrong tack here, sheriff," she said.

"It's funny how everybody agrees they've taken the wrong tack when their cover's been blown," Valenti said with a small smile. "Well, anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up before I call your superiors and let them know you've been made," he said, while he got up.

"Sheriff," Topolski said quickly, stopping Valenti. He looked at her curiously. "Look, if my superiors find out about this, I'm off the case. Gone for good, and where does that leave you? Isn't there some other way we can work this out?" she asked.

"Why, whatever could you be thinking, Ms. Topolski?" Valenti asked, taking his stetson to his hands.

"I probably have information that you would like to have, and you have information that I might want. Maybe we can work together here?" Topolski asked.

"Let me think about that," Valenti said, putting his stetson on and started to walk away.

"Wait a minute!" Topolski called out, stopping him. Valenti turned around. "What do you know about Marcus Thorne?" she asked.

"Not much, other than that he's lived here for the past 8 years," Valenti said, then narrowed his eyes on her. "Why?" he asked.

"No reason," Topolski lied, but Valenti knew that. He had started to make some backround checks on Thorne as well, but had come up with nothing. Everything was in order, but it was the image Thorne gave out that troubled Valenti. Sometimes he looked like a average joe, then suddenly he would reveal a whole new side of him. He had tried to check some military records to find out if he had been in the army, with no luck. Valenti cocked his stetson and walked out from the bar.

Richie was sitting not too far from the counter Sheriff and Ms. Topolski had used. He gulped down his own beer and called in the bill. ["So, we have a FBI agent here,"] he thought, and paid the waitress. He got up and put on his jacket. ["I better tell this little detail to Thorne,"] he thought while he made his way outside.

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

In a cave a good distance away from reservation, 22:40 p.m.

River Dog lit up a torch with his lighter to give more light, but the pain in his right hand distracted him. The girl was a lot stronger than he had anticipated, and she was probably armed as well. With what, he didn't know. He glanced at her with a corner of his eye, seeing the worried look she had on her face. She probably hadn't expected it to be him when she had broken his hand. "Are you all right?" he heard the girl ask, slightly worried tone in her voice.

"I'm fine," River Dog said, but the girl wasn't fooled. She knew the damage she had done.

"I could help you with that," The boy said, and River Dog looked at him curiously. "Please," the boy called Max said again. River Dog reluctantly extended his right hand, and Max walked to him. He placed his hand over River Dog's and it glowed for a while. To River Dog's amazement, his hand healed. He studied it for a moment, opening and closing it.

"Thank you," River Dog said, and Max nodded his head.

River Dog then walked away from him, and lighted up another torch. "I once knew someone like you," he started, getting Max's and Liz's attention. "I didn't know where he came from or why he was here. He stayed pretty much to himself. He befriended me and everyone here. He began to trust me."

"Do you know where I can find him?" Max asked, and Liz looked at him. She had been right. Marcus would have asked the same question, although from drastically different reasons than Max just did.

River Dog shook his head. "I haven't seen him for 40 years. Besides me, the only man he trusted was Atherton. The man gave Atherton his necklace, the one you had," he said, pointing at Max's pocket.

Max pulled out the pendant, and looked at it. "What happened to him?" he asked from River Dog.

"Atherton was murdered," River Dog said.

Liz looked at River Dog with wide eyes. "Who killed him?" she asked.

River Dog looked at Liz, and said, "The man killed him."

Liz looked at Max, worried about this information. Max looked at River Dog. "Maybe he was defending himself. Atherton was some kind of UFO nut. He could have been trying to expose him, hurt him," he said.

Liz didn't belive what she was hearing. Killing wasn't something to be taken lightly, not even if it was self-defence. Sure, she wouldn't have that luxury of choice in the future, but she would never take a life of a mortal. Never. The future would change that, though. She just didn't know it.

"I was too far away to see what happened, but when I reached them, Atherton was dead," River Dog said.

"When was this?" Max asked.

"November 1959," River Dog said.

Max looked at Liz from the realization, and Liz knew what he was thinking. That the picture of the body Marcus had seen would have been Atherton, and if she wouldn't know better, she would have agreed. No, Marcus hadn't been the only victim that year. She didn't know what month Marcus had been killed, but it was either at December or before November. The question was, how would Marcus react to this information. He already wanted to kill this alien just from the fact that 'the man' had killed him. Would this make Marcus more adamant to go through it? Possibly. Would someone be able to talk him out from it? Most definitely not.

"I have one more thing to show you," River Dog said, grabbed a torch and beckoned them to follow. "This way."

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

Meanwhile, Crashdown café

The music had died out a while ago, and Maria had welcomed that silence. Mr. Thorne's choice of music was NOT something she wanted to hear again. Only now she was getting more and more worried for Liz. Sure, she was worried about Max as well, but the only one she cared at the moment was Liz. That meant that she was in that state where she would welcome ANY kind of distraction. Even Marcus's obnoxious music would be helpful at this point. She poured sugar to a container, and looked at Marcus. He was snoring loudly at the booth, probably unable to wake up if a bomb would explode at the street. ["How can he sleep in a time like THIS?!"] Maria thought angrily, and then poured the sugar from the container she had filled to another one. "This is taking too long. They're in trouble," she said frantically, pouring the sugar back to its original container.

"Cool your jets," Michael said gruffly. He stole a glance to Thorne, equally surprised as Maria was for the fact that the guy was able to sleep. If Michael was right, Marcus seemed TOO cosy on the booth bench. Meaning that wasn't the first time he had pulled this off. The mans taste in music had surprised him, in a big way. Then again, everything about Thorne had surprised him so far, and somewhere inside, Michael knew Marcus would continue to do that. Still, Michael was getting tired of Maria's rambling.

"We should go out there," Maria said, and already started to move.

Michael stopped her. "They'll follow us," he stated, referring to the people who was keeping tabs on them.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Maria asked.

"We wait," Michael stated.

["What the hell is wrong with this guy?"] Maria thought angrily. ["HE was the one who wanted to rush to Max and Liz not too long ago, and NOW he suddenly is a voice of reason?"] "You know, now I know why Isabel left. You are obviously the last person to be with in a crisis," she said with distain.

"We were told to sit here and wait until they come back, all right, and that's what I'm doing. I'm not the one freaking out," he said, and Maria had walked back behind the counter and started again her impromptu stress releaf. "You're freaking out."

Maria looked at him with an indignant look. "I am NOT freaking out," she stated.

"You keep pouring sugar from one container to the other and then back again. Quit it, it's driving me insane!" Michael said to her.

Maria stopped reluctantly. "I just...I wish you would say something," she said.

Michael looked at her with a frown. "Say what? What do you want me to say?" he asked.

Maria sighed in defeat. "I don't know. Just say something. You know, to make me feel calm, to make me feel like it's going to be all right."

"Maybe it's not gonna be all right," Michael said, and received a shocked look from Maria.

"Thanks, that helps a ton," she said sarcastically.

"What do you want me to do?" Michael asked, getting flustered from anger, or something else, he didn't know.

"I don't know!" Maria yelled honestly.

"Shut up, then!" Michael yelled.

Maria grit her teeth. "I...I HATE you!!" she yelled.

"Ditto!!" Michael yelled back.

"You know, all I ask from you is just to try to make me feel better, you know, be a guy or whatever," she said, but Michael just stared at her in confusion, his cheeks reddened from shouting. Maria shook her head. "You know what, forget it. I have obviously tried to bark up the wrong tree."

She turned to leave, but Michael suddenly jerked her to him. She yelped from surprise, but it was muffled when Michael's lips crashed on her own. Her eyes widened from this, but she didn't pull back. After about 3 seconds, which felt like eternity to Maria, Michael pulled back. Maria blinked and stared at him. Her cheeks blushed furiously from the kiss, and she was vaguely aware of her heart beating 100 mph in her chest.

Michael stared her as well. The reason he had kissed her was to shut her up, but...well, it had backfired. Her lips tasted good, and...well, she didn't resist. Michael felt a bit uncomfortable now. "That was to calm you down," he said, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Thanks," Maria mumbled, feeling a bit lightheaded. Then they both walk to different directions. Maria heads to the break room, and Michael walks to the window. He leaned his forehead to the cool surface of glass, trying to alleviate the temperature. Then a voice startled him by saying, "Interesting tactic." Michael turned around to see Thorne looking at him, and he was smirking.

"What do you mean?" he asked, a bit too curtly considering WHO he was talking to.

"The way you calmed Maria down. I would have probably given her some Cedar oil, but what you did proved to be more efficient," Marcus said, his smirk turning into a smile when he saw Michael's surprised look.

"You heard us?" Michael asked.

"I woke up the minute YOU turned hypocrite, Michael. You want to go there as much as Maria wants, but then she started to freak out, and you were the only one here who had to at least act strong. Now I think you have your mind on something else. Or SOMEONE would be a more probable assumption," Marcus said.

"What are you going to do about it?" Michael asked.

"Nothing," Marcus said, and got up from the bench. He did some stretches for a while.

"Nothing?" Michael asked.

"Not unless Maria wants me to, and I doupt she'll do anything like that. She liked it even more than you think, Michael, so be careful," Marcus said mysteriously, and then he lied down.

"What do you mean by that?" Michael asked, but Marcus was sleeping again. ["Damn it!! What did I get myself into,"] he wondered. Marcus probably knew what was going on, but how could he? He didn't know him, he knew Maria. ["Wait...he doesn't think that...Oh, hell,"] Michael sighed inwardly, and slumped on to a stool.

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

The cave, 22:53 p.m.

River Dog had been leading Max and Liz a bit deeper to the cave, and now they were standing in front of drawings that the alien had drawn.

"Did he draw this?" Max asked, following the drawings with his fingers. Liz was studying the drawings as well, realizing that they were similar in fashion as was the symbol on that pendant. Then she saw a symbol that was on the pendant Marcus had. The saturn symbol, or something like that.

"Yes," River Dog said to Max's question. "He said someday you would come."

Max's brow furrowed, and he traced more symbols with his fingers. "It seems familiar, like I know what it means, but I can't remember," Max said, studying a four square symbol in rapt interest.

"It must be some sort of language," Liz stated, studying the drawings.

"He was afraid they were going to kill him," River Dog said, forcing Max to look at him in confusion.

"Who was?" Max asked, but again it sounded like a demand.

River Dog shook his head. "I don't know. He felt they were close to finding him, so he had to leave. I promised I would never share this information with anyone unless they passed the test," he said.

"Has anyone else come? Has anyone else passed?" Max asked, hoping that there were others.

River Dog shook his head. "No, no one," he said.

Max turned his gaze back to the drawings. "So this has some type of meaning. It's some kind of message for us. Maybe it's some type of warning. I don't know," Max said to himself, and Liz wondered if it was that. It looked something more to her, but she couldn't put her finger on why it did.

"It's time for you to leave," River Dog said.

"Can we come again?" Max asked hopefully.

River Dog shook his head. "I've completed my promise. There's nothing more I can tell you, nothing more you can learn," he said.

Max gives a one last look to the drawings, and heads to the exit. Liz lingers a bit, looking at River Dog. Then she follows Max, but River Dog stops her by grabbing her hand. "Wait, wait," he said, and studied her for a moment. "You are not one of them," he said.

"Liz?" Max called out.

"Max, could you go ahead? I have something to ask from River Dog," she said, not removing her gaze from River Dog.

"You sure?" Max asked, but wondered what Liz had to ask from the Native American.

"Yeah. I'll be fine, Max. Just go," Liz said, turning to look at Max. Max nodded and walked outside, but he didn't leave. He waited. Still, his curiosity was so high that he wanted to eavesdrop on her, but then shook his head to the thought. He wouldn't do it. Thanks to her, they had some answers. That was enough for now.

Inside the cave, River Dog quickly released Liz's hand when she didn't remove her gaze from him. "Who are you?" he asked from her.

"Don't you mean 'what' I am?" Liz countered, and smiled to look of surprise from River Dog.

"You're not like him," he stated.

"I'm something more," Liz said, being deliberately vague. One of the things Marcus taught her. You always had to give less to get more.

"You're human, but different. I don't know how," River Dog said, getting weary. He was old, so he was allowed to be vague. This girl wasn't even 17 years old yet, and she was equally vague as he was. River Dog didn't like that.

"If I tell you, will you keep it from everyone?" she asked from River Dog, who frowned.

"Everyone?" he asked.

"Everyone," Liz stated, turning her head slightly. River Dog nodded. Liz pulled out her knife, very slowly, and in a non-threatning manner. River Dog eyed her curiously, and with some fear. She had tried to reach a knife last night. If she needed to carry something like this, then what was she? Liz cut her left hand palm with the knife, drawing blood. She lowered her knife and showed the wound. River Dog's eyes widened when the Quickening started to knit the wound. Even before the healing was done, River Dog looked at Liz and said, "You're one of the Ancients."

Liz sheathed her knife, pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the blood away. "If you're talking about the Immortals, then yes, but amongst them I'm nothing more than a baby," she said, and burned the bloody handkerchief at the flame of the torch.

"I've heard of your kind, from someone whose purpose was to study the lives of the Ancients," River Dog said.

"The Watchers," Liz said, earning a surprised look from River Dog. "My mentor told me about them."

"Your mentor?" River Dog asked.

"He's one of the older ones. Over 2000 years old," Liz said, and River Dog looked at her in awe. "'The man' who killed Atherton killed my mentor 40 years ago as well, and he wants to repay a favor," Liz said.

"So it's true then?" he said. "That you can't be killed."

Liz nodded. "Yes. There is a way, but I'm not sure if I should reveal it," she said.

River Dog shook his head. "Don't. I think I know already. No living being, Ancient or not, can live without his or her head," he said, but then tilted his head, as if contemplating his statement. "Well, chickens can be an exception to that rule."

Liz had to smile to that statement, no matter how gross it sounded. "Were you telling the truth when you told me that you didn't know where 'the man' is?" she asked.

"I was," River Dog said.

Liz nodded her head. "I figured as much. Thank you anyway," she said, and started to leave.

"Make sure he deserves your trust," River Dog said in a tone that didn't carry outside.

Liz turned to look at him. "He trusts me, but I'm not sure if he should. I can't tell him about this. Not yet," she said, then walked away. "Oh, there's one thing you should know."

River Dog looked at her in puzzlement. "Eddie is a...pre-Ancient, you could say," Liz said.

"He's like you?" River Dog asked.

Liz shook her head. "No. Not until he dies a violent death. If that happens, make sure that you send me a message. Our world is much more dangerous than you can possibly imagine, and without guidance, he would die rather soon," she said.

River Dog nodded his head. "I'll look out for him," he said. "I've done that before, I can do it again."

"Don't tell him about this, and don't try to protect him. I know it sounds harsh, but that's the way it has to be," Liz said, and River Dog nodded in understanding. Then Liz continued to walk away from the cave.

Outside, Max looked at Liz when she approached him. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing important. Nothing that would concern you," she said, being vague. Max had some idea what she was talking about, but he didn't push it. They had a long walk back to the reservation now. Liz seemed thoughtful at the moment, but truth be told, Max's head was equally messy at the moment. Still, it didn't stop him for reaching her hand, and hold it. Liz was slightly alarmed. He was on her left side, and he was now holding the hand she had used as a demonstration. She inwardly sighed in relief when Max didn't seem to notice anything. If he did, he didn't say anything. Besides, Liz liked this. His hand was warm, a contrast to the cool air around them. They continued their walk, their hands locked together.

TBC...

[Bored to Mundane life]

Hello, my devoted readers. Here it is. Part 20. I know it's been a while since I posted, but I finally got part 21 going, and I decided to let you guys enjoy this part. Special thanks to SilverWolfe (x2), KEmperor, NewYorker18 (x4), Raychell75, ofwolfandman408, girlie_girl (x2), Jeni, Roswelllostcause, LEL (x6), PhoenixFlamez, Lorilei, calphysics, Asabetha and MaryJean. Extra thanks to NewYorker18 from beta-work.

LEL Hey, just to let you know, that I FINALLY figured out how Liz is going to explain and prove to Alex that she's an immortal. I just hope you'll have the patience to wait for it. The internet connection here has been really wacky to say the least, so I ended up taking 2 days of vacation from FanFiction. Well, it definitely paid off, I can tell you that.

Title: "Concept of Eternity"
Author: Bored to Mundane life
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. If they did, Alex would have lived on and season 3 would have been a lot more different. The only character that belongs to me is Marcus Thorne. I also hope that Bruce Dickinson doesn't mind if I use him in this fic.
Synopsis: Liz Parker is having just a regular day at the Crashdown, when suddenly an argument between two customers gets out of hand, and she's shot. She is raced quickly to the hospital, but she dies en route. But before she is considered as a lost cause, her heart starts beating. Later on, her history teacher, Marcus Thorne, tells her that she's an Immortal. She'll be then pulled into the life of the Immortals, better known as 'The Game'. With no way out. But her apparent resurrection has raised other peoples attention as well. And Liz suddenly finds out that she isn't the only one harboring a considerably large secret. But how does Max Evans, his sister Isabel and Michael Guerin fit into this?
Category: Crossover, Roswell/Highlander, strictly CC.
Rating: PG-13, probably R at some point.
Feedback: Definitely appreciated. And definitely needed, so I know that my writing isn't going to waste. Afterall, this IS my first fic.

PART 20:

Crashdown Café, 23:51 p.m.

It was late. When Max and Liz had returned from the reservation, Michael had been bombarding them with questions what 'River Dog' had told them. Max told him everything River Dog had said, and Michael suddenly turned...giddy from the fact that now they had proof that there was another alien out there, but that turned quickly into suspicion when he wondered if River Dog had been completely honest with them. Max said honestly that he didn't know, but wasn't willing to go there again and ask more questions. Not with the possibility of getting their cover blown. Liz had been silent through this time, feeling overwhelmed under the studying glance of Marcus. She knew that the old man was literally dying from curiosity, but was unable to ask anything, thanks to the two aliens and Maria. Maria. Her posture confused Liz. She had hugged Liz so badly that she nearly choked her to death. When Maria had finally calmed down, she had been listening the news as well, but still, Liz wondered why she was blushing so furiously when Michael's gaze briefly went to her from time to time. Marcus had noticed those gazes as well, and he kept smirking to both of them. He probably knew what was going on, but refused to say anything. "Michael, do you want me to give you a ride home or are you going to sleep at our house?" Max asked, as they started to leave from the café.

Michael pondered the situation for a moment, then shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, Maxwell, but I'm going to walk back. Gives me some time to think," he said, and walked outside, heading to the trailer park.

Max glanced at Liz, smiled, then left as well.

"You better tell me EVERYTHING that happened there later, chica. I don't believe Max for a second when he said that everything was fine," Maria said in a tone that left no room for an argument. Liz nodded her agreement, and Maria left with her Jetta.

Now it was Marcus and Liz. "Well?" Marcus queried.

Liz shook her head saddly. "Sorry, Marcus, but River Dog had no clue where 'the man' was," she said.

Marcus grimaced, but nodded his head. "I got that much from Max, but I don't trust him one bit," he said.

Liz bit her lip, a tell tale sign that she was troubled by something. "What is it?" Marcus asked, conserned.

"Could you tell me when you were killed?" Liz asked, Marcus looked at her with incredulous look. "It's just that Atherton was killed by 'the man' in November, so that would put you either before or after that incident."

Marcus rubbed his temple. It was one topic he didn't want to remember, but for the sake of getting answers, he had no choice. "It was in June," he answered.

"Are you sure?" Liz asked, her eyes a bit wide for the information.

Marcus gave a hard stare to Liz, and she immediately regretted her question. "I'm pretty sure, because I missed Mark's birthday party because of it," he said angrily.

Liz hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry," she said.

Marcus's features softened. "No, I should be sorry. You didn't know," he said.

"Still, it makes you wonder if we should find this 'man' at all," Liz said.

"I know what you mean," Marcus said.

Liz shook her head. "No, you don't. You see, 'the man' killed Atherton, and Max believes that he killed Atherton because he wanted to expose him or something. Why did 'the man' kill YOU?" she asked.

"Max said that?" Marcus asked, and Liz nodded. He shook his head. "I don't know why this 'man' killed me, or Atherton for that matter, and truth be told, we might never know for sure. Still, this only confirms what I have planned for the bastard, and that's to kill him," he said, with a voice of steel, devoid of any emotion.

"I agree," Liz said in a small voice.

"You do?" Marcus asked, not believing his ears.

"Marcus, I can understand the need for secrecy, but I wouldn't kill a mortal even if my life depended on it," she said with a conviction.

"There might come a time where you don't have a choice. I have killed mortals, in wars AND out from them, some of them from less than acceptable reasons," Marcus said, which surprised Liz. She knew he had waged wars, but to kill people outside wars...that couldn't be right.

"Liz, those people were that kind of people that would have exposed my secret for getting famous. Money, connections, you name it. I couldn't let that happen. True, I loath to take a mortal life, but those people would have sold their own mother for a couple of bucks. They would have done the same to me," he said.

Liz thought it over. Would she really be able to take a mortal life if it would come to that she needed to protect her identity. She hoped not, but how could she know for sure? "I don't know...if I could...ever do something like that," she said.

"Let's just pray that will never happen," Marcus said, and picked up his coat. Liz nodded to his statement absent-mindedly, and followed him to the door. "See you tomorrow, Liz," he said, walked to his car and drove away.

Liz locked the door, and released a weary sigh. She had learned a new aspect of her Immortality, and that aspect was crystal clear. You had to be able to know who to trust, and who you just had to avoid completely. Otherwise your life could be in danger, and to keep it from being torn apart, you would have to protect it, whatever means necessary. Even taking a life. Marcus was hoping that it would never come to that for her, but how could he know? She couldn't know about it. No one could. There was only one thing Liz was certain at this moment. Would she be able to do it? Her answer; she didn't know. She rubbed her eyes, and made her way to her bedroom. She was tired, and tomorrow was a school day.

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

Meanwhile, on the other side of the street

Adam Hills watched how Marcus drove away from the Crashdown parking lot. He hadn't been able to follow Liz and Mr. Evans where ever they had went, but he was able to study what had taken place. Obviously Mr. Evans had developed feelings for Ms. Parker, and she didn't seem to mind. Still, she was careful about it. Probably because of her immortality, and Mr. Evans being...whatever he is. Now when he thought about it, Ms. Parker had been more alert, studying her surroundings with more intensity than it was normally necessary. That meant that Marcus had told her about him, but in a general notion. That she had a Watcher following her. That could mean trouble, because he remembered that his tattoo had been at plain sight when he had treated Claudia's coughing fit about 2 months ago. Liz hadn't made any indication that she had seen it, but that still didn't mean it. That meant that he would be a plausible suspect. ["Time to be discreet,"] he thought, wrote the days events on his chronicle, and walked away from the café, heading to his home.

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

West Roswell High, 11th November, Tuesday, 10:58 a.m, school hallway

Liz was heading to the Biology class. She wasn't late, but she would be if she didn't step on it. It has been almost a week when she and Max visited River Dog, and Michael had ever since been adamant about seeing him. Max kept saying that it still wasn't safe, because they were still being watched. Still, Liz's own training had been progressing nicely, and it had cost her another set of clean clothes. Fortunately she was able to buy new ones, thanks for the credit card Marcus had given her. She was tempted to buy the latest fashion clothes, but then thought against it. That would not only bring questions from her parents, but from her friends as well, and that could bring serious trouble for her. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Max calling her. She stopped and let him walk to her.

"What is it?" she asked, confused from the fact that he was smiling.

"She's out," Max stated, with a smile.

That didn't exactly help. "Who is?" Liz asked. The way he kept smiling unnerved her, and yet made her feel all fuzzy inside. ["Why does he have to be so damn gorgeus?"] Liz thought, and mentally gave a slap to her face. ["Cool it, girl,"] she said to herself, focusing on Max now, his amber eyes....

"Miss Hardy," Max said, getting Liz out from her daze. "She's absent, something about a stomach flu. Since we both have fifth period lunch, we have close to 2 hours off."

Liz blinked. Did he actually said what he had said? If she really had an hour to spare, she could do her physical exercise now, which would leave more time to spent with Maria or Alex. She had to wonder why Max was suddenly feeling the need to smile. True, majority of students went to a full out glee from this type of news, but Max seemed...giddy for some reason. Was he planning something? "Well, we technically don't have fourth period off just because Miss Hardy is sick," she said.

"There's something I want to show you," Max said, sporting that smile that got all the girls (except Isabel) at school go weak from their knees, including Liz.

"Ok, let's go," she said, feeling a bit lightheaded. ["Hell with training. I need some fun,"] she thought, and she and Max headed to the parking lot.

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

Outskirts of Roswell, 11:29 p.m.

Max and Liz were driving on a some old road, heading nowhere in any particular direction. They were just driving, enjoying the scenery.

"This is so cool," Liz commented, feeling giddy from this.

"It's the old highway. My dad used to take this when we drove to Albuquerque," Max said, glancing occasionally to Liz, but keeping his gaze mostly on the road.

Liz just shook her head, practically eating her surroundings with her eyes. "I never even knew this place existed," she said honestly.

Max seemed thoughtful for a moment, studying her. "I just thought we should do something, you know?" he said, and Liz looked at him quizzically. "Something normal, for once," he clarified. "Things have been..."

"Insane," Liz said, finishing Max's sentence, who nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she said. ["In more ways than one, Max,"] she thought.

Then a song started to blare out from the radio. Liz's eyes widened from the recognition. It was Jeremy Toback's 'You Make Me Feel'. "Oh my God! I love this song," Liz exclaimed, smiling.

Have you ever seen the Sunset Strip
Your dream down to the bone
We used to try
To live a deep dark life
But we were all alone
Went to the Emerald City
To keep that dream alive
We saw gold And a light bright life
But there was no sun inside

Max smiled. "Me too," he said, which earned a surprised look from Liz, but her smile didn't falter.

You make me feel
Like falling down is falling up
You make me feel
Like loving you is just my luck
Just my luck

The song continued to blare at the backround, but the two occupants of the car didn't even notice it, because they were too wrapped up to look at eachother's eyes, which only was broken for brief seconds when Max had to look at the road.

Now we live up in the canyon
With the coyotes and the falling stars
And I've got you
When the day gets dark
To light my way

["I can't believe this. It's so surreal. This whole place is surreal, this whole situation is surreal. He loves this song. He loves the same song I love. Could this be any better than this? I hope so, because this is the next best thing to perfection,"] Liz thought, keeping her gaze on Max. Max then turns to look at her, smiling to her.

You make me feel
Like falling down is falling up
You make me feel
Like loving you is just my luck
You make me feel
Isn't that enough

Suddenly, a horse walks in front of them, and Max notices it. Max quickly turns the steering wheel, trying not to hit the horse. He loses the control of the jeep, which starts to swerve uncontrollably. Eventually the jeep flies from the road to some of the bushes, Max hitting his head on the steering wheel and Liz hit her head on the dash board, drawing blood. There's silence. The horse gives the jeep a sideway glance, and trots away without a care in the world. The music from the radio died the minute the jeep crashed.

After a few minutes later, Liz stirred. She moaned slightly, and sat up. She felt something wet on her right temple, and tentatively touched it. She studied her fingertips, and saw blood on them. She notices some traces of blood on the dashboard. "I must have hit my head," she deducted wearily, pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and started to wipe the blood away, but stopped when she realized who she was with. Her eyes widened and she looked at Max, who was still unconscious, his head resting against the steering wheel. Liz dropped the handkerchief and shook Max gently from his shoulder. "Max?" she said softly, and Max didn't respond. "Max?" she said louder. Still no reaction. "Oh my God," she said to herself, and grapped her backpack and fished out her cell. She dialed 911.

About 15 minutes later, the ambulance showed up. ["Finally,"] Liz thought frantically, feeling worried for Max. He still hadn't come out from the unconsciousness. She had been slightly busy during this time, cleaning her temple and the jeeps dashboard from any sign of her blood. There hadn't been any of it on her clothes, which on some level was a relief to her, but not on the expence of Max. No, she had kept her head cool about that, but had grown more and more worried when the time passed. She had hid the bloodied handkerchief to the bushes as far away from the accident site as possible. Now the paramedics were here, and they were putting Max on the stretchers. One of the paramedics, about in his early 40's, checked Max's vital signs, while the other, at least 10 years younger than the other, made his way to Liz. "Blood pressure 124 over 84," the older paramedic said.

"How do you feel?" the younger paramedic asked from Liz. "Ringing, any buzzing?"

Liz shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she said. "Is he gonna be all right?" she asked, worry towards Max audiple in her voice.

"We can't know for sure, but his vital signs are good," the older paramedic said, and with the help of the younger one, they hauled Max to the ambulance. Liz also climbed to the back of the ambulance, and they headed to the Roswell General.

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

Meanwhile, West Roswell High, school hallway

Maria was walking to nowhere in particular. She had just finished her lunch, and now found herself with nothing constructive to do. Liz had disappeared somewhere, and Alex still had class going on. She pulled her gaze from the floor, her gaze falling to Michael's aproaching form. Her breath hitched slightly, the night when Liz and Max had been at the reservation getting to her head in a vivid detail. She forced herself to calm down, and approached Michael. "Hey," she said in a small voice.

"Hey," he said curtly, feeling uncomfortable near Maria. It didn't help that Marcus had made his own deduction for what was happening between them. ["Which would be nothing,"] Michael told to himself. Now they were just standing there, staring at one another, but not to the eyes. Neither of them could force themselves to speak first.

"I better go. I'm going to be late from the class," Michael said after a while, and started to leave.

"You're avoiding me," Maria said. It was a statement, not a question.

Michael looked at Maria. "I'm not avoiding you," he insisted, and continued to walk away.

Maria followed him, not letting him off the hook. "Oh, the classic signs, Michael," she said, raising her hands in an exasperated way. "Not looking me in the eyes, lying about motives..." she continued, but Michael stopped her.

"You know what?" he said indignantly, turning to face her. "Fine. If it's gonna SHUT you UP, I AM avoiding you. Watch me continue that thought, all right?"

Maria is about to make a retort, when her cell rings. "No way," she mutters, while she fishes her cell out. She sees that Michael is about to leave. "Stay," she said curtly, and Michael obeyed. Maria finally managed to find the cell, and she answers to it. "Mom, I told you to stop calling me..." she started, but Liz's voice cut her off.

"No, it's...it's me, Maria," Liz's voice said.

Maria looked confused, which got Michael's attention. "Liz?" she asked, and now Michael was curious. Maria looks at Michael, intending to finish the conversation they started. "Look, I'm in the middle of something now, but I'm gonna get back to you, babe," she said, her gaze on Michael.

"No. Look, there's been an accident with me and Max," Liz's voice said, and Maria's eyes widened.

"You and Max are in an accident?" she asked, worried about Liz's well being.

Michael heard Max's name and the word 'accident', and his mind went to autodrive. He snatched Maria's cell from her and asks Liz, "What the hell's going on?"

"Michael?" Liz's voice asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, Michael. I repeat, what the HELL is going ON?" he asked again, more indignantly now.

"Michael, we're heading to the hospital now. Could you and Isabel come here?" Liz asked.

Michael grit his teeth. "We're coming," he said, and shoved Maria's phone to her. Maria looked at him when he raced to find Isabel. "I have to tell Marcus about this," Maria said to herself, and went to find him.

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

Roswell General Hospital, 12:01 p.m.

Adam Hills was writing some medical reports, when the paramedics rushed in. He immediately stepped into his doctor persona. "What do we got?" he asked, but the minute he saw the man on the gurney, he recognized him. Max Evans. He also saw Liz Parker walking after them. ["Oh, this is great,"] he thought sarcastically, hoping that he could have stayed away from Liz. Because if she was here, that meant that Marcus would show up eventually, and since there was a huge chance that Liz would suspect him being a Watcher, he had to think something, FAST.

The older paramedic responded. "16 year old male, victim of an MVA with a blunt head trauma and a loss of consciousness. GCS 2-3-4. BP 124 over 84, pulse 90, respiratory rate 16," he said.

Adam nodded to the information. Somewhat good stats considering that he was a victim of a head trauma. Since Ms. Parker was here, he had to fake the fact that he knew who the boy was. "Get him in 1," he ordered the paramedic, who nodded. Adam turned to Liz. "You were with him?" he asked.

Liz seemed slightly out of it for a moment, then came to. "Um, yeah," she said.

"When did he lose his consciousness?" Adam asked.

Liz thought about it for a moment. "Uh, right after the accident," she said. She WAS pretty sure about it.

"What's your relationship?" Adam asked. It was an interesting fact for the future, but at the moment he needed to ask it for the record.

Liz didn't answer immediately. "He's my friend," she said after a moment of hesitation.

Adam nodded to the information, though he knew that she wasn't telling the whole truth. At least what she herself thought about this. He turned to the paramedic. "Has he been ID-ed?" Adam asked.

"Yes, sir," the paramedic answered.

Adam turned to one of the nurses that were following them. "Contact his parents right away," he said, and the nurse nodded. They had now reached the ER 1. They lifted Max to a bed, and Adam started to issue orders. "Get him on a monitor," he said, and the younger paramedic started to do that. Adam checked Evans's eyes. "We need some blood tests," he said to himself, then turned to another nurse. "Get me CBC and a spot 12, and draw blood for a trauma panel," he ordered, and the nurse started to do as told. At the backround, Liz's eyes widened when she heard they were going to run blood tests. That was bad. If Max indeed was an alien, that meant that his anatomy is different. That could mean anomalies in his cells. Even in his blood.

About 20 minutes later, Michael and Isabel had finally arrived to the hospital. Isabel had grabbed one of the nurses and demanded with icy voice where her brother was being held, but unfortunately nurse had no idea what Isabel was talking about. When Michael told her that Isabel's brother was a victim of a car accident, nurse nodded in realization and told them where he was. Now they had reached the room where Max was, and Isabel gasped for what she saw. "Oh my God," she said, and rushed to her brothers unconscious form. "Max. Max," she said, but Max didn't hear her. Isabel turned to look at Liz, and demanded, "What happened?"

"We were on the old highway," Liz said, and Isabel nodded to the information. She knew the place. "There was this horse but Max swerved to avoid it and then we crashed."

"Max," Isabel said again, nudging her brother as softly as she could, but he didn't respond.

Then a nurse, whose name was Susan according to the name tag, who had been taking the blood sample from Max when the two kids arrived, said to them sternly, "There's too many people here." She then put the vial of blood to the table.

"I'm his sister," Isabel said, but the nurse didn't even acknowledge that fact.

"No one's supposed to be here," she said, and started to herd the two girls and the boy out from the room.

Michael decides to step in. Against the general belief, he wasn't deaf to rumors, and even though Max was a big topic amongst the female body of students, he wasn't that far behind either. That is if the looks some of the girls at school gave to him were any indication for it. He gave a genuine smile to the nurse, who seemed to be enthralled by it. Susan gave a shy smile to Michael, and tried to hide the blush that had suddenly crept to her cheeks. Liz looked at Isabel with an icredulous look, who shrugged in turn. "I realize you're just trying to do your job, but we're all in shock right now. I'm really sorry," he said to Susan, who suddenly felt her mouth had gone dry.

"Just keep it low, okay," she said.

"Thank you...Susan," Michael said, after he had read her name tag.

Susan shook her head slightly, took the vial of blood and left the room. She had to run the tests for the blood sample, hopefully getting her mind clear from that boy that had got her weak in her knees.

Michael then turned to look at Isabel and Liz. "I'll get the blood," he said, and started to follow Susan.

Isabel sat next to the hospital bed Max was lying. She grasped his hand into hers, and said to herself, "They can't get that blood."

Liz nodded in agreement, but there was something off about the whole situation. It was so...new to them. "I don't undestand this. What have you guys done before?" she asked.

Isabel looked at Liz, her eyes were radiating sadness. "Nothing like this has never happened before," she said.

["What?!"] Liz thought, not believing it. Sure, she was immortal now, and she didn't exactly have the need to go to hospitals anymore, but this was unbelievable. "But...what about when you guys get sick?" she asked.

Isabel shook her head. "We don't get sick," she said. All Liz could think about was, ["Wow!"] They had NEVER been sick, at all. She remembered the time she had a fever, and she didn't like it one bit. She would have loved the idea for not get sick, but the fact that Isabel, Michael and Max didn't know a damn thing about it, that was unbelievable. "We need blood," Isabel stated, pulling Liz out from her daze. Isabel looked at Liz. "We'll take some of yours and replace Max's with it," she said, and Liz shook her head to that idea.

"It can't be mine," she stated. It had nothing to do with her immortality, because her own blood tests had proved that they were normal, but just like with her cells, her blood had had the same electrical halo around them, which disappeared quickly. "They can tell male from female blood," she said, which was true. Even if she weren't an Immortal, she couldn't be the source.

"Then we need to find a guy," Isabel said, and Liz nodded in agreement. She doupted that Marcus would agree to this, mainly because of his certain dislike to the aliens. Kyle was out of the question, simply because he didn't like Max, not after Liz had terminated their friendship because of Kyle's jock friends. That left Alex. "I have to call Maria about that," she said to Isabel, and made her way to the hospital parking lot. It was not allowed to use cell phones near the hospital equipment. Marcus had used his cell from the lobby when he had called Claudia the day Liz got shot, but his cell didn't emit any hazardous frequencies to the hospital equipment. Liz wondered where he had got that kind of phone, but thought against it. This was important. She was at the parking lot when she called Maria. "Maria, listen, I need you to do something..."

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

West Roswell High, 12:38 p.m, school hallway not too far from the Quad

Marcus was furious. Ever since he and Liz had got tangled up with the aliens, things had gone from somewhat tolerable to hell in a blink of an eye. First, Mr. Guerin decides to break into his apartment, and steal his pendant. Second, Ms. Evans decides to take a sightseeing tour inside Marcus's subconscious, thus violating his privacy. He had dealt with those two, making his point about the consequences VERY clear. NOW, Mr. Evans had caused a car accident, with Liz on board. Maria had told him that much, and it would be an understatement to say that Marcus was not pleased. He had (fortunately) just finished his history class when Maria told him the news. He had been so angry that he smashed the table he used in half, scaring the hell out from Maria in the process. He had told the janitor to clean the mess, and told him that the bill from the costs could be sent to him. Now all Marcus wanted to do was to tear Mr. Evans into tiny little pieces, all the while lecturing him about the traffic safety. Now he was heading to the quad, Maria talking at the cell with Liz. It seemed that they needed to swap Max's blood sample with someone else's blood. It was a good thing they hadn't asked him to do it. So that left Alex, to whom they were now trying to find.

"Okay, chica, I'll bring him over. Yeah, I know. Bye," Maria said to her cell, and terminated the call. She looked at Marcus carefully, as if fearing that he would blow up or something. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked in a small voice, and Marcus glanced at her, his eyes so cold and emotionless that Maria shivered.

"No. What I am thinking at the moment is not suitable for the ears of someone like you," he said curtly, and looked ahead.

Maria was offended by that remark. "Look, buddy, I have seen horror movies. I think I can handle some trash talk about Max," she said.

Marcus snorted. "What I plan to do with Max is this. Rip his arm off, beat him senseless with it, reciting the traffic regulations to him, along with the safety for that matter, and then just kill him. How's that," he said nonchalantly, and Maria turned a bit white.

["Yep, he really is overprotective towards Liz,"] Maria thought, and decided to stay quiet.

Actually, Marcus was equally angry at himself as he was to Max. Marcus knew that nothing permanent could happen to Liz, her 'unique' situation ensured it. No, he was angry at himself for letting something like this happen in the first place. This had been far too close to blow his and Liz's identity, and Marcus didn't like it one damn bit. He became aware of his surroundings when they reached the quad, and Maria spotted Alex almost immediately. Alex was talking to some other kids as well, about what, Marcus didn't care.

"See, I mean...my point is...is that there's no garage band scene here in Roswell, you know? Which makes for a potential genius situation. I mean, we could start an entire music scene, you know?" Alex explained, but the guys weren't that receptive.

"I think I'm tone deaf," one of the guys said to Alex.

Alex turned to look at the guy who had spoken. "You are tone deaf, Lester. That's why I'm thinking the drums for you," he said, and Lester nodded in understanding. Then, Maria and Thorne walk behind him, and since everyone expect Alex could see Mr. Thorne, they backed away from him. The look on his face could be considered to be the most purest form of anger. Maria put her hand on Alex's shoulder, and whispers, "We need your help."

Alex turns to look at her, and is more than startled when he sees Mr. Thorne. When Thorne doesn't say anything, Alex calms down a bit. He and the guys weren't in trouble. Then he remembered that Maria was there, and he turns to the guys. "Ok, I'm making a point here. The point here is, musicians get the ladies," Alex said, and wiggled his eyebrows. Some of the guys grin to this, but then turn pale when they see Thorne's face grimace to even more hateful look. If he kept this up, the poor kids would run to the next state. Alex gulped at the look as well, wondering if he insulted him in someway.

Maria just rolled her eyes to Alex's statement, completely oblivious to the even more hostile look Marcus had. "Now," she said, and started to drag Alex to her car. Marcus followed suit, wondering if it would be too much to just kill Mr. Evans.

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

[Bored to Mundane life]

Meanwhile, Roswell General Hospital, laboratory

Susan was going through the blood samples, writing some information on some of the hospital records she had. The last one she looked at was Max's blood sample. She writes the necessary info down, and puts the vial along with the others. Then she takes the reports with her and leaves the room. Almost immediately, an FBI agent, dressed up as a medic, enters the room and starts to search Max's blood sample. He was on it some time, when Adam suddenly walks in. He looks at the FBI agent who had done a lousy job disguising himself as a medic, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Agent didn't say anything at first, then came up with a cover story. "I was told to find a blood sample to run test. I'm having trouble finding it," he said.

Hills crossed his hands over his chest. "Who's the patient?" he asked.

Agent didn't answer immediately. Hills sighed. "Look, if you don't know the name, get back to the patient and figure it out. If you DO know the name, say it," Adam said, and the agent glared at him. After a while, the agent left the room, cursing under his breath. Adam wasn't too happy about this incident either. They were definitely after the Evans kid, but why, he had no clue. Adam walks to the spot where the blood samples were. He easily fished out Max's blood sample and studies it for a moment. It didn't look different, but he would know for sure when he ran some tests of his own. The vitals didn't give any signs of worry to Mr. Evans. If anything, the boy was picture of health, if it weren't for the fact that he was still unconscious. Still, there was a chance that it wouldn't take too long for Evans to wake up. Adam hid the blood sample into his coat, and replaced it with another sample. This sample was from the blood bank, and Adam had made sure that there was nothing suspicious about it. Then Susan, the nurse appeared to the room.

"Oh, Doctor Hills. I didn't know you were here," she said.

"Actually, I came by to ask about the test results from the Evans kid," Adam said.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't done the tests yet. It might take a while," Susan said, and seated next to the blood samples.

"That's fine, Susan. Contact me when you have the results," Adam said, and made his way out from the room. Once outside, he headed to his office. He needed to find some time to study Evans's blood sample, and if there was something...'odd' about it, destroy the sample. This was weird, even by Immortal standards, but Adam was curious.

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

Roswell General Hospital, 12:54 p.m, Max's room

Maria, Alex and Mr. Thorne arrive to Max's room. Both Isabel and Liz immediately noticed the hostile look Marcus was giving to Max's unconscious form, and wondered what was that about. Maria saw Max lying on the bed. "Oh my God," she muttered.

Alex looked confused. He had no clue why he was here. He didn't know Max Evans at all, and true, he had a crush on Isabel for as long as he could remember, but this wasn't exactly an ideal time to think about those kind of things.

Liz walked to Alex, biting her lip. "Alex," she started, looking him to the eyes. "I need you to do me a HUGE favor."

"Anything," Alex said, without hesitation.

"I need your blood," she said, and Alex looked at her with wide eyes.

Marcus walked next to Max, and kept glaring at him, ignoring the conversation between Liz and Alex. His right hand was trembling, clenched into a fist. The need to grap the boy from his throat and choke the life out from him was overwhelming. Then Marcus shook his head, reminding him that this wasn't the same thing that had happened to Rebecca. She had been in a car accident as well, and had been more injured than Max was. Liz had healed, Marcus knew that, but the risk for something bigger was WAY too high. He remembered how he had threatened the bastard who had been with Rebecca during the accident. The only way Marcus would come through this without killing Max, would be to remember that this wasn't the same situation.

While Marcus was trying to keep himself from exploding, Liz had managed to convince Alex into Liz's request. Alex, Liz, Maria and Isabel had found a secluded room to do this. Liz was preparing Alex for taking some blood from him, Maria was keeping watch, incase someone desided to appear, and Isabel was observing Liz and Alex. Alex was scared to death for this. When Liz brough the needle to Alex's arm, he started to protest. "Ok, I have any number of reservations at this particular moment," he said.

Liz looked at Alex. "No, it's fine, Alex. I volunteered here last summer, I saw them do this a thousand times," she said, trying to reassure Alex, but failing miserably.

"Oh, God. What are you people hiding?" Alex asked, fear getting the better of him.

Liz bit her lip. "I'll tell you everything later," she said, and was about to push the needle in.

"Ok, look," Alex said, preventing Liz from finishing this. "I know best friends are supposed to trust each other on everything..." he started ranting, but Liz stopped him.

"Alex, I can do this," she said, and continued.

Suddenly, Maria decided to bring her voice in, startling Alex. "Incoming," she said.

Isabel shook her head, took the vial they would need, snatched the needle from Liz. "Here," she said, shoving the vial to Liz, who took it. She then brought the needle to Alex's arm. "It'll be best if you don't look," Isabel said to Alex, who closed his eyes tightly. Isabel then pushes the needle into Alex's hand, and Liz puts the vial on its place. Isabel then uses her powers to draw blood from Alex into the vial, without any pain. When they have enough blood, Liz pulls the vial away, and smiles to Alex. "Thank you," she said.

"Come on, let's go!" Maria insisted, and she and Liz then leave the room.

"This'll sting a little," Isabel said to Alex, and pulled the needle away. Alex grimaced from the sting, and Isabel hands him a piece of paper, which Alex uses to stop the bleeding. "Thank you," Isabel said to Alex, who just looks at her confused. ["What did I get myself into?"] he thought.

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

Meanwhile, Adam Hills's office

Adam Hills put a sample of blood into a piece of glass, and then put it under the microscope he had there. He then looked the blood cells through the microscope, and what he saw took his breath away. They weren't human at all, but something else entirely. Adam had never seen anything like it, not as a Watcher or as a doctor. This definitely brought new questions for Adam about the relationship Mr. Evans and Liz Parker had. Adam was positive that Mr. Evans had absolutely no clue whatsoever WHAT Ms. Parker really was, but she knew what Mr. Evans was. ["Curioser and curioser,"] Adam thought, and looked at the vial. This definitely was proof, but for what? That Mr. Evans was an alien? Definitely. Now the bigger question was this. Why was the FBI after him? Adam knew that Topolski was after the aliens, and she had believed that Liz was one of them. That theory had been shot to hell not too soon afterwards, but now...she was hell bent to find out what Liz was, AND to find the aliens.

Adam pondered his options for 10 whole minutes, before making one. He took the sample of blood from the microscope and the vial and headed to the basement, where they had a furnace which was used on a rare occasion. At the moment there was a janitor burning some stained clothes that were beyond repair or salvage. The janitor nodded to Hills, who nodded back. Adam looked at the fire for a while, then tossed the vial and the sample with Max's blood into the furnace. The heat broke the vial, spreading the blood into the flames. Eventually the blood had disappeared completely. Adam nodded to himself in satisfaction, and made his way upstairs. He had a patient to examine.

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

Roswell General Hospital, 13:14 p.m, the lobby

Everyone is waiting for an update on Max's condition. Mrs Evans had come to the hospital a short while ago, and was now in Max's room. Michael was leaning against a pillar, Marcus by his side but he was still glaring at the double doors where Max's room was. Isabel was sitting at one of the recliners, worried about her brother. Maria, Alex and Liz were sitting on a sofa, Alex looking like a deer caught in front of a car's headlights. Liz put her hand on Alex's shoulder. "Alex...maybe you should go home," she said, earning a utterly confused and scared look from Alex.

"Liz, what I just did could get me arrested, and that's all you have to say to me?" he asked from Liz, who hung her head. Then Alex turned his gaze to Michael and Isabel. "Any of you?" he said, though he meant each and everyone he knew in that room.

"Alex..." Liz started, but Michael cut in.

"She said go home," he said curtly. Liz gave him a glare from his rudeness, but Michael held his ground.

Alex shook his head and stood up. "Well...great new friends you've made, Liz," he said, and left.

Liz looks after Alex's disappearing form, then glares at Michael. "Way to go," she said, and starts to follow Alex. Michael starts to follow Liz, but Maria steps in front of him.

"She's not going to tell him. Just give her a second," Maria said, but Michael is skeptic about it.

"Maria's right, Michael," Marcus said, and Michael turns to look at him. "Liz won't tell Alex the truth, but there is one thing you have to understand," Marcus said, and looked at Michael. "When her friendship with Alex is threatened, she will tell him, and there's nothing you or Max can do to stop her."

"You don't know that," Michael stated, but shuddered when Marcus glared at him.

"Yes, I do know that, Michael. Alex won't tolerate this too long, and he will want to know the truth. If he won't, he will terminate his friendship with Liz, and guess who *I'm* going to hold responsible for it," Marcus said.

Michael couldn't say anything about it, because he had no idea who Marcus meant by his statement. Him, Max, or all three of them? The latter sounded more than probable.

Meanwhile, Liz had finally caught up with Alex. "Alex, wait..." Liz started, but Alex stopped her by turning around.

"I've been waiting, Liz!" he exclaimed. "And apparently I'm not going to get an explanation."

Liz's eyes were downcast now. "It's complicated, ok?"

Alex shook his head. "No, it's NOT ok, Liz! None of this is ok!" he yelled.

Liz was silent for a while. He was right, she knew it, but she just couldn't tell him. She wanted to, but she couldn't. If she told him, he would be pulled into the world of the single most largest conspiracy theories and she didn't want that. Even if she did tell him about her own secret, he would be pulled into a by far MORE dangerous world than the aliens and some secret government organization she didn't have a name yet. "Alex," she started, pondering her situation a bit more carefully, but found herself in a dead end. "You've got to trust me..." she started, but Alex stopped her with his tirade.

"Wh-what is it? Drugs? Is that what this is?" he asked, and Liz looked at him. Did he really think that? "You and Max go for a drive. He gets wasted, and almost kills you both in the process. That's what I'm covering for, isn't it?" Alex asked again.

Liz looked stricken. "Alex..." she tried to say something, anything to deny it, but Alex wouldn't let her. He hadn't stopped his train of thought.

"You can't use Michael's blood because he's just as high. So who do you call?" he asks sarcastically. "You call on your buddy Alex. Stupid, straight Alex who does everything you say cause he's such a loyal friend that you lie to and you use whenever you can."

"That's not true," Liz insisted. It wasn't true, but some of it did strike home. Not all of it, but some. She had never, not once asked him to do something against his will, but it was true that she had lied to him. It hurt, but if that was the price she had to pay to keep him safe, then that was what she was going to do. The only problem was, that she also knew that no matter what, Alex wanted to be a part of this, come hell or high water. Because that's what friends do. They help you, no matter what. Be it the headhunters or some weird government organization.

"Then tell me truth, Liz. For once," Alex pleaded.

Liz's mind was running through her options. What could she say? She could lie again, severing their friendship completely or tell him the truth, endangering his life in a really big way. She closed her eyes, and turned her head away. "You're right," she said in a small voice. "It's drugs."

Alex shakes his head, and left. The look on her face told him that for once, just for once, she would tell him what was going on. No, that didn't happen.

A small tear glided down Liz's cheek when she watched Alex leave. Her breath hitched when a hand appeared to her shoulder, but she calmed down when she saw it was Marcus, a concerned look on his face. "You all right?" he asked.

Liz shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Well, than what I'm about to say won't make a difference," Marcus said, and Liz looked at him quizzically. "Ms Topolski is an FBI agent," Marcus stated.

Liz's eyes widened to this. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Marcus nodded. "Richie heard Valenti and Topolski chatting at a bar about a week ago," he said.

Liz rubbed her temples, a headache starting to worm its way into her head. "This is not happening," she muttered.

"I'm afraid it is," Marcus said. "Come on, we better get back inside."

Suddenly Isabel walks to them, and Marcus wondered if she heard anything. "He's awake," Isabel said, and Liz looked at Marcus sharply.

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

Roswell General Hospital, 13:24 p.m, Max's room

Mrs. Evans was looking at her son with evident worry in her eyes. When she had heard that Max had been in a car accident, she had nearly fainted from worry. When she had reached the hospital, seeing her son lying on the hospital bed was bad for her. When Max had woke up, she had been so relieved. "Max, you have NO idea how much you terrified me," Diane said sternly.

"Sorry, Mom," Max said, keeping his gaze forward.

Dr. Hills was examining Max's eyes at the moment, now knowing what Mr. Evans truly was, but that raised questions about his family. As far as he knew, Philip and Diane were both humans, because they were doing regular check-ups at the hospital. Still, the recovery rate of the boy was remarcable, but nowhere near the class of Immortals. As a matter of fact, not even to the class fledgling immortals. Adam put the flashlight aside and pulled the medical file. "It's some recovery," he commented.

Max shrugged. "I guess I got lucky," he said.

Adam nodded to the answer. ["Obviously this is the first time he's been at the hospital as a patient,"] Adam thought. Still, the recovery was quite impressive. "You didn't seem so lucky a couple of hours ago. You sure you're feeling ok? No dizziness? Headaches?" Adam asked.

Max shook his head, and Adam wrote something to the file. "Well, that's good, then. Your son is fine, Mrs. Evans," Adam said to Diane.

"Oh, thank God," Diane said, clearly reliefed.

"I still recommend we keep him overnight. I can also schedule an MRI in the morning," Adam said, knowing all too well what Mr. Evans's answer to that would be.

"Yes, of course," Diane said, fully in agreement with Hills, which was expected, as was the fact that Max would resist.

"Mom, I'm fine. I don't need any tests," Max insisted, not wanting to spent anymore time at the hospital.

Diane looked at her son with a frown. "Honey, we'll leave it to the doctor, ok?" she said, but Max had none of it.

"Please, I have ton of schoolwork. Really, I feel fine. Mom, I just...I don't want to stay here," Max pleaded, and Diane looked slightly worried. Then she turned her gaze to the doctor, siding with Max in this.

Adam sighed. The result was just what he had expected. "Ok," he said, nodding his head. "Have him take it easy for the next few days. And if you feel any dizziness, anything unusual, you contact me right away," he said.

Max nodded his head to this. It was something he could easily do. "Yeah," he said.

"All right, then," Adam said, and closed the file.

"Thank you, doctor. Thank you," Diane said, and Adam brushed it off. He was just doing his job, and it was Mr. Evans's 'unusual' origins that did most of the work. Hills walked out from the door, and noticed Mr. Evans's friends were still there.

"You guys can go in now," Adam said, and Isabel, Michael, Maria, Liz and Marcus headed to the room. Adam headed to see another patient, deliberately making sure that he didn't make an eye contact with Ms. Parker or Mr. Thorne. He was well aware that she had her eyes locked onto his back, but Adam had to act casually. His cover depended on it.

Liz tried to look at Dr. Hills for any sign of awkwardness or anything that would tell her something about her initial thoughts that Hills was a Watcher. She couldn't see any hint of discomfort from him. That didn't mean anything, though. Marcus had said that they were the ultimate spies, and that they could be anyone she has ever seen in her life. Liz shook her head when she failed to see anything out of the ordinary from Dr Hills. She was now in Max's hospital room, and Max was so far being treated like a baby. They had failed to remember that she too had been on the car when it swerved off the road. Sure, she had recovered, but so far only Maria and Marcus had shown any real concern towards her. The two aliens didn't. Isabel was hugging Mrs. Evans. Liz noticed that Marcus was leaning against the wall next to the door. His face had an impassive look on it, but his eyes were fixed on Max. The scariest thing was, that Marcus's eyes seemed to have lost all emotion he ever had. Liz realized that Marcus was beyond angry about something, and that anger was targeted at Max.

"Heard you saved Mr. Ed," Michael said to Max, who gave a small laugh to the joke.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Max said.

"You ok?" Liz asked, worried about Max. He wasn't immortal, she was. That meant that Max could have died or worce.

Maria briefly glanced at Mr. Thorne. When Liz had said those two words, Marcus's eyes had flashed from something. It was so quick that Maria had to blink her eyes. When she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, she shrugged and turned to look at Max.

Max nodded to Liz's question, and gave her a small smile. Mrs. Evans had a confused look on her face. ["Who's this?"] she thought, and decided to get to the bottom of this. Was her son seeing someone? "Hello," Diane said to Liz, who looked at her.

Max looked at her mother as well, and mentally scolded himself for never mentioning Liz. "Mom, this is Liz," he said.

"It's nice to meet you," Liz said, and extended her hand to the older woman.

Diane shook hands with the petite brunette, who she now recognized as the Parker's daughter. "It's nice to meet YOU," Diane said warmly, and Liz smiled to her. ["Well, with a smile like that, no wonder my son is attracted to her,"] she thought, and glanced at her son.

Marcus had a hard time keeping his face impassive. All he wanted to do was to tear Mr. Evans apart. The only ones who had been worried about Liz's well being had been him and Maria, no one else. Sure, Liz's parents would have been worried as well, but there was no need to inform them about this. Marcus would have expected even a SMALL sign of worry from Mr. Evans, but no. There was no hint of worry in his eyes, only the need to get the hell out from the hospital. Marcus knew that Isabel, Michael and Mrs. Evans were worried about Max, but he wasn't alone in that car. And Marcus would make damn certain that Mr. Evans would NOT make a similar mistake again.

About 30 minutes later, Max was suited up and ready to go home. The group was now heading to the parking lot. Mrs. Evans had went ahead to get the car, and Marcus had left earlier, but obviously aggravated by something. No one else but Liz saw it.

"I was so scared," Liz said to Max. She had no worries about herself, just from Max. Then again, since she was an immortal, she had no worries about physical injuries.

"I'm ok, really," Max reassured Liz, and she smiled to him.

"Let's go. Mom's waiting in the car," Isabel said impatiently, and Max nodded. Maria reached out for her purse, but noticed it was gone.

"Oh, my keys are in my purse on the table in Max's room," she said, and everyone looked at her. "Well we WERE in the middle of a CRISIS, remember!?" she angrily said to them, and Liz nodded in understanding.

"I'll go get it," Michael said, and ignored the warm smile Maria gave him. "Just get HIM to the car," Michael said, gesturing Max.

Michael made his way to Max's room, and sees the purse. He also sees that the curtains were pulled to obscure the vision to the bed Max had occupied a while ago. Michael sees a silhuette of a man there, and he pulls the curtain away. There's two men there, one of them being the one Michael had seen following him around. The other one was the man who had gone through the blood samples. He was slightly bald, around his early 30's. The man with blond hair was going through the trash, and the bald one was reading Max's chart. Michael grabs the purse. "Forgot her purse," he said to the two startled men, and left.

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

The Evans's household, 14,19 p.m, Max's bedroom

Michael was pacing in Max's room, telling Max and Isabel what he had seen when he had went to get Maria's purse. "I'm telling you, it was the same guy. The one that followed me into the Crashdown the other night. He was going through the garbage. And the other guy, the one I saw looking for blood, he was going through Max's chart," Michael said, and sat on a chair.

Isabel was sitting on Max's bed, and Max was sitting on a chair next to his desk. "There's nothing for them to find," Max stated.

Michael nodded to that. "Yeah, this time. But this is the closest call we have ever HAD," he said strongly, and Max had to agree to that.

"I'm sorry..." he started, but Isabel cut him off.

"It wasn't your fault, Max," she said.

Max didn't agree, though. He never had been able to keep his eyes off from Liz, not from the way she was smiling. If he had just kept his eyes on the road, this wouldn't have happened. He never would blame Liz for this, she was just so beautiful that it blinded those who could see it, and he was one of them. It was his fault. He hadn't been able to keep his eyes off from her. Besides, when he had woke up, he had wanted to know how Liz had been. Dr. Hills had insisted that she was fine, so he had calmed down.

"I didn't say that," Michael said, surprising Max. "But somebody's closing in on us. And unless we do something about it..."

"The only thing we can do is run," Isabel said, finishing Michael's sentence.

"No, that's not true," Michael said, confusing Isabel. "We can figure them out before they figure us out."

Isabel couldn't believe what Michael was saying. "This is already so out of control and you just want to make it even worse?" she asked indignantly.

"I want to know my enemy," Michael said. "That's the only chance we'll ever have."

"Do you think it could work?" Max asked.

Isabel looked at Max in disbelief. He was siding with Michael? "You seriously aren't going to agree to this?" she asked.

Michael nodded. "Yes. I can. That is if we can figure out why Thorne seemed ready to murder you on the spot at the hospital," Michael said.

"What?" Max asked, not understanding what Michael was saying.

"Max, Thorne was there, and the way he kept looking at you, I'd say you pissed him off BIG time," Michael said. He knew that people gave a very little amount of credit to him when thinking was in order, but he was far from stupid. Sure, Thorne had LOOKED impassive, but his eyes were a whole different story. They were so cold, that when Michael had briefly glanced them, he was sure he was going to freeze to death. There was no doupt in Michael's mind that Thorne was angry to Max. Now all he needed to find out was the reason for it.

"Why would he be mad at me?" Max asked, not understanding what Michael was saying.

Isabel pondered what Michael had said for a moment. She had also seen the hostile look in Thorne's eyes, and had to completely avoid his gaze during the time he was there. ["Wait a minute! Max was in a car accident, with LIZ on board!"] Isabel realized it, and buried her face into her hands. "God, how can I have been so blind!" she said, getting curious glance from Max, but not from Michael, who now realized the same thing as Isabel had. Liz. She had been the one to call Maria in the fist place, which meant that she was with Max during the accident. ["This is bad,"] he thought grimly.

"What?" Max asked, getting tired to being the only one with zero glue what was going on.

Isabel looked at her brother. "Thorne is mad at you because in his eyes, you endangered Liz's life," she said, and Max's eyes widened from disbelief.

"WHAT?! I didn't..." Max started to say, but Michael stopped him.

"Max, Liz was with you when you crashed. And I think all three of us are also the one's Thorne blames, because all we were worried about was you, not Liz," Michael said, and Max realized the same thing.

"I have to talk to him, make him understand that I didn't mean..." Max started, but Michael cut him off again.

"Max, just apologize. Directly. If I have observed Thorne correctly, he is the type of man who doesn't want to hear excuses. And if you try to tell him that it wasn't your fault, I think he'll do something that'll make the beating I took from him pale in comparison," Michael said, and let it rest now. If Max wanted to make Thorne see things his way, he would only dig his own grave, and that statement wasn't an exaggeration.

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

A dark alley somewhere in Roswell, 22:48 p.m.

Agent Topolski pulled her car into a stop at the alley. Further ahead, the balding agent made his way to her car. Topolski lowers her passenger side window, and looks at the agent. "Interesting day," she said. "So how did it go?"

The balding agent hands the file to Topolski. "There was a blood test," agent said, and Topolski looks at him, interest flashing in her eyes. "It came back normal."

["Damn it!!"] Topolski cursed mentally, but the agent wasn't finished.

"I think something might have happened, though," agent said, getting Topolski's interest again.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, there were 6 of them. And they kept coming in and out from his room a lot," agent said, after some thought.

Topolski frowned to this information. "Doing what?" she asked.

Agent shook his head. "I'm not sure, but they brought another one in. Tall kid, kind of wiry," he said.

"Alex," Topolski murmured, knowing too well who agent was talking about.

"I think they switched the blood samples," agent said, and Topolski nodded in agreement.

"What about the Parker girl?" Topolski asked, remembering that she was in the same car accident as well.

"They didn't conduct any tests on her. She seemed fine from the brief glance I saw her," Agent said, remembering Topolski's fixation to the human girl.

Topolski's mind was racing. ["They didn't do any tests on her at all? Interesting. Mr. Evans gets a blunt head trauma from the accident, and Ms. Parker comes out from it without a scratch,"] she thought. Then she put the file away. "Thank you from your help, Agent Moss. Keep an eye on them," she said.

Moss nodded. "Will do," he said.

Topolski then backed the car out from the alley, and headed to her home. Agent Moss then drove away from the alley as well. When they were finally gone, Adam lowered the thermal vision goggles and stood up. He had been hiding behind the dumpster at the other side of the street. Thanks to the bug he had planted into Topolski's car some time ago, he had heard their conversation rather clearly. Then he grinned. They were so out from their league that they didn't even know it. Now all he had to do was to keep a close eye on Agent Topolski, and possibly even tap her office phone. Just in case.

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

West Roswell High, 12th November, Wednesday, 11:09 a.m, The Quad

Alex was trying to find an empty spot so that he could at least eat his lunch, but failed to find any suitable place. Then he spotted a fairly empty table, but Kyle was sitting there as well. Alex grimaced. He had nothing against Valenti, it was just that they were from completely different groups. Valenti was a jock, and Alex was a computer geek. Yeah, Alex REALLY loved that label on him. He was far from a pushover that every jock always saw him. He exercised regularly, giving him a wiry build. That didn't make him weak. Given the proper motivation, he could give a beating to any jock, but he never, NEVER, had gone that far. Alex didn't believe in violence. Besides, Alex knew Kyle somewhat, thanks to Liz. He shrugged after pondering his options for a while, and sat next to Kyle. Kyle looked at him curiously, finding it odd that Whitman decided to sit next to him.

"Hey," Alex said to Kyle.

"Hey," Kyle said, after an awkward pause. Sure, he knew Alex from his relationship with Liz, but had rarely even talked with, or even acknowledged him. "What are you doing here?" Kyle asked.

Alex looked at Kyle in puzzlement. "Umm, eating?" Alex asked, and Kyle had to snort to the lame attempt for a joke.

Kyle continued to eat his own lunch, then stopped. He turned to look at Alex, who was eating his own lunch. "Have you talked with Liz recently?" Kyle asked, and Alex nearly choked to his sandwich.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I mean, you and Liz are as close friends as she is with Maria. I mean, what's going on with her? She's not being herself," Kyle said, and Alex was now more confused. Sure, he had heard that Liz had broken up with Kyle, but apparently there was more than that.

"She seems like a stranger to you?" Alex asked.

Kyle snapped his fingers to that. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. She's like this whole different person all of a sudden. Ok, I know that Liz and I aren't exactly an item anymore, but I'm still worried about her. Evans is going to get her in big trouble someday," he said.

Alex blinked. Kyle obviously suspected something, but he had nothing to go on. Alex briefly wondered why Liz had broken up with Kyle in the first place. It had nothing to do with Max, that he was certain. The whole school knew the exact date when Liz had broken up with Kyle. And how exactly did Thorne fit into this? The guy looked downright homicidal when he had been at the hospital, like he wanted to kill Evans on the spot. Alex had asked if it was about drugs, and Liz had said so. Alex couldn't believe it. But now, even Kyle had said that Evans was trouble. Maybe Kyle didn't know details, but he seemed to know something. "Is there something you could tell me about that? Liz has completely shut me out about her new 'friends'," Alex asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Kyle asked incredulously. Alex shook his head, and Kyle started to tell him some weird things that had happened to him after his jock friends had beat up Max, which resulted to Liz terminating their friendship. Isabel was looking down at them from the balcony, wondering what they were talking about.

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

West Roswell High, 12:22 p.m, School hallway

Liz and Max were walking down the hallway. They had lost the man that had been following them, leaving Isabel, Michael and Maria to tail him and find out who he was working for. Liz glanced at her clock, and scowled. "I'm really late for English, and I have to cover for Maria," she said, and looked at Max.

"I...I have Trigonometry, so..." Max stammered, finding it a bit uncomfortable with Liz. Thorne was after his hide because he thought that Max deliberately endangered Liz's life. Max knew that Liz would defend him from Thorne, but Max knew that he had to do this by himself. It was more than a known fact that Thorne cared from Liz like a father does from his daughter. Max just hoped that the older man would remain calm long enough that Max could apologize from him. His thoughts were pulled back to present when Liz spoke.

"So I guess I'll just see you after school at the Crashdown," she said, and Max nodded. When he was about to leave, Liz stopped him. "Hey. Maybe you could stay for dinner. You know, Blue Moon Burger, Saturn Rings and a Mercury Milkshake for $3,99."

"Sounds tempting, but I should probably get home. Mom thinks I'm still recuperating," Max said, when the offer was more than appealing.

Liz bit her lip. "Yeah...when I saw you in that car, I thought you were... It was like I couldn't breathe, you know?" Liz said.

Max looked at Liz. She had been worried about him from the start. She hadn't cared what could have happened to her, all she could think was him. Max felt his heart swell from the thought, but then a bucket of artic cold water was thrown on his head. Thorne still wanted his head from the sheer fact that Liz was with him. Max just hoped he could solve his differences with Thorne. "I never got a chance to thank you for what you did at the hospital," Max said. "Also I would like to say that I was worried about you as well."

"What?" Liz asked, not believing her ears.

"The minute I woke up, I was worried about you. I mean, I was hit unconscious, there was no telling what had happened to you. I demanded answers from the doctor, who said that you were all right, and if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have probably made it. There, I said it. I meant to tell you sooner, but..." Max said.

Liz smiled, and felt her cheeks to imflame a bit, reddening them. "Well, um...thanks, Max. Besides, it was Alex who helped you out at the hospital. He really came through. He always does," Liz said, and Max realized where she was going with this. He started to shake his head. "Max?" Liz asked.

"We can't...tell him," Max said adamantly, but his voice didn't have the conviction to it.

"I know," Liz said sadly.

"We have to tell him something," Max said.

"You mean lie," Liz stated, hurt from what Max was suggesting.

Max ran his hand through his hair. "Isabel saw him talking with Kyle today," he said.

"Max, Kyle doesn't know anything, but he doesn't trust you. And if Alex really talked with him, Kyle will tell him that much, which will make Alex suspicious of your intentions towards me," Liz stated. "Besides, he saved your life."

Max shook his head. This was not going well. "Look, I know it's hard, but, please..." he started, but Liz cut him off.

"I already told him it was drugs...at the hospital," Liz said, her eyes downcast. Lying to Alex about this was the hardest thing she could do. She would have told him about her in a heartbeat, but she couldn't tell him about Max and the others.

"Did he believe you?" Max asked, not believing that Liz had said that, even to keep his cover.

"I think so, but now...I'm not too sure," Liz said.

"Liz, I'm so sorry," Max said, but did he really mean it? Sure, it was destroying her friendship with Alex, which was bad. Still, he just hoped that everything would come out alright eventually. (Yeah, keep dreaming, buddy!) A voice said in his head, and Max briefly wondered where it had come from. He shrugged it off for now, and focused on Liz.

"I guess these are the things you do when...when you feel a certain way about someone," Liz said wearily, keeping her eyes downcast.

"I guess," Max said, and Liz then went into her English class. Max sighed, and started to make his way to Trigonometry. The halls were empty, with everyone at their own classes. When Max finally reached the class where Trig. was held, he noticed that someone was waiting for him. ["Marcus,"] Max realized in alarm. He was there, and if what Michael and Isabel had said was true, he was here to talk to him, or beat him to death. Max relaxed when he had thought that last statement. If Marcus would beat him up, he would fly to jail. Now Max really didn't hate the man, but his attitude towards him, Isabel and Michael was something he couldn't accept, and that made Max slightly reserved. Max tried to ignore Marcus completely when he made his way to his class, but that proved to be impossible. Marcus suddenly grabbed his arm roughly and started to drag him to other hall. Then Marcus tossed Max against the lockers, and hit both his hands either sides of Max's head, looking him straight into the eyes. Max gulped. Marcus's eyes usually were a mix of gray and blue, but now...they were completely gray, as if devoid of any emotion.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me, Mr. Evans?" Marcus growled to Max, who shuddered. Marcus's voice was dead even, betraying nothing from the sheer anger he felt to the alien boy.

"Umm...about what?" Max said timidly, now really scared what the older man would do. Sure, Max had seen how Marcus beat Michael in the ring almost 2 months ago, but Max had thought that Marcus wouldn't revert into that kind of state of mind with him. Obviously he was wrong.

Marcus's eyes flashed from rage, and he grabbed Max from his throat, tightening the grip. Max started to choke, trying to get some air, which he did have access to. Marcus wanted to get a message through, not kill the boy. Yet. "The way you endangered Liz's life, you selfish bastard," Marcus growled to Max.

"I didn't..." Max tried to insist, but the words were choked out from him when Marcus increased the pressure on his throat.

"Don't you dare make excuses on me, Mr. Evans. YOU were the one who took her to that old highway. YOU were the one driving that car. YOU were the one who wasn't keeping his eyes on the road. If you HAD done that, this wouldn't have happened. It was because of YOU that the car swerved off the road. The only thing you were worried about was how this affects your cover," Marcus growled, and lessened his grip on Max's throat.

"I WAS worried about Liz, just as much as you were, but Doctor Hills told me she was alright. And I KNOW it was my fault, but I did not do that intentionally," Max gasped out.

Marcus studied the boy for a while, then removed his grip from his throat. Max slumped against the lockers, holding his throat and taking in large gulps of breath. Marcus grabbed him from his shirt collar and hauled him up again. He fixed his eyes on Max's again. "At least you have the man in you to admit it, Mr. Evans. The problem is that I can't tell Liz what she can do with her life. I'm not her father. It's Jeff's place to say these things, but since there's no way to tell him about this, that leaves me to do the talk. But make no mistake about it," Marcus said, and held his index finger in a way that said 'pay attention'. "If you EVER endanger her life like that AGAIN, I *WILL* kill you. Do you UNDERSTAND me, Mr. Evans?"

"Yes, I understand, Mr. Thorne. But you don't have to threaten me about it," Max said wearily.

"That wasn't a threat, Mr. Evans," Marcus said evenly. "It was a promise. And just to punctuate that statement..." Marcus trailed off, and pulled his right hand back. Max's eyes widened from fear. Marcus was going to hit him! (No, he's not, fool! He's just giving you a demonstration!) The voice said again in his head, and Max wondered what did it mean by that. Max got his answer shortly. Marcus let the fist fly, but it didn't hit Max in the face. No, Marcus had hit the locker door next to Max's head, and the fist had almost torn the locker door, which was made out from steel, completely apart. Max looked at Marcus's arm, and the way it had sinked into the locker door like a hot knife into the butter. Marcus pulled his arm back, tearing the locker door along with his hand. Marcus looked at the door that was stuck on his hand. His hand had almost gone through the door, the metal bending inwardly from the sheer force of the punch. Marcus pulled his hand loose from the locker door, and let it hit the floor with a clang. Marcus's hand was trembling, the blood oozing from the area where the skin was practically torn to the muscle and bone, revealing some of his blood vessels as well. Max looked at his teacher with wide eyes. Marcus's face hadn't even flinched when he had done the feat. Max instinctively brought his own hand to Marcus's, intending to heal it. Marcus hit Max's hand off with his left hand and grabbed him from his collar again, but this time he lifted Max up with the left arm, holding him at least a foot up in the air. "Did I make my point clear?" Marcus asked, and Max nodded. Marcus dropped him back to the ground, and Max's balance faltered slightly. "Get to your class, Mr. Evans. We're done talking," Marcus said, and walked away.

Max took in deep breaths before he pulled himself up from the ground. The strength Mr. Thorne had displayed...it was out of this world. No human should be able to do something like that. Actually, Max was positive that even he and Michael weren't able to do something like that. Max wiped some cold sweat from his brow, truly terrified for Marcus now. He HAD said that he considered him as a man now, because he was able to admit that it was his fault that the car had swerved off the road. He could have argued about it, but...then Max would have tried to make excuses, and Marcus obviously loathed people like that. Besides, it HAD been his fault. He should have kept his eyes on the road, but no, marveling the sheer beaty that was Liz had come first, then their safety. Max shook his head to clear it. He had to get his priorities straight if he wanted to avoid facing Thorne in another meeting. Because there never would be a third meeting if he screwed this up now. Max then ran quickly to the Trig. class.

Marcus watched after Mr. Evans, his Quickening already doing its magic on his hand. It had taken a lot of willpower to keep the Quickening at bay as long as Mr. Evans had a clear sight of him. Marcus watched his hand for a while. It had taken him 600 years of meditation that allowed him to have some control over his Quickening. He could turn it 'off' for about 15 minutes or so if it was necessary. He sighed. It was a lot easier to stimulate your muscles and senses with the Quickening than fully control it, and turning the Quickenin 'off' for the time being wasn't exactly something that the other Immortals found useful, but he disagreed. This had been one moment where it had been useful, for keeping his true identity as a secret. When the healing was done, Marcus headed to the closest mens room he could find. He had blood to wash away from his hand. He knew that Evans would start asking questions the minute he would see that Marcus's hand was recovered. A small price to pay to ensure Liz's safety with him in the future.

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

[Bored to Mundane life]

Meanwhile, Tumble Weed Motel, in front of Agent Moss' room

Michael and Maria were now standing in front of the motel room that was habiated by the man who had followed Max and Liz until they had lost him. Michael pressed his hand over the lock, and used his powers to open the lock. There was a soft *snikt* sound, and the door opened.

"I still don't understand why I have to do this," Maria stated.

Michael looked at her. "I told you already, I need a lookout," he said gruffly, and was about to get inside.

"Isn't that what Isabel's doing?" Maria asked, forcing Michael to look at her again.

"Ok, so I need 2 lookouts," he muttered angrily, and was getting inside again when Maria's rant stopped him.

"You don't trust me," she said, and Michael turned to look at her with a confused as hell look. "That's it, isn't it? You don't trust me. You give Isabel the real job because I..."

Michael had enough. "What you're going to do is to get us CAUGHT," he said angrily. "Now stay watch and SHUT UP." After saying that, he walked into the room, Maria on his heels. Michael immediately went to look at the cabinet drawer next to the bed.

"This is the second time you have dragged me to some cheap motel," Maria muttered, and glanced outside from the window.

"Yeah, well, don't spread it around. You'll ruin my reputation," Michael said, while searching the drawer. There was nothing there, so he closed it and looked under the bed.

Maria looked at him curiously. "What exactly are you looking for?" she asked.

Michael got up, and headed to the closet. "ID maybe?" he said with a sarcastic edge. "You know, something to tell us about this guy?"

"Luggage tags?" Maria suggested while Michael was looking through the closet. He closed it and shook his head.

"No tags," he said, and looked around.

"You know, toiletries can say a lot about a man, which, by the way, you should take note of, but I'm guessing you will have more luck by the phone. You know, notepads, messages, that sort of thing," Maria said, while Michael had rummaged through the bathroom cabinet.

"Would you just keep looking out the window?" Michael asked when he came back from the bathroom.

Maria put her hands on her hips and glared at Michael. "Listen, buster. Any baby-sitter worth her salt knows that the best place to look is the garbage can. It's always revealing," she said. Michael looked at her for a moment. Then he walked to the garbage can and dumped its content onto the bed. It was mostly papers, and Michael started to rummage through them, while Maria sat on the bed.

Then Michael found a piece of paper, but it was mostly smudged. He could make out a name though. "Moss. His name is Moss," Michael said.

"First name or last name?" Maria asked, slightly interested.

Michael shook his head. "I don't know," he said.

"Keep looking, Sherlock," Maria said, and when Michael got his hands on another piece of paper, but this time he was definitely interested by it. "What? What is it?"

Michael looks at the piece of paper. It has the motel logo and the name, but also a phone number. "It looks like a phone number. Local," he said.

Maria snatched the paper from his hands, took the phone and started to dial the number.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked.

"You want to find out who is on the other end of the line, don't you?" Maria asked, and Michael nodded in agreement. He leaned closer to Maria, and he could easily hear the waiting tone of the phone, even from this distance. His alien status gave him a much higher hearing than normal people had.

"Topolski," a feminine voice answered on the other end of the line. "Hello?"

Maria hung up the phone, her eyes wide. She turned to look at Michael. "That was Ms. Topolski. Ms. Topolski as in school Ms. Topolski," she said. Michael just looked at her with a peculiar expression, but he was equally worried. "All right, either she's taking her job WAY too seriously, or she's not exactly a guidance counselor."

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

West Roswell High, 13:01 p.m, mens bathroom

Alex was holding a tissue on his nose, pinching the base of his nose. His nose had started to bleed when he had started tell how things were with Liz. Kyle had no clue whatsoever what was going on with Liz, and what Alex had seen so far led him to believe that something was up. She had a secret, and it involved Max Evans and Michael Guerin. Even Maria was in on it, for Christ sake. The way Liz kept acting, it seemed to Alex like he was talking to a whole different person. Suddenly a jock came out from one of the stalls.

"Tough game of dodge ball, Whitman?" the jock asked, and smirked.

Alex glared at the jock. "Yeah, sure. Why not? Loser," he said, and muttered the last line.

The jock gave Alex a sideway glance and then started to leave. He stopped when he saw Thorne glaring at him with his steel gray eyes. "Get out," Thorne said, and the jock nodded quickly, then practically ran from the bathroom. There was a rumor going on that Thorne was pissed again from something, and none of the students wanted to be on his path when he came by. Marcus started to look through the stalls, making sure that there was no one else there. At the last stall, another jock had just done his needs. The jock flushed the toilet and turned, only to see Marcus's angry stare. "The same goes to you. Get. Out," Marcus said, and the jock hastily zipped his jeans and left the bathroom in a hurry. Alex pulled the tissue away from his nose, the bleeding being stopped for the moment. He put the bloodied tissue on the garbage can, and started to make his way out, but Marcus stopped him by saying, "You stay here, Mr. Whitman. There's something we need to talk about."

"But I have..." Alex tried to say, but Marcus stopped him.

"It can wait," he said, and locked the bathroom door, making sure that no one would interrupt them.

Alex raised his hands up in an exasperated way and let them slump to his hips. "Great. What are you going to do? Threaten me to keep my mouth shut?" Alex asked.

Marcus raised an eyebrow to this, and looked at Alex. "No," he said plainly.

"Then what?" Alex asked, wondering why Marcus wanted to talk to him. His posture had changed drastically, and the familiar gray-blue color was back in his eyes.

"You want to know what Liz is hiding, am I correct?" Marcus asked from Alex.

"Yes," Alex admitted.

"If you found out the truth, what would you do?" Marcus asked, and Alex looked at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.

Marcus sighed. "Alex, what Liz is hiding is dangerous," he said, and turned to address Alex. "Would you be able to live in a constant fear that any stranger you see would be a potential threat? Would you be willing to put your life on the line for Liz and Maria, for Max, Michael and Isabel? Would you do anything to keep them safe?"

Alex just looked at Marcus, completely muted by what he had said. "What are you saying? That Liz's life is in danger?" Alex asked.

Marcus was silent for a while. "The big question, Alex, is who do you trust? Do you trust Liz, or do you trust Topolski?" he asked.

"I don't know anymore," Alex muttered.

"Then you better figure it out fast, boy. Otherwise Liz and Maria will pay the prize," Marcus said, and unlocked the bathroom door. Before he managed to leave, Alex stopped him.

"What is she hiding? I know she has a secret, but really, it can't be that bad," Alex asked.

Marcus looked at Alex. "She has TWO secrets, Alex. And neither one of them is any better than the other. One involves her, and the other...you figure it out, you already are partially in on it," he said, and left the bathroom, leaving Alex standing there in shock.

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

Crashdown Café, 14:46 p.m.

Liz and Maria were working at the moment, and Maria was telling Liz what had happened at Agent Moss's motel room. Liz was trying to listen closely, but her mind kept going to Alex time to time.

"Anyway, so Spaceboy is looking at this guy's after-shave, so I tell him to look in the trash cause, you know, that's where you find the best trash. And what do we find?" Maria said.

"What?" Liz asked, slightly interested.

"A phone number," Maria said.

"A phone number?" Liz repeated Maria's question, who nodded. Liz glanced at the booth where Max, Michael and Isabel were sitting, and Liz thought that maybe Michael is telling his side of the story to the two other aliens.

"We'd still be there if I hadn't picked up the phone and dialed. And of course he takes this opportunity to lean as close to me as possible," Maria said, and Liz looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, who was the one who answered the phone?" Liz asked.

"Oh, it was clear as a bell, no mistake about it," Maria said, and then leaned to Liz's ear in a conspiratory manner. "Topolski."

Liz's eyes widened from mock shock. She already knew this from Marcus, but she still had to fake it. "Topolski?" Liz asked.

Maria nodded. "That's right. Ms. Topolski, all-American guidance counselor and a big, fat liar," she said.

"Are you like, 100% sure?" Liz asked. Hey, she needed to act believable. She couldn't just shrug her shoulders to it because she already knew about it.

"Positive. I smelled her from day one, remember?" Maria said, and Liz inwardly rolled her eyes. Actually, it had been her who suspected something.

"Maria, this is bad. Really bad," Liz said, and it was true. Topolski was on to Max, but she was interested in her as well.

"What do you mean, Liz?" Maria asked, not understanding what she was saying. "I mean, all we have to do is to act inconspicuosly, that's it."

"Maria, Alex was with her," Liz said, referring to how she had intervened the conversation between Topolski and Alex, and how Alex's nose started to bleed when he spoke how he felt. "I heard them talking about Max."

"Alex is not a snitch," Maria said, waving her right hand to Liz in dismissal. "Besides, he doesn't know anything to tell." When Maria saw Liz biting her lip, Maria frowned. "Does he?"

"Well...I kinda told him at the hospital that...it was about drugs," Liz said in a small voice so that no one else would hear.

Maria looked at Liz with eyes wide and jaw on the floor. "You said THAT?" she asked, and Liz nodded. Then Maria shook her head. "We're in big trouble," she muttered.

"Relax, Maria. He's not going to say anything," Liz said reassuringly.

"Right," Maria said, and went on doing her work.

Meanwhile, on the E.T. booth, a similar conversation was being held between Max, Isabel and Michael. The only difference was that Michael said that it was thanks to HIM that they now knew what Topolski's deal was.

"Stick a fork in us, Maxwell. We're done," Michael said to Max, after he had said that he was sure that Alex wouldn't say anything.

Max was silent from Michael's statement, still remembering Marcus's threat...no, promise that he would kill him if he endangered Liz's life ever again. But how he had punctuated that 'promise'...that terrified him.

"Max, are you alright?" Isabel asked, seeing the worried look in her brothers eyes.

"I had a...'talk' with Thorne," Max said.

Michael and Isabel exchanged glances, knowing well enough from their personal experiences that Thorne had...excentric methods with his conversations.

"Well?" Michael queried.

"He made it perfectly clear what he thought about my...mistake yesterday," Max said, his eyes locked on the Cherry Cola in his hand.

Michael scratched his eyebrow in thought. There was more to it than that. "Did you apologize?" he asked.

"I admitted that it was my fault," Max said, and looked at Michael in the eyes. "You were right. He doesn't want to hear excuses. I realized that much when he started to choke me."

"What?!" Michael and Isabel said in the same time. "I'll go into his dreams and make him see nightmares for the rest of his life," Isabel said indignantly, not caring the warning Thorne had given her if she ever did that again.

"Isabel, don't. He has every right to be angry at me. I endangered Liz's life. That gives me second thoughts about actually being with her anymore," Max said.

"What do you mean by that?" Michael asked.

"Thorne promised to me that he'll kill me if I would ever endangered Liz's life like that, and he punctuated that point by hitting his hand through a school locker, and then lifting me up from my collar with his left hand without an effort," Max said.

"He was the one who did that?" Michael asked incredulously, and Max nodded. He had heard that someone had demolished a locker door, but nothing short from a sledgehammer could have been able to do the feat. If it really was Thorne who did it, then what the hell was he. No human being...hell, even THEY weren't able to do anything like that.

Isabel was silent to what Max had said as well. She was seriously reconsidering her decision to go back into Thorne's dreams and invoke nightmares in his subconscious. He had spotted her then, what said that he wouldn't be able to do it again. He had even kicked her out from his subconscious, and not very gently either. Still, she couldn't accept the pure threat he had given to her brother.

The three aliens were left to think this through, but one thing was positive in their minds. Marcus Thorne hated all three of them now, and it was all their own doing. First Michael had stolen his pendant, getting him angry to them. Then, Isabel had entered his dreams, and violated his privacy, aggravating him even more. Now Max had been in a car accident with Liz, the girl who Marcus considered as her daughter no less, and Thorne had given a all out promise that if anything similar would ever happen again, Max would pay from it with his life. Now the three aliens had to find a way to get back to Marcus's good side, before the situation developed even worse than it already was.

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

Outside Topolski's apartment, 19:13 p.m, Parking lot

Adam Hills rubbed his neck wearily. He had been keeping an eye on Topolski's apartment for the past 3 hours straight, and so far she had done nothing to warrant his attention. The bug that was planted in her apartment did tell Adam that she was using her computer at the moment. Adam allowed his thoughts to drift back to Mr. Evans. The boy seemed rather inconspicuous from the outside, that much was certain, but on the inside, who knows. Ms. Parker's relationship to the boy was also interesting. Adam didn't know what the boy was capable of, only seeing him deflate that FBI agents tire a week and a half ago.

His thoughts were brought back to the present, when Topolski's phone rang. Adam opened up his laptop, and punched some commands that allowed him to listen the conversation between Topolski and whoever was on the other end of the line. "Topolski," he heard her say.

"This is Agent Stevens," Adam heard a male say. He remembered the name. The same guy had stopped by at the hospital, demanding Ms. Parker's medical records nearly 2 months ago.

"Sir, I have been expecting your call. Where are you?" Topolski asked. Adam frowned to that. Had Stevens called her without him being aware of it? Not likely. It was possible that Topolski had used the phone at school to give an update to Stevens. That would explain that question.

"I'm at the Crane Motel, room 3. Agent, I want you to come here as soon as you can. The information I have from Thorne is too unbelievable to talk over the phone," Adam heard Stevens say, and his eyes widened. Stevens had information from Thorne? What kind of information? He immediately started his car, and peeled off the parking lot. Before Adam closed his laptop, he heard Topolski say, "I'll be there in 15 minutes."

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

Crane Motel, 19:21 p.m, outside room 3

Adam leaned against the doorframe, and listened the sounds inside. Agent Stevens was browsing some papers, that much was obvious. He glanced at his clock quickly. It read 19:21:56, and it quickly turned 19:22. That meant he had 6 minutes to kill Stevens and find all the files he could about Thorne. Adam reached for the small of his back, and pulled his Glock 7 out, and checked the ammo. Then he attached the silencer on the gun, and cocked the safety off. Adam stepped away from the door, and kicked it in, breaking the lock with ease. He stormed inside and aimed Stevens with his weapon. There was an immediate recognition in Stevens eyes when he saw Hills.

"You," Stevens managed to utter, before two shots into his heart dropped him on the ground.

Adam walked to Agent Stevens, and saw him on the ground, a pool of blood spreading underneath him. His eyes were wide while he kept clenching his hands over his chest where his heart lay. When a persons heart is damaged, it would take 15 to 20 seconds from the said person to die. Agent Stevens, apparently, was just pushing up to half a minute, and he was still barely alive. Adam cocked his gun to Stevens' head, and pulled the trigger, tearing a neat bullet hole in Stevens's forehead. Adam holstered his gun and quickly searched the room, and found files that had pictures from Marcus Thorne from his service in Vietnam to 1916's. They were all group photos, Marcus always staying at the backround, but still giving a clear look from him. Adam gathered all the papers, photos and files he could find, and stopped shortly when he heard a car come by. He checked his watch. 19:29. ["SHIT!!"] he thought, and hauled every document to his lap, and jumped through the window. In his haste to leave, a single photograph dropped next to Stevens's bloodied corpse.

Hearing the crash, Topolski pulled her Beretta M92 F from the interior of her jacket. She stepped into the room, and when she saw Stevens's body, she leaned against the wall behind her in shock. She heard the squealing of the car tires at the distance, but her attention was on Stevens. He was clutching his chest, and there was a bullet hole in his forehead. The window was broken, which explained the crash she had heard. She holstered her gun, and walked to the body. He was dead, that much was obvious. She pulled Stevens's hands away from his chest, and saw two bullet holes where his heart was. ["The method to kill is exactly the same that killed Agent Cavanaugh. The only difference is the shot to the head,"] Topolski thought, and pulled back. Then she saw something next to the body. A photograph. Topolski's brow furrowed, and she bent down to get it. It was a photograph from a group of soldiers. ["Possibly from Vietnam,"] Topolski noticed, and then she saw someone familiar on the backround. Her eyes widened from realization. It was Marcus Thorne, and he...he looked the same as he did now. ["That...that's impossible,"] she thought frantically, and a scream from the door brought her attention. A maid had come by, and had seen her and Agent Stevens's corpse. Now she really was in trouble. If she didn't get this situation under control, she would be arrested. If she did, her identity as an FBI agent was blown to pieces. There wasn't that much choice for the matter. She was close, and this picture was one of the evidence that she needed to uncover the secret WHAT Liz Parker was. She pulled her badge and showed it to the maid. "I'm a Federal agent, ma'am. Could you please get a hold of the local sheriff?" Topolski said in a professional tone, and the nurse nodded. Then she ran to the motel office. Topolski glanced mournfully at Stevens's body. It was more than obvious now. Whatever Stevens had uncovered, was so big that whoever had been spying on her was ready to do ANYTHING to keep it as a secret. That meant that her life was in danger as well, if whoever had killed Stevens would find out that she knew something.

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

An alley somewhere in Roswell, 19:37 p.m.

Adam had headed as far away as possible from the Crane Motel. He stopped the car at the alley, and ran to get a trashcan. It was somewhat filled with garbage, but Adam didn't care at the moment. He needed to get rid of the evidence about Marcus's immortality NOW. He ran back to his car and opened the trunk. He hauled a fuel canister from the trunk and dropped it next to the garbage can. Then he hauled the files he had taken from Stevens's room, and dumped them into the garbage can. Then he poured the gasoline into the garbage can, soaking the contents with the very flammable liquid. When he was done, he dropped the canister and pulled a zippo from his pocket, lit it and tossed it into the garbage can. The minute the flame touched the gasoline, it fired up almost instantaneously, the flames eating the files and the photographs that held information from the Immortal Marcus Thorne. Adam nodded to himself, grabbed the canister and dumped it into the trunk, and drove away. If Topolski was a wise woman, she would leave town NOW. She had zero evidence from Marcus now, and no idea what Ms. Parker was. Still, this had been too close for his comfort. Now he just hoped that Stevens hadn't ratted anything about this to someone else in the Bureau. If he did, the Watcher's would be mighty busy either enlisting them...or terminating them.

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

Crane Motel, 19:46 p.m, Parking lot

Sheriff Valenti made his way to Agent Topolski. He had kept his mouth shut about the fact that Topolski was indeed an FBI agent, and he had requested that the maid would also keep quiet about this. It was a pure request, not a threat. The nurse had been apprehensive at first, but had relented. Thank God no press hadn't shown up yet, which was a small miracle for him. Topolski was leaning against her car, smoking a cigarette when Valenti reached her. "That'll kill you, you know," he commented.

Topolski snorted. "A lot slower than whoever did that to Agent Stevens," she said, gesturing the bagged corpse with her cigarette.

"About that...any idea who did it?" Valenti asked.

Topolski shook her head. "No. Stevens called me and told me that he had some...information about Mr. Thorne, and when I got here...he was dead," she said, and took a deep drag from her cigarette.

"Did Thorne know about this?" Valenti asked.

Topolski shook her head again, blowing the smoke out from her lungs trough her nose. "No. He didn't. I'm sure of it. Someone else did this," she said.

"How do you know that, Agent?" Valenti asked, curious what Topolski knew.

"Do you remember the time I drop-kicked you, sheriff?" Topolski asked, and Valenti nodded. "About 9 hours prior to that event, an agent I had ordered to...follow the people I was...assigned to, was killed in a similar manner as Stevens. Two bullet wounds in the heart."

"Same person?" Valenti asked. He didn't ask WHO the people she had followed were, because he had a fairly good idea about that already. But this was getting out of control, even by his standards. A bunch of teenagers wouldn't be able to kill Federal agents like this. No, he was dealing with a professional. Which raised a whole new question to the issue. What kind of powers were at motion in his town?

"Possibly. Someone has been spying on me ever since I stepped in this town, and whoever that person was, he or she knew who I worked with from the start. Something I can't say from you, though," Topolski said.

Valenti cocked his stetson. "Thank you from your time, 'Ms. Topolski'. I'll contact you if anything new comes up," he said, and walked away.

Topolski dropped her cigarette, ground it with the heel of her shoe, and stepped into her car. She needed to call her superiors, and inform them about this latest event.

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

West Roswell High, 13th November, Thursday, 13:52 p.m, Topolski's office

Topolski went through some student files, at least trying to keep an impression that nothing was wrong, but did a lousy job at that. It would have been an understatement to say that her superiors were displeased from the loss of Agent Stevens. They had given her the same order he had. Keep digging for more evidence if the people they suspected were in fact aliens. Topolski would have lied if she would have said that she would gladly do it. No, she wanted to find that person who had killed Agent Stevens and Agent Cavanaugh. But, Topolski also knew that if she really was being watched, she also knew that her own lifespan would drop dramatically if she didn't drop her investigation regarding Liz Parker. So far anything related to her had lead to dead ends and deaths of two agents, one being Topolski's superior. A knock on the door interrupted Topolski's thoughts, and she remembered that she had wanted to speak with Whitman about what he had done at the hospital. She was hoping that Alex would be able to give her proof that they had switched Mr. Evans's blood sample, and the reason to that would be raising questions.

Alex opened the door, and looked inside. "Hey," he greeted. "You wanted to see me?"

"Close the door, Alex," Topolski said, and sat on her chair. Alex obeyed and closed the door, and after a Topolski asked him to sit, he sat on the chair on the other side of Topolski's desk.

Alex glanced at his clock, then turned to Topolski. "I have a choral in 5 minutes, so, uh..." he said, trailing off from his words.

"I know, Alex. I know everything," Topolski said to Alex, who suddenly looked like a deer caught in the cars headlights. Actually, she didn't know everything, but if she got what she wanted by a little deception, that was fine.

"Wh-what everything?" Alex asked, trying to feign clueless, but failing badly.

"The hospital. The blood test," Topolski clarified. "What you did for Max and why. I don't have to tell you how serious this is, but I can help you. I have friends, Alex. They can be your friends, too." There, now she had set the bait. Now all Alex had to was take it.

Alex's head was frantically trying to come up with a answer, deny, anything, but with no luck. Then he remembered what Thorne had said to him. ["'The big question, Alex, is who do you trust? Do you trust Liz, or do you trust Topolski?"'] Alex recited the words he had said. Did he trust Topolski? So far she had only been nice to him, only giving him someone to trust. Liz, she had lied to him, that much was obvious, but what Marcus had said...had she done that to protect him? If she had, then from who? Alex had said to Marcus that he didn't know. ["'Then you better figure it out fast, boy. Otherwise Liz and Maria will pay the prize,"'] Alex recited Thorne's words again. What did he mean by that? Alex didn't know, but he really, REALLY would like to find out.

"What kind of friends?" Alex asked, slightly suspicious of Topolski. Actually, when he thought about it, she was TOO nice to him.

"The sheriff won't be involved, if that's what you're worried about," Topolski said. She needed the boy to tell her what happened at the hospital. "Nothing on your permanent record. I want you to be safe."

Alex's ears rose from that last line. "You think I'm not safe?" he asked.

"Can any of us really be safe with Max Evans around?" Topolski asked, tilting her head slightly. "Why don't you write down everything? Everything you know, and sign it. Whenever you're ready, Alex, I'm here," she said, and noticed that Alex was hesitant. "I can see you have doubts, but think about it from this angle. Who are you really protecting? What friend would put you in a position like this?"

Alex thought about Topolski's questions, and it did make sense, but still...he was hesitant. A stranger was telling him what he should do, but she wasn't pushing him. His friend and a teacher he actually liked, were telling him to stay away from Topolski, because she wasn't someone he could trust. It was giving him a headache.

Alex stood up, and walked to the door. Before he leaved the office, he turned to Topolski. "What about your friends? Um...who are they?" he asked.

"People you can trust," Topolski said. "Like me."

Alex exited the office and walked to his locker. He opened it and stuffed his head in, and let out a frustrated yell. He was getting tired of this. He was being yanked into two directions, against his will, and he didn't like it.

Max walked to him and asked, "Are you ok?"

Alex pulled his head out from his locker, and glared at Max. "Not really," he said dryly, and pushed his head back into the locker.

"I think we need to talk," Max said, getting Alex's attention.

"About what?" he asked through his clenched teeth. Everybody wanted to talk, but NO ONE wasn't willing to give him ANSWERS.

"About what you did for me at the hospital," Max said.

Alex looked at him. "Yeah, what...was that?" he asked thoughtfully. "I'd really like to know."

"You saved my life," Max said honestly, even if Alex didn't know the true motive for it.

"Yeah, well, you screwed up mine," Alex said bitterly.

"I didn't mean to," Max said honestly.

Alex slammed the locker door next to his with his fist. Max flinched from the sound, reminding him how Thorne had punched his hand through similar door. "Yeah, well, you're here to threaten me now, right?" Alex asked sarcastically. "I mean, you're here to scare me into shutting up about faking the whole blood sample thing. Well, you're too late, Max. She already knows," Alex said, and earned a confused look from Max.

"Who already knows?" he demanded, but tried to mask it into a question. He did rather well.

"Topolski," Alex said, while he hauled some books from his locker to his backpack.

"You told Topolski?" Max asked in alarm.

Alex looked at Max and shook his head. "No, she told me. She wanted me to sign some sort of confession," he said.

"Did you?" Max asked, now worried what would come out from this.

Alex looked at Max when he closed his locker door. "Now you know what it's like to live in the dark, Max," Alex said, and left to the choral practise, leaving very confused and slightly scared Max behind. He left after he had given some thought to what Alex had said.

When Max had left, Liz walked to Alex's locker, and slipped a note into it. She just hoped that Alex would read it in time, because she needed to talk to him. To make him understand that Topolski was not his friend. Things had went to worse when that horse had decided to step in their way on that highway. Talk about a moment of change. Now all she needed was one more moment of change, one more chance to turn things right, before they went from bad to worse.

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

Crashdown Café, 14th November, Friday, 6:15 a.m.

Alex opened the door to the Crashdown, and he should have been curious to why it was open, even when it wasn't the usual opening hour. He knew that it would be open, because Liz had said so in the note she had left to him. She wanted to talk to him, about what, Alex had no idea. Maybe she would tell him the truth, or more lies. Well, be that as it may, he was curious. Once he entered the café, he saw Liz sitting on one of the stools.

"Thanks for coming, Alex," Liz said to him, and rose from the stool.

Alex glanced around. "I've met you here a thousand times, but now, it just doesn't feel the same," Alex said, and looked at Liz. "You know what I mean?"

Liz nodded. "Yeah, I know," she said, and looked at him. "Alex, you've been my friend since Ms. Elmer's class in the fifth grade."

Alex shook his index finger to that. "Um, no. We actually met in fourth, but you didn't notice me until fifth," Alex said, correcting her.

Liz smiled to that. It was true. "Yes, and I've come to you with every problem I have ever had," she said.

"Until now," Alex said.

Liz shook her head to it. True, her Immortality was hers to bear, not his. She didn't have a problem with it, but she really wanted to tell him about it. But when a problem arose with Max, she came to him. "No, even now. What happened at the hospital with Max, that was the most important thing I ever had to do in my life, and I called you. Alex, this is the hardest thing I have ever asked anyone to do," she said, and took a deep breath. "Look, I need you...I need you to believe in me, even though I can't...I can't tell you what you want to know."

"Because of Max?" Alex asked.

Liz shook her head. "No, forget Max, Alex. This is between us," she said, gesturing him and her with her index finger. "Look, I told you before that this was complicated. Well, maybe it's not. There is a right side, and there's a wrong side. If you choose the wrong side right now, Alex, something really terrible is going to happen...to all of us. I am begging you, Alex. If 5 years of friendship have meant anything to you, please trust me. I swear to you, I'm on the right side."

Alex had listened what Liz had to say, and he scratched the back of his head in thought. She really believed that Max was a decent guy. But why had she said that it was about drugs in the first place if it wasn't true? And it seemed that what she asked him to do now, had nothing to do with the other secret she harbored. A secret Mr. Thorne seemed to know. A secret so dangerous, that in Thorne's opinion made what he was covering up now look small in comparison. He decided to wait for the time being. But he did make a promise to himself. He would find out what Liz was hiding.

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

West Roswell High, 11:19 a.m, Topolski's office

There's a knock on the door, and when Topolski turns her gaze from her computer to it, Alex walks in.

"I've thought about what you said," Alex said, and Topolski is interested. "I'm not worried about me right now. It's Liz. Look, if I do this, if I give you what you want, what happens to her? I mean, what...what do your friends do?" Alex asked.

"She'll be questioned. They'll probably want to do some medical tests to make sure she wasn't harmed in any way," Topolski said. At least then they would find out what Liz Parker was, which would be a bonus.

"But no...no police, right?" Alex asked.

Topolski shook her head. "No."

"But if...if they are involved in drugs then...it is drugs, isn't it?" Alex asked, knowing all too well it wasn't now. He still didn't know what was going on.

Topolski pushed a piece of paper and a pen to Alex. "Just write down everything that happened at the hospital, and we'll take it from there," she said.

Alex takes the paper and a pen, and there's a knock on the door. Topolski frowns, and sees Liz entering her office. "Is something wrong, Liz?" Topolski asked.

"Can I see you for a second?" Liz asked. Topolski gestures her to enter, but she shook her head. "Privately. It's really important."

Topolski stood up, but kept her gaze on Alex. "I'll be right back. You go ahead and start that project we were talking about," Topolski said, and exited the room with Liz. The minute they were gone, Alex stood up and sat on Topolski's chair, and started to go through her laptop. Alex tries to get access to Topolski's e-mail, but fails. "Damn," he muttered, then thought about something else. If he couldn't get to see her e-mail, he should be able to get into the network they were coming from. Alex's fingers flew in the keyboard, punching commands. He managed to get access to the network...and what he saw took his breath away. Suddenly Topolski stormed in, and saw him sitting on her chair. Alex stood up and turned the laptop so that you could see the Federal Bureau of Investigation logo adorning the screen. There was also a logo of Department of Justice as well.

Topolski went to her desk and closed her laptop. Then she started to gather all her papers into her briefcase. "If you think you've just helped yourselves, you're wrong. You're playing games with something very dangerous," she said.

Liz shook her head to that. They weren't playing, they were trying to survive.

"So what is the FBI doing at West Roswell?" Alex asked, not believing what he had just witnessed.

Topolski ignored him, and looked straight at Liz. "This isn't going to end just because you know who I am. I was on your side. I just hope your friend Max doesn't end up in the wrong hands without me here," she said, then leaned closer and whispered angrily. "I don't know what you are, but make no mistake about it. I will find out, and then whoever is killing my agents to keep your secret as a secret won't be able to help you anymore." With that, Topolski left the building. Liz and Alex follow her with their gazes, and when she is gone, Alex turns to Liz.

"Ok, all right. YOU are going to tell me EXACTLY what has been going on with Max and Topolski and the actual FBI or I swear, Liz, this is the end of you and me being friends," Alex said. There, he did it. He gave the ultimatum. Now it was up to Liz to tell him the truth for once.

Liz looked at Alex with wide eyes. He couldn't have meaned it. "Alex, don't say things..." she started, but Alex stopped her.

"What? Something that I won't go through with?" he asked indignantly. "Liz, I am NOT kidding. All right? Now you either tell me the truth, all of it, or I walk."

Liz was stricken. She wanted to, she really did. But...she couldn't bear herself to do it. She couldn't jeopardize Alex's life. Not with her own secret and Max's secret. "I can't," she said, her eyes watering slightly.

Alex shakes his head, and turns away. He headed to his class, feeling dejected from what Liz had just done. Liz hugs herself, a single tear gliding down her cheek. She wanted to protect Alex from the danger that was her life, and the conspiracy that revolved around Max, Isabel and Michael. She protected him, and it cost her his friendship.

TBC...

[Bored to Mundane life]

Hello, folks. I'm finally back, and with a new part. And BOY, is this a long one. You guys still remember part 19? Well, this is maybe a bit longer than that one. I just know you're gonna like it. It's a bit on the slower variety, and Marcus doesn't have that much screentime. Okay, onward. Special thanks to MaryJean, Anya, Sternbetrachter, LEL (x2), girlie_girl, NewYorker18 (x5), KEmperor, PhoenixFlamez, roswellian504, roswelllostcause, SilverWolfe (x4), angeleyes, Liz Parker Evans (x4), Elf3748 and LizzyBug. Extra thanks to NewYorker18 from beta-work.

Now, onward to the FB that I haven't been answering lately...

Liz Parker Evans Yes, a trilogy. I've had this all planned out already. Just need to put it in words, and the parts are going to be megalomaniac in size, let me tell you. Which should be to your liking, I'm sure.

It's just a shame that you didn't wait a bit. I'm right now putting the part out.

NewYorker18 Hey, just as long as you try to give a bit more FB than a few words, I'll be happy. And thanks again from the beta work. I know it was long. And the future parts should be long too, but...I'm not so sure about the next 2...they lack Liz material. Oh, well, I'm sure I can get over that...hopefully soon.

Elf3748 Another new reader. How is it that I can fish you out, but can't keep you? I mean, I have a lot of readers, but not all of them leave FB. Sure, I know the regulars, and you guys are doing good to my motivation. Thanks.

Hey, don't worry about the Q&A. I like them, even IF I have answered them before. Ok, let's see...

1. No, Alex is NOT going to be killed off. He will live a good long 90-something life, but he is NOT going to killed by Tess. That is a promise.

2. Yes, it's true that Tess will be in the story, but I plan to make sure that she won't be evil. I liked where they were going with her, until she was turned into a villain. So Tess will be here, but not as a evil b***h she was in the show.

3. Simply...NO.

4. Yes, the 3rd story of the trilogy, 'The Longest Jorney', is set to FAR future, where Liz is the last one of the Pod Squad. Don't worry, she'll have a chance for a little chat with her long gone friends. How...I'm depating whether to tell you or not...well, ask me about it some other time, and I might tell you. At the moment...I'm not really in a reseptive mood. It's getting late, and I'm tired.

Now that's a damn good question, to which I have no answer. I'd like to know that too, because it was one really GOD DAMN BIG MISTAKE!!!

SilverWolfe Hey, stop eating your fingernails. Here's the new part.

LizzyBug OMG!! Another new reader. Really? You plan to...recommend...me...to your friends? *deeper blush than the smiley can give* Umm...sheez, um....I'm honored, really.

Well...it's not going to be easy for our 3 aliens to get to the good side of Marcus anytime soon. Now is their chance, though. Read the part, and you'll understand.

Also, I'd like to thank those who nominated me for various categories in the coming FanFic Awards. I'm so honored, really. I know that majority of those people who nominated me are lurkers, but...anyway, thank you. I mean it.

Now, onward with the show. This part focuses on the ep. 'Heatwave'.

Title: "Concept of Eternity"
Author: Bored to Mundane life
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. If they did, Alex would have lived on and season 3 would have been a lot more different. The only character that belongs to me is Marcus Thorne. I also hope that Bruce Dickinson doesn't mind if I use him in this fic.
Synopsis: Liz Parker is having just a regular day at the Crashdown, when suddenly an argument between two customers gets out of hand, and she's shot. She is raced quickly to the hospital, but she dies en route. But before she is considered as a lost cause, her heart starts beating. Later on, her history teacher, Marcus Thorne, tells her that she's an Immortal. She'll be then pulled into the life of the Immortals, better known as 'The Game'. With no way out. But her apparent resurrection has raised other peoples attention as well. And Liz suddenly finds out that she isn't the only one harboring a considerably large secret. But how does Max Evans, his sister Isabel and Michael Guerin fit into this?
Category: Crossover, Roswell/Highlander, strictly CC.
Rating: PG-13, probably R at some point.
Feedback: Definitely appreciated. And definitely needed, so I know that my writing isn't going to waste. Afterall, this IS my first fic.

Part 21:

Parker household, 1st December, Monday, 19:32 p.m, living room

Liz, wearing a light green tank top and dark blue shorts, was doing her homework. Even when it was the start of December, it was hotter now than during summer. The annual heat wave had raised its ugly head and people weren't unaffected by it. Liz, raised throughout her entire life in the desert was also feeling the effects of the heat, causing her to sweat slightly. She glared at the fan not too far from her. It was supposed to cool the air, not heat it even more than it already was. She took a bite of the doughnut and put it away. The history homework she had now in front of got her thinking more than usual. Their topic today had been America's War of Independence. Liz briefly wondered if Marcus had been there, and if he had, which side did he fight? The British, or the American's. She shook her head. No need to get her mind confused from questions she wouldn't be getting answers to anytime soon. This had been Marcus's last school day before his vacation started. Liz never really understood how Marcus was able to get the principal to agree to his terms about vacations. Ever since Marcus had come to Roswell, he had always left Roswell from December to January to somewhere. Nobody knew where he went, but he always came back, refreshed and well rested. Liz, curious as always from the personal quirks and past of her teacher, decided to go by his house before he left and get at least some of her questions answered. Including the questions regarding Mr. Dickinson. She hadn't had the time to find private time with Marcus to make those questions. He seemed to be preoccupied by something. Liz couldn't be 100% sure, but she had seen a drastic temperature drop in Marcus when it came to a certain alien boy she had...feelings. Marcus kept glaring at Max every chance he got, and Max himself got nervous every time he was with her, constantly watching over his shoulder.

Liz's train of thought was stopped when she realized she was thirsty. She got up and walked to the kitchen, rubbing her neck slightly. She opened the refrigerator, hoping to find some cold milk, but growled in annoyance when there was not much left of it. There was beer (Jeff's) and some food, but not milk. Liz muttered and closed the fridge, and headed downstairs, hoping to find SOMETHING cold to drink from the café. She knew Maria was handling the closing of the café. Once she got to the break room, she headed straight to the kitchen, when she heard something. It sounded like...a moan. The sound got louder, and Liz decided to take a peek to the café through the order window. What she saw took her breath away. Michael and Maria were kissing...wait, no, they were not kissing. They were making out on the café counter, hands trailing through their bodies. Liz clamped her mouth with her hand, and hid herself in the break room. ["Oh my God!!"] she thought, and headed back upstairs. ["I did NOT see my best friend in a REALLY intense make out session with Michael Guerin in the café,"] she thought, and groaned. She had seen it, but what did it tell her? That Maria and Michael were an item now? That couldn't be right, because Maria still kept complaining about him. Well...truth be told, she was complaining about him TOO much not to be even interested. Then Liz remembered how Marcus had smirked at Michael and Maria when Liz and Max had returned from their meeting with River Dog. He knew something, that's for sure. But this...Liz shook her head, and walked back to the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of beer, opened it, and gulped some of it down quickly. The taste wasn't exactly great, but the drink WAS cold, which helped somewhat. Then Liz realized what she had done. "Dad is going to kill me when he finds out," she said quietly, and took another swig from the bottle. This wasn't first time she had drunk beer. About a week ago, during her training session with Marcus and Richie, it had been hot. Not as hot as it was now, but hot enough for both men to complain about it. Liz knew that Marcus was a Scandinavian, and even though he had lived in Roswell for the past 8 years, he still wasn't used to the heat. Richie was from Seattle, where the temperature wasn't as intense as it was here. Both men had been drinking during their break, and Liz had been curious what it tasted like. Marcus had raised an eyebrow to this inquiry, but had offered a small sip. Liz remembered that it was like drinking something bitter and smooth in the same time. Still, she had gotten over it and had drank the whole bottle then. Now, when the heat wave started about 2 days ago, she had, secretly, been drinking one bottle in the evening. Liz knew that some people who had never drunk beer got wasted from one bottle, or even half a bottle already. Not her. She hadn't experienced a hangover so far. When she asked Marcus about it yesterday, he had said that her Quickening literally 'filtered' the alcohol at least 10 times more efficiently than normal humans. That probably meant that she needed at least 2 bottles of beer before she could feel the effects, and she made sure that she only drank 1 bottle. Liz did remember what Marcus had said about her Quickening, how it got stronger the older one got. That meant that in time she could easily tolerate any type of alcohol with no ill effect. To a point, that is. It took 4 bottles of Tequila to get Richie drunk, and Marcus...well, nothing less than 96% pure alcohol could get to his head, and even that in larger dozes, like 3 bottles or so.

Liz gulped the rest of the beer, and put the bottle away. She still had homework to do. ["I have to talk with Maria tomorrow,"] she thought, and focused on the task at hand. She could feel the alcohol start its effects, but they didn't last longer than 6 seconds. ["The perks of Immortality..."] she thought while doing her homework, even with the image of Maria and Michael having a very hot make out session at the café.

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

Thorne household, 2nd December, Tuesday, 6:35 a.m.

Marcus walked outside, clad in sweatpants and sneakers. His body was covered with a thin layer of sweat, making his body glow slightly in the sun. He had done his daily exercise, even though the temperature was getting to him. It was already 89 degrees, and Marcus knew from his experience in Roswell that it would still rise from that. He wiped some sweat off from his brow, and headed to the mailbox. He opened it and grabbed today's paper and some letters. Majority of them were bills, 2 were from his sons and one from Amanda. Then a woman in her mid 30's came jogging down the street, and Marcus gave a quick glance to her. ["Ms. Allen."] There weren't many people in Roswell who liked to jog in the morning, and Ms. Allen and Marcus were the few people. When Ms. Allen jogged past Marcus, he was positive that he could see her studying him. In a VERY approving way. Ms. Allen smiled to Marcus, and he could have sworn that she started to sweat a lot more from seeing him then she was from the jog. Marcus shook his head, muttered something about heat and walked back inside, heading straight to the kitchen. He dumped the mail on the kitchen table and took a bottle of beer from the fridge. He started to read the newspaper, when the doorbell rang. Marcus groaned and got up. He briefly wondered who it could be. When he opened the door, he saw Liz standing there, sweating from the heat as well. Now she seemed to gape at him with wide eyes.

Liz was stunned, literally. She knew that Marcus was wiry and somewhat muscular, but she had never seen him like this. He was at the doorway, wearing nothing but sweatpants and sneakers. His muscles seemed like they were chiseled from marble. The sweat that covered him defined his muscles even more. She didn't know how long she was staring at him, but apparently long enough for him to notice.

"You all right, Liz?" he asked.

Liz came out of her daze. "Yeah...um, you...you look...great," Liz said, blushing slightly. ["Okay, Liz. You need to snap out of it. You knew he exercises daily, which would obviously mean he looks really...well..."] Liz smacked herself to the temple. ["Sheez, the heat has to be getting to you, otherwise you wouldn't consider him as a sex object!"] Liz scolded herself. Yes, Marcus looked good enough to eat, but it had to be the heat that got into her.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Okay...why don't you come on in? Besides, I planned to have a talk with you anyway," he said, and headed to the kitchen. After Liz had closed the door, she followed Marcus, but stopped when she saw a very detailed tattoo adorning his back. There were symbols and runes which she couldn't even start to describe. Marcus caught her staring at him again. "You sure you're all right?" he asked from the kitchen.

Liz shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine, really," she said.

Marcus looked at her sceptically, but ignored it. "Do you want something cold to drink? You seem more flushed than usual," he asked, and walked to the fridge.

"Umm, I'd prefer orange juice at the moment," she said.

Marcus nodded and took a pitcher of orange juice filled with ice cubes. He took a glass from a cabinet and gave it to Liz. Then he poured the orange juice into the glass, and Liz drank all of it in one sitting. Marcus chuckled when Liz put the glass away and rubbed her temples. "It WAS ice cold, Liz. You should have sipped it gradually," he said.

"Yeah, I guess I should have," Liz said, recovering from the ice cold flow that went through her brain.

Marcus sat on the chair and gulped some of his beer. "So, why did you suddenly feel the need to come and see me?" he asked.

"Well, I needed to ask you about some things," Liz said.

Marcus sighed. "Ok, about what?" he asked.

"About the homework you gave us yesterday," Liz said.

"Liz, I'm on vacation now. Don't bring school issues here," Marcus pleaded, rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Well, I wasn't going to ask about THE homework, more like about your involvement in it," Liz said, and wiped some sweat from her own brow.

Marcus glanced Liz for a while, then let out a weary sigh. "I wasn't involved in it in any way. I was trying to have a normal life with my wife Rachel at the time, and when she died, I moved to Beijing, after taking a quick tour through Europe. I kept drinking, trying to get my head numb, but with the way my body filters alcohol, that was practically impossible to achieve. That left me frustrated, to say the least, and I ended up beating people up in bar fights and who knows where. When the Boxer Rebellion erupted, I didn't care. All I wanted was to get wasted, and I kept wandering around, trying to find a decent bar even when there was a blood bath going around me. Then Bruce finally found me and started to beat SOME sense into me. Obviously he succeeded, 'cause otherwise with the mental state I was in at the time, I would have ended up headless," Marcus said.

"Oh," Liz said.

Marcus took another gulp from his beer, and put the now empty bottle away, going to fetch another one. "Anything else on your mind, Liz?" he asked.

Liz blinked, getting out from her daze. What Marcus had said...well, she did remember Rachel, but had forgot when they had met. If she had remembered that, she wouldn't have even asked the question. "Umm...yeah, I have something in my mind," she said.

Marcus opened his second bottle of beer and cocked an eyebrow to her. "Well? Hurry up, will ya? I have to pack and get to Albuquerque before 9 o'clock for my flight," he said impatiently.

"It's about Mr. Dickinson. Does the...band he's in know what he...is?" Liz asked tentatively.

Marcus nodded. "Yes, they know. They also know quite a lot about his past. Truth be told, Harris got some of the ideas for his songs from Bruce's past," he said.

Liz nodded to the information. That explained that question. "Umm, are ALL the songs from Iron Maiden related to Immortality in some way?" she asked.

Marcus took a sip from his beer and shook his head. "No. Di'Anno was the vocalist of the band in 1980 and 1981. The songs from those two albums don't contain anything related to Immortals. When Bruce joined in, he tried to keep the fact that he was an immortal as a secret from the band some time, but did a poor job in accomplishing that. Still, the other band members didn't care, and as I already told you, they got some inspiration to their songs from Bruce. Bruce left the Iron Maiden in 1995, but I heard he came back to work on their new album. I'm not sure if Harris and the others kept the inspiration they got from Bruce's past when they published 'The X-Factor' and 'Virtual XI', but I suspect they did," he said.

Liz nodded to the information. "Well, is there a story behind the song 'Caught Somewhere in Time'?" she asked.

Marcus took a sip from his beer when he pondered the question. Actually, he was quite surprised that Liz even bothered to listen the music, let alone listening the lyrics. "Let's see...well, actually it tells about how someone becomes an immortal, and how mortals who witness the change perceive him after that. Connor was banished from his village in his early days as an immortal because the villagers believed he had made a deal with the Devil. It also has a hidden meaning about the headhunters. Did that answer that question?" he asked.

Liz nodded. "Yeah, it sure did. Thanks," she said. Liz tried to ask another question, but hesitated.

"What is it?" Marcus asked, seeing the way Liz hesitated. She still had questions.

"Ummm...how were you able to get the principal to agree into a month long Christmas vacation? I mean, I know you go somewhere for the Christmas, but...how?" she asked.

"Well, to the first question...all I did was write him a check, and he was more than willing to give me my vacation, along with some space when it comes my teaching methods," Marcus said.

"So you actually PAID him to give you the extra amount of days for your vacation?" Liz asked incredulously.

Marcus nodded to this.

Liz's looked at Marcus warily. "Do I even want to know how much you paid to the principal?" she asked timidly.

Marcus shrugged. "I only gave him 250,000 dollar check, that's it," he said nonchalantly.

Liz's jaw dropped. "You gave the principal a quarter of a million dollar check and you act like it's not a big deal," she said, not believing it for a second.

"Liz, I gave you a credit card that has a limit to 700,000 dollars. I know you consider money as something you shouldn't spent without thinking, but for a man like me, it's not that big a deal. I've been making money in various ways even before I became Immortal, and I have NO idea how much I have money at this moment. So excuse me if I don't get a hangover for spending so much money when I KNOW I have a hell of a lot more to spend," Marcus said.

Liz just looked at Marcus. Over 2000 years. He had spent over 2000 years earning money in different ways. He could very well be the richest man on the planet. No, wait. There were other immortals around. Some far older than Marcus was. They could probably be even wealthier than Marcus was. Liz's head started to hurt when she tried to imagine the amount of money they could possibly have. That also meant that if SHE lived as old as Marcus, she could also have a LOT of money at her disposal. Wasn't there a saying, 'Money opens all doors' or something like that? Well, to a certain degree, that was true. She briefly wondered if she would ever be able to demonstrate same kind of nonchalance to spending money as Marcus did.

"Besides, I want to be somewhere where there is REAL snow during winter, with temperature BELOW 0 degrees, and trust me, Roswell, New Mexico isn't the place for that," Marcus said.

Liz nodded. "Okay, I think I can understand that, and now we get to the part where you tell me why you wanted to talk to me in the first place," she said.

"Well, since I'll be gone for the whole month until next year, I need someone to keep an eye on my house. That would be you," Marcus said.

Liz looked at Marcus with wide eyes. "Me?" she asked.

Marcus nodded. "Yes, you. Normally I would have just left and cleaned this place up when I returned, but with the recent developments, I DON'T want you-know-who anywhere NEAR this place," he said.

"You mean Michael," Liz stated.

"Along with Max and Isabel," Marcus said with serious tone.

Liz nodded. "You know, this would be easier if you'd just trust them with this," she said.

Marcus's eyes turned cold from the suggestion. "I'll consider that WHEN they start to respect my privacy. That means NO breaking into my apartment, stealing items and making sightseeing tours in my subconscious," he growled.

Liz blinked. "What did you say?" she asked.

Marcus raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Liz, I DON'T repeat myself," he said.

"You said something about 'no making sightseeing tours in my subconscious'. What did you mean by that?" Liz asked.

Marcus grimaced and gulped some of his beer. "Isabel is able to enter peoples dreams, which she did when Maria had a 'fender-bender' with Valenti nearly 2 months ago to me. She was in my dream, Liz. She was spying on me," he said.

"If what you say is true, how did you know she was there?" Liz asked.

"Liz, do you remember the reason why I died my first death?" he asked.

Liz nodded. "Yes, you were poisoned by village Shaman's son, because you were a better apprentice than he was," she said. "I still don't see how it's important to Isabel's ability to enter people's dreams or the fact that you were able to spot her."

"Liz, could you please have a more open mind about the subject. True, today the Shaman's aren't exactly as 'in tune' with nature they were over 2000 years ago. What I learned is very real. Mostly I learned the names and traits of different herbs and plants, but I also learned how to enter and leave from the dream realm. It's a tricky thing, because it needs to be done through rigorous mental exercises and meditation. True, I pulled it off inside 3 years where it took Shaman 20 years to master it. That was one reason why his son got pissed at me," Marcus said.

"If that is the case, then why haven't you used this...'gift' on them?" Liz asked.

"Because it violates persons privacy. I was trained into it because it was necessary for the training to be a shaman, not because I would use it. Shaman's son, however, would have probably used it to get into womens heads, and do something really nasty in there. Luckily he never got the chance," Marcus said, but muttered the last line.

"But how is this related to Isabel?" Liz asked.

"Well, since Isabel is an alien hybrid or whatever, she seems to be naturally able to enter peoples dreams. Problem is that she has no regards to peoples privacy, which leads us to current situation. I don't know how long she was in my head, because I never expected anyone besides me and 2 others to be able to perform the feat. I should have known better. Luckily she made her presence known, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to locate her and kick her out," Marcus said.

"Then, if she enters into my head, how can I..." Liz started, and Marcus finished her sentence.

"Kick her out of YOUR head?" he said, and Liz nodded. "Usually, when you dream, you don't pay much attention to your surroundings, mainly because you KNOW it's a dream on some level. But, there's a way to know if someone else is there. You can feel it, around you. Like someone is watching you. I think you know the feeling I'm talking about?"

Liz nodded. She did feel sometimes that she was being watched, mostly probably done by that Watcher who was following her. "Well, if you feel anything like that, then you have company. You can spot her when you take control of your dream and start searching your surroundings, but its easier if you erase the dream you're having at the moment," Marcus continued.

Liz blinked. "I don't think I'll be able to do that just by 'doing' it," she said.

"Think of it as a part of meditation. The only time you'll be able to control your dream is when someone else is in there. It is a lot easier to spot someone after you have taken a Quickening from another Immortal," Marcus said.

"Why is that?" Liz asked, now getting curious.

"When you take a Quickening, you absorb everything of what the other Immortal is. His personality, memories and fighting skills. Fighting skills are the ones that stay with you, but the others, they will evaporate eventually. There might be some personal quirks with some Immortals that may integrate with your own mind, but that depends from an Immortal. There's an exception to the rule where Immortals personality evaporates from your head, though. Sometimes the Immortal's mind refuses to give up, and they try to take over your mind when you're sleeping. Then, you'll be a spectator, when your mind goes through the Immortals memories, and then you wait for their personality to attack you. If you deal with younger Immortals, that is something you don't have to worry about, but when dealing with older ones...you have to be careful," Marcus said.

"And be ready to fight them again," Liz stated.

Marcus nodded. "Exactly."

Liz was silent for a while, biting her lip. "Ummm...what happens if I lose?" she asked.

Marcus's expression turned grim. "Then...you'll die, and the other Immortal's personality will take your place," he said. "Fortunately there's only few Immortals out there who can 'take over' your body deliberately, so to speak."

"Well, that's a good thing, I think," Liz said.

Marcus glanced at his clock. "Well, it's 7:16 now. What do you say if I drive you to school?" he asked.

Liz nodded at the idea, and Marcus, reluctantly, put on a white t-shirt and walked with Liz to his car.

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

West Roswell High, 12:13 p.m, PE girls locker room

Liz was standing in front of her locker, tying her hair into a ponytail. It was amazing how her feelings towards PE classes had changed over the months, because normally she hated it. Now...she loved it. Oh sure, she had to pull back a little, just to make sure that she wouldn't be pulled into a track team or other school sport events. Her ambition was Biology, not athletics. Still, it was...nice to perform physical exercises at school. When Marcus was driving her to school, she had briefly wondered if her training would be hampered because of his absence. Marcus had said he would call Connor MacLeod to come to Roswell and take over Liz's training for the time being. It would take a while until Connor would be there, but Marcus expected that he would be there inside the week. Liz was rather apprehensive towards the Highlander, but if what Marcus had said about him was true, he was a decent man. After that, Marcus had given her the keys to his home and to the warehouse slash Martial Arts Studio. Liz shook her head, pulling her thoughts to the present and made her way to gymnasium. She was wearing her PE clothes, which were consisting from black sweatpants, sneakers and dark blue tank top which left her stomach bare, allowing everyone see how well toned her muscles were. They weren't buff, but...well, they were visible. When she reached gymnasium, she saw everyone at their separate lines. Today's PE class was a mixed class, with both boys and girls present. Mr. Harper was looking at the assembled boys, who were all sweating from the heat, but some were giving discreet glances at her, namely Kyle and Max. It was like they couldn't tell if she was there or someone who else who looked like her. Mrs. Garner, the girls PE teacher was looking at Liz with a raised eyebrow while Liz made her way to Maria.

"Alright class, listen up!" Mrs. Garner yelled, getting the girls attention. "Mr. Harper and I have agreed that, since the temperature is slightly above tolerable levels, we have decided to let you do whatever you want for the next hour," she said, and everyone cheered to this. "However," this silenced them, "you are NOT allowed to leave the gymnasium, weight room or the football field. Is that understood?" Mrs. Garner asked, and everyone grudgingly nodded. Liz didn't. This meant that she had a whole hour to focus on her own physical exercises. After the announcement, both PE teachers left to their offices, leaving the students there. Obviously the less athletic ones gathered up, talking about mundane things, like movies and the effects of the heat. The most athletic ones, the school football team and the cheerleaders on the other hand started to warm up, and probably use the hour to practise. Maria nudged Liz gently, getting her attention. "Chica, since the Gods of Mercy have given us this hour to just lie around and relax, we should take full benefit from it," Maria said, but then her eyes fell on Michael, who was talking with Max. Maria blushed visibly, and Liz groaned from exasperation.

"Maria, I'm not in a mood to just 'hang', ok? You can find me in the weight room if you want to talk or something," Liz said, and started to head to the weight room, leaving a very dumbfounded Maria behind.

Once Liz had reached the weight room, she sighed from relief when she realized she was only one there. ["Good. It'll make things easier for me,"] she thought, studying the assorted items there. There were the usual workout items, like weights of warious types, chin-up bar, stepper and more. Liz spotted an empty spot in the middle of the room and walked to it. She needed to warm up to clear the kinks in her muscles, and what better way to do it than to perform one of the katas? She briefly wondered what to use, then settled to a simple one. She closed her eyes, and breathed slowly, then she started to move. She kept her eyes closed, completely lost in the feeling of how her muscles stretched, loosening the tight knots in her muscles. She kept moving, with grace that would remind a spectator from perfectly choreographed ballet. Then she stopped, breathing heavily and sweating from the exertion. She glanced the clock at the wall, and blinked. She had spent 15 minutes in the kata, when to her it felt like it had been only 5 minutes. Liz then shrugged and dropped to the ground, doing push-ups until her muscles would hurt. She got as far as 78 until she dropped, panting. She got up, already feeling the slight tingling in her muscles that told her that the Quickening was working on her muscle ache. It would take a while before her arms would stop hurting, but at the moment she didn't care. She walked to the spot where the chin-up bar was. This bar was adjustable, so it could be lowered or raised. Liz reached up and removed the latches that kep the bar locked in its position, and lowered the bar almost to the ground, but not quite. Then she locked the bar there, and put her feet under the bar. Now she started to do sit-ups, and this time reached a clear number of 80 until she dropped, exhausted. Good thing she had stretched, otherwise her stomach would hurt a lot. She got up and adjusted the bar again, this time raising it high enough that she could perform her chin-ups. Her hands hurt less now, which wasn't anything new to her, considering the fact that she did this routinely every night before she went to bed. Liz stretched her arms slightly, making sure that they were loose enough to go through this. When that was done, she jumped up to the bar, and started doing her chin-ups. This time she reached 72 before she had to stop. She glanced at the clock. The clock read 12:42. Liz pondered her options. She could go to the stepper, and use the remaining time on it before taking a shower and going to next class, or she could kill the time by beating up the punching bag. Liz wiped the sweat from her brow, still pondering her options. Then she settled to beat up the poor punching bag. She would perform her jog later tonight. She walked to a cabinet that held various boxing equipment, like glowes and helmets. She picked up a wrist wrapped glowes and put them on. Then she stopped. She felt...that someone was watching her. She turned around and saw Isabel standing at the doorway, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"How long have you been there?" Liz asked.

"For a while. I didn't know you could keep up that long," Isabel said, feeling a little envious that Liz was outperforming even the jocks with her physical exercise.

Liz grinned to that. "Well, I've been working out a lot after I got shot. At the moment I could give all the jocks a run for their money," she said, and walked to the punching bag, settled into a fighting stance and started throwing puches. Isabel watched as Liz kept hitting the punching bag, how she seemed relaxed yet fully alert at the same time. And judging by the way her brow started to furrow, she wasn't getting everything out of this.

"Can I help you in some way?" Isabel asked, pulling Liz out from her punching rush.

"Yeah, you can keep this bag still while I hit it," she said, wiping her brow slightly.

Isabel raised her eyebrow to what Liz had said, but didn't say anything. She walked behind the bag, and frowned. How was she supposed to hold it still? She had been in the weight room only briefly, and even then she had been using the regular weights.

"Put your whole bodyweight against the bag, and just hold it," Liz said to Isabel, and she complied. Liz watched Isabel with a critizing look, her hands resting on her hips. Isabel glanced at Liz, and when she did that, she truly felt envious. Liz's body was pumped up, yet still maintained its petite form. Liz's muscles were clearly defined, but still kept her looks somewhat normal. Her stomach was lean and slightly muscular, but still managed to look smooth. Isabel did exercise regularly, but she usually kept it as jogging, but she had to wonder how Liz had reached so...strong build inside a few months. Only if she exercised intensively, then she would, but...Isabel knew that you would get sore from that kind of thing, and it took time to get used to it. Even with her own alien recovery rate, her legs were sore a good while before her muscle ache would disappear, but Liz was human. If she exercised regularly, every day as she probably did in order to get to where she was now, she should have been tired and sore during the day, but she wasn't. Even now there wasn't that much discomfort from Liz's part, when logic screamed that she should be panting for air.

"Well, that'll have to do for now," Liz said, and started to hit the punching bag. Isabel's eyes widened when she felt the punches to affect her as well, even when the punching bag took most of the brunt for her. How someone as small as Liz could hit the bag like that was a mystery to Isabel, but then she remembered that Liz was practising Martial Arts, so it was possible that it was based on technique, not brute strength. Then Liz started to kick the bag as well, and this went on after a while.

"Is there something bothering you?" Isabel asked, after she felt the punches and kicks getting more and more harder. The bag was actually starting to cave under Liz's barrage of punches, and Isabel was starting to have a hard time trying to stay still.

"No," Liz said, while tossing another solid punch to the bag. "Why?"

"It might be my imagination, but you seem frustrated," Isabel said, and Liz stopped her workout. Isabel walked away from the bag, rubbing her shoulder. She glanced at her shoulder and could clearly see a bruise forming. ["She's definitely frustrated about something,"] she thought, and looked at Liz. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"It's just that...Alex isn't talking to me. And I hate it," Liz said in a defeated tone, and slumped on to one of the benches.

"You can't tell him," Isabel said, stretching her left arm slightly.

Liz sighed. "I know. And besides, I saw Maria and Michael in a HEAVY make out session last night," she said, and Isabel looked at her like she had grown another head.

"Michael and Maria? In a make out session?" Isabel asked incredulously, and Liz nodded. Isabel shook her head, trying to clear it up to accept this information. Sure, Michael was a teenage boy, but...so far she had never seen him getting interested from a girl. Unless...it was just for the feeling.

"Well...have you talked to Maria about it?" Isabel asked.

Liz shook her head. "Not yet. I planned to go to Max about it first, but...I still need to talk to Alex," she said, and glanced at the clock. It read 12:56. Liz got up and took off her gloves. "I'm going to hit the showers," she said, and after putting the gloves to their rightful place, she walked away. Before she exited the room, she stopped. She turned to Isabel. "You do remember that Marcus is gone for a while, right?" Liz asked, and Isabel nodded.

"Yeah. I finally have a chance to relax and not watch over my shoulder in case Mr. Thorne decides go drastic with us again," Isabel said.

"It's not like you gave him much of a choice," Liz said, getting a shocked look from Isabel.

"What are you talking about?" Isabel asked.

"I mean, Michael breaks into his apartment, and steals something that was very valuable for him on a personal level, and then...you go and violate his privacy with that...'dream walking' thing," Liz said, and gestured Isabel awkwardly when she said 'dream walking'.

"You...you know about that?" Isabel asked, dumbfounded.

Liz nodded. "He told me about it. Still...I wonder what Max did to him, because all of a sudden Marcus has showed absolute hatred towards him," she said.

Isabel blinked. "You don't know?" she asked.

Liz frowned. "Know what?" she asked.

Isabel shook her head. "You have to ask Max that. Anyway, we better go," she said, and started to leave as well.

"Oh, Isabel. Could you tell Michael that he stays away from Thorne's home? I mean, Marcus WILL know it was Michael, but since he left me to take care of his house, *I* would be forced to hurt him if he did something that stupid," Liz said, getting Isabel's attention.

"Ummm...okay. I'll tell him when I see him," Isabel said, and left.

Liz nodded to herself, and headed to the girls locker room as well, and stripped from her sweat soaked PE clothes. She took a towel from her locker and headed to the showers. Once there, she turned on the shower and allowed the cold water to clean away the sweat and cool her heat depraved body. Liz sighed from bliss when the water ran down her body, and she let her mind wander. When she got to school, she had seen a lot of various couples making out at the hallway, and she even knew some of the people. It was like the heat was driving everyone into a very...'sensual' activities. Oh sure, she was aware how yummy some guys looked when they were wearing less clothes, trying to ease the heat but not succeeding in it. As far as she could tell, she was only one in Roswell who wasn't making out with someone. Well, Marcus sure wasn't, she was sure of that. Besides, he loathed the annual Roswell heatwave, and he never hid that fact. Liz wiped some of the cool water from her face and sighed. She WAS frustrated, because she wanted to get SOMETHING out of the heatwave, but she wasn't getting it. Liz's thoughts were pulled to present when Pam Troy and one of her 'airhead' friends came to the shower room, chatting amongs themselves about the guys they were 'currently' involved with. Liz shook her head and turned the shower off and started to rinse herself dry, but left her hair moist, reveling from the cooling influence it had on her. Liz wrapped the towel on her torso and started to make her way to her locker, when Pam Troy spotted her.

"Well, if it isn't 'Little Lizzie Parker'," Pam sneered, and Liz glared at her. "How are you feeling during this INCREDIBLY hot day?"

Liz's glare, if possible, was dropping the temperature in the shower room dramatically, though it could because of the cool water she had just used. "Fine," Liz said curtly, and left.

"Oh yeah, she isn't getting any," Pam's bimbo friend said, and they both laughed at that.

Once she was at her locker, Liz punched the nearby locker in anger. The heat was getting her frustrated, and Pam got her angry. Combining these two elements had a really nasty effect on her, but she calmed down after a few deep breaths. ["I can't let Pam get to me,"] she told herself while she calmed down. She looked at her left hand, the one she used to punch at the locker. The skin was damaged and it revealed her corium, small amounts of blood making their way from the wounds. Liz watched idly as the Quickening started to close the tiny cuts that seeped blood and recreate her skin. The process was over within a minute, and no one had seen it. Liz sighed, and started to put on her regular clothes. Maria then walked to her own locker, that was opposite to Liz's.

"You okay, Chica?" Maria asked, while she put on her blue bra and panties.

"I'm fine. Well, Pam just got me irritated for a second, but I'm fine now," Liz said, although she was still slightly on the edge. She almost missed Maria's comment while she was putting on her dark brown top.

"Just ignore her, Liz. The girl is as blind as she is braindead," Maria said, rolling her eyes.

Liz was silent for a while when she was pulling on her shorts on. "Umm...Maria, there's something I want to talk with you about," Liz said, but Maria didn't hear her. She was already closing her locker and making her way out. Liz looked after her with a dumbfounded look. ["Okay, did she feel like this when I went to the weight room?"] she thought, then shook her head. Well, she would talk with her tomorrow. Besides, if she didn't hurry up, she would be late from class.

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

West Roswell High, 14:02 p.m, History class

["Well, that definitely was different,"] Liz thought dryly when she gathered her belongings from her desk. Since Marcus was gone, Mr. Sommers was appointed to be their history teacher and he was rather...not into it as Marcus was. Well, the most obvious reason to that was the fact that Mr. Sommers wasn't a 2000+ year old Immortal who had witnessed those events. And judging by some mumbles from other students, she wasn't the only one who missed Marcus as a history teacher. She picked up her backpack and started to leave. Her classes for today were over, but she still needed to renew a book at the school library. On her way there, she saw Kyle and a blonde girl heading to opposite direction. Liz raised an eyebrow to the sight. ["Is that Vicky Delaney?"] she thought incredulously. When Liz was about to walk past the two, Kyle finally spotted her, after taking his eyes off from Vicky.

"Liz," Kyle said, almost as if he hadn't expected to see her.

"Hi, Kyle," Liz said.

"Hi. You know Vicky Delaney," he said, gesturing Vicky.

"Sure. Hi, Vicky. How's it going?" Liz asked from Vicky, though she wondered why they were together.

"Really good actually," Vicky said, smiling slightly and giving small glances at Kyle. Liz had to resist an urge to roll her eyes when she saw this. "Umm, Kyle and I are going to this thing on Friday night. You should come."

Liz blinked, and Kyle turned to Vicky, shaking his head. "No no, you see, that's not Liz's kind of thing..." he started to say, but Liz decided to cut in, clearing something up.

"A party?" she asked.

Vicky nodded. "Yeah, it's at the old soap factory. It should be pretty wild," she said enthusiastically.

"Is that even legal?" Liz asked, her brow furrowing slightly.

Kyle shook his head and turned to Vicky. "See, I told you it wasn't her kind of thing. So..." he said, but Liz stopped him, and surprising the hell out of him in the process.

Liz had narrowed her eyes on Kyle when he had said that comment about her. She was far from uptight person, and besides, what could possibly happen? Marcus wasn't here, and Liz suspected that if he would have been here, and got a wind of this, he would kill her on the spot. Okay, so maybe it was an exaggeration from her part, but he would kill her and let her come out of it eventually. Still, if Marcus had been here, she wouldn't have even dreamed to go to a party. Now...Marcus WASN'T here. "You know, a party on Friday really sounds great," she said, and got a weird look from Kyle. "So, maybe I'll see you two there."

Vicky smiled. "See, I told you she'd be cool with it," she said, and Kyle grudgingly agreed. As if he hadn't wanted her to go there.

"Well, I have to go so...later," Liz said, and started to leave.

"Right," Kyle said, and he and Vicky left.

On her way to the library, she saw Alex being led to principal's office by Sheriff Valenti. Liz glanced Alex with a worried expression, and Alex barely acknowledged her. Liz shook her head sadly and continued to walk to the library.

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