Good morning, everyone. (Well, good morning here, at least. It's 9:21 a.m). Here it is...
part 6. Special thanks to
Anya,
ofwolfandman408,
Sternbetrachter (x3),
LEL,
KEmperor,
angeleyes (x2),
ezriboots,
pandas2001,
Roswell Slayer (x3),
lovalien,
Lady_without_a_clue,
lyndy1,
creative nickname (x2),
Calinia (x2),
Liz Parker Evans (x2),
SwedishSky and
demonyte. Extra thanks to
NScotian from beta-work.
Sternbetrachter Yeah, I HAVE a depraved mind...and I have known it for some time now, I just never have voiced it out (so to speak). And what?? *shrug* I have no idea what you are talking about.
As for Isabel being a 'pain in the ass' thing...let's see...if you think her 'Ice Queen' routine is frosty...well...she's going to literally radiate coldness around her when Alex is gone. Ok, not like 'using her powers to freeze the air' but 'my mere presence is enough to give frostbytes to your soul'. Did that make sense? I swear, I try to write something deep, and I always think there's something wrong with it.
Anyway...here's part 6. Oh, and I did some editing to parts 3 and 4. The time difference was screwed up, which is something I'm still kicking myself over the head with. It was bloody near 10 p.m. at East Coast when Alex talked with Prof. Ugh...I hate my head. It just HAVE to notice the problem when I ALREADY HAVE send out the part or something similar. Ok, enough rant for now. Let's continue with part 6. And...you are all probably going to kill me because of the... *presses 'Submit' button and runs before sharp objects are tossed at him*
Title: "Shattered Images"
Author: Bored to Mundane life
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell or X-Men : Evolution. I'm just borrowing them for this. But if it HAS to be necessary, I promise that I won't damage any of them too badly.
Summary: Things are going from bad to worse. Liz supposedly slept with Kyle, to prevent the the end of the world Future Max told her about. Now no one except Kyle and Alex are talking to her now. If things weren't bad enough already, Liz suddenly gets abnormal pains. When she lost consciousness from a really intense moment of pain, she seeks help from a doctor, and discovers that she's terminally ill. Now Liz must race against time to find the cure, but with little to no allies at disposal, can she survive through this before her time runs out?
Category: Crossover with X-Men : Evolution, with reasonable additions from me.
Pairing: Roswell: Mi/L, Ma/Ma, the rest is CC. X-Men: Remy/Rogue, Scott/Jean, no clue from the rest. (But I do now.)
Rating: PG-13, possibly R at some point
Feedback: I don't think I have to tell you how important FB is, now do I?
["*"] indicates thoughts.
-"*"- indicates telepathical communication.
Part 6
Whitman Household, 9:24 p.m., Living Room
Alex sat stoically on the couch, his awareness fully awake. He could hear the murmuring thoughts of his neighbors, the mantra of 'keep going, you can do better than this' from the 3 joggers; some not so clean thoughts from the jocks that were driving through streets of Roswell a good 2 miles away and pretty much everyone else's inside the 2 mile radius, along the thoughts of the Pod Squad, but he wasn't focusing on them explicitly. He was actually focusing on the awareness he knew as Liz. She was walking here, but Alex had no way of knowing what she was thinking at the moment, mainly because Liz, apparently, was able to keep her newly acquired defenses up. Alex grinned. It only meant that he wouldn't be getting unwanted information from her in the future. Besides, the reason he was doing this was to make sure nothing happened to her on her way here. The sudden kick from Liz's headache could knock her off her feet, and there was no telling what would happen then. IF that happened...he would lose the mental awareness, and when that, hopefully not, would happen, he would bolt out there and carry her to the hospital, not caring about her protests. And if anyone came in and decided not to help her...he'd use his telepathy to 'persuade' that someone to help Liz. Suddenly, for Alex's relief, the group of jocks disappeared from his radar. But...then something else caught his overly aware mind. His parents. They were coming back from the party his father's company held when business was doing quite well. They would be here before Liz, but not too long before, and she would walk in while they were here. Well...Alex had to tell them something, but he doubted he had enough time before Liz walked in. Then a thought occurred to him, and he grimaced. He would have to tell his parents telepathically, and Alex knew that his parents, even if they were okay with the fact that he was a mutant, didn't like it when he would suddenly talk to them in their head. But this was different. He had to GIVE them parts from his own memory to get them to fully understand the importance of the situation. Alex knew that his mother, whose maiden name had been Xavier before her marriage to Richard Whitman, would be able to cope with the sudden memories easier than his father would. Yes, Richard, even after all these years, was still apprehensive about his son and brother-in-law's mental capabilities. Alex smiled slightly. Poor Uncle Charles. He had done a lot to try and reassure Richard that he had nothing to worry, but the tall man was not easily convinced. But, for the sake of his wife, Richard and Charles managed to keep their, albeit strained, 'connection' civilized. That was probably one of the reason why Uncle Charles insisted that Alex would give Richard his regards every time Alex made a mental conversation with him, in an effort to get Richard accustomed to their silent conversations. It did work to some extent. Only when Charles visited, and he and Alex had a mental conversation in front of Alex's parents, would Richard start to feel uncomfortable. So many things being said without him knowing the topic of their conversation. Then, he shook his head at the idea he had formed. It wouldn't be fair towards Liz. If she was up for it, she would tell them herself. If she was tired, then Alex would tell his parents personally.
Alex's awareness was brought back to the living room when the front door opened and Richard and Anna walked in, talking about the party. Actually, what they DID talk about was how boring it was. The only highlight had been when one of Richard's co-worker's wife had confronted him about his relationship with his secretary. It hadn't been exactly amusing, but it did liven things up a bit.
"I can't believe how Thomas could have done such a thing," Anna, a woman in her early 40's with curly red hair said to her husband, and then frowned. "Are you being honest with me when you say that you had no idea that Thomas was having an affair with his secretary?"
Richard, a man in his mid 50's with short brown hair, and quite taller than his wife, shrugged helplessly. "Anna, I honestly had no idea he was doing something like that. But now when I think about it, it does explain why Thomas was more than happy to work overtime. I didn't think of it as anything out of the ordinary because Thomas always did work overtime," he said.
"He's telling the truth, Mom. I, of all people, should know," Alex's voice interrupted Anna from what she was about to say, causing them both look at their son in shock. He was still sitting on the couch, and he wasn't giving any indication that he was aware of them being there. But...as they both knew by now, just because he SEEMED unaware of them being there didn't mean he was. "And before you start accusing me of reading your mind, Dad, don't. Your thoughts on Thomas and the confusion caused by his revelation are shooting out of you like someone is taking pot shots at me with an 120mm gun from Abrams tank."
It wasn't an amusing reference, but both Anna and Richard knew better than to argue with Alex from the way he described their wandering thoughts. From what Richard had heard from Charles Xavier, Alex's mutation, which granted him his telepathy, also made his mind overly sensitive to the thoughts of normal humans, as well as mutants, who project unconsciously into the surrounding environment. Even with the mental training Alex had received ever since his powers manifested, he still couldn't dampen the thoughts from hitting his mind, even though he definitely could filter the vast majority of it.
"Well...I appreciate the way you jumped at my defense, Alex...but could you tell me what you are doing? It's highly unusual for you for to be in living room at this hour. Usually you're in your room, ignoring any thoughts of working on your computer programs or your neglected homework," Richard said to Alex.
"I'm waiting for Liz...who should be here any minute," Alex said, not turning around.
Both the elder Whitman's brow furrowed at the information, not really knowing what to make of it. Alex winced when their confusion hit his head like a giant sledgehammer. ["Damn, I should have kept my defenses high, since I knew how they would react,"] Alex thought, and started to erect his mental shields to dampen the pounding confusion from his parents. He sighed when the pounding lessened, but now he had a harder time observing if Liz was all right. Ok, he was being paranoid, and she was probably still using her male form to make her way here, but he also knew that in her current condition, it was a bigger strain to keep the morph for a longer period than before. At least that's what he suspected, considering the information about shapeshifters he heard from his uncle.
"Why would Liz be coming here?" Anna asked, getting Alex's mind back to the present.
"I'll leave it to her to tell you...that is if she's up for it," Alex said vaguely, and then he tilted his head, his eyes vacant. Both elder Whitman's knew that look. His mind was completely elsewhere, literally. "As far as I can tell...she's hesitating to enter." Then, he sent a telepathic message to Liz. -"It's alright, Liz. My parents know what I can do, but I'm leaving it to you to tell them."-
Alex was surprised when she heard Liz project her answer to him. If there had been any other telepath in the nearby are, say in the scale of the city, they would have heard it as well. ["I don't know, Alex,"] she 'projected'.
-"Just come inside, please,"- Alex pleaded, and apparently Liz heeded his advice, because after a few seconds, both Richard and Anna were surprised to see a completely strange young man walk through the still open door. Anna mentally scolded herself for being so easily distracted, but she knew that Roswell wasn't the type of place to have someone walk in and threaten them gunpoint. The young man walked to Alex, and stood next to him, and now both Whitman's realized that Alex, for some reason, seemed to know this 'boy'.
"Mom, Dad...what you're going to see will be a shocking. Even more so than hearing my words in your head. And please...close the door," Alex said.
Richard blinked in confusion, and Anna closed the door, still keeping her gaze on the strange teenage boy in their house. They both saw Alex turn to the boy, and heard him say, "Do your thing, Liz."
["Liz??"] Anna and Richard thought at the same time, and Anna gasped, while Richard's jaw dropped to the floor, when the teenaged boy's features started to change, and after a short while, the very familiar form of Liz Parker was standing there. Richard and Anna kept staring at Liz with wide eyes, but Liz was completely oblivious to that fact, mostly because she was trying to get her breathing back to normal. Thanks to the pain killers, the sudden, yet violent, headache's hadn't bothered her for some time, but it also prevented her from telling when her body started to feel the strain from her shapeshifting. Now, she was completely out of breath, and more tired than she had ever been.
"You ok?" Alex asked.
Liz nodded. "Yeah, I just...need...to get a good rest, that's all," Liz said, finally getting her breathing back under control.
"You up for telling my parents what's going on?" Alex asked.
Liz shook her head, and swayed slightly as she did that. ["Damn, I must be more tired than I thought,"] Liz thought, and looked at Alex. "What I need right now is rest...but you can tell them yourself," she said, and looked at the bewildered looks on Richard's and Anna's face. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you about this myself, but...I'm REALLY tired." With that, Liz headed to the guestroom, leaving Alex and his parents standing there, in silence.
Richard and Anna then turned to Alex, who kept his gaze on Liz. She was tired, and he had to wonder how out of breath she had been before she had knocked on the front door earlier.
"Well?" Alex heard his parents say, and he turned to them. They were both looking at him. Richard had crossed his arms over his chest, his brow furrowed. Anna matched her husband's posture.
"Well...since she left the subject to me, now I have to wonder if you're awake enough to hear me *tell you* what's going on, or would you prefer if I 'tell you,'" Alex said. Both the elder Whitman's looked at their son blankly, knowing what he had said. When he first time said 'tell you', he had used a tone that said out loud conversation. But it was the last 'tell you' that got them confused. Alex rarely talked with them via his telepathy. He didn't see the need to do it, but he had done that on some occasion, and they all had been when he had hurt himself in someway. Purely out of panic, nothing more. This time...he was giving them a choice, which meant he didn't know HOW to tell them whatever was going on with Liz.
Anna and Richard exchanged a look, wondering how to answer to their son. Richard shrugged, and Anna nodded. Alex always wondered, and envied, his parents ability to communicate with one another without the help of telepathy. They could read each other like a book. Alex briefly wondered...if Isabel ever got over the fact that her 'alienness' kept her away from him...would he be able to do something like that? To just look into Isabel's eyes, and know what she was thinking, without even accessing his own telepathic powers? Unfortunately, his overly sensitive telepathic nature would ensure that he would always be more aware of her thoughts and feelings. His parents eventually seemed to come into agreement when they turned their attention back to him.
"Well...how do you want to do this, Alex?" Richard asked.
Alex sighed. "Um...I thought about using my powers to give you the idea of what's going on, but then vetoed it. Now...since Liz wasn't up for it, and I don't exactly have that much time to tell you...I'd say using my powers would be faster," he said.
"Alex...you can tell us in the morning, if it..." Anna started but Alex shook his head.
"No, it's better if I 'explain' the situation now. That way...you can talk with Liz tomorrow," Alex said.
Richard nodded. "Well...what are you waiting for, son?" he asked.
"Before I begin, I have to tell you something. What I'm about to do, is going to be...rather disorienting at first. Just...do me a favor and don't think. At all. It'll be easier for me...and you," Alex said, his voice unnaturally serious.
Richard looked at his wife for a few minutes, not really sure what to make of this. Then he, along with Anna, shrugged. It was hard to do what Alex asked, to not think about anything, but they pulled it off. Then, Alex's right eye started to glow with a dark blue color. Normally, when telepaths use their powers, there is no physical evidence of it. Alex, however, was an exception. When he was passively listening, or just communicating, his eye would remain normal. But...when he used more of his strength, like now, his eye would glow. It didn't take long for Alex to send the information to his parents, but he had to be careful not to send too much information. He 'showed' them how Liz had fainted in school, how she came here, telling him that she was dying of leukemia. That she was a mutant, and how her father had kicked her out because of it. How he had proposed that they go to Bayville, where Uncle Charles, who had the best resources to find a donor for the bone marrow transplant, lives. Alex deliberately left out details about the Pod Squad, and how Liz had proven to him that she was indeed a mutant, but he did 'tell' them that he believed her. After he was done, Alex withdrew from his parents' minds, and his eye stopped glowing. He sighed from relief. The feeding of information had gone well, and judging by the awed, and saddened looks on his parents' faces, they had received it without a problem.
"Oh God..." Anna whispered quietly, a tear gliding from her cheek.
"How could Jeff do something like that?" Richard asked, more from himself. Yeah, he had freaked as well when his son had turned out to be a mutant, but he hadn't shunned him because of it, nor had he disowned him. But what Jeff had done...it wasn't right. Especially if Liz was dying.
Alex shrugged his father's question, not really knowing the answer. "Judging by your reaction, I presume this worked," he said, and his parents nodded.
"So...you plan on going to Charles with Liz," Richard said, but it wasn't a question.
"Yes," Alex said.
"When?" Anna asked.
"Tomorrow. Uncle said he will send Logan and some of the students to pick us up," Alex said.
"Well...since it's obvious that you've already made your mind up about this," Richard said, and Alex nodded, "your mother and I will go to bed, and talk about this more in the morning."
"Sounds fair," Alex said.
"Just do both of us a favor and take care of yourself. Now when the general public knows about mutants...you have to be careful with your powers," Anna said.
Alex smiled slightly, but it disappeared quickly. "Hey, I have it relatively easy. It's Liz who I'm worried about," he said.
Anna nodded, and looked at her husband, who just looked at her. Then she turned to Alex. "We'll talk more during breakfast," she said, and she and Richard started to make their way to their bedroom.
"Yeah..." Alex said quietly and watched his parents disappear into their room. He sighed. That went rather well...considering how things were now. He rubbed his eyes wearily, and headed to the guest room. He needed to talk with Liz about what he had found out from Kyle's stray thought. He knocked on the guestroom's door gently, and waited. A muffled 'come in' came after few minutes, which got Alex rather worried. He walked inside, turned on the lights, and saw Liz sitting on the bed, looking more tired than he had ever seen her before. It seemed like she was struggling to stay awake.
"What do you want, Alex?" Liz asked wearily.
"I just need to ask you something, because I found out something really interesting in today's meeting," Alex said, and closed the door.
"Like what?" Liz asked, and lied down, her eyes threatening to close.
"Like why did you pretend to sleep with Kyle?" Alex asked deadpan, causing Liz's eyes to snap wide open from shock, and she abruptly got up.
"What?!"
"Well...it was a stray thought, but quite informative nonetheless. What I'm confused about is why did you do it?" Alex said.
Liz was mortified. She had made sure that Kyle didn't know the reason why she had asked that favor from him, but she hadn't even taken under consideration that Alex would find out. But...she hadn't known Alex was a telepath in the first place, and now when she thought about it, he would have probably found that out sooner or later. Her fatigue had been shot to the wind now, and she was struggling to come up with an excuse.
"Liz, before you try to think of a lie, don't bother. I'll know if you lie, and it has nothing to do with my telepathy," Alex said, his expression serious.
Liz sighed. Alex was right. He WOULD know if she was lying to him. Still...she had to wonder how he had kept his powers in check when she had lied to him about the aliens so long ago. "What do you want to know?" Liz asked, her shoulders dropping in a sign of submission.
"The truth would be nice," Alex said.
Liz nodded, and looked at Alex. "Take a seat," she said, and Alex sat on the edge of the bed, keeping his gaze on her. Liz knew that he couldn't hear her frantic thoughts, thanks to the mental barrier she had created with her powers. But she knew he would be skeptical, so she used her powers to remove the shield. When Tess had came to their midst, Liz had been afraid what the blond could do with her mind warping powers to her, so she had started experimenting with her powers, but this time, she had focused her attention on her brain. Since her metamorphosing powers allow her to control her body at the molecular level, which allowed her to turn basically into anyone she chose to be, no matter the size. Actually the persons size did matter, because the bigger the person she morphed, the harder the strain would be on her. While she was studying her power in-depth, she discovered that she could also make subtle changes to her organs, like turning them temporarily into a gel-like substance when she shapechanged. She also was able to alter the density of her muscles, bones and tissues, but only in very small scales, like a 1-3% rate. That, however, was enough when she realized that she could do the same with her brain. After realizing this, Liz did some extensive research on the brain, and discovered that if people had abnormally dense cerebral cortex, it prevented the observation of certain brainwave patterns. It didn't prevent the doctors from knowing if the brain was active or not, but Liz theorized that it DID prevent telepaths from receiving reflections from her thoughts, or in a primitive way, even prevent them from reading her thoughts outright. During her stay in Florida, she had studied this possible immunity against Tess's powers, but had gotten sidetracked, completely forgetting it until the events in the last few days. It had been the first field test of her theory when Alex told her that he is a telepath, and her theory proved to be quite efficient, and she had only increased the density of the first millimeter of her cerebral cortex at the very surface of her brain. Now though, she lowered the density of that 1-millimeter from her cerebral cortex, dropping her shield from Alex's telepathy, and he was now again able to receive her thoughts. Liz looked at Alex's shocked face when he realized that he was again able to 'hear' her.
"It'll make it easier to tell you," Liz said, and Alex nodded, rather dumbfounded by the way Liz was opening up to him. And then, Liz told him the truth; why she had staged sleeping with Kyle. She asked him if he remembered the night they had been at that fortuneteller, and Alex, with a glum face, said that he did. Liz told him what the fortuneteller had told her...that she and Max would eventually end up married, and at this point Alex didn't know if he should congratulate her or be jealous. But the sad emotions pouring off Liz told him that he shouldn't be feeling neither of those two feelings. Liz proceeded with her story, telling him how she had played around with a silk gown, practicing her words if she indeed got married. Alex saw the mental image of the memory, and he had to admit that while it was a rather childish behavior on Liz's part...she would definitely be a beautiful pride. He said as much to her, and she smiled to the compliment, but again her face turned serious, as she proceeded. Her daydreaming had been interrupted by a loud noise coming from her patio, and she had seen someone there, someone who looked like...an older version of Max. Alex saw the image, and he had to agree that he indeed looked like an older version of Max Evans, but how was it possible? Liz told Alex the same thing that Future Max had told her. That he was from 14 years in the future. He had used the Granolith to travel back in time, and to prove that he was a real deal, he had told Liz that his younger self would serenade her in Spanish, and throw a bouquet of red roses, but then would turn them white in mid flight. It happened, just like Future Max said. Alex had to agree that it was very impressive evidence, but why was he there? Then Liz let out a sob. She told Alex that Future Max had come back in time to ask her to fall out of love with Max, because Tess was leaving, and if she did that...the aliens wouldn't be powerful enough to fight Kivar's forces when they took over Earth. Alex listened when Liz proceeded to the part where she had given Tess some pointers to help her get Max interested, and when that hadn't worked, to tell Max that she wouldn't die for him. When Liz said that...the guilt and pain of doing that hit Alex full force, but his own defenses held. He could see it clearly from the images Liz projected. Liz told him that for a brief moment it seemed like it worked...but it hadn't. Liz had wanted out, and asked that Future Max go to either Michael or Isabel for help, but he told her that they had been killed, and quite possibly most of the planets population. That knowledge hit Alex the hardest, and now he fully realized why Liz had practically stomped Max's heart into mush. She had done it to prevent what could be best described as Armageddon. Liz was now in tears, telling Alex how she had gone to Kyle, and asked his help. Alex saw the preparation, Liz and Kyle's innocent conversation while they waited for Max, and the totally devastated look in his eyes when he saw it.
Liz was now unable to speak, and was projecting to Alex how Future Max was starting to disappear, and asked for her wedding dance, and how during that dance...Future Max had disappeared, leaving Liz alone in the patio...her soul equally turned to pieces as Max's heart had been smashed.
Alex was silent for a while, allowing Liz to get more pain out of her system while he thought over what he had learned. And he summed it up with "Wow."
Liz stopped her sniffing and glared at Alex, who flinched from the cold emotions that poured out from her. "That's all you have to say?" she said, her voice low yet heavy with hurt.
Alex shrugged. "Well...it's the best I could come up with...but I have some questions," he said.
"I already told you the reason why I tore Max's heart into pieces," Liz said, not really wanting to think about that night anymore.
"Did he...Future Max know about...the fact that you are a mutant?" Alex asked.
Liz blinked, the last tears she had shed falling to the blanket. "I...I don't think so...he never said anything in those lines, and...now when I think about it...if he HAD known, he would have told me that to prove he was indeed from the future," she said, thinking it over.
Alex nodded. "Yeah, I thought about that too, which means all those years you were married to him, you never trusted him enough to tell him," he said.
Liz was feeling dumbfounded by that knowledge, but she couldn't ignore the logic. "But...what could have made me keep it as a secret?" she asked.
Alex shrugged again. "Maybe you didn't see a reason for it, because you obviously were still alive to get married for 14 years," he said.
Liz looked at him for a moment, then started thinking. It DID seem that Future Max was...overly sad that he HAD to ask her to sever her relationship with Max. Maybe...Future Max KNEW she would get sick...but since Max was the only one who could heal...which probably meant that Max had, all those years, been healing her symptoms, keeping her alive. God, how much it must have torn him inside to ask her to do something that was clearly a death sentence to her. "I...I think he kept healing me...for all those years..." Liz said to herself, and Alex had to nod in agreement.
"Makes sense. And I can only guess now...but he probably hoped that the regular medical science would be enough to save you from leukemia before it would claim your life. Obviously...since he didn't know WHAT you are...he was wrong," Alex said.
"But...why did I keep this from him in the first place?" Liz asked out loud.
"Judging by what I saw tonight...I think you found out he wasn't as nice guy as you thought," Alex said.
"Max...he..." Liz started, but stopped. What was she saying? Max WAS capable for violence, she had seen it. When Michael had went to see Topolski with the orb, Max had punched him for violating his order to stay away from her. And Max was also rather self-absorbed, only able to see how things affected HIM, not how they affected others. Like the time when Michael had gotten sick and Max had actually suggested that they take a break from their relationship, which hadn't lasted that long in the first place. But this was all speculation at best. Future Max was gone...permanently, and there would be no way to get answers to their questions.
"I agree," Alex said, his face expressionless. "But what about the Granolith? More importantly...what the hell is it? I mean...I haven't seen it personally, only bits and pieces from our alien quartet's thoughts. Obviously it's something really powerful if it actually can work as a time machine."
Liz nodded. "Future Max said that it wasn't intended to be a time machine, but it had...like, an immense amount of power, and they were able to modify it to create a tear in space-time continuum. Thanks to some girl named Serena, which I would befriend with in some obscure future inside those 14 years," Liz said.
"If it's that powerful, it's no wonder the Skins want it. But...seriously, WHAT is it?" Alex said.
Liz shook her head, shrugging. Alex could tell she had no idea either. "Liz, you should, um...put that whatever defense you have against my telepathy up. I think I've heard enough regarding this conversation," he said.
Liz nodded, and erected the shield, or just increased the density in her cerebral cortex. She now created a similar mental lock to this capability she had when she kept her 'normal' form 'on'. It would definitely make things easier when she didn't have to focus on it constantly, even if it was on a subconscious level. After that was done, she heard Alex sigh from relief when her thoughts stopped hitting his mind, and she looked at him quizzically. "Now what?" she asked.
"Now...we BOTH are going to hit the bed, and sleep. Or...do you want something to eat first?" Alex asked.
Liz yawned, the fatigue coming back full force. "No *yawn*. I think I'm too beat to be hungry. I just want to lie down and sleep," she said, yawning again.
Alex nodded. "Ok. Sweet dreams, Liz," he said, turned off the lights, and closed the door when he left the room. Before he managed to close it, he saw that Liz had passed out the minute her head hit the pillow. Alex sighed, and closed the door all the way, and walked to the kitchen, intending to have a quick snack before he went to bed. He opened the refrigerator and took butter, some cucumber, ham and cheese. He put the stuff on the table and got a bun, which he cut in half. After a few minutes, he had a cheese-ham sandwich in his hands, and he wolfed it down in record time. He drank a glass of water, put the ingredients away and left the kitchen, turning off the lights in the house. It didn't take long from him to strip to his boxers and T-shirt, and lie down on his bed. Before he turned off the lights, he erected a mental alarm of sorts that would wake him up when Isabel would use her dream walking abilities to make a visit. It wouldn't work on Liz, since she obviously was so tired that Alex doubted that she was dreaming at all. That and the fact that Liz's mental defense would probably keep even Isabel out from her subconscious. That left Alex, and he would be ready for Isabel when she came knocking. The only difference this time...would be that Alex would be waiting, and they wouldn't be talking in his subconscious.
Alex grinned, and turned off the lights, enveloping his room, and the rest of the house into darkness. He fell into light sleep shortly after that.
*************************************************************
DeLuca Household, 10:02 p.m., Kitchen
Amy DeLuca sighed as she sipped some of her tea. Maria had been a nervous wreck for the past hour, and had finally passed out from sheer exhaustion. Amy was also worried, and slightly ticked. How could the Parker's have kicked Liz out of the house when she was sick? ["If I'll ever bump into Jeff or Nancy, I'll give 'em a real good dose of bonified DeLuca rage,"] Amy thought bitterly, and her eyes suddenly flashed. ["Damn, I have to keep my nerves in check. It's a sheer miracle I haven't torched something yet."]
Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt stop when a soft knock was heard at the kitchen door behind her. Amy frowned and got up, her nightgown flowing gently as she walked to the door. She was shocked to see Nancy standing behind the door, and the shock quickly turned into indignation when she remembered what Maria had told her. Naturally, being a very fiery tempered woman, Amy failed to remember that Maria had said that Jeff had been the one to kick Liz out of the house, not Nancy. Amy pulled the door open and glared at Nancy, who seemed like she had been outside quite long. Amy failed to see a suitcase on the ground near Nancy's feet.
"What are you doing here?" Amy demanded, not even trying to hide the venom from her voice.
Nancy blinked from confusion. That wasn't a reaction she had expected. "I...I was wondering if I could stay for a night before I...find a motel room," she said.
Now it was Amy's turn to blink, and she finally saw the suitcase next to Nancy. "Ok, care to explain what's going on?" Amy asked.
Nancy shifted her gaze away. "Jeff was drunk when he got back home, and I didn't feel like arguing about what he did to Liz when he was in that condition...so I left," she said.
Now Amy blinked few more times, and remembered what Maria had told her in more detail. ["God, I'm so over-reactive,"] she scolded herself, and stepped back from the door. "Come inside, it's freezing," she said, and Nancy nodded, picking up the suitcase as she got inside.
"Thank you. I can't really stay that long..." Nancy started but Amy would have none of it.
"Nonsense! You stay here as long as it's necessary," Amy said, giving Nancy a look that clearly said 'And I do NOT want to hear any arguments'.
Nancy nodded and put her suitcase down, taking a seat next to kitchen table.
"Want some tea?" Amy asked, and Nancy nodded. Amy fetched another cup and filled it with hot water. "What flavor?"
"Umm...blackberry," Nancy said, and Amy nodded, taking the tea bag, she put it into the cup. Amy let the bag soaking in the water for a while, and after few minutes, she removed the bag and handed the cup to Nancy. Nancy smiled and took a careful sip, savoring the taste. Amy took a seat on the opposite side of the table, and sipped her own tea, which was getting quite cold. But she couldn't heat it up...not with Nancy in the same room.
"So...care to explain what happened with Liz?" Amy queried, and Nancy put the cup of tea away. The sadness in Nancy's features was as clear as day, and Amy felt bad for nearly blowing up at the woman.
Nancy sighed. "Jeff...found out some...details from Liz, and couldn't deal with them. As a result...he kicked her out," she said.
Amy put her own cup down forcefully, almost breaking it. "And what was so horrible that gave him a reason to kick a sick girl to the streets?" Amy demanded, nearly growled.
Nancy wasn't exactly shocked from Amy's reaction. Maria tended to be rather temperamental when Liz wouldn't tell her something, and Nancy knew quite well Amy's own reputation as a VERY fiery tempered woman. "Just answer one question first, Amy," Nancy pleaded, and Amy nodded, calming down. "What is your stand when it comes to mutants?"
This got Amy off-guard. "What?" she asked, her mouth suddenly dry.
Nancy looked at the woman who had become a close friend, thanks to friendship between Liz and Maria. "You heard me, Amy. What is your stand on mutants? Do you hate them?"
"NO!" Amy yelled, then clamped her mouth with her hand, mindful that her daughter was sleeping. She listened for a while, and there was no sound telling that Maria had woken up. Amy turned back to Nancy, and answered with more hushed tone. "No, I don't hate mutants. This is the just like when black people were treated badly. Or how Nazi's put Jews in concentration camps. I'm not a bigot, Nancy. You know that. Just 'cause people have a gene that gives them special powers, doesn't mean they are any different from us."
Nancy smiled. Amy was always very open-minded woman, just like Claudia. If even more so than her late mother-in-law. "I know you're not a bigot, Amy. I just...had to be sure," Nancy said with a small smile.
Amy was confused at this point. "Why?" she asked.
"Jeff kicked Liz out of the house because...she's a mutant," Nancy said, her smile disappearing.
Amy's eyes were wide now, from shock. "Are you serious or just making fun of me?" she asked.
Nancy shook her head, and took a sip from her tea.
Amy was silent for a while, but then broke the silence. "So, that's why Jeff kicked her out," she said.
Nancy nodded, some tears spilling to her cheeks. "And...she's terminally ill, Amy. My little girl is dying and he still kicked her out," she said.
Amy's face turned hard. "Do you want me to go and give some fiery 'DeLuca rage' to that bonehead?" Amy asked.
Nancy shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I can handle Jeff," she said, then looked at Amy. "So you're ok with the fact that I'm the mother of a mutant?"
Amy let out a small laugh, which confused Nancy. "Why would I be when I'm a mutant myself?" she asked sarcastically, took her cup of tea, which was cold by now, and did something that got a wide-eyed reaction from Nancy. Amy had placed her hand palm up underneath the cup, and there was a small fire burning on her hand, heating up the tea. When Nancy looked at Amy with amazement, she could also see a soft glimmer of fire in Amy's eyes. Once Amy was sure that her tea was hot enough, she put out the fire in her hand and looked at Nancy. "You're taking this rather well," she said.
Nancy smiled. "Well...seeing my daughter turning into a man in front of my eyes kinda outweighs this demonstration," she said.
Amy looked at Nancy in shock, not believing what she had just heard. "Are you telling me that...Liz is a...shapeshifter?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Damn. And I had no idea," Amy said to herself, taking a sip from her re-heated tea.
"So...you're a mutant yourself?" Nancy asked from Amy.
Amy nodded. "That's right. I was...12...when my own powers manifested. I nearly burned the house down," she said sadly.
"What IS your power? It has something to do with fire, as I obviously saw, but..." Nancy asked.
"It's called pyrokinesis. I'm able to create fire or set something on fire with my mind. As a side-product, I'm immune to fire and extreme heat," Amy said matter-of-factly.
Nancy suddenly chuckled softly, confusing Amy. "Now I understand why you have a fiery temper," she said, and burst into laugh. Amy had to smile that as well, but then turned serious.
"Yeah, well, I'm not as hot tempered as I was as a teenager. That was pretty much the reason why I had hard time controlling this. But I managed," Amy said.
"How did your parents react?" Nancy asked, suddenly curious.
Amy let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, the usual way, considering the time. Dad pulled a 'spawn-of-the-Devil' routine and kicked me out. My Mother was scared to death of me, and now when I think about it, for a good reason," she said.
"I'm sorry," Nancy said sincerely.
Amy shook her head. "It's ok. Besides, my powers were the reason why my husband left me and Maria," she said, pushing her tea away, feeling too depressed to feel relaxed. "God, he kept on how he had married a monster, and that he felt violated to have a child with me. He even said that Maria was a monster, but by that point I was literally burning up, like a...Phoenix, which pretty much drove him away for good. That's why I've tried to be a good mother to Maria, but I still feel guilty."
Nancy was silent for a while, thinking over what Amy had said. The fiery tempered woman had been through so much heartache that it hurt her as well. "Is...Maria a mutant?" Nancy asked, but there was no malice in her voice. Just concern.
Amy shook her head. "If she is, I don't know about it. But I pray for all love that God can give that she isn't. It's bad enough that people look down at you because you're an independent woman, but it intensifies when you have special powers to worry about. And I know people would do something...really bad to me and my daughter if they'd find out what I am," she said sadly.
"What about Harold?" Nancy asked.
Amy shook her head. "He's too scared of what I can do to tell anyone. I mean, would YOU try to get a woman with a fiery temper and a power to set things on fire angry?" she asked.
Nancy shook her head. "No. I just...you're very strong willed woman if you're able to keep your powers in check, considering how easy it is to get your temper up," she said.
Amy snorted. "Well...I've got a fiery temper, alright, but I'm also equally passionate woman. That's what fire symbolizes, you know," she said.
Nancy raised an eyebrow. "One of the reasons Harold married you?" she asked.
Amy actually blushed from that implication, but she wasn't sorry from it. "You bet," she said, and they both burst into laughs.
Then Nancy remembered something. She had overheard Maria and Liz talking with one of the Evans kids...Isabel, that was her name. That Michael had spent the night here. ["Amy must have pulled a fit when she saw a teenage boy sleeping with her daughter,"] Nancy thought. Since Michael was still pretty much breathing, let alone intact and not in ashes, Amy hadn't TRULY lost her temper. "Umm...Amy, there's something I have to ask," Nancy said, and Amy stopped her laughing for a moment. "I overheard my daughter and Maria talking a few months before summer, and...well, I heard that Michael Guerin had been...here."
Amy knew what Nancy was talking about. "You are wondering how the boy is still in one piece and not in ashes?" she asked, and Nancy nodded. Amy sighed. "Believe me, when I saw that boy...in my little girls bed...I was ANGRY. REALLY *ANGRY*. I was...REALLY close to just burn him right on the spot, but just as I was building up for it...Maria's voice brought me out of it. I couldn't just burn someone who obviously meant something to her...so I grabbed the nearest thing I could find, which happened to be a newspaper, and started beatin' him up with it. He shot out like a bat out of hell. And trust me...that kid got lucky."
Nancy nodded thoughtfully. If SHE had seen Max sleeping in Liz's bed...and if she had any weird powers that were REALLY fatal, like Amy's, she would have probably reacted the same way. But since she didn't...she would have probably fetched a frying pan and drove the boy away, while Jeff was trying to find his shotgun. Well...now that Jeff knew what Liz was, there was little hope for that fatherly over-protectiveness happening. "I know what you mean. If I'd ever see Liz sleeping in bed with..." Nancy shook her head, not really wanting to go there, "well, it wouldn't be pretty."
"Yeah, I know. It comes with being a parent," Amy said, and they continued on with their talking for a while, talking about mundane things, like Amy's shop and the café.
Unbeknownst to the 2 older women, Maria had woken up a while ago, and had listened to their conversation with growing apprehension. She closed her bedroom door and tried to calm down her frantic breathing. Her mother was a mutant! Her father hadn't left because of her, like she had always thought. He had left because he was afraid of her mother. Liz...her best friend...was a mutant as well. A-and...Michael could be dead by now if her mother had REALLY lost her temper that morning when she saw Michael in her bed. ["OhmyGod!!!"] Maria thought, her head spinning from what she had heard. How long had Liz been lying to her about that? But...even her own mother had lied to her. ["What am I gonna do?"]
She listened her mother and Nancy talk a bit more, and it became apparent that they were going to talk a lot longer. She had school tomorrow, and if she didn't get some sleep, she would be too tired to deal with this tomorrow. Maria hoped that Liz would show up, because she had been lied to too much. If Liz started to feign ignorance, she would scream, make a scene, ANYTHING to get the truth out from her friend.
With that thought settled, she went back to sleep, but didn't fall asleep until well past midnight.
*************************************************************
Evans' Household, 10:07 p.m., Isabel's Bedroom
Isabel was sitting on her bed, wearing her red pajamas, the yearbook on her lap. Her mind was reeling when she went through her conversation with Alex over and over again. She had never seen that side of him before. Ok, that wasn't true. No matter what happened in the past, she had always seen that side from Alex. Passionate, eager to protect his friends and not really afraid to voice his opinion. But being on the wrong side of those emotions was a new experience to Isabel. Alex had blown up at them, for the way they treated Liz. The only one who seemed to get away from his blowout was Kyle. Max had got the biggest chunk of it, and even Isabel had to admit that what Alex had said made sense. The human part of the group didn't need to take orders from them...or specifically, from Max. But they WERE humans. They didn't have powers to protect themselves. Or that was what Isabel had thought. Alex definitely was, as he had so impressively pointed out, something more. She had heard his voice IN her head. She had heard him, but not with her ears. More like a...thought, but not her thought. It was really confusing, and Isabel wondered what it could mean. Was Alex the only one of the human side of the group who had secrets of his own...or did others have something similar to hide? Isabel watched the picture of Liz in the yearbook, frowning. Liz's disappearance had caused this, but what Liz had done to Max had started it. But WHAT had Liz done, and why? And why was she hiding now? Alex obviously knew where she was, but refused to tell. Now Isabel was here, on her bed, ready and anxious to dream walk either Liz or Alex, but not knowing which one. Liz held answers, but Alex...was intriguing, because he obviously had a lot more to say to her than what he HAD said. Isabel shifted between the pages that held the pictures from Liz and Alex, thinking.
She was brought out of her thoughts when a soft knock came from the door. "Come in, Max," Isabel said, not even raising her head to acknowledge her brother when he walked in. The way he had acted at the meeting really infuriated Isabel.
There was silence, and Isabel got really angry when Max refused to say why he was there. Isabel glared at Max, and now when she looked at him, he wasn't feeling like 'I'm-the-King'. More like, 'don't-bite-my-head-off...please'.
"What do you want?" Isabel demanded, not really feeling sympathy for her brother.
"I...um...did some thinking," he said meekly, and Isabel had to look at him in disbelief. "I think maybe...some of the stuff Alex said might be...true."
"Some?" Isabel asked.
"Well...like the fact that I kept blowing up at people around me instead of actually trying to find her," Max said, his head low.
Isabel had to give her brother some credit for thinking, but that wasn't all she wanted to hear. "And?" she demanded.
Max sighed exasperatedly. "What else do you want to hear, Iz?" he asked.
"Gee, I don't know? How about the little detail that you have NO right to boss the humans in our little group around? Or the fact that you were completely out of line when you practically hit Alex with the door," Isabel said.
Max's expression hardened. "I'm supposed to be a leader, the one who makes the decisions, and when I do...I get yelled at," he said.
"Yeah, well, when I tried to wake you up from your zombie state, I never realized that you were a self-absorbed brat," Isabel muttered, focusing her attention back to the yearbook.
"All I know is that what I saw that night...it couldn't have happened," Max insisted.
"And is that the reason why you ordered us to stay away from Liz?" Isabel asked sarcastically.
"I only said to keep your distance. I...I needed time to sort my head, and then ask her...what I saw," Max said.
"Good luck with that, brother," Isabel said, not taking her gaze off from the yearbook.
Max noticed this. "What are you doing?" he demanded.
"That doesn't concern you," Isabel growled.
"I came here to apologize...and to ask if you could take me to Liz's dreams," Max said.
["Why am I not surprised,"] Isabel asked herself, but didn't say anything. Truth be told, she was going to do that herself. "Take a seat, Max. I was about to do that anyway," she said, sighing. "But don't think I'm forgiving your childish behavior tonight anytime soon. I'm just as curious as you are at this point."
Max glared at Isabel, but didn't say anything when he sat next to her. Isabel shook her head, and placed her index finger over Liz's photo. The familiar distortion happened, and both Evans's lied down, closing their eyes. After a while, they both opened their eyes. Isabel bolted up quickly, her brow furrowing. Max was equally confused. "What happened?" he asked.
"More like what DIDN'T happen, Max. I couldn't get in," Isabel said, her frown deepening.
"What do you mean 'couldn't get in'? You never had problems getting into people's dreams," Max said, surprised.
"I know that. Even when people are having dreamless sleep, I can get in, but there's nothing but a whole lot of nothing. But now...it's like I'm being blocked somehow," Isabel said.
"By whom? Liz is...human. She shouldn't be able to do something like that. Maybe...she's awake," Max suggested.
Isabel gave a look to Max that clearly said 'Are you really the biggest idiot on the planet?'. "She can't be awake, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to form a connection with her subconscious. I just can't...get in," she said.
"Maybe whatever is making her sick is blocking you? It could be possible," Max suggested.
Isabel was a bit skeptical, but it did sound logical. She looked at Max and smirked. "I guess you won't be getting your answers the easy way, brother of mine," she said.
Max didn't say anything, he just shook his head. "I...I can't believe she would do something like that..." he said to himself, and Isabel rolled her eyes. Every time she even MENTIONED Liz, Max had to go all denial. Well...it was definitely better than to see him lashing out his frustration on everyone else. That still didn't give him the right to act like he did.
"Well...since that didn't work, let's try Alex," Isabel mused to herself, and picked up the proper page. She placed her index finger over Alex's picture, and the same distortion happened with Alex's picture. However...the effects were slightly different, but not here.
*************************************************************
At the Same Time, Whitman household, Alex's Bedroom
Alex's eyes suddenly bolted wide open, his right eye glowing brightly, illuminating the room with an eerie dark bluish light. Isabel. She was coming. Alex grinned, but his grin disappeared when he sensed someone else. ["Max,"] he growled in his mind. "Sorry, Max, but this is a private party and YOU are NOT invited," Alex muttered to himself, and his right eye flashed brightly, and he closed his eyes.
*************************************************************
Meanwhile, Evans' Household, Isabel's Room
Isabel and Max had both layed down, and were now on their way to Alex's subconscious. It was weird how the relatively short trip was done. When Isabel had discovered this power, she had tried to explain to him what happened when she entered someone's dreams. She would use a picture to form a connection, like a pathway to the person's subconscious. Then, she would follow that line for a half a minute or so, and presto, she would be there. Max saw nothing but darkness, and the dark bluish line that probably symbolized the connection. Then, suddenly, there was a bright, dark blue flash, and something struck Max. He bolted upright, back in Isabel's room. He winced when he realized that he was suffering from a really big headache. Like someone was playing tennis with his brain. He glanced at Isabel, and noticed that she was still sleeping. Whatever happened to him clearly didn't affect Isabel. But what HAD happened?
*************************************************************
The Dream Scape (Or so Isabel believes...)
Isabel looked around, now completely confused. First and foremost, she saw that Max wasn't here. It was strange. He HAD been with her when they had headed towards Alex's subconscious, but then there had been an unnaturally bright flash of dark bluish light, and she was here. The strange thing about the flash was that it was exactly the same color as the link that she formed between herself and Alex. The second thing, she finally noticed, was that aside from the absence of Max, she was the only one here...but it was the 'here' part that bothered her. Everywhere she turned, there was nothing but black. She couldn't even feel the link she had formed to get here...but was she in Alex's subconscious at all? Had that flash...stopped her somehow, and left her psyche stranded? ["Please God, don't let that be true,"] Isabel thought, now feeling really scared.
"Oh, no, Izzy. You're not stranded or anything like that, as you so elaborately put it. I just had to make sure that we were...not interrupted by unwanted guests," a voice said, which sounded vaguely familiar to Isabel. It wasn't that the voice was strange, but it was so far away that Isabel had to strain to hear it. Wait...it had...whoever spoke knew what she had thought.
"Who are you?!" Isabel demanded, yelling into the darkness around her. "And what have you done to Max?!" ["Not that I really care..."] she thought.
There was a soft chuckling sound around her, as if whoever was talking to her was amused by something. "Glad to hear that, Izzy. As for what I did to our 'fearless-Leader', was slam the door shut right in front of his face," the voice said.
["What is going on? Whoever this person is...he, if I hear correctly, knows me. Wait...'Izzy'? But only one who calls me like that is..."] Isabel thought, but was interrupted when the scenery abruptly changed. Land was formed underneath her, made out of sand. Desert. Then cactuses, rocks and various bushes started to appear. Then the sky lit up from the unnaturally large amount of stars...and not just by the stars. There was a Crab Nebula up there, along with the Andromeda galaxy. The Moon was unnaturally large as well...like it had been pulled closer to Earth. Then the familiar rock formation appeared. The same rock formation that held the pods where the 4 aliens were born...and which held the Granolith. But the detail of how the surroundings was portrayed...was...unnatural.
"I hope it's accurate. The mental image I saw in your mind was quite clear, but I rarely bother to use my powers like this. The night sky...well, that was me 100%. The rest...is what you have seen," the voice said, suddenly a lot clearer and...behind her. Isabel quickly spun around, and saw someone standing there, looking up at the night sky and the stars. It was like he was deliberately ignoring her. Isabel narrowed her gaze on the person, and sent out a small blast of energy. It was something that could be best called 'pushing'. But...it didn't have any effect on whoever the person was. Isabel looked at her hand in shock, and tried again. Nothing.
"Don't waste your energy, Izzy. Your powers don't work here," the person said, keeping his gaze locked on the sky. Isabel squinted, and could see a soft glow of dark blue energy around the person. It was surrounding him like an aura or something.
"Who are you?" Isabel asked, taking a cautious step closer.
The person burst out laughing, and Isabel didn't like it. There was hardly anything funny about this situation, as far as she could tell.
"I thought you would have figured it out by now, Izzy. I guess I was wrong," the person said and turned around, causing Isabel to gasp and stumble back in shock. She thought that a Skin had done something to her, but boy, she had NO idea how wrong she had been. Because the person who stood before her was DEFINITELY not an alien.
"Alex?!" Isabel said in disbelief. Alex smiled, his right eye glowing steadily from the same dark blue light as the aura around him.
TBC...
</center>
. Sorry, now I'm serious. Liz is 'like' Mystique, but she's not 'the' Mystique. And yes, she's going to be good. 
I'm not telling. 
I did? Really? I guess I finally got the angst worked out somewhat, but there are still some things about writing emotions that I have to clear up. As for more...think this should do the trick? 
Very good guess, that's all I'm saying. 
Don't act so surprised, Kat. We BOTH know that Alex has always backed up Liz when things have been down the drain with her. As for Alex being mutant, it was part of the challenge. The telepathy part...that was me. Sure, I thought something else for him at first, but it didn't fit with the story so...he got telepathy. In a way it suits him better at this point than anything else, I admit it. 
Heeeyyyy... 
...