“What should I do?”

“I told you. You’re not listening.”

“Maria, this isn’t helping.”

Maria put down the dishes. “Alex, I can’t speak for Isabel. She’s freaked by this whole alien thing. I think you need to give her space.”

“Space? I haven’t pushed all summer. I don’t get it. She and Michael aren’t together. They decided not to try Destiny, so why can’t she be with me? How did I get back to the old ‘let’s just be friends’ category?”

“Alex…”

“I mean before that damn Tess showed up and started mindwarping everyone with their ‘destinies’ to awaken them to what ‘must be’ shit, Isabel and I were finally together. Finally. Then bam! Just like that, I lose the girl. Hell, I didn’t even get to…”

Maria sighed. Glancing over at the kitchen, she prayed Michael would rescue her, but he was off today. Damn.

“Alex! Alex!” Maria grabbed her friend kissing him quickly on the lips. “Honey, you’re killing me here. I wish I could help you. Really,” she soothed, putting her hand on her chest in earnest, “really I do, but you have to talk to Isabel, not me.”

Alex sighed. “Great. Just great. Isabel avoids talking about any subject too close to our relationship.”

“Alex…”

“Do you think I should send her a present?” Alex went on to list all the possibilities. Maria sighed, smiling in support.

~~~

“I think I’m confused.”

“Here, have another ice cream sundae. I added extra whipped topping.” Maria shoved a new bottle of Tabasco over at Isabel. “Eat up. Sugar fires those neurons. Makes thinking so much easier.”

Isabel sighed dousing the sweet and fattening treat with extra Tabasco. It was a two bottle Tabasco day. “I care about Alex, really I do. But, I keep thinking I rushed things as a reaction to the whole Destiny dream stuff. I thought I was ready to be with Alex, and then there was Michael in my dreams confusing the issue.”

“Are you still dreaming about Michael?” Maria asked curiously.

“No.” Isabel shook her head. “He barely talks to me. We use to have some rapport, an unspoken understanding that he was my brother, and now…”

“That’s gone.” Maria said softly. Michael lost what little family he had. The only real connection he had to the other aliens was through a supposed engagement…not even a marriage, and being Max’s second in command. Destiny, instead of giving Michael a home and a place, stole all the family he ever had. He was even more alone than before.

“How do I go back? How do we go back? I keep thinking that being with Alex is just a knee jerk reaction to cover these really icky feelings about Michael.” Isabel dug into her dessert depressed. “I can’t even think of Michael like that. I can’t. He still feels like a brother.”

“Then what’s wrong with Alex?”

Isabel put her arm on the counter resting her head in her hand dejectedly. “I can’t. Until I know, I can’t make promises to Alex. I care too much to ever use him like that. I don’t want him to be this ‘convenience’. I want it to be real.”

“True love?” Maria asked sympathetically.

“Yeah. It might be, but with all that happened. I can’t say. My feelings are all racing, and I think I’m looking for something or someone. I can’t see the face, but I know it’s important to me.” Isabel looked at Maria tragically. “Is it wrong for me to hate Tess? She mindwarped me! Just like she mindwarped Max to think of her romantically. She was making me have those dreams. I’m sure of it!”

Maria frowned. “I thought it was that stupid…‘the planets have aligned and awakened your biological urges’ crap.”

“Right,” Isabel shook her head. “Michael looked into it. Those damn planets align every few years. It’s no big deal. So why this year and not last year, or two years ago? Or two years from now? And whoever heard such a stupid thing? What if we’d been on a different planet, would those planets have ever aligned?” Isabel warmed on her subject. “I had four dreams. Do you know how many Michael had?” Maria shook her head. Michael told her about the dreams, but she hadn’t realized that it hadn’t been the same for both Isabel and Michael. “Two. He only had them when he was sleeping in the house on Max’s floor. Like he had to be within shouting distance of me, or he didn’t have them at all!”

“I don’t get it,” Maria sucked on a nail. “If the dreams were an awakening, and you both shared the dreams, then why didn’t he have all the dreams too, regardless of where he slept?”

Isabel sat back. “I’ve been giving that some thought. Tess didn’t know about my dreamwalking abilities. I think she targeted me…mindwarped me, and when Michael was sleeping close enough, in the vicinity, vulnerable…I accidentally dreamwalked my dream or Tess’s mindwarp into his sleeping mind.”

“You can do that?”

Isabel shrugged. “How else can you explain it? I mean if we’re supposed to have this great awakened biological urge to mate, then why does he still feel like my brother? Why does the thought of us being together freak us both out, to the point we can’t even talk about it, and why does neither of us have a desire to even kiss, spend time together in that way, or even imagine it as a possibility?”

“Wow,” Maria said reaching over to add some hot fudge to Isabel’s half eaten dessert. “Here, you need this. You’re really wiggin’.”

“Totally.” Isabel ate another bite with gusto. “You’ve seen the boys I date. You know Michael. Does he even look or come near to what I like in a man?”

“Um…” Maria wasn’t going to comment. Michael was her friend, and she didn’t want to make remarks against him…but no, he lacked the polish that Isabel usually found appealing.

“Don’t answer that. He doesn’t. The man chews with his mouth open, stuffs food in whole, talks with food in his mouth, and uses his hands.” Isabel laughed. “And we’re just talking about table manners. Have you seen his clothes?”

Maria held her hand up. “Enough. I give up. You made your point. He doesn’t dress in your circles. He doesn’t do the things you like to do, and he eats like he might not have another meal. I get it.”

“He couldn’t be more opposite if he tried. As a brother, he was just Michael. As a mate…um, he would need a lot of work, major cleaning up, and well…a new personality…basically anyone but him.”

Maria shrugged. Michael seems okay to her. Maybe she just got used to him, but in his own way, he was majorly charming when he wanted to be. He had a spark of boyish enthusiasm that Maria really appreciated. It was like Christmas morning, and when good things happened to him, he always looked shell-shocked. It made it easy for her to want to do things for him, just to see the surprise, the awe, and that uncommon spark of being important to someone. Maybe Isabel didn’t get Michael, or she didn’t know how to look beyond the superficial stuff like clothes and outer appearances. She was missing a lot, but like most people, if she couldn’t see it after ten years, she never would. It was strange, it had only taken a few moments of real contact with Michael for Maria to see that something special in him, and maybe she would never understand why, in ten years neither Max nor Isabel ever did.

“And Alex?”

Isabel smiled gently. “He’s geeky in his way, but he likes the same things I do. He dresses a little off, but his clothes are nice and acceptable, clean. He comes from a nice family with a nice car, and he has that whole creative side that makes you know that he’s destined for great things.” She looked at Maria, her eyes suddenly very serious. “He’s going places, or he could, if he wasn’t tied to an alien girl hiding in fear of her life, who could have to run any moment. Maybe he deserves better?”

“Maybe you should let him decide what’s better for him,” Maria suggested softly. “I mean, I have all kinds of ideas about what and how Michael should live, but ultimately…he has to decide, make the changes, and want to change. If he doesn’t, then that’s good too, because it should be his choice. That’s called free will, Isabel.”

“Something Destiny didn’t give us.” Isabel looked at Maria. “I can’t follow Destiny Maria, because I want to fall in love. I want it more than anything. I can’t…don’t feel that way about Michael. Sure, I think he belongs to me in some way, but I always felt that…he was my brother. So, I suspect I’ll always feel an attachment, but that doesn’t mean we’re to be together.”

“Do you love him?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Sure it is. Do you love him?” Maria couldn’t let Isabel off the hook. She was confused, and letting her drown in her own feelings because she didn’t know what to do with them was hardly the action of a friend.

Isabel stabbed at the melting mess in front of her. She glanced over at Maria. “I love him, but I’m not in love with him. I can’t even think of him that way.” Isabel laughed more at herself. “He deserves to have someone that’s in love with him…only him...to distraction, and so do I.”

“Then there’s no confusion here, is there?”

“Alex,” said Isabel tragically. “What about Alex?” Isabel started on Alex and her relationship, or lack of one with him. Maria filled a glass with cherry coke. It was going to be a long shift.

~~~

“She hasn’t called.”

“No.”

Max searched Maria’s face. “You would tell me, right?”

Maria grasped his hand squeezing. “Sure. You know I would. Look, I love Liz. She’s been my best friend all my life, but she loves you…and I know that you love her. I would help both of you if it was possible.”

“Thanks, Maria.”

“I can’t. Not right now, because I don’t know what is going on in Liz’s mind. She’s not talking to me either. All I know is you’re making yourself miserable and depressed.”

“She walked away…no, she ran, Maria. I told her. I told her that she is my Destiny, the only destiny I want. I can’t…she is punishing me for being born into something I don’t feel or want, and…”

Maria sighed. Pushing comforting sugar and Tabasco his way, she sat back and listened to Max. Glancing around, she wondered where Michael was. She could use a break, maybe rescue from the ‘best friend’ therapist chair. When the hell did she become Lucy from the Peanuts? Hell, no one was even paying her nickels.

~~~

Maria let herself into Michael’s apartment as a rock exploded. Lifting a brow, she ignored Tess and went into the kitchen to put away groceries.

“Hey,” said Michael glancing over once he no longer had to concentrate.

“Hey back, Spaceboy. I needed you today, and you so let me down.” Maria answered, putting the cream in the refrigerator. “That cream is for my coffee, so do not use it to eat your cereal!”

“I ran out of milk.”

Maria held up a new gallon of milk. “Gotcha covered.” Maria put it away. “So how is the quarry business going? You get a new gravel contract?”

“Funny.” Michael frowned. Actually it wasn’t funny. His powers, despite Tess’s help, were still unpredictable. He spent most of his time blowing things up. He was tired and it was hard to concentrate after so many hours of practicing. “What’s up?”

“The usual. I need to get out of Dodge. Let my hair down, and blow off some steam. I was thinking a ride through the desert on someone’s bike, heading towards Las Cruces would be nice.”

Michael smirked. “What’s in Las Cruces?”

Maria brought him a flier while drinking a peach Snapple. Michael scanned the flier, a rare smile breaking over his face. “Tonight?” He took Maria’s drink from her taking a large pull, finishing half of it in one gulp. Maria quickly retrieved her drink before he finished it.

“Yep. Cover charge is five bucks. You get us there; I’ll cover the cover.”

“I’ll need to shower and change.” Michael glanced at the clock on the wall. “We might just make it.”

“Why are you standing here yakking?”

“I’m gone.” Michael seemed to realize Tess was still there. “Hey, thanks for the help, but I think I’m through for the day.”

“You need to practice…”

“I know. But, truthfully, I can’t concentrate anymore today. I was losing what little control I had. Tomorrow. I’ll be rested by tomorrow.”

Tess recognized defeat, and she nodded as Michael went off to find clean clothes and hit the shower. They needed to leave in the next ten minutes.

“You can leave now,” Maria suggested, not in the least bit pleasantly.

“He needs to practice. He can’t control his powers unless he does. He’ll need them to fight, and…”

“Yeah, I know, free your people, or at least Max and Isabel’s momma, so she can hold them in her arms again. Yadda, yadda, bang. Got the memo.”

Tess looked Maria up and down. The girl hadn’t been very warm or friendly towards her, actually no one was, except Michael who accepted her help on his powers and little else. Max wouldn’t even talk to her. He wanted nothing to do with Destiny or her. Isabel was still upset that she had mindwarped her and Max. Alex and Maria treated her like she was a plague, a disease that hurt and infected their friend, Liz.

“He’s supposed to be with Isabel…he will be with her in the end. Destiny will make it happen, so you’re wasting your time.” Maria lifted a brow at that.

“Says you. I think it’s Isabel and Michael’s decision. If they want to be together, they’ll decide, and you know what? That will be okay too.”

“You’re not fooling anyone. It’s obvious how you feel about him, and…”

“Uh-huh. You know what?” Maria took Tess’s arm to lead her out. “You’re like this annoying broken record that squeaks and scratches out the same tired old tune, but no one is listening because your scratchy old voice is annoying. Take a hike, you alien home wrecker. Your usefulness of the day is over, we friend types have real life fun things to do. Why don’t you go write on your lonely walls somewhere your stupid destiny over a hundred times, or hit the blonde bottle again. I think I can see your roots.”

Maria slammed the door in Tess’s face. Harpy.

Michael stuck his wet head out of his bedroom still rubbing off the water. “What’s going on?”

“Just taking out the trash.”

Michael tossed the towel aside. “Maria, she’s helping me.”

“I know.”

“Maybe you could cut her some slack?”

Maria shrugged. “I don’t trust her. After all, I’m just a worthless unimportant human. Like all those other humans, it doesn’t matter if we get hurt. We’re just in the way.”

“Like Pierce?” Michael said quietly.

Maria swore under her breath. “No. Not like Pierce.” Maria went to him. “I’m sorry. You know I don’t put you in the heartless human hating category with Tess and Nasedo. Pierce was a deviant even by human standards. He was going to kill us all. Maybe you don’t feel it was justified, but every day, I thank god you saved us, that you saved the Sheriff. I’m just sorry it had to be you, and that it weighs on you.”

“Maybe she needs a friend, too, Maria.”

“I’m overbooked right now. It’s just hard to let her near. I don’t trust her. How can I? She came in mindwarping, intruding and pushing this Destiny in everyone’s face, not caring who got hurt as long as she got what she wanted, and look at the devastation. Everyone was hurt. Everyone I love.”

Maria didn’t say “including Michael”, but it was true. Destiny might have given him back some purpose in life…to be a soldier, but it also stripped away the only family he ever had. He was even more alone. Sighing, Maria kissed his cheek. “Go finish getting dressed. I promise to try to be civil, to cut her a little slack, okay? For you. I’ll try. Meanwhile, we are going to miss the University party and live music if you spend too long on your hair.”

Michael smiled. “I’ll drive over the speed limit to catch up time.”

“Oh great!” Maria dug through her bag while he went to finish getting dressed. She better have a brush. By the time they got to Las Cruces, her hair was going to look like a brillo pad.

~~~

Maria, Alex, Isabel, and Max were watching a special committee meeting on C-SPAN. It was Nasedo posing as Agent Pierce reporting on the Special Unit’s expenses. Basically he declared the Unit to be a hoax, and the Special Unit all but defunct.

Alex sat next to Maria. He was listening intensely to the report. “Well, if Nasedo can put an end to this special unit, I'd say, all your problems are solved.”

Isabel didn’t agree. “We still have our enemies to deal with.”

“It's been over three months, and nothing has happened. No aliens have shown up.” Max pointed out. “Maybe there's no one out there. Maybe the war is over.”

“Or thousands of them could be lining up outside of town right now.”

“I just don't think we should live our lives in fear like Michael does,” Max said. Maria made a sound in her throat rolling her eyes. What the hell was that? It had only been a few short months ago that Max finally understood the true meaning of fear in the White Room, and now he was acting like it never happened?

“Maybe he's just preparing for the inevitable.” Isabel would rather have Michael working to be prepared then burying his head in the sand like Max.

Maria looked at the arguing brother and sister. “They're taking a vote.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I move for the immediate disbandment of that component of the FBI known as the special unit. All those in favor say, aye.”

The new waitress, Courtney came into the back breakroom. She made a face at the group. “You people are way too into C-SPAN.”

“Goodbye, Courtney.” Maria retorted, quickly dismissing the girl. Oh shit, she forgot to tell the little disease carrier to wash her damn hands! Before she could rectify the oversight, the vote came in.

“All opposed say, nay.”

Maria frowned when one Congresswoman voted nay.

“The committee recognizes Congresswoman Whitaker.”

Maria glanced at Alex. “She looks familiar.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, that's Vanessa Whitaker. She's our congresswoman.”

“I've gotta start reading the newspaper.” Maria moved forward chewing on a nail.

“Members of the committee ... in 1972, the special unit of the FBI investigated a murder. Several curiosities surrounded the event. No murder weapon. No entry wound, other than the presence of silver markings left on the skin, which subsequently vanished, yet the internal organs and tissues of the victim were completely decimated. Now, nuclear analysis of the victim's bones showed traces of a substance dubbed cadmium-x, an element which doesn't exist on earth. It is, simply put ... not human.”

The group listened closely as Pierce was questioned by the chair Congressman on the existence of this mysterious cadmium-x, which Pierce claimed did not exist, that it was a hoax created by the Special Unit.

Maria’s eyes remained on Nasedo masquerading as Pierce. For a homicidal maniac, the man wasn’t…unattractive. “I am definitely not in the market for a thirty-something shapeshifter, but I have to admit the man rocks.” Maria turned off the television. “All right, the show's over. I gotta change into my uniform. My shift's starting.”

Alex kissed Maria on the cheek before following Isabel outside to the actual diner.

“Girlfriend,” Maria said to Max, “Like, I know that we bonded over the summer, but I'm not quite ready to show you the bod just yet.”

“No. I was just wondering if you'd heard from Liz yet.”

“Not since you asked me an hour ago.” Maria looked at Max sympathetically. “No.”

“I heard you on the phone with her.”

Maria sighed. Her life was becoming complicated with all these friends, wanting her to be their best friends, especially when they were pushing her between the two of them.

“Max, little advice. The girl goes off to some aunt in Florida for the entire summer and barely says good-bye to you. In layman's terms, she blew you off big time.” Maria tried to hit him with some type of reason. “I mean, and look at you. Look, you're like a groveling dog.” Maria’s voice took on a high pitched whine. “Have you heard from Liz today? Did Liz call?” Maria’s voice returned to normal, her hand gripping Max’s in sympathy. “No. That's no good. Look, you've gotta play it cool, all right? Let her come to you.”

“Let her come to me.”

Maria nodded. “That's what I'd do.”

Max rubbed the back of his neck. “Wait, you know this is easier for you. Michael only ignored you for a month, and you made him grovel, take you to concerts, and basically worship at your doorstep. I think you’re seeing this from a skewed point of view.”

Maria frowned. “What's your point? Spaceboy was being a jerk, he admitted it, and I forgave him. It wasn’t like he didn’t have good reason. End of conflict. I keep telling you, it’s different! He’s not my boyfriend…just a friend, and for the record…the man does not worship at my doorstep. He comes over for dinner. My mom makes him take out the garbage. Stop reading things into a situation that doesn’t exist. Okay?”

~~~

Alex and Isabel were sitting in a booth in the Crashdown. Alex was reading the newspaper while Isabel was lost in thought. The report they watched was disturbing.

“Oh, look! ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest’ is playing at the Revival Theater at the fairgrounds.” Alex said. Oh, classic cinema, perfect distraction to a fucked up life.

Isabel wasn’t listening. “You know, Alex, maybe you should see what you can find out about cadmium-x.”

“Sure.” Alex waved off the alien investigation stuff for now. He’d sic Michael and Maria on it. “Look, there are four showings on Saturday.”

Isabel sighed. “We're not going to a movie, Alex.”

Alex sat back dejected. Three months, and Isabel was still keeping him at arm’s length. “Yeah, right.”

It was hard to see the disappointment on his face…the hurt. “Alex, I'm sorry. You know it's not you. It's just that with everything that's happening, everything on my mind, I can't think about being with a guy right now. You know, any guy.”

Alex and Isabel looked up when a man stopped at their table. “Excuse me. Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to ... ”

Isabel’s face lit up, interest sparking in her eyes. “N-no. You're fine. We're ... ”

“Uh, Grant Sorenson.” The man quickly introduced himself to the beautiful young girl. She was well worth a second look.

“Isabel Evans.”

“Alex Whitman.” Alex quickly interjected, hating the look on Isabel’s face. Obviously “no guys” just meant him.

The man smiled pleasantly at the two, but his eyes were only for Isabel. “I was just wondering if you might be able to tell me where I could find the Sheriff's office.”

Isabel and Alex shared a worried glance with each other. Isabel almost stumbled over her next question. “Why are you looking for the Sheriff?”

Isabel and Alex both listened in silence as Mr. Sorenson explained that he was a geologist doing a survey in the desert, and he had discovered bones.

“Bones?” Isabel turned worried eyes on Alex after Sorenson headed out. “Pierce?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. The Sheriff will tell us. I bet there are thousands of bones in the desert. These don’t have to be Pierce’s.”

Isabel couldn’t agree. “I need to go find Max. The way our luck runs, I wouldn’t bet on it.”

~~~

Michael and Tess were in Michael's apartment practicing Michael’s powers. Tess was advising Michael on how to control his power by blowing up rocks on the table.

Tess pushed him through the next pinpoint drill. “Next one. Keep your focus.”

Michael concentrated. He was getting better. When he first started, he blew up the rock and everything around the rock. Now he was able to direct his powers on the rock only. He was so busy concentrating as the next rock exploded that he missed Max and Isabel walking into his apartment.

“No rock stands a chance against Michael Guerin,” Max observed sarcastically.

Michael scowled at the alien invasion into his personal space. “Our fearless leader.” What the hell was Max doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be crying in his milkshake or on Maria’s shoulder about his pathetic ineffectual ass? Michael wasn’t sure what pissed him off most about Max…his inability to actually lead or that he was commandeering Maria as his newest best friend.

Tess glanced at the two men, quickly smiling at Max. “Hey.”

Max actually addressed Tess. “I think Nasedo's finished with D.C. He'll probably be headed back soon.”

Tess shrugged. It's not like he's Ward Cleaver when he's here.”

“So, what's going on?” Michael stared at his one-time two best friends. Things were strained, real strained. “Something tells me this isn't a social visit.”

Isabel finally spoke. “We think somebody found Pierce's bones.”

The bottom fell out of Michael’s stomach. “You're kidding.”

“A geologist,” Max said, as if that said it all.

“What the hell was he doing digging around in the middle of nowhere?” Suspicion was a hard thing to overcome, especially after a lifetime of living that way. Michael’s eyes narrowed.

“That's what geologists do.”

“No. That’s what archaeologists do. Geologists study rocks.” Michael shook his head. “I don't feel good about this.”

“Valenti's handling the investigation.” Max bit the inside of his lip. They should’ve never told Michael. “He'll take care of it.”

“What about Nasedo?”

Max shook his head. “He told us not to contact him unless there was an emergency.”

“So what do you call this? I mean, what if this guy's not a geologist?” Michael asked. “What if he's one of our enemies, Max?”

“Right now there's no reason to doubt him. He's a geologist, and in the course of doing his job, he dug up the bones.” Max’s voice took on a firm tone. “I'll decide when we call Nasedo. Don't do anything until I tell you.”

“I'm not just gonna sit around and do nothing like we've done all summer.” Shit, now he was going to be a leader? Now he cared?

“We've been having this conversation for months,” Max said, tired of the fight. He and Michael had been at each other’s throat all summer. “What are we supposed to do?”

“You're our leader.” Michael said sarcastically. “Why don't you lead us?”

“Fine! Crack some more rocks.”

Isabel put a restraining hand on Max’s arm. “Max!” Michael’s temper and powers were volatile. Max was pushing him too hard, being too derisive of Michael’s attempts to control his powers.

“Valenti has it under control. Let's not panic.” Max reiterated, as he and Isabel left the apartment. “I'll call you when there's news.”

~~~

“You didn’t tell him?”

“No. I said I wouldn’t.” Maria sat back on Liz’s bed looking her friend over. “I like the haircut. The shorter cut is nice. Lightens your hair, gives it more body and makes you look not so young.”

“I don’t want to look young. I want Congresswoman Whitaker to take me seriously for this intern position.”

“Whitaker. Geez, that woman is everywhere lately.” Maria’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. That damn Michael Guerin was definitely rubbing off on her. “So we won’t be working together any longer at the Crashdown if you get this.”

Liz looked over at her friend feeling bad. She had left Maria alone all summer, and now this. “Sorry, Maria. I just need a change, you know?”

“Sure. I understand completely.” Maria plucked at the blanket. “What about Max? He’s a mess. This has been a hard summer on him.”

“I don’t know, Maria. I can’t think about this now. Max has a Destiny that isn’t with me.”

“He doesn’t want that, Liz. He wants you.”

Liz sat down on the bed. “I don’t think he has a choice. I hate to admit it, but Michael was right. They were programmed. He is programmed to be with Tess, and it wasn’t all a mindwarp, Maria. He kissed her. He felt drawn to her.”

“He hasn’t followed it, Liz. He doesn’t want it.”

Liz bit her lip. “I don’t know if I can risk my heart again. It hurt too much last time to walk away.” Liz looked at Maria. She looked beautiful. Her hair was longer and she was wearing short skirts and tight clothes. Over the summer, she seemed to grow up. Her friend was no longer a pretty young girl with the promise of beauty. She had arrived. She was a real knock out. “You have it so much luckier, Maria.”

“What do you mean?” Maria didn’t really get what this had to do with her. She had nothing invested in this fraudulent zodiac, misaligned stars and Destiny.

“If Max and I hadn’t gotten together and just remained friends last year, when this whole thing exploded Max could’ve really examined his life, what he wanted, and made a choice. I’m a fly in this alien ointment, and no matter how much I want to be with Max, I can’t forget Tess had him first. She has an entire lifetime claim on him.” Liz wasn’t going to cry. She promised herself not to cry. “If we had only been friends…never together, it would’ve still been hard, but it wouldn’t have been so devastating.”

Maria hugged Liz. “You don’t know that that’s true, Liz. Both Isabel and Michael think it was all a mindwarp. They don’t feel compelled to be together, and supposedly they were engaged. What if it was all a mindwarp? Are you willing to throw away everything, throw away that feeling you get with Max all because a beady-eyed alien hussy wanders into town?”

Liz laughed. “You’re too good a friend. You know that?” Liz hugged Maria. “Thanks for being there even when I wasn’t.”

“Just do me a favor. Don’t be so hard on Max. He’s had a terrible summer between you and Michael. He really could use a break.”

“Thanks for not telling him I’m home yet.”

“Yeah, I don’t like lying to friends, but I didn’t have much choice. You’ve been my friend longer.”

“Thanks, Maria.”

Maria’s cell phone rang. Maria looked at it. “Aw, Spaceboy, my keeper. I better take this. He’s been practicing blowing up things.”

~~~

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way, Michael.”

“Sure he did.” Michael glanced at Maria. “Stop making excuses for him.”

Maria bit her lip. “I’m not. I just don’t want you feeling all upset and abused, that’s all.”

“I don’t, okay? You don’t have to worry about me.”

Maria looked out over the desert, down where the Sheriff and his Deputies were excavating. It was where they had burned and buried Pierce’s remains.

“Sure. Don’t worry about you.” He was irrational. “I think they found something.”

Michael frowned. Maria was right. That doofus Deputy was showing the Sheriff something.

“Sheriff!” Deputy Hanson called, “Found this in the brush, right near the grave.”

“Let's see.”

“I'm all over it, Sheriff.” Hanson bagged a pocket knife he found in the bushes. “I called the lab. I'm gonna run it over right now and have them check for prints.”

Jim looked worried, but he nodded to his Deputy. “Good work, Hanson.”

“Looks like we could have an actual homicide on our hands,” The glee in Hanson’s eyes was a tad bit disturbing.

Maria and Michael watched the Deputy’s SUV rush away. Michael put his hand on Maria’s back, low. Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, “C’mon, let’s go.”

“What do you think he found?”

“I don’t know. Stay low.” Michael told her tripping over some rocks when his head was turned. Falling he got up with Maria’s hands on him when he saw something strange. It was a piece of skin that had been shed on the ground. Maria leaned closer as they looked at it. Michael picked it up and it immediately disintegrated into dust.

“What the hell?” Michael breathed as Maria’s nails bit into his arm.

~~~

Valenti entered his office. He paused when he saw Michael sitting in a chair across from his desk with Deputy Hanson hawking over him. Maria was in another chair next to the wall, and even Jim could see her nervousness.

Hanson stood at attention when Jim entered the office. “This is the suspect, Sheriff. Came in peaceably.” Hanson actually looked at Maria who made a face. “Although I do see a bit of an attitude problem with her.”

Jim passed Michael the bag with his pocket knife. “You recognize that?”

Michael shrugged. It was the knife Maria bought him for Christmas last year. “Well, there are a lot of knives out there that look like that.”

“How many of them do you suppose have your fingerprints on them, Mr. Guerin?” Jim stared into Michael’s eyes, trying to send him mental messages to play along. “My very efficient deputy here has linked this knife to you. It was discovered way out in the desert, out near the old Clovis Highway.” Jim avoided looking at Maria who squirmed nervously in her seat. “You remember our little meeting out there a few months ago? Do I have to refresh your memory?”

“Yeah. Maybe you'd better.”

“I found you and a few of your buddies drinking beer, joyriding, taking potshots out into the desert. Remember?” Maria lifted her brow at that. Hey! She wasn’t a buddy!

“Yeah...,” Michael said, his voice uncertain, but following Jim’s lead.

“Here's the police report I filled out that night, just in case you forgot.” Jim showed Michael a report. “Now, did you witness anything out of the ordinary that night, Mr. Guerin?”

“N-no, sir.”

“All right,” Jim dismissed the two teenagers, wincing at Maria’s enthusiasm to leave. “Listen, do yourself a favor. The next time you're going off to break the law somewhere, don't leave a calling card.”

“Yes, sir,” Michael stared at his pocket knife. Uncertain whether he should ask for it back, he paused. “Can I have my knife back? It was a gift.”

Jim handed Michael the bag. “Get the hell out of here.”

Maria paused on her way out of the door. Looking at the Deputy, she smiled sweetly. “Oh, Deputy…I don’t suppose you found my lip gloss I lost that night as well? It’s precious to me…a gift as well.” Michael made a sound in his throat and pulled Maria out of the office. “Hey! I liked that color!”

Deputy Hanson watched the two leave. “I smell a rat.”

~~~

Michael was pilfering loose change from Maria while holding the receiver of the pay phone in his hand. Trying to locate Nasedo was next to impossible, they kept getting rerouted, placed on hold, and the elevator music was making his stomach jumpy.

“Max is going to shit over this,” Maria complained in a mumble as she looked for more loose change.

“We’d have to cattle prod him awake first.”

“He’s upset over Liz, give him a break.”

“Sure, name the limb.” Michael stood up straight when the phone was answered. “Nasedo, it's Michael.”

“Does Max know you're calling?”

“No.” Michael’s voice held his irritation. “But we got a code red. Get the hell out here.”

“Don't ever contact me again unless Max knows.” Nasedo hung up.

Michael slammed the receiver down. “Great people skills.”

“He hung up on you?” Maria asked. Michael nodded. “Hmm, must be an alien trait. You sure you’re not related to him?”

Michael took Maria’s arm leading her to the Jetta. “C’mon, chuckles. Let’s go regroup. I think we should look into this supposed geologist.”

“Nope. My vote is on the Congresswoman. I mean, honestly, Roswell? How many Congresswomen set up shop in Roswell when Sante Fe, Albuquerque or Las Cruces is available? There’s something fishy, and I’m not talking about her Ferragamo knock-offs either.”

“Her what?”

“Shoes, Michael. Geez, could you pay a little attention?”

Michael made a face. When they got to his place, he shut the door and headed straight for the kitchen. Starving. They had gone from watching Valenti’s people excavate the desert to being picked up by Hanson. He needed sustenance.

Maria intercepted the good cereal before Michael hogged it all. Munching on a handful, she looked at him thoughtfully. “So Nasedo ordered you not to contact him, huh? Only the King.”

“King Weepy. I’ve had enough of watching him act like a girl,” Michael made a face at Maria’s sound of indignation. “Stop it. I don’t count you in that category. If you ever got that maudlin I’d stop talking to you.”

“Therein lies the mystery of how to shake you. Had I only known.” Maria put a tongue in her cheek. “I know you can’t understand his feelings, seeing that you have none,” Michael made a ‘thank god’ sound under his breath, “but it was hard on him seeing Liz walk away.”

“I don’t get the big deal.” Michael made a face. “It’s not like Liz Parker is a supermodel or anything, or even has breasts worth noting. She’s like kiddy porn and all the icky in betweens. Add in her annoying voice, and the mystery is why he didn’t buy her a damn bus ticket himself just to be free of her.”

Maria had had it with the foul humored alien boy. Fingering a pot, she searched the cabinet. Michael frowned at her. “What the hell are you looking for?”

“A heavier pan. This one is too light. I don’t think it will do enough damage to your thick skull when I brain you.”

Michael held up his hands. “Okay, okay! I know, don’t put down your friend. But honestly, Maria, when was the last time you talked to Liz that it wasn’t all about her? Or to Alex, and it wasn’t all about Alex and Isabel, and Isabel…all about her? Max? We won’t mention him because we already know all he whines about. Do any of them even bother to ask you how you’re doing? What’s going on in your life?”

Maria put down the pan. Kissing Michael on lips softly, she patted his cheek. “That’s why I’m cursed with you, Spaceboy. You tend to my pathetically few needs. And in case you didn’t notice…most of the stuff we do revolve around you.”

Michael scratched his brow. “What’s your point?”

~~~

Michael and Maria were still arguing over their cover story when they noticed the car. Ducking down they watched as Isabel got out of her mother’s car and walked towards Grant Sorenson’s research site.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Michael asked incredulously.

“Maybe Max sent her to check up on the geologist.” Maria punched Michael lightly on the shoulder. “I told you we should’ve investigated the Congresswoman! Isabel looks to have the geologist covered.” Maria glanced over at Isabel, quickly reading the other girl’s body language. “Oh yeah, she definitely has this covered.” Aw, poor Alex. “You know…I think you need to take Max and Alex out on a guys night out.”

“Guys night out?” Michael said confused as he watched the camp. “Why?” Michael glanced at Maria. “What’s going on, Maria?”

“You can’t be blind. Isabel is doing time with Mr. Geologist. You know… ‘they do it in the dirt’ and ‘geologist have larger tools’ crap.”

“Making time?” Michael was still confused, but then the lights came on. “Dating? She’s making eyes at him for a date?” He pointed a finger at Maria. “See? This is why I don’t investigate with Isabel. She can’t keep her mind on the job.” Suddenly it occurred to Michael why Alex would need a ‘guys night out’. “Oh great, forget it. I’m not going out with Max and Alex. They’d cry all over me.”

“I threw up on you that one time,” Maria reminded him.

Michael shrugged watching that suspicious Grant person. “That was my fault. You warned me that you couldn’t eat the hotdog and ride the rollercoaster at the same time.”

“You could’ve warned me it would do all those fast circles and then turn upside down…no matter, the people behind us got the worst of it.”

Michael chuckled. “I remember. C’mon, Isabel’s leaving. Let’s go interrogate her. You want to be good cop or bad?”

“Bad. You always play it too heavy. She might have a date later and need to be in salvageable condition.”

~~~

Michael made a sound in his sleep at a knock on his door. Pulling a pillow over his head, he couldn’t drown out the annoying sound, or the other one at that.

“Michael, door.”

“You get it.”

“No way! Your door. I’m the guest.” Maria stole the covers moving into his warm space as he got up, snuggling in. Investigation ran over, grilling Isabel had been hard work, and her mother was out of town again.

Michael stumbled to his door in the dark pulling a t-shirt on.

“Open the door! Police!”

“Valenti,” Michael said opening the door reluctantly. Damn he didn’t have a father, and he didn’t need Sheriff Valenti stepping into the empty space. “I figured you'd have to come over here and give me grief about leaving the knife out there. Man, what's the big deal?”

“Mr. Guerin, you're under arrest.” Jim said loudly for the other officers present, especially for Hanson. He had to hope that Michael wouldn’t do anything stupid. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you by the court.”

As Michael was being cuffed he caught Maria’s head peering up at the window separating his bedroom from the living room. Shaking his head slightly, he watched in relief as her head disappeared.

As soon as the front door closed Maria was pulling on one of Michael’s sweaters searching for her shoes. She needed to tell Max.

~~~

“Maria? I thought you were Michael.”

Maria snorted as Max helped her through his bedroom window. “If I was Michael, I wouldn’t have tapped. I would’ve unlocked window myself.”

“What’s going on?” Max reached for a t-shirt. He was only in a pair of sleeping sweats.

“Sheriff Valenti just arrested Michael…I think because of the bones.”

“What?!” Max couldn’t handle it. It was too much. He was at his breaking point. “What did he do now?”

Maria sighed heavily. “You know, now…that really pisses me off! Why do you have to be like that?”

“Maria…”

“No, I’m serious. He didn’t do anything wrong. He killed Pierce. You were there. We were all there. You and Valenti helped him burn and bury Pierce. So he dropped a knife from his pocket…that isn’t exactly a hanging offense. You could try to support him a little more.” Maria knew everyone was self involved all summer, but this was getting tiring. “He feels bad enough, you don’t have to validate all his feelings.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Max sat on the bed. “What do you want me to do?”

Maria refrained from screaming and shaking Max within an inch of his life. “Call Nasedo. Michael tried, but I guess it takes the King to send out an alert.”

“He called Nasedo? I told him that I would make that decision.”

“Good. Then make it! Do not take that tone with me, mister. What does it take to rattle your chain? Pierce on C-SPAN with a Congresswoman Whitaker, who suddenly shows up in Roswell? She used to support the Special Unit. A geologist finding Pierce’s body which will have that damn cadmium-x, you know…the mysterious isotope that was a hoax? So if you can’t dig up some concern for Michael, can’t you just pretend, and use one of the other ones as validation?”

“Liz is working for this Congresswoman Whitaker,” said Max. “You could’ve told me she was back.”

“Yeah, I could’ve.” Maria shook her head. Unreal. He finally found a reason to take interest. Liz. Sighing, Maria bit back her irritation. Self-involved much? “She’s my friend. She asked me not to tell you, so guess what? I respected her wishes.”

“I thought we were friends too.” Max answered, hurt that Maria would hold out on him after knowing how he felt.

“We are, but there is a difference, Max, and you know it. You’re my friend because of Liz, and your need to have someone to talk to about her. Liz is my friend for life, as is Alex. They’re my friends because we’re friends…no other reason.”

“And Michael,” asked Max. He was uncertain he wanted to ask. Maria had been a point of dissension between him and Michael. Max had never expected Michael to be so selfish with Maria’s friendship. It had been easier when Michael had still been ignoring Maria.

Maria put her hands on her hip. That was why she was there after all. “Michael is different. He’s a friend…a good friend. He doesn’t want anything from me except my friendship and support. Things I would give to any friend freely.”

“I only want your friendship and support, too.”

“I know, but I can’t be placed in a position between friends, Max. I’ll have to make choices. Michael is out there. He needs help, and you should’ve called Nasedo instead of him. You’re sitting on your hands, and you can’t afford to do that.”

“I did what I thought was best.”

“I know you did. All the best intentions in the world don’t make you right, just earnest. And all the impulsive behavior in the world doesn’t always make him wrong.” Maria didn’t have time for this. It was late. Throwing her cell phone at Max, she stood her ground. “Call Nasedo because Michael is in trouble, and that’s all that matters.”

Max nodded. He looked at Maria as he waited for the phone to be answered. “I envy Michael his friendship of you. You are a good friend, Maria.”

“I’m your friend too, Max, but if it ever comes down between you and Michael, Michael will win. I can’t explain our friendship, but it’s based on a lot more than just friendship. There is some mutual respect, and a lot more.”

“I know. That’s what I envy.” Max turned as Nasedo’s voice asked him what he wanted.

~~~

Nasedo, disguised as Pierce, entered the Crashdown. Looking at the gaudy décor and insulting renditions of aliens, he looked at the tourists as they went around him. None of the Royals were apparent.

“You can never find those little pod people when you want them.”

One of the patrons at the Crashdown recognized Pierce from TV. “Hey! You're that guy from TV!”

Pierce rolled his eyes. Since when did the low class morons of the humankind watch C-SPAN? “Move, please.”

“Honey, get over here. It's that crazy FBI guy!” Damn, he should’ve known. Alien freaks probably taped the committee meeting for numerous viewings. All the Special Unit talk had to confirm all their wildest conspiracy theories. Dodging into the restaurant restroom before another customer, he ignored the other customer’s “Hey!” Moving his hand over his face, he transformed from Pierce back into Ed Harding.

“Excuse me.” Nasedo said to the customer waiting outside, moving around him.

The customer looked around confused. One man had gone in, another came out. “Honey?”

Nasedo went through the doors into the breakroom. He immediately found his missing children, the human friends, and the newest addition to the alien conspiracy. “Sheriff Valenti, welcome to the ever-burgeoning "I know an alien" club.” Nasedo looked at Max. “You called me here. I assume it's important.”

Max nodded glancing at Maria before continuing. “How much do you know about Congressman Whitaker?”

“I know her intimately.” Nasedo informed them.

Tess tilted her head, unsure she heard correctly. “Intimately?”

“To borrow a rather crude human colloquialism, I've been diddling her all summer.”

Maria lifted a brow, she whispered to Alex. “I hope he's using birth control.”

“I must admit, I've grown awfully fond of the foul temptress,” Nasedo said with a small smile. “It's a shame I may now have to kill her.”

“Well, Pierce's bones have been dug up,” Max told the Shapeshifter, “and apparently some of them have been fused in a way that’s completely unexplainable by human terms.”

“Tell me how far this information has been leaked,” Nasedo sighed. Time to do some damage control. “I need to extinguish every human who has this information.”

Alex gulped aloud. “I'm going to assume present company is excluded?”

Liz came down the stairs having heard the entire discussion. She had been trying to stay clear of all the alien stuff. “Isn't murder what got you into this situation to begin with?”

Nasedo frowned at the annoying human, Liz Parker. She was a problem. A big one. “My job is to protect the Royal Four. Their survival is critical to the survival of an entire race.” Maria couldn’t watch Liz’s face. The entire Destiny was a problem, and Nasedo just reaffirmed that Max had a life that didn’t include her. Maria couldn’t say anything. The person killed that Liz was talking about was Pierce, and Michael had done that. It saved them all, saved Valenti. Liz was letting her hatred of the alien Destiny to cloud her judgment.

“No one's going to die.” Max said, not wanting Liz to feel unsure of them. “Killing people isn't going to solve anything.”

“Oh, my. A pacifist for a king.” Nasedo said sarcastically. “Shall we all just commit joint suicide right now, or shall we wait for our enemies to show up and have a nice boxed lunch of us?”

Max couldn’t take the risk on Liz, on her opinion of them wavering…her opinion of him. “We're not killing anyone. That's an order.”

Nasedo’s jaw flexed. “As you wish. The feds know about cadmium-x. If they find it on the bones, their first order of business will be to do to Michael what they did to you in the white room.”

Max physically paled. “We can't let that happen.”

Maria bit the inside of her mouth. How could they assume a young boy had anything to do with a radiation blast needed to meld bone? All on the strength of a pocket knife that could’ve been dropped there whenever. It was ludicrous. The stupidity was too much. The threat too much for her to take. Her hand tightened on Alex’s.

“Where are the bones now?” Nasedo asked Jim. He would have to take care of the bones immediately.

“Whitaker took them out of the coroner's office. I don't know where they are.”

“Even if we knew where they were, what would we do with them?” Isabel asked. “Hiding them isn't going to solve the problem.”

“I know what to do,” Max said.

~~~

They sent Nasedo to distract Congresswoman Whitaker while Liz let Max into her office to help search for the bones location. Valenti took the opportunity to see Michael, to make sure he kept his cool. Michael was sitting on the lower bunk in the cell.

“We only have a couple minutes to talk.”

“What's up?” Michael asked.

“I just want to make sure you don't do anything like use your powers to try to break out of here.” Jim sat next to Michael. “The best thing to do right now is to sit tight.”

“You sound like Max.”

Jim looked at the young man sympathizing with his situation. “Look, I know it's hard for you to be locked up like this.”

Michael shrugged. “It's not that bad. I killed a man. Maybe this is where I should be.”

“Michael, you killed the man who killed Agent Topolsky and killed Agent Stevens and who knows how many others, and he was just about to kill me.”

“Yeah. I've told myself all those things, but I still killed a man.” Michael said, his voice low as he confided in Valenti. “And the thing that I keep thinking about is that what happened is just the tip of the iceberg. I've been trying to prepare myself for what's about to go down, and I have no idea what to do. I'm cracking rocks. I have no clue who or what we're up against. And I've been so pissed off at Max for not leading, but he doesn't know any more than I do.” Michael clasped his hands between his legs. “None of us do. We're all in the dark waiting to be attacked,” he glanced at Jim, “and all I can think about is what if I'm not strong enough?”

Jim gave Michael a comforting arm around the shoulders. It was a lot for a young man who just turned seventeen to handle. He never asked for this.

“Well, I have to go. I’m sorry to do this to you, but you’re getting a cellmate.”

“Cellmate?” Damn, his life really sucked, and just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. He was definitely being punished.

Jim nodded sadly. Going to the cell door, he opened the door and gestured for the new prisoner to come forward.

“I found her baking a cake with a file inside to break you out. It’s safer if she hangs out here with you.”

Michael stood up in shock when Maria walked into the cell. Not even waiting, he went over and hugged her. Maria held him close and looking over his shoulder, she mouthed her thanks to Jim. Michael didn’t do well when left alone.

~~~

Max was walking along a street when Nasedo grabbed him and pulled him into an alley. He and Liz searched Whitaker’s office, but found nothing. Liz remembered their physics teacher last year obsessing over a new particle lab in Las Cruces that had a cyclotron that measured isotope ratios. No one else would’ve bothered to remember that.

“Did you find anything?”

Max nodded. Once they knew where the bones would go, they called the lab to confirm. “The bones are going to be delivered tomorrow morning to the University in Las Cruces.”

“I'll be there.”

“So, did you have a good time distracting the congresswoman?”

Nasedo smirked. “No comment. How have you and Tess been getting along?”

Max shrugged. He didn’t care about Tess, and the sooner Nasedo accepted that, the better. “Well, I haven't performed any mating rituals if that's what you're asking.”

“You heard your destiny.” Nasedo told Max. “You heard it with your own ears.” Max frowned. How did Nasedo know that? He was already gone before they activated the orbs. Max didn’t have time for this.

“I just want to get Michael out of jail and go back to my life.” He had enough of the entire Destiny crap. “I'm not a king and we are not at war.”

“You're the boss.” Nasedo said, his eyes narrowing. “I would just be careful not to confuse what you want to be true with what really is true.”

Nasedo watched Max walk away. A reluctant king. He would learn. Destiny would teach him. Nasedo walked to his car. His eyes narrowed as he spotted something on the hood. Nasedo picked up a piece of shed skin. It was the same as the piece that Michael and Maria found in the desert.

“Oh, no.” It disintegrated in his hand.

~~~

“You ready?” Maria asked Michael from the doorway.

“I don’t really feel like celebrating.”

Maria went into the room and found him a fresh shirt. Smelling it, it was about as fresh as she would find. “Here put it on so we can get going.”

“I told you…”

Maria stopped him. She kissed him softly on the mouth and then rested her forehead against his. “I know, I know, but can’t you accept for once that this isn’t about you? It’s about your friends, and Michael,” Maria made him listen to her, “they are your friends.”

“Maria, I don’t feel good about this. Anyway you look at it, we’re celebrating me getting away with killing a man.”

“I know, but nothing can change what happened now. They want to celebrate your release. Can we forget everything for a few hours and pretend we’re just teenagers with nothing heavier in our lives but feeling young?”

“Maria…”

“Please? Just one night off?”

Michael nodded. Sure. What the hell.

~~~

At the Crashdown, the gang was celebrating. Max was describing the entire operation to Michael and the others. Nasedo never showed up. It was still a mystery as to where the Shapeshifter had gone. Isabel had decoyed the security guard while Tess and Max went into the cyclotron. Tess held the entire room in a mindwarp while Max climbed down into the cyclotron and aged the body so it appeared buried for much longer. Everyone was there…everyone except Liz. She was still at work with the Congresswoman.

“So I thought if I could age the bones, it would totally take suspicion off Michael.” Max told the group.

Michael put the pizza down. “Thanks, Maxwell.”

Max smiled, happy that Michael had showed up and was interacting with everyone. “Better sew the holes in your pockets, soldier.” The entire group went quiet when the new waitress, Courtney walked out of the kitchen.

“Hey!” said Courtney. “What's the big celebration?”

Maria looked at the others and quickly created an explanation. “Tradition. School starts Monday. It's kind of like our last hurrah.”

“Cool. Well, see ya.” The blonde waitress smiled at Michael. “Hi, Michael.”

Michael looked after the girl, a frown moving over his face. Another stranger was near them.

Maria saw his expression. “Sorry.” Courtney just ruined their mood. “I didn't know that she was still here. I'm sorry.”

“We gotta be more careful than that,” Michael said going to get more pizza.

Maria joined him. “So, I hear ex-cons are really great in bed.”

Michael glanced at her. “What are you suggesting, Maria?”

Maria smiled, a dimple deepening on her cheek. “Hey, cool off cowboy! You aren’t the only jailbait around here. I’m saying that things are looking good for me.”

Michael snorted. “You weren’t really arrested.”

“Hey, I did the time. With my parentage, I’ll be lucky if this is the only time I’m ever arrested.” Maria put a tongue in her cheek. “Did you notice Shank-orky checking you out?”

“Whatever. I don’t have time for any of that crap.”

“Why? Cause you're destined to be with Isabel?”

“No. You know I don't buy that.” Michael made a face. He couldn’t see how him being with Isabel would in any way help to free his people. “Because I'm destined to be the soldier, and a soldier can't have some chick at home waiting for him.”

Maria laughed at that. “Michael, half the movies ever made are about soldiers with chicks waiting at home for them. That includes over half the movies you make me watch.”

“Yeah, saw Pearl Harbor, and what a piece of crap that was.” Michael smirked at her, knowing she had a Ben Affleck thing. “Well, be that as it may... ”

Maria took a bite out of Michael’s pizza. “You are one lazy person, you know that? The reason you avoid relationships is because they’re too much work, take too much time from your other projects, so you use any excuse to avoid them.”

“I know. There is no sense in not being honest about what I can’t do.” Michael put his arm around Maria’s waist and led her back to the table. “I keep up a relationship with you.”

“Sure, but I’m low maintenance.”

Michael sputtered on his half eaten pizza at that. Maria laughed too, hitting him on the arm. They were talking quietly when Max left the Crashdown to go home.

Maria saw Max stopping Liz.

“Oh, this can’t be good.” Michael followed Maria’s glance. They watched the action until Max walked away and Liz entered the Crashdown. She stopped at their table. “Hey, Liz. You okay?”

“No.” Liz said honestly.

Michael gestured for Maria to go spend time with Liz. He was okay.

Maria squeezed his thigh in gratitude before talking Liz into letting go and joining Isabel and Tess in dancing. They all really needed a break. Michael sat back and watched the girls dance, smiling slightly when Maria winked at him.

At the party Isabel, Maria, Tess, and Liz were dancing while Michael and Alex watched. Isabel set up the music by using her powers on some CDs. Liz was on the side, not dancing yet, and Maria was talking to her. Making a face at Michael, she straightened her face.

“He's watching, isn't he?” Maria asked. Liz looked at Michael, who was stealing glances at Maria. She nodded to Maria.

“I knew he couldn't resist.” Maria laughed, youthful and carefree. Oh, he’d succumb sooner or later. Michael loved music, and eventually the beat would call to him. “Come on.”

Liz held back. “No.”

“Come on.” Maria made a face. “We can’t have you sitting like a lump too! Alex is a snob about his music, so he won’t move to this.”

“Michael?”

Maria shrugged. “He’s finally cluing in that Metallica isn’t necessarily dancing music, but this stuff…” Maria indicated the music choice and shook her head “he’d rather have his internal organs removed. He doesn’t do Top 40.” Maria pulled Liz off her perch.

“Maria, no.”

“You know you want to.” Maria laughed again when Liz started dancing. “So, what's up with you and Max?”

“Nothing.”

Maria stared at her friend thoughtfully, remembering the conversation she had with Max and the reaction on her face when he touched her. “Oh, I saw the way you looked at him. Did you have a flash?” Liz laughed making a face. “I knew it. Max Evans is a flasher.”

Before Liz could make a comment, Max came crashing into the Crashdown practically nude, in nothing but a pair of sleeping sweats. He slumped to the ground, breathing heavily.

“Max!” Tess rushed to his side as the other followed.

“Nasedo's dead.” Max gasped out, his breathing rushing in rales in his lungs.

“What?” Michael grabbed Max to hold him up.

“He came to me, injured. Said ... ” Max wheezed through the strain, “said it was another alien and that we're all in danger. He died ... in my arms.” Max looked at the other alien children. “He ... he died in my arms.”

“Oh, my God!” Isabel said in a dramatic moment.

Michael literally picked Max up by the arm helping him to stand upright. “We have to get Nasedo to the pod chamber ... use the healing stones to revive him.” Michael looked at Max. “Max, where is he? Where's Nasedo?”

“In my room.”

Isabel couldn’t believe it. Her parent...if they… “In your room?” Oh god! Her brother left a dead alien in his bedroom!

Michael made an irritated face at Isabel and her semi-hysterical ‘oh my gods’. He didn’t have time for it. “Where's the jeep?” he asked Isabel.

“Out back. I'll get the keys.”

Liz finally couldn’t hold her silence. “Oh, Max, you're hurt.” Tess ignored Liz, moving forward, she healed Max as Liz watched. The bruise on his face was gone.

“What should we do?” Alex asked Michael.

“Nothing. Just go home.”

“Wait. What about this other alien?” Maria asked Michael, her brow furling in concern. “Shouldn't we at least try and go... ”

“I'll handle it.” Michael told her, their eyes met in understanding. She quickly nodded.

Tess frowned searching Max’s face, unhappy with what was happening. “You're not in charge here, Michael.” Maria made a snorting noise under her breath purposely turning her back on Tess.

“Well, somebody has to be.” Michael told Tess. He could care less what she thought was important. “Maxwell, let's go.” Michael put a hand under Max’s arm, lifting him. He looked at Maria one last time catching her slight nod. “Come on.”

They took Nasedo to the Chamber to use the stones once more. The stones glowed brightly, then slowly faded.

“It's not working.” Tess asked staring at the dying stone in her hand. “Why isn't it working?”

Max shook his head. He had no real answers. “I think whatever happened to him is ... something we can't reverse.”

“He can't die.” Tess’s voice rose in panic. “We need him.”

Isabel felt a reluctant sympathy for the other girl. “I'm sorry, Tess.”

Michael ignored the two girls turning to Max. “You said he mentioned another alien. What exactly did he say?”

“He said that we were all in danger ... that the Skins were among us.”

Michael’s face changed. “The Skins?”

Seeing Michael’s reaction, Max frowned. “What?”

“I found this thing out by Pierce's gravesite. It looked like a snake skin. When I tried picking it up, it disintegrated.”

“Look!” Isabel pointed to Nasedo’s body as it slowly dissolved into dust. The pod children watched as their protector was truly gone.

Tess looked to Max for leadership. “What do we do now, Max?”

Michael put his hands on his hips and sighed heavily. This wasn’t good.

~~~

Maria came out of Michael’s bedroom when the apartment door opened. It was the alien children. Ducking back inside, she didn’t feel like being the human on the out among their alien exclusive club. Lying on the bed, she picked up her magazine and went back to doing her latest wish list of clothing.

“Go to school? That’s your solution?” Michael rose in anger. He was tired of this. Tired.

“We have to act normal. For most people, Michael, going to school is what is normal for people our age.”

“Yeah. Fine. Get out.” Michael opened the door for the group. “I just got out of jail. I’m tired. Thanks for the party. It was as always…a failure.”

“Michael…” Max sighed when Michael looked away holding open the door. The group of three looked at each other and silently walked through the door. Max stopped for a moment, his back to the door when it slammed shut behind him.

Michael stood looking at the door trying to get his emotions under control. Too much happened lately. Since last spring, he felt pulled too tight. Skins? Their enemies were there, and had been for a while. Max’s strategy of burying his head and they would go away worked as always. They were among them, and it cost Nasedo his life. Yep. That sounded just about right.

Arms came around his waist. Maria rested her forehead on his back. “Did you get him back?”

“No,” Michael said, his voice deeper than usual, and quiet. “We’re all alone now. All we have is a king who doesn’t do anything except avoid. We’re dead. It’s just a matter of time.”

“You’ve been training. Preparing.”

Michael put his arm on the door and leaned into it. “Yeah. Big fat good that’s done. I’m barely a match for a Girl Scout.” Michael voice took on a new emotion. “God, Maria. I ran out of time.”

Maria arms tightened on him. She needed to go home. Her mother was home and it was hard to explain to her why Michael was in jail again. Sighing, she glanced at the clock. Screw it.

“C’mon.” Maria released him and pulled him away from the door. “You’re tired.”

“Don’t you need to go home?”

“Yeah, I should. You want to come?”

Michael shook his head. “I’m in too filthy of a mood.”

“You’re exhausted, and too tense. C’mon.” Maria dragged him to the bedroom.

“Maria, I’m okay. Go home. I don’t want you getting into trouble.”

Maria ignored him pushing him backwards on his own bed. “You really need to just shut up for a few moments and let me concentrate.” Maria took her phone out of her bag. “I’ll take care of it.”

“You going to arrange to have Liz say you’re spending the night at her house?”

Maria made a face. Yeah, that was an option. Or… “Hi, Mom? It’s me.” Maria listened for a moment. “Um, well actually that’s why I’m calling. No! I’m not still in jail! I told you we were having a party. Uh-huh.” Maria listened some more. “Actually, I’m not coming home. I need to spend an overnight.”

“Maria…” Michael said. Maria waved him off.

“I know tomorrow is the first day of school. Did you not see me organizing all my neat new folders and pens?” Maria kept the phone on her shoulder, holding it in place. “It’s Michael. He’s not in a good place. I don’t want to leave him.”

“Maria, you don’t have to…”

Maria put a hand over the phone. “Shush! Let me handle this!” She went back to talking to her mother. “Mom, I need to stay.” Listening she sighed. “I promise. No really, I swear, if anything happens, I’ll call or come home if Michael calms down and goes to sleep. Uh-huh. Sure. Either way, I’ll be home in the morning to change and have breakfast with you.” Maria frowned. Listening, a smile moved over her face. “Yeah, I’ll bring him home too. He likes pancakes.” Maria disconnected tossing her phone on her bag.

“She said yes?” Michael asked amazed.

“Sure. She knows you.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Knows me? What does that mean?”

Maria just laughed. Reaching over, she unbuttoned his shirt. “C’mon. Let’s get you relaxed.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“Massage. You’ll see. I’ll have you snoring like a baby.” Maria tossed his shirt pushing him on his back on the bed. “Turn over.” Michael complied glancing over his shoulder when Maria grabbed something from her bag.

“God, tell me that it’s not your damn cypress oil.”

“You should be so lucky!”

“I don’t want to smell like a damn tree.”

Maria leaned down and sniffed his skin, which made Michael squirm a little, slightly taken aback by her action. “I don’t know. A tree smell might be an improvement.”

Michael looked at her over his shoulder. “Did you just say I stink?”

Maria laughed. “Hey, I didn’t say a thing.” She rubbed some oil on his skin pushing hard on his tense muscles smiling when a deep groan came from him. “I’m just saying that being in prison is hard on the body.”

“Like you know.”

“Hey! I spent time too, buddy.”

Michael pillowed his head on his arms moaning as she moved over his back. He smiled slightly. “Yeah, you did,” he said softly. “Max just pisses me off. He…”

“Sh!” Maria said. “You’re ruining my work! You’re supposed to be relaxing.”

Michael smiled cruelly. “Relax? Maria, I’m a teenage boy who has a sexy girl sitting on my ass while making me all oily. I’m supposed to find this relaxing?”

Maria stopped rubbing for a moment. “Oh, god!” Then her hands stilled and a large smile moved over her face. “You think I’m sexy?”

“I think you’re whacked.”

“Aw, you sweet talker.” Maria pushed hard on his back, making him groan.

~~~

A summer away proved only one thing. Kyle stood at the bus depot waiting for his father. He was late. After a summer away from Roswell at football camp, and there he stood, alone. Running away didn’t do anything. He ran…walked away, and there he stood, still where he was when he left. Sighing, Kyle sat on a bench and waited. A couple hours later, Jim finally showed up.

“Hey!” Jim called to his son as he sat on the bench.

“Hey.” Kyle’s voice lacked any real enthusiasm.

“Welcome home, son.” Jim glanced at Kyle, sorry that he was so late. “Oh ... I'm sorry I'm late. How was football camp?”

“It was great. It was great.” Kyle swallowed a bitterness. “You ... you're two hours late.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jim sighed seeing the look on Kyle’s face. “I know. You came back at kind of a tough time, Kyle. You remember I told you about a man who was protecting Tess?”

Kyle took on a bored expression. “Yeah. Noriega.”

“Nasedo.” Jim corrected. “Yeah. He, um ... he was killed last night ... by another alien.

“My strength fails.” Kyle mumbled staring straight ahead. “My vitality exhausted. I cannot find the bull. I only hear the locusts chirring through the night.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Centering. He needed centering.

“You ok?”

“Yeah. I just ... I'm just not looking forward to dealing with all the little green men again.”

“Well, listen, maybe you should ... maybe you should cut 'em a little slack, Kyle.” Jim saw the look on Kyle’s face. “I mean, after all, Max Evans did save your life.”

“Damn human of him. Of course, he is the reason I got shot in the first place, but what the hell.” Kyle looked away. Yeah, maybe his father should just adopt the perfect Max Evans. “No conditions are permanent. No conditions are reliable. Nothing is self.”

Kyle walked to the car, leaving Jim with a puzzled look on his face.

~~~

Michael was at his locker when Isabel found him. She called his apartment on the way to school, but there had been no answer.

“I called you this morning.”

“I was busy. Pancakes with real maple syrup.” Michael slammed his locker door. “Why was there something important?”

“I just wanted to see if you were okay.” Isabel frowned as other students walked passed them. “I know you were unhappy with Max’s plan.”

Michael made a face. “Come back to school. What a great plan.”

Isabel let irritation move over her, tired of the constant bickering between Michael and Max over the summer. “I am so not having this conversation.”

Michael shrugged. Then why did she seek him out? Of course she was on Max’s side. Same old story. “You realize the killer could be here right now ... walking the halls looking for us ... and gee, where are we?” Michael said with biting sarcasm. “Hey, we're right here, just waiting to be found.”

“You know what? Stop, ok? Stop putting me in the middle of this. If you have a problem, take it to Max. He's the leader.

She never listened. “If we're not careful, he's gonna get us all killed.” Michael face went blank as Max walked up to them. “Hi. Gotta go. Bell rang.” Michael took off not giving Max a chance to talk to him.

“We're doing the right thing.” Max assured Isabel. “Until we know what we're up against, we've got to keep our heads down. Try to blend in.”

“I hope so. I'm too young to be dust.”

~~~

In history class, Mr. Lafeber talked about the leadership skills of John F. Kennedy. Max, who had other things on his mind, suddenly paid closer attention.

“What does it mean to be a leader? In the fall of 1962, John Kennedy was still a young man. The Soviets thought he was a pushover, and at that point most Americans would have agreed. And yet, John Kennedy would rise to the occasion, face down the Soviets, and bring the world back from the brink of nuclear war. Now, this week as we study the missile crisis in detail, I want you to think of John Kennedy, the man. Think what it would feel like to hold the fate of an entire nation in your hands. Imagine what it would be like to come face to face with the very real possibility that your next decision could literally mean the end of the world.”

“Day 4 of the crisis. Kennedy is getting pressure from all sides. The military wants an attack. The diplomats want a blockade. So what is he supposed to do? One thing is clear: he's running out of time. The missiles in Cuba will become operational any day now. Unless he acts ... and acts soon, he runs the risk of allowing events to control him. So right or wrong, a choice has to be made, and it has to be made right now.”

~~~

Maria swore as she avoiding hitting another car. Obviously, Michael’s horrible driving was rubbing off on her. Maria quickly glanced at Liz to make sure she hadn’t noticed the near miss, as she continued her conversation.

“It is just a matter of time before you weaken.”

“Thank you.” Liz said sourly.

“It's not a dig. It's just a fact.” Maria stated, conquering her own natural inclination to question love. “You are in love with him. You can't live without him, and you're going to get back together with him.” It was unreal. Maria couldn’t see the girl who forced herself on the aliens in the woods in the middle of the night ever walking away.

“No. That's not true. I walked away.” Liz reminded Maria. “From him and her and the entire situation.”

“Her?” Maria said in disbelief. “There is no "her". Max doesn't care about Tess. He's never gonna care about Tess. The only thing he's interested in... ” Maria suddenly stopped in mid-sentence as she saw Max and Tess walking together down the street. “Oh, God.” Liz followed Maria glance, seeing the two as well. “Liz…”

“Maria, whatever you're about to say, just don't, ok?”

Maria glanced at her friend, biting her lip, she swallowed her observation that Liz had walked away from Max, and not him from her. Maria’s eyes narrowed as she quickly moved beyond the two. What the hell was Max thinking? A blonde?

“I’m not saying anything, but you know, he can’t pretend she doesn’t exist just so your sensibilities aren’t offended. She is an alien.”

Liz sniffed looking away. “There is the tragedy. Not just an alien…but his wife. How’d you feel if that was Michael?”

Maria snorted. “First, it isn’t Michael, and hello? He has an equal destiny with Isabel.” She laughed at that, chuckling under her breath. “They fight over syrup flavors. She supports Max over Michael literally at every turn. I think that them as a couple might be hell on earth! And aren’t we the lucky ones to get a spectator’s seat?”

“Why are you so calm about this?” Liz asked, then she nodded. “Of course, according to you, the two of you aren’t together like that, and two…most importantly, Michael and Isabel have no desire to be together. What did Michael say? It’s crap?”

“That is the point, Liz. Max has no desire to be part of an alien breeding program either…and I think he perfectly expressed who he thinks his destiny is. You! So go hide your head some more…hey, how about running away without a word of goodbye?”

Liz bit her lip at Maria’s tone. “I said I was sorry.”

Sighing, Maria glanced at her friend. Reaching over, she squeezed Liz’s hand. “I know. Sorry. I had a little bitter acid backwash there. Bygones.” Liz nodded. “You know, Liz, things changed while you were gone. I spent more time with Max then I ever did before. It was always from afar, or as him being your ‘soulmate love’, but never him and me just as friends. I like him. He’s nice, but given a choice, I wouldn’t have chosen him for me. Still, that said, I see things from many sides now, and not just as your friend, so put up with me when I argue his side. It’s not that I don’t love you, just I’m not only your friend, and I’m being devil’s advocate here.”

“I know.” Liz sat back staring out at the dark. She did more than walk away from Max, Destiny and Roswell, she had left her friends too. They went on without her for the entire summer, and for the first time in their young lives, they learned to lean on other people. Liz was uncertain where she belonged, in both Maria and Alex’s lives, and even in Max’s.

~~~

Jim heard it first as a slight noise, but it increased in frequency and volume. Taking his gun, he walked through the dark house with his gun at his side, ready to face what was behind the door. Slowly opening the door, he found Max and Tess on his front porch.

“Sorry.” Jim put down his gun double checking the safety.

“No problem. We need your help.” Max told him, as Jim stepped aside to let Max and Tess into his house.

Jim stood in his kitchen drinking a cup of coffee he didn’t need while he talked to Max. Tess was unusually subdued.

“She can stay here.”

Tess frowned at the two men. “I don’t want to be a bother, and…”

Jim shook his head. “Only other place is with Michael, and I think that it would be a tad unconventional. Plus, does either of you want to ask Michael to share his place?”

“Max could order him. He’s king.”

Max blew out air heavily. “It doesn’t work that way, Tess. I don’t think you’d like it there anyway. Maria’s there a lot, and she isn’t exactly one of your fans.” Tess bit her lip and looked away. That was a little too true, and Maria, unlike the others who chose to ignore her, didn’t pull her punches. She watched all summer as Isabel and Maria went shopping, as Isabel increased the length of Maria’s hair as her skirt length got shorter. They had girl fun, and Tess watched.

“I could just stay at my place.”

Jim shook his head. “Obviously if you and Max found a skin shed there, it isn’t safe for you to be there alone.”

Max nodded. His thoughts exactly. He was glad that he had walked Tess home now. Over the summer he spent next to no time with her, because no matter how he tried not to blame her for destiny, he could stop blaming her for the disaster in his life.

“Max,” Jim asked. “What else did Nasedo say about the Skins?”

“Not much. They’re our enemies, and obviously, they’re here.”

Jim nodded. “This presents a problem. They know Tess, and by now they probably know you. If Nasedo was unable to save himself from them, I don’t know how much protection I can give you.”

“I understand.” Max sat back. Michael was unhappy, and maybe he had a reason. They were here, and Valenti was right. What chance did they have if Nasedo couldn’t defeat them? “There is another thing.” Max frowned. He had run into Tess in the park because he was sent home from work at the UFO Center.

“Great, give me it all at once.” Jim said, switching the hot water back on under the kettle. He needed more coffee.

“The UFO Center…it has a new owner. Milton supposedly sold it to this strange guy, Brody Davis.”

“Excuse me from commenting, Max, but Milton wasn’t what I would call…normal?”

Max smiled slightly. “No, he wasn’t.”

“I’ll look into Brody in the morning.”

“He is very suspicious. He sent me home from work, and there is a lot of activity that he seems secretive about. I don’t know. I don’t think he’s trustworthy.”

“I definitely look into it.” Jim looked at Tess and smiled kindly. “Let me make you a place to sleep.”

~~~

Kyle's alarm went off. He rolled out of his bed without hesitation and hit the floor in a bout of energetic pushups. Walking out of his bedroom, he yawned, rolling his shoulders a bit, to stretch. It took a moment to notice the sleeping girl on the sofa. Not any girl. An alien one.

“Daaaaaad!”

Tess woke up stretching seductively, the short sleeping shirt she was wearing riding up her legs. “Morning.”

“Yes, morning.” Kyle said, uncertain, looking for his father before giving up and braving an alien in his home. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I live here.” Tess said easily taking in Kyle’s attire. Smiling, she hooked a finger in his boxers snapping them as she went around him to snatch the bathroom first. “Calvin Klein. I approve.”

Kyle watched as the bathroom door shut. “Daaaaaaaaad!”

~~~

Maria stopped outside the offices of the Congresswoman. Looking inside, she spied Liz working hard. Too hard for an early morning weekend day. Straightening her shoulders, Maria entered the offices.

“Hey, I think I know why Max and Tess were, you know, together last night.” Maria said immediately giving Liz little time to protest or run away. “He was just playing bodyguard. He was walking her home in case the, uh, killer was following her.”

“You know,” Liz said looking up at Maria as she sat on the edge of her desk, “you don't have to make excuses for him.”

“Who's making excuses? I'm just trying to help him, help you, you know, help the situation.”

“Did he send you here?”

“No.” Maria eyes shifted to the right.

“He did, didn't he?”

“Not this time.” Maria quickly covered. “I mean ... no. No, of course not.”

“Maria, I thought that you were my friend.” Liz said tragically. What the heck was going on?

“This is so unfair.” Maria complained. Her little human body couldn’t take much more of this, of everyone coming to her with their pain and problems. God, if only one couple could get it together, then maybe…just maybe, she could have a break. “I care about you both. I just want you guys to be happy and together.”

“Maria, will you do me a favor?” Maria nodded reluctantly. “Will you keep your big fat nose out of this?”

“Message received.” Maria said standing up with her hands up in surrender. “Man!”

“Look, I have a lot of work to do, so just ... ”

“Fine, fine.” She was leaving already. Damn. Maria paused at the door. “You weren't ... you weren't serious about the big fat nose ... ”

“Good-bye.”

“Bye.” Maria quickly vacated the offices. Fine. They wanted her support, but not her advice or help. Fine. Just fine. Maria glanced at her watch. She had other things to do, more important things.

Maria walked down the street, and was preparing to cross against the light, when a hand pulled her back from the edge.

“That’s illegal you know. Called technically…jaywalking.”

Maria turned to see Kyle Valenti. “Kyle…um, hi. How are you?”

“Back in Roswell. How good can I be?” Good answer. She frowned at the traffic ready to dive across the street regardless of the legality. Kyle Valenti. She really didn’t know him. He barely ever talked to her, and until last spring when he found himself sucked into the alien zone, he was Liz’s stalker ex-boyfriend.

“I heard from your dad that you were at football camp.” Maria said crossing the street, Kyle following her still talking.

“Great,” Kyle said sarcastically. “So you’re another one of his adopted children.”

“Hey! Watch it, buddy! They aren’t married, and they aren’t getting married. So what if she made him a few pies…and he ate them! Pig! I swear, that doesn’t mean he’s like a damn father figure or that….”

“Whoa! Back off Lizzie Borden. Put down the damn axe!” Kyle breathed in deeply through his nose. Hell. Maria DeLuca was spitting mad, and somehow, Kyle stared at her, really seeing her for the first time. Damn. She was…exquisite, actually sexier than hell, and well shit. He was definitely aroused. “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was talking about how my father treats Max Evans like a damn son, pays more attention to him, and today…” Kyle paused for dramatic effect, “He moved in the alien girl, Tess! I guess he decided he needed an alien daughter to go with his perfect alien son.”

Maria felt her face flaming at her reaction to the thoughts of Sheriff Valenti and her mom. Taking a deep breath, she understood what Kyle was saying. His family was in the suck zone, and he was losing big time. “Tess moved in with you?”

“Tragically, yes. Guess Max walked her home last night and found an intruder at her alien home, complete with some moldy skin off evil aliens. Now she’s in my home polluting the place with her alien vibes. So I came to seek you out.”

“Me?” Maria said confused. Maria looked at her watch mumbling to herself. It was getting late. “Why me? And you know what? Make it quick. I’ve got some important purchases and shopping to get done, especially since Spaceboy isn’t here to dissect my buying prowess. He gets to the damn hardware store, spends six hours, and then claims he’s shopping fatigued!”

“Exactly why I came to you. You have experience living with an alien.”

Maria stopped in her tracks. “Okay, so she is a little strange at times, but she’s not an alien!”

“What?”

My mom! Take it back you thick necked, mouth breathing… ”

Her mother, again! Kyle quickly interrupted her. “I mean Guerin.”

“Michael?” Maria’s brow knitted. “I… we don’t live together.”

“Really, but I thought…” Kyle saw her face. “I mean everyone thinks… um, that you two are, well you know… um, well…”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Look what did you want to know?”

“I don’t know, anything that can help me, that’s all.”

Maria shrugged. “They’re just like normal people, though too many milk products makes Michael cranky.”

“God, I just want my life to go back to normal. I’m trying. I’m really trying to find some inner peace… serenity.”

Maria stopped and dug in her bag. “Here, try this.” She handed him a small vial.

“Drink it?”

“Sniff. It has a calming effect.”

Kyle lifted a brow and sniffed tentatively at Maria’s super secret stash of cypress oil. Kyle shrugged. Not bad. “Do they make this in incense?”

Maria was giving Kyle the lowdown on herbal remedies, vitamins and essential minerals when dealing with an alien in your life fulltime when she spied Michael moving towards her fast. Damn! She never got to her shopping.

“Um, Kyle?” He glanced at her while still sniffing from her vial. Damn, he was going to overmedicate himself. “How do you feel about an imminent alien invasion?”

“Why?”

“Michael is heading this way… fast.”

“Gotta go!” Before Maria could retrieve her vial, Kyle was gone.

“Damn!” Michael came up to her, and Maria slapped him lightly on his chest.

“Hey, what did I do?”

“You scared him away!”

Michael looked at the retreating back of Kyle Valenti and shrugged. No loss. “So what were you doing with the jock?”

“Making babies. What did it look like?” Michael gave Maria a blank look of disbelief. She shook her head. His humor response time was seriously impaired. “It’s a joke! The boy has problems. Guess Max and Tess found evidence of your mortal enemies, the Skins at her house, and she is now residing with the Valenti’s. Kyle has been invaded.”

Michael shrugged, his mind working on the Skin problem. He absentmindedly took Maria’s arm pulling her along.

“Better him than me. My place is getting smaller and smaller all the time.”

“Is that a crack about my stuff finding its way into your space?”

Michael didn’t seem to hear her. “What do you think about the new waitress, Connie.”

“Courtney?” Maria said. “I don’t.”

“Does she look flaky to you?”

“Flaky? I really don’t want to talk to her too much. We have nothing in common. She looks to be the type to sit on a barstool at a trucker’s dive buzzing around for dead meat.”

“Her skin… doesn’t it look a little dry to you?” Michael frowned. Too many strangers in town. She might be a Skin. They should keep an eye on her, maybe actively investigate.

“I don’t know. Perhaps her moisturizing products leave something to be desired.” Maria frowned when something that was bothering her came up again. Damn that Kyle Valenti. He distracted her from what was important.

“Michael, do you think my nose is fat?”

~~~

Pushed by the ideas taught in history about JFK, Max finally decided to go on offense and look at possible threats to himself and the others. At the UFO Center, Max broke into Brody's secure area. Among other things, he saw a map on the monitor screen with a note at Roswell, New Mexico: Pulse detected 4:33pm, May 14th. He also saw a pentagram device and reached out to touch it.

“May 14th. Oh, my God.” Max says to himself. It was the day they had activated the communicators. The day they exposed their position to their enemies. Nasedo told him not to do it, but he was the King. What good did it do? He found himself a destiny he didn’t want, settled with a wife from another lifetime that he couldn’t remember, and Liz walked away. It was a mistake.

“Don't touch that! What are you doing in here?” Brody asked coming into the room. The man was a slim man of slight stature. He had an Irish accent, and he was attractive in a charming way. His blue eyes were intelligent and suspicious. The man wasn’t much older than the teenagers, but still, he had a good nine to ten years on them, making him around his mid-twenties.

“Just looking around. I was curious about all the equipment you brought in.”

Brody picked up the pentagram device. “You recognize this?” He asked Max.

“No. What is it?”

“I'm asking the questions.” Brody told Max, his suspicions of the teenager stiffening his jaw. “Why were you reaching for it?”

“Just curious again.”

“It's over, Evans.” Brody put the pentagram away. “Go home. Don't come back. You're fired.”

~~~

Kyle walked into his room to find Tess sitting on his bed reading one of his magazines.

“Hey, this is my room.” His eyes noticed what Tess was wearing. “That’s my jersey!”

Tess shrugged. Standing up, she smiled, “Sorry.” Reaching down, she started to take off the shirt.

“No! All right, look. You wear it.”

“Kind of uptight about nudity, aren't you, for a guy who reads Jugs?” Tess said showing him the magazine she was looking through.

“Give me that!”

“Oh ... the post-its? Nice touch.”

“All right.” Kyle gathered up his things. “Ok, listen. I don't know how you do things on planet Vulcan or whatever, but here on Earth we have this primitive human concept called privacy.”

“Keep talking to me like that and I'll slag you with my death-ray eyes.” Tess threatened. Kyle stared at her, a bit uncertain. Tess sighed. “Kidding. You Buddhists have, like, no sense of humor.”

Kyle looked at he door quickly, almost in guilt. “How do you know about that?”

Tess pointed to under his bed, “Buddhism for Beginners is also under your bed. How do you think the Buddha would feel about being sandwiched between Hustler and Busty Biker Babes?”

“Lucky?” Kyle suggested. “Look, you can't tell anyone about that.”

“Why?”

“Because I have a certain reputation.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “Of which, the less said the better.”

“I'm serious.”

“Kyle Valenti, Buddhist.”

“Look, I got into it over the summer... ”

“At football camp.” Tess said lifting a brow. “They're crazy about it.”

“Listen! This ... this whole aliens-are-among-us thing ... it really screwed me up ... made me question stuff ... life, reality, my place in this universe ... and you don't understand.” Kyle shook his head. No one understood. He was alone, and there was no one for him. “You ... you guys ... you people turned my life upside down. I need a little clarity. I need a little peace of mind.”

“No, I don't understand. I'm a girl from another planet. No family, no friends. Only three other people like me in the world. And the man I grew up with ... the man who raised me ... he was just murdered.” Tess said moving out of Kyle’s room. “You're right, Kyle. What would I know about needing peace of mind?”

Kyle watched her leave his room, his little Buddha self suddenly remorseful about his lack of compassion and insight. He hadn't realized she might be going through the same thing he was, or even consider the possibility that she might have… feelings.

“Sorry.” He said softly sniffing Maria’s cypress oil.

~~~

Michael sat on the bleachers listening to Max and staring at his hands dangling between his legs. Max was explaining to them what happened to him at the UFO Center.

“It was shaped like a pentagon, and it was definitely alien.”

“An alien device in the hands of a perfect stranger,” Michael’s jaw flexed in irritation, “ ...a stranger who just happens to buy the UFO center from Milton, or so he says.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Max asked.

He couldn’t be that dense. Michael shook his head. “Why would Milton sell? That stupid tourist trap was his life. So one day he just sells to this guy, takes the money and disappears?” Michael made a face. “No, I don't think so.”

“So you're saying he killed Milton?”

Michael made a huffing noise. “Well, after killing Nasedo, killing Milton would be like swatting a fly.”

Isabel finally joined the conversation. “If he killed Nasedo.”

“Yeah.” Right, if…and why not? “He's also interested in something that happened on May 14th.” Michael reminded her.

“All right, so it's the day that we got the message from our mother, but that doesn't really prove anything...” Michael winced at the ‘our mother’ comment. Yeah that was what was important wasn’t it? Not his mother. Not his parents. Nothing about him except he was number two, and only sent because he was, what? Engaged to Princess Isabel? Great.

“Will you wake up? Nasedo told us before we activated the orbs that we might be telling our enemies where we are.” Michael couldn’t believe them. Two of the most ineffective people in the world, more willing to close their eyes and pray it’s not true, rather than just face reality before it destroyed them.

Max looked around nervously. “Keep your voice down.”

“Yes, sir.” Michael said, his biting sarcasm made Isabel wince, but it rolled off Max without effect. After a summer of their constant spats, Max was utterly desensitized. “What do you want to do next, fearless leader?”

“I'm gonna talk to Valenti ... have him try to find Milton. Hopefully he's still alive and just on vacation somewhere. Which means he can tell us more about Brody and how he...”

“Instead of all this talk, why don't we just break into the UFO center and take the damn thing?” Michael suggested wanting… needing something more decisive.

“Because it's too dangerous. If he is a Skin, our best protection right now is that he doesn't know who we really are.”

“I say that's a load of crap.” Michael stated facing Max down in anger. Skins knew where Tess lived, and more than likely followed her and Max. If Brody was the Skin, then he knew who they were already. Idiots. He would be lucky to live to lose his virginity, or at least make the date with Susan the nurse. “But ok, fine. We got one vote for breaking in and we got one against. Isabel?”

Isabel shook her head. Again, she was in the middle of their ongoing fight. “Don't put this on me, Michael.”

“We are not voting on this, Michael. I've made my decision.” Max told Michael pulling his King card. “That is the end of it.”

“You know, Maxwell, I don't remember this other life we're supposed to have lived, but I do know I was your trusted second-in-command, and I am pretty damned sure that you used to listen to me.” Michael walked off leaving them together, a united front against his voice of one.

~~~

“I don’t know, Michael.” Maria said looking around. “Max and Isabel didn’t agree?”

“When do they ever?” Michael frowned at the blonde head next to him. “Look you got my back, or what?”

“Always. Just make sure you don’t get your ass blown off on the way out. I hate to tell you, but you weigh a ton.”

Michael nodded, but paused before he went through the window into the UFO Center. “Did you just say I’m fat?”

“No. I am suggesting that you might lay off so many of those greasy Crashdown burgers.”

Michael smirked at Maria before hefting himself up into a window. “It’s not the burgers. It’s all those pies your mom keeps making me! She’s making me a coconut one this weekend.”

“Mooch! Now go.” Maria gave him a shove through the window wincing when he hit on the other side. Turning around, she crouched low in the shadow keeping an eye out for Michael. “Damn alien,” she said under her breath. UFO Center. Hell, there were no aliens there, ignoring the fact that Michael was inside. No self respecting alien would be caught dead in there…well, except for Max, who worked there. Oh, and Spaceboy who made it a habit to break in, and occasionally Isabel, who….

Michael quietly made it through the Center hiding behind one of the exhibits. He saw Brody walk out of a room with the pentagram device in his hand. It started to make some noises releasing a blue blast of energy which moved outward in concentric circles knocking Michael across the room. Brody was surprised that someone was in the UFO Center and rushed over to where Michael landed.

“Who's there?! Stay where you are! Hey! Don't move!”

Michael, momentarily stunned and visibly hurt, shook himself awake. He limped out of the UFO Center before Brody could catch him. Michael barely made it out of the door before hands grabbed him. Maria helped him off to safety.

“Hey! Hey!” Brody called out after the receding backs that merged into the night.

~~~

Maria took Michael to the Evans. Michael was hurt, and she was worried that he was injured enough to need Max to heal him. Maria left the pod squad squabbling as she went to find a first aid kit. Isabel was checking to see if Michael was okay.

“They don't feel broken.” Isabel said pushing on Michael’s ribs.

Michael winced. “Yeah. Not to you.” Maria came in seeing Isabel poking at Michael. She pushed the alien girl aside.

“Damn, I could’ve beaten him up more by poking him. I was hoping one of you would heal him!” Maria made a clucking noise in her throat, gently probing Michael’s flesh as he held his arms up and away from his body.

“Nice move, Michael.” Max said, criticizing. “How many times do we have to have the same conversation? How many times do I ... ”

“Shut up, Max.” Maria and Michael said at the same time.

“Knock it off, Max! All right?” Isabel added her voice to Michael and Maria’s. “He's been through enough. He doesn't need a lecture.”

“Thank you.” Michael said to Isabel at her support. “Better late than never.” Maria unconsciously stroked the bruised skin on his side. Michael might have attitude, but he always found a way to say thank you. Sometimes it took him a while, but if it meant something to him, he was usually grateful.

“I just don't want to see any of us get hurt.” Max told Isabel justifying his criticism. Maria rolled her eyes, but kept checking Michael out. She glanced up to see him watching her closely.

“I know ... but someone did get hurt. Michael nearly got killed tonight. Nasedo already has been killed. Something has to be done, Max. We have to do something about Brody.”

Max’s eyed his sister, actually listening to her. “What are you saying?”

“We have to kill him.”

That broke Michael’s staring contest with Maria, and got his attention back to the crowd. “Wow.” Maria held her tongue. It was alien business…alien survival. It wasn’t her place to dictate their actions.

“He used an alien weapon. What human could do that? He's a Skin ... whatever that means. And he killed Nasedo and he's been stalking the rest of us. We're at war. It's him or us, and I choose us.”

“Me, too.” Michael said agreeing with Isabel as he took his shirt back from Maria. His eyes met Maria’s again, and he knew that she supported his survival as well, but he could see the concern in her eyes. It was nice to know she worried about him.

~~~

The following day in History class, Mr. Lafeber continued the series on John F. Kennedy.

“What will he do? An American spy plane has just been shot down over Cuba. The American pilot is dead. There is enormous pressure to strike back, but is it the right move? At the right time? Kennedy has no shortage of advice. His own brother, Bobby is doubting him, but in the end, it's his call, and whatever course he chooses, history will be his final judge.”

~~~

Max was discussing his problem with Maria as they sat at a table in the back room of the Crashdown.

“How did he know? How did Kennedy know to be tough with the Russians early but later to hang back and play it safe, even after they shot down the U2?”

“I don't know.” Maria said, hardly paying attention to Max’s rant and discussion about something she barely stayed awake for in class the first time.

“I don't either. That's the problem. I'm supposed to be this great leader, but I don't know how to make these kinds of decisions. I don't have that kind of insight. How am I supposed to know what's the right course of action?”

“Hmm. I have a thought.” Maria grabbed a book and pretended to whack Max with it a few times. “What are you talking about?! Here you are giving me this history lesson. You haven't even told me what the hell's going on, Max.”

“I know. I'm sorry. Look, I'm just trying to figure out how to...”

“Yes, yes.” Maria quickly waved off the long boring explanation again. Geez! How much was she supposed to take? “You're trying to figure out how to be a leader. All right. Here's a little insight. JFK. He's not so great. Cheated on his wife with tramps. Ohhhh... now there's something you and Jack have in common. You're both involved with tramps.” Maria sat back looking Max over like he was something left wanting. “How is Tess, by the way?”

“I'm not involved with Tess.”

“Just taking midnight strolls with her?”

Max paused. “You saw us?”

“Yeah.” Maria made a face. Obviously, or how else would she know? “We saw you ... as in, Liz and I saw you together. Looked like a pretty romantic evening to me. Maybe a little patty-cake on the front porch before you said good night?”

“No. It's just ... it's a long story.”

“Oh, well, I certainly don't want to hear a long story unless there's a Kennedy involved.”

“I love Liz.”

“I know you love Liz, Max.” Damn how could she not? Hell, he practically made her a tape of it to play at night as subliminal conditioning. “You've been telling me that the entire summer. But now that she's back, I'm the one who's doing all the work here.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Maria allowed herself to feel the annoyance Michael always had to Max indecisiveness.

“I don't know. Do something. Show her how you feel, and please, please ... do it now. Look, I'm sorry. I know that you're dealing with this "Roswell Missile Crisis" or something ... just try and follow your heart. I mean, isn't that what the great leaders always do?”

“Is it?”

“In matters of the heart, I honestly hope so. I couldn’t support a leader that throws away his promises of love and fidelity, forsaking those whose trust is endowed to him. Without honor, what is there for a leader?”

“And in matters of state, defense and survival?” Max asked, noting Maria only said in matters of the heart.

“That…I don’t know. I’ve obviously never been a leader, but I think it comes to duty above all else. I mean, a good leader will put the safety and lives of his nation and people above all else, even his own selfish needs and wants, above his own name. It is a sacred trust, and that means Max, Isabel, and dammit, I suppose Tess, as well.” Maria never saw Michael come to stand at the door. He stood to the side and listened. “A good leader is not the supreme being of all…of everything, he merely lives to serve those he leads. He has to make hard decisions, even unpopular ones, but all that matters is the continuation of his people, their life, health and happiness.” Maria wasn’t sure she had the answers, but some seemed obvious.

“I think you are confusing a President with a King, Max. They are not the same. A President is an elected official who has a duty and answers to the people. A King? Well actually that’s a very archaic backwards idea, one I’m surprised to see an advanced race have… since a King is neither elected nor accountable, and historically, unless they’re good kings, tend to make self motivated decisions, ones that often harm their own people. The divine right of the King, making them merely a step from God in rights. So I think, if you are to be a King then it’s you who has to decide if you will be a ‘good’ king or a bad one.”

Maria stared at Max for a moment, her eyes serious and uncertain what that meant to Max in regards to Liz, but in regards to Brody…it was something Max couldn’t avoid.

“Michael is one of your people, Max. His continuing survival means everything to me.” Maria couldn’t bite back her answer to Max. “Your job is to ensure his existence if you are to be a good King, and I swear, Max, you risk him, I’ll find you.”

“He means that much?”

Maria couldn’t explain it, because Max would never understand how two people, polar opposites, one night in a motel on their way to Marathon could find a goal that was common to the both of them. Surviving, it was everything, and her partner on that journey was someone very much like her. Somehow Michael’s survival became analogous to her own, and she couldn’t explain that. It was something ingrained. Something felt.

“Yes.” Maria said simply. “By the way, Max. Has it ever occurred to you that the reason you can’t make these hard decisions is because Kennedy was a man with advisors, and he did not stand alone. You’re a seventeen year old boy. Did you really think being born a King makes you a King? Sometimes, God makes the wrong man King. Think about it.” Michael leaned against the wall outside, and a slow smile moved across his face.

~~~

Michael was late for his shift. He, Max and Isabel went to take care of Brody, but it turned out differently from their plan. Max stopped them by using a new power he had kept hidden…an energy shield. As it turned out, Brody wasn’t an alien, but rather an alien abductee searching for the aliens that took him and cured him of terminal cancer. He had bought the pentagram at an auction from an alien artifact collector, and the pentagram had activated last May 14th. It had led him to Roswell. Brody was under the mistaken impression that Max was an abductee as well.

At the Crashdown, Max and Isabel explained to Alex and Tess what happened while Michael cooked, and Maria waited on tables.

Alex was eating his fries, fascinated by all the events he missed while practicing with his band. “So where'd he get the money to buy the UFO center?”

“Well, he helped take an Internet start-up company public.” Isabel explained.

“Instant millionaire.” Max told them, impressed by the information. “But when he started talking about his abduction he became a liability. They bought him off.”

“Yeah,” Isabel said, “for $300 million.”

Alex stopped eating for a moment. “Note to self ... take more computer classes.”

Tess waved aside everyone’s interest in money. “But what about the attack on Michael?”

“Brody said the device just went off in his hand.” Isabel reached over and stole one of Alex’s fries, who offered her the plate, but she waved off the offer. One was enough calories. “It sent out a pulse without warning, so I think it was because Michael was near, but I'm not sure.”

“But why would it react to Michael and not to you?” Alex asked Max, who not only had been near it, but touched it.

“I don't know.”

Tess stared to ask another question, but Kyle entered the Crashdown and motioned for her to come talk to him.”

“Uh-oh.” Reluctantly, Tess went over to Kyle leaving the others talking. “So what have I done now?”

Kyle ignored her sarcasm. “You know my ... my father does consider this to be a very temporary arrangement.” Kyle needed that to be very clear. “You understand that?”

“Sure.”

“All right. So in that case, I just wanted to tell you that I moved all my crap out of the room. You can have it. I'll sleep on the couch or something.”

“You didn't have to.”

“It's not a big deal. Uh, material possessions only clutter the mind anyway.”

“You tell 'em, Buddha Boy.”

“All right. I'll see ya.” Kyle looked over at the group. Nope. He wasn’t ready to swim with aliens.

“Hey.” Tess called to him. “Thanks.” Kyle waved on his way out.

Michael just finished an order and was waiting for someone to pick it up when Courtney walked over.

“So, Michael, how do you feel about piercings?” Maria, who was in earshot, made a face at Michael behind Courtney’s back.

Michael ignored her. “I don't.”

“You should think about it.”

“Not into pain.” Maria made a snorting sound under her breath, holding back an ‘oh right!’ which made Michael glare at her.

“Well, it only hurts once, then it's about the stimulation.”

Maria decided to save Michael by walking over to them.

“We’re all sure we’re happy for you, but by the way…too much information!” Maria gives Courtney a scram gesture. “Table four is waiting.”

Courtney picked up the order leaving Michael and Maria alone. Maria saw Liz entering the Crashdown with Max intercepting her. Maybe he was making his move. Relieved that maybe her time spent for good behavior in friendship purgatory was coming to an end, she leaned over next to Michael.

“Piercings? Next thing you know, she’ll be offering to show you hers.”

“Think it’s something tame or something edgy?”

“My bet is for clit or tit.”

Michael seemed to think it over. “Definitely tit, but it’s not like she has anything to pierce.”

Maria made a face. “Again! Always with the boob talk! Hell, small boobs don’t need stimulation…it’s the big ones that could benefit from it. A nipple ring on a small breasted woman is orgasmic just from her shirt rubbing against it.”

“Whoa!” Michael looked at Maria suspiciously, his eyes actually dropping to her front. “Sounds like information gained from actual experience. There something you not telling me?”

Maria snorted at her friend picking up a plate. “Don’t be rude! I have no tolerance for pain, otherwise I would’ve accepted a date from Jon Baker.”

“Uh-huh, he is definitely a pain.” Michael smiled mockingly at Maria. “So no piercing for that added stimulation?”

“Don’t need it. I’m overly sensitive enough to get orgasms without having to mutilate myself. Thanks.” Maria took her order and left.

Michael was suddenly interested. “Really? You want to give some more detail here?” Michael frowned at her receding back as she purposely ignored him. “Maria!”

Maria glanced at him laughing at the look on his face as he tried to decide if she was lying or actually telling a truth about herself. Before she could tease him, Courtney came into view. Maria delivered the order to come back to the window, crossing her arms thoughtfully. “You know, I think you’re right. Ol’ Pork-arella does look a tad bit flaky.”

Maria and Michael said at the same time. “Investigate.”

Courtney walked up to Maria. “Cover me?”

Maria shrugged. Yeah, whatever. She watched Courtney head for the back breakroom’s bathroom. “Oh yeah, I’ve definitely got you covered.” Maria glanced at Michael. “This calls for a special plan. We’ll observe until I can come up with something really ingenious.”

“Uh-huh. Ingenious?”

~~~

Courtney closed the door behind her locking it. Immediately going to the mirror, she dug her nails into her neck pulling off a piece of skin from her face. Dropping the skin in the toilet, she flushed it down the drain.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

“Clothes.” Maria said moving plates to a better place. “Why?”

Michael frowned looking her over. She looked…damn. “I can see your stomach.”

“Uh-huh. And like you never seen it before? What are you saying?”

“Your skirt is damn short.”

“Michael, you big teddy bear, get the cake done. I know I look good, so stop paying me compliments. It’ll give me a big head.”

“Oh sure, blame that one on me.” Michael said crossly forgetting what he already put in the cake. This was the last time he was going to let Maria convince him to make a cake. It was a stupid idea for a present anyway.

“Hurry! I think she’s coming!” Maria rushed around. “Places, everybody! Places!”

Isabel entered the Crashdown wearing a party dress. She was ambushed.

“Surprise!” screamed everybody.

“Oh, happy birthday, sweetheart!” Mrs. Evans said as Isabel blinked owlishly, disoriented for a second.

“Oh, my God!” Turning to look at people she knew and the happy birthday banner, she smiled big. “Oh! I could kill you all.”

“Kill your brother.” Diane Evans told her daughter. “He's the one who planned the entire thing.”

“Happy birthday, old lady.” Max said kissing Isabel’s cheek.

“Max, I can't believe you did this with everything that's happening.”

“It's still your birthday.” Max said simply while Michael rolled his eyes. Sure, Max did it all… not. Thanks to Maria’s overactive party genes, they had to cancel a live music date tonight.

“Max, you're the worst, really. I don't know what to say.”

“Say that you're surprised, 'cause he was totally, totally stressing that you'd figure it out.” Maria told Isabel.

“I had no idea.”

“Really?” Max asked, uncertain that Isabel wasn’t just being polite.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Alex told you to come by so he could give you back a book. I mean, what a lame excuse. How could you not figure that out?”

Isabel looked around, searching for her friend. “Where is Alex, anyway?”

Maria bit her lip, her eyes shining as she held back suppressed laughter. “He's, um, he's still getting dressed.” Michael pinched her side making her give a little yelp, as she turned and hit his shoulder.

“Can you believe your brother did all of this in, like, three days' time?” Mrs. Evans asked Isabel.

“No.” Isabel was jostled by the waitress, Courtney offering her a drink.

“Happy birthday to you.”

“Oh, thank you.” Isabel said uncertain who the girl was.

“Mm-hmm.” Courtney walked off.

“Oh, honey.” Diane said leading Isabel around the room. “You know, your dad is beside himself that he's still stuck in Minneapolis.”

“That's ok. Poor guy.”

Diane looked at her daughter critically. “By the way, honey, why are you wearing that dress?”

“Um, oh ... ” Isabel suddenly seemed embarrassed by her dress which was far too formal for a trip to the Crashdown to pick up a book.

“Yeah,” said Michael who still couldn’t believe that Isabel couldn’t figure it out. “If you really didn't know about the party, then how'd you know to dress up?”

“I ... I didn't. I ... actually, I had, um, other plans.” The front door of the Crashdown opened as Grant Sorenson came inside. He looked around and immediately spotted Isabel.

“Isabel. Sorry I'm late. I didn't know there was going to be a party.” Grant handed her a bouquet of roses.

“Neither did I.” Isabel assured him as she stared at the roses. “Purple are my favorite.”

“So I heard.” Grant told her, smiling.

Michael made a face. “No, wait. Who's ever heard of purple roses? What, did you, like, dye them or something?”

“They're sterling roses, Michael.” Isabel informed him. “They're … they're really rare and expensive.” Michael pulled another face. Of course they are, why else would they be Isabel’s favorite? Only the best. Uh-huh.

“Well, I'm impressed.” Grant said looking around the room. “No one's ever given me a surprise party.”

A worried Diane Evans looked the older man over. “Oh, when's your birthday?”

“December 7th.”

“And what year might that be?”

Isabel looked at her mother horrified. “Mom!” She noticed some blood on the back of Grant's neck distracting her from her embarrassment. “Oh, you … you're bleeding on your … ” She reached to touch him.

“I am?

Isabel grabbed a napkin to press to the wound. “Oh, here. Let me.” She pushed her drink into her mother’s hand. “Here, mom. Will you … ”

“Must have happened when I slipped down the ravine on the dig today.” Grant told her, holding still under her administration. Isabel suddenly startled as a vision hit her. Unable to discern the images, she was visibly shaken.

“What?” Grant asked catching her for a moment.

Isabel stepped back plastering a smile on her face. “Nothing. No, nothing.”

Grant noticed her reaction and suddenly aware of all those around him watching the interaction, he became aware that he was out of place among the teenagers. “Well, this obviously isn't a good time for a date.”

“Well, you're welcome to stay.” Isabel assured him.

“Or go.” Michael suggested quickly. Maria pinched his back.

“Actually, I have some samples I should drop off at the lab tonight anyway.” Grant smiled at Isabel, finding a quick excuse to leave. “I'll call you.”

“Ok.” Isabel answered, unhappy to see him going. As Grant left, Diane Evans approached her daughter, visibly upset.

“You know, honey, not now and not tonight, but pretty soon you and I are gonna have to have a little talk.”

“Ditto,” said Max, his eyes still looking after the now gone Grant. Isabel wasn’t paying attention to the others. Sipping her drink she suddenly had a vision of Tess in an accident. Startled, she dropped her drink.

“Oh, God.”

Diane was at Isabel’s side immediately. “Are you all right?”

“I'm just so clumsy tonight.” Isabel said looking at the spilt drink.

“I'll get that.” The waitress Courtney was back, and Isabel frowned at the girl who seemed to be hovering around her all night.

“Are you sure? I can … I can get it.”

Courtney smiled shaking her head at Isabel. “This is your night.”

Maria made a face at the incident and pulled a certain pissy alien boy into the back room. Michael suddenly seemed to remember his cake and quickly took off towards the kitchen with Maria on his heels.

“Okay, so what has a bee in your bonnet?” Maria asked.

“What you talking about?” Michael frowned at the cooking cake. Was it supposed to be dark like that on the edges?

“Grant. Isabel’s date with Grant, and how rude you were. Maybe you could just challenge him to a duel or something. Tell him that she’s your destined mate?”

Michael made a face at Maria. “You know I don’t believe in that crap.” Michael waved his oven mitt at her. “I will tell you one thing though. He’s another stranger suddenly finding a way into our group. A little too close, don’t you think?”

“You mean like Corky-the wonder dog licking your ass every chance she gets?”

“Who?”

“Pan face.”

Michael made a face. “Oh her. Yeah, whatever. I think there are too many new people around here. We never got to investigate old man Grant, and here he is making time with a teenager. It is majorly creepy, and if you ask me…”

“Which I didn’t.”

“…it’s highly suspicious.”

“So is your baking. What did you do to that cake?” Maria asked peering into the oven with Michael. “Is it supposed to be that lumpy and one side high and the other side low?”

“You’re asking me?” Michael looked at Maria. “I’m blaming you for this failure.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“Made me make a cake.”

“Hey! Mr. Too Cheap to Buy a Present, it was just a suggestion since you weren’t getting her anything else.”

“I spent all my extra cash on our concert tickets in Albuquerque next month.”

Maria seemed to think about it. “Okay, maybe we can cover up the lumps with icing.”

Michael seemed to think about it. “Icing is good.”

~~~

Isabel disconnected her cell phone after calling Grant to leave a message, turning to find Max eavesdropping on her call. “Listening to my private conversations?”

“I was going to talk to Michael and Maria, but as usual they are in the middle of a private conversation, and their conversations scare me.” Max pointed at the phone. “Why are you calling him? He just left.”

“Uh, I was just leaving him a message to thank him for the flowers.”

“You already thanked him.”

Isabel made a face. “Yeah, and you guys made him feel really welcome.”

“He wasn't invited.” Max pointed out.

“I invited him before I ever knew there was a party.”

“Don't do it again.” Max ordered Isabel.

“Excuse me?” Isabel’s face infused with color. “Are you forbidding me?”

“You can't let anyone new in.” Max informed her. “It's too dangerous.”

“Like it was too dangerous to let Liz Parker in.” Isabel said, suddenly she was seeing things from a different view … Michael’s, the view that Michael had argued for an entire year while she supported Max.

“That's different,” Max said, tired of the argument. It was done. There was no going back, but they could stop anything new happening.

“Yeah, it was.” The cloying double standard was sticking Isabel in a place she never felt, one that Michael always complained about. “You want to know how? Because I can date someone and keep my mouth shut at the same time. You couldn't.”

“That was the past.” Max said hurrying to get over the point, and on to the next one. “We've got to think about the future, the one our mother talked about.”

“Right, right.” Isabel made a face. “The king. I'm sorry. How could I forget? All I know is … Max, you may be the king, but I am not bowing down to you, not in this lifetime.” Isabel suddenly put her hand to her head as visions ran through her mind, among them a "RED'S" sign. “Uhh.”

“What is it?” Max asked going to her in concern.

“Had this headache on and off all day.”

“You're sweating.”

“I'm fine. It's… ”

Maria interrupted them. She had hung back during the argument, but it was time.

“Ahem. Isabel, you better come out. There's a policeman here to see you.”

“A policeman?” Isabel moved away from Max, her face suddenly worried. “What's going on?”

“He's asking for you.” Maria urged, struggling to keep a serious face.

“You better go.” Max told Isabel, his eyes meeting Maria’s. He quickly gave her a stern look as a hint of a smile pulled at Maria’s mouth. She crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

Isabel entered the main Crashdown area, followed by Max and Maria. Alex was there dressed up in a policeman uniform. He hit the music and started removing his uniform preparing to perform a full Monty. The crowd went wild and Isabel laughed as she watched, her face a colorful red.

“You love that!” Alex said, dancing up to the birthday girl. Mrs. Evans appalled by the striptease walked up to Alex, who hadn’t realized she was there.

Alex turned a nice shade of red. “Hi, Ms. Evans. Great party.”

In one of the back rooms, Courtney walked in as Michael was trying to finish making Isabel's cake. He was in a hurry once he heard the music. Poor Alex, the sap didn’t know how to avoid DeLuca persuasion. The girl was too smart to approach him to do it. For a moment, Michael paused, slightly upset that Maria hadn’t tried to con him into humiliating himself.

“So, did you, uh, make that all by yourself?” Michael glanced up at the waitress, and then returned to his task.

“No. Betty Crocker came on by and whipped it up.”

Courtney looked at the strange cake. “Betty Crocker would've used eggs.”

“Eggs.” Michael said more to himself. Okay, so now he knew where he got lost on the instructions.

“Sorry.”

“My first cake.” Michael said. Hell, Maria’s cake had been easy. Her mother did it for him and all he had to do was take her out on his bike across the desert and across Texas to Corpus Christi to a special event she had wanted to see.

“Well, guys don't make cakes for just anybody.” Michael had to agree with that, and as soon as he found a certain annoying blonde human girl, he was going to mention that fact. This suggestion sucked. “In fact, guys don't make cakes at all.” Courtney reached over and put her finger in the left over cake batter tasting it.

“Hey...” Michael moved the bowl away from her.

“What flavor is this anyway?”

“It's a combination of a few things.”

“It tastes like Tabasco.” Courtney lifted a brow. “Did you put Tabasco in a cake?”

“Well, what if I did?” Michael asked defensively.

“I like that.”

Michael pushed her out of his way. “Just move.”

“So, what's a chick got to do to get a cake out of a guy like you?”

“Nothing you could handle.”

“That's too bad.” Courtney tasted the frosting. “Mmm. You gonna frost it or what?”

“Yeah, I'm gonna frost it.” Michael said snatching the bowl of frosting from the waitress. Maria walked in to see how Michael was doing when she saw the other waitress. She lifted a brow to Michael.

“How's the cake coming?”

“It's coming.” Courtney said coyly to Maria as her eyes went to devour Michael, her meaning obviously not about the cake. Michael made a face shoving the bowl of frosting at Courtney.

“Maybe you should finish it.” Michael went to leave the room, he made a gesture to Maria to follow, but she nodded to him to go on.

“Think you could be a little more obvious?” Maria asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you just strip naked and spread out on a table for him, maybe he’ll catch your intent. Obviously all your ‘piercing’ and sexual come-ons aren’t getting you anywhere too fast.”

Courtney made a face. “If you can’t keep him, then who am I to care?”

“Keep him? Michael?” Maria laughed. “He’s taken. Or haven't you noticed?” Nope she wouldn’t notice, but then again, Courtney wouldn’t know what Maria was talking about. The man was taken by his need to find his world, and understand his past. He had little tolerance or need for a distraction like Courtney, or any thing resembling a romantic entanglement. The man had a one way ticket off this planet, and he was impatiently waiting to have it punched.

“I noticed he didn't make this cake for you.”

“It's not my birthday.” Maria looked at the sad cake. Note to self, help the boy practice before her birthday came around.

“Small detail.”

Maria laughed. “Actually, large detail. He actually knows when my birthday is. Has he even bother to get your name right, Connie?”

Courtney’s eyes narrowed dangerously as anger moved over her face. Michael never called her by name, and when he did, it was usually wrong. Alex walked in before the two girls could come to blows, he started lamenting about how his striptease dance turned out.

“You know, I can't believe I let you talk me into that!” Alex told Maria, who was busy.

“You obviously aren’t very observant, and have no idea about what’s what, but here’s a clue for you. Me and Michael go way back. You could strip down, rub yourself all over him, and he would still be closer to me.” Maria sneered at the bottle blonde waitress.

“That was the most humiliating experience of my life!” Alex complained to Maria, too caught up in his own embarrassment to notice that Maria wasn’t paying attention.

“You sew your name into the back of his jeans?”

“Actually, it’s tattooed on his body.” Maria informed the girl, not going into detail about how that came about, or where his name was on her body.

“I did a striptease in front of her mother!” Alex said emphasizing his humiliation. “Are you listening to me?”

Maria glanced at her friend. Oh, he was in major meltdown. “One nipple does not constitute a striptease, Alex.”

“She saw my nipple?” Alex put his hands over his eyes. “Oh, God.”

“Chill out, NYPD Blue.” Courtney said to Alex, her face trying to concentrate on the idea that Michael had Maria’s name tattooed on his body. They were close, that she knew. Maria spent nights over at Michael’s place, but the waitress hadn’t noticed them kissing or holding hands. Then again, she suspected they shared a bed. Their relationship was confusing. It was close, but at times, it seemed to lack romantic involvement, and at other times, it was utterly intimate.

“Chill out? Chill out?” Alex flopped his hands about in anxiety. “I spent $150 to rent this costume. And do you have any idea how it feels to walk around all day with a thong up your ass?”

“Yes!” Maria and Courtney said at the same time.

~~~

Michael had escaped the suffocating attentions of Courtney by going to the party. He watched for Maria, but she was still in the back. Sitting at a table with Kyle and a few other guys, Michael kept an eye out for her. Kyle was complaining to his buddies about Tess while Michael listened, sipping on his Tabasco laced cherry coke.

“Seriously. So, she's got her underwear and her bras and her girlie things all over the bathroom.” Michael made a face. Yeah, the bathroom was the first place always taken over by chicks. His bathroom was Maria’s private nesting ground. “Every time I go in to shave, I feel like I'm walking into Victoria's Secret.”

Michael lifted a brow. “So what's not to like?” The new fall line just came out, and far as Michael could tell, it was hot. That scrap of filmy see-thru black teddy Maria had hung to dry kept him fascinated for an entire week and beyond.

Isabel came up to the group of boys. “Kyle, where is Tess?”

“She went to Jensen's to get your present.” Kyle told Isabel before turning back to the guys. “Anyway, she's taken over the television, the computer, my phone. If some chick's gonna be yelling at me about keeping the toilet seat down, she better at least be doing me.” Mrs. Evans walked by at that exact moment, reacting to Kyle's last words, as the striptease was still large in her mind. “Doing me … a favor.” Kyle quickly amended as Michael punched him in the ribs.

“Hi.” Diane said to Kyle, looking him over critically. She really needed to look into her daughter’s friendships, especially with boys. One too old, one stripping, and the other … “I'm, uh … I'm Isabel's mom.” Michael was laughing at the look on Kyle’s face being confronted by Mrs. Evans when Max grabbed him.

“I need to talk to you.”

Michael shrugged off Max’s hand. He was sick of the boy King. “We have nothing to talk about.”

“I need you to back me up on something.”

Sure he did. “You make decisions without asking my opinion, and now you expect me to back you up?”

“I think Isabel's getting serious with that Sorenson guy.” Michael sighed, making a face. He didn’t have enough time running after those two, but given Max’s indiscretions with Liz, it was best to head Isabel off at the pass. Michael went to trap Isabel into a conversation. Maybe Maria would rescue him?

~~~

Michael and Isabel were sitting at a booth. “He gave you an order.”

“I don't take orders from Max.” Isabel informed Michael, her eyes narrowing at his turn about face.

“He's our leader. He's right.” Michael almost choked on that, but for once, he actually agreed with Max.

“Since when?” Isabel’s face fused with color, angered by the obvious alliance between Max and Michael against her. “You two are barely speaking. And when you do talk, you don't even agree.”

Michael shrugged. He picked his fights, and in this instant, he and Max agreed. “Well, we agree on this.”

“I bet you do.” Isabel said cryptically.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Michael’s eyes narrowed, hating that she was going to accuse him of having the same double standards that governed all of Max’s waking days.

“Am I supposed to be alone for the rest of my … of my life…?” Isabel asked. Sure, it was easy for Max and Michael who had Liz and Maria in their lives.

“Isabel, you are not alone.”

“Not even talk to other guys?”

“Works for me.” Michael said. What was she complaining about? She dumped Alex without a backwards glance, and he knew her, knew about her, and now, she was wanting to add a stranger to the mix.

“I don't think so.”

“Isabel, you do not belong with him.” Hell, they hadn’t even investigated the man, and she was all but ready to marry the man. He could be a Skin, an enemy.

“No. I belong with you.” Isabel said nastily, liking the irritated look on Michael’s face, the one that usually appeared when any of them talked about Destiny. “But I don't think either one of us wants to think about that too much.” Isabel suddenly winced as she got another vision of Tess. “Unh!”

“What's going on?” Michael asked, frowning at the movement of pain across her face.

“Nothing. Nothing. It's just my headache.”

Michael looked over and saw Maria. She made a gesture to him. It was nearly time for the cake. Michael glanced back at Isabel. “Look, I know this whole destiny crap is hard, being told that we’re supposed to be together, but not wanting that. Maybe it makes it hard to know what’s right, and what’s not. But if ever I felt anything towards you more than a sister, you would’ve known it, and I would expect you to tell me if your feelings changed too.”

“They haven’t.”

Michael scoffed. “I know that. I am, and always will be a source of irritation to you.”

“That’s not true, Michael.”

“Sure it is. I don’t do sterling roses, and could care less if you love them. I wouldn’t even bother to find out. I never do what you want me to do, when you want me to do it, but you know what? You don’t either. I spent years fighting against you and Max, your tyranny over me, jointly deciding everything regardless of what my life was like. Well now, you’re getting a little taste of what it’s been like for me, having the two of you order me about, decide what I can and cannot do.”

“So this is payback?”

“No. This is a reality check, Isabel. You sided with Max naturally all these years, and since we learned he was King. Now you suddenly don’t like it when he orders you around. A little consistency, a little less double standard on all our parts would be nice, don’t you think? I only side with him now because I know our enemies are out there. For once, he is actually taking a pro-active position on our situation … so actually my stance hasn’t changed, Max’s has. His motivation? Well, that you’ll have to ask him. I just know that Nasedo is dead. The Skins are near. Just how many strangers can we allow into our private space before we end up like Nasedo?” Michael stood up at Maria’s violent gesture. Sighing, Michael went back to work. “C’mon. It’s party time.”

The cake was brought out. Everyone started singing "Happy Birthday", but during the song, Isabel kept getting visions of Tess repeatedly asking her for help. The latest visions were different. As soon as she could, Isabel got both Max and Michael into the back room telling them about the visions.

“It was like she was really here. She was hurt and crying for help.”

“Who was the last person to see her?” Max asked Isabel.

Michael knew that. “Kyle said she went to Jensen's to buy a present.”

“She's in danger.” Isabel told her brothers.

“Yeah. It's got to be Nasedo's killer.” Isabel stopped herself from scoffing at Michael for once. He had killers on the brain, but in this instance, he might be right. “He's after Tess.”

“Trust me,” Courtney said coming into the room unnoticed by them, “nobody's after Tess. All that blond hair and eye shadow? She's like Dolly Parton without the jugs.”

Michael looked at the waitress Corky in irritation. “Could you just go refill the ketchups or something?” Courtney frowned at Michael’s tone, quickly leaving the room.

Isabel ignored the waitress. “We've got to find her.”

“I think we should start with Sorenson.” Max told Michael. “He showed up here bleeding. Could've been struggling with someone.”

“Grant has nothing to do with this, Max.” She couldn’t believe him. He was determined to have Grant be a bad person.

“I'll be the judge of that.” Max said as Liz and Maria entered the back room. Liz had been working, but she finally got off as Congresswoman Whitaker found a way to invite herself to the party.

“We've got a problem.” Liz told the others.

“I know.” Max said. “Tess is missing.”

“Oh, boo-hoo.” Maria said, seeing the others’ serious faces, she stopped. “Sorry.”

“She's missing?” Liz asked. That wasn’t the problem she was talking about, but still it was a problem.

Michael nodded pulling Maria over close to him. “Isabel had a vision that she was in trouble.”

“That's weird.” Maria said looking up at Michael. He rarely showed concern, but his face was a study of it.

“Here's something else weird - Whitaker has been taping my phone conversations at work. I found a CD.” Liz told them. “But the thing is, how come she hasn't busted me yet?” Liz made a face at Maria, who had the chagrin to look guilty remembering all the times she called Liz at work trying to incite her to leave work for the afternoon.

“Maybe because she hasn't given up alien-hunting after all.” Michael suggested. How could they forget the jonesing Whitaker had for the Special Unit and a certain leader of that unit?

“She's out there right now.” Liz informed them.

Isabel bit her lip. “At my party?”

“Yeah … um, she sort of invited herself.” Liz and the others looked at the door as Courtney came into the back room again.

“So, the real party's in here.” Courtney said.

Maria looked at the other waitress in irritation. Was she like everywhere at once? “Could you, like, go refill the ketchups or something?”

“Done.” Courtney said, hating that Maria gave her the same order that Michael did, her eyes not missing how close Michael and Maria were standing.

“Sugars, then.” Maria ordered shooing the waitress off.

Michael didn’t bother to glance at Courtney, his mind on more important things. He wasn’t much into the way of multitasking. “Maybe Whitaker's got something to do with this Tess thing.”

Max thought it through. “Michael, you go to her office…see what you can find. I'm going to get Valenti. We'll check out Sorenson.”

“What should I do?” Isabel asked them.

“Make sure Whitaker stays here so Michael can search her office.” Max said.

“I can't just stay here knowing everything that's happening.” Isabel said, her face fused with worry as she hated being pushed out of the loop.

“We'll handle it.” Max told her. “Just … just try to enjoy your party.”

“Like I can, Max. I'm the one who saw the visions. I'm going after her.”

Max pushed Isabel towards the party. “Let me take care of it.”

Maria looked at Michael. “You need a lookout?”

Michael’s eyes were following Isabel. “No. I’ll be okay. I think I need you to keep an eye on Isabel. She’s not very good at this sort of thing.”

“Dating Sorenson doesn’t mean she’ll mess up or betray you.”

“Max did with Liz. What makes you think Isabel won’t do the same?” Michael asked.

“Because she wouldn’t.” Maria pushed Michael towards the outside door. “Go. Be the little B&E bunny I know you can be. Bring back the dirt!”

“Right.” Michael pointed a finger at Maria, his partner in crime. “Keep your eye on the prize. Don’t let her trip up or run off.”

“Right.”

Michael stopped for a moment. “Hey, Maria?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a dress that looks like Isabel’s?”

Maria frowned at the question. No, she wasn’t big on standard prom dress fare. “Not really. I like things a little looser and flowing, or body tight.”

“Good.” Michael went through the door happy at the thought he wouldn’t some day walk into his bathroom and find some kind of prom grown hanging there. There was only so much a guy could handle. Skimpy underwear he could forgive, because in truth, it was really did something for the both of them.

~~~

Isabel and her mother met the Congresswoman. They opened the presents, and except for a strange alien figure, everything was pretty normal until Isabel had another vision of Tess. The headache was killing her, so she excused herself to find aspirin as Liz and Maria followed her into the back room.

“Did you have another vision?” Liz asked Isabel.

Isabel ignored her. She turned to Maria holding out her hand. “Give me your keys.”

“No way.” Oh god, Michael would kill her if she let Isabel go off on her own. “Last time I lent out the Jetta, an Uzi took out the back window.”

“Then drive me.”

“Where?” Maria asked already hearing Michael’s pissy tirade.

“To look for Tess. I saw a sign - RED'S.”

Liz shook her head. “There's no "RED'S" in Roswell.”

Isabel looked at Liz. “I know Tess isn't your favorite person. We've all treated her pretty badly. I'm not proud of the way I've acted.”

“I can't help it, Isabel.” Liz told Isabel. “I don't trust her.” Maria added an amen under her breath.

“Then trust me.” Isabel begged them.

Maria sighed. If she refused, Isabel would find another way. Keep her eye on the prize. Right. “Ok. I think I know where it is. Let's go.”

“No.” Liz told them. “Max said not to leave.”

“Max isn't here.” Isabel pointed out.

Liz looked at Maria and Isabel, both of them almost out the door. “Ok. Fine. I'll go with you.”

“No.” Isabel told her, looking at the swinging door that went back to her party. “No. You have to cover for me.”

Maria gave Liz one last look before leaving with Isabel. Oh god, she was going to rot in alien hell with the demonic Michael Guerin shooting poniards at her.

~~~

Michael easily broke into Whitaker's office. Looking around, he flipped through files and folders until he found one of interest. Whitaker had a file for Courtney. Michael took a picture from the file staring at the new waitress, who as Maria termed it, was more than a little interested in him. Michael glanced up when he heard Whitaker unlocking the office door. Quickly putting away the file, but keeping the picture, he made a hasty retreat just before she entered. That was close. Times like these, Maria was sorely missed.

~~~

Maria drove Isabel to a rundown restaurant called Fred's. The "F" on the neon sign wasn't lit up. “There's your "RED'S".” The place made a mean taco platter that got a certain alien boy all excited. How could she miss remembering that sign?

“That's it.” Isabel said. They continued driving until Isabel saw Tess' car, which had been damaged. It was on the side of the road, partially in a ditch. It had been abandoned.

Isabel rushed to look inside, but there was no Tess. “Shoot. Where is she?”

Maria circled the car. “Maybe she was thrown out of the car.”

“I don't think so.” Isabel looked down the dark lonely road.

Maria studied the dark quiet place, its deserted feel was starting to scare her, as she and Isabel stood there. “Um, maybe the paramedics already came.”

“No.” Isabel frowned as she leaned forward to pick up something off Tess’s car. It was a piece of skin that disintegrated in her hand.

“No. She was taken.”

Maria had enough. She needed Spaceboy, and she needed him now. Punching in a phone number for the Crashdown, she needed to contact Liz to get Michael. “Ahh, I can't get a signal this far out.”

“I see some tracks. Two sets of tires, see?” Isabel pointed to the tracks, and Maria looked at them with a hollowing of her stomach, already knowing where this was leading. “But look here. They swerve near Tess' car … then go out in that direction.”

“Straight into nowhere.”

“Nowhere's where we're going.” Isabel told Maria going to get back into the Jetta.

Maria sighed quickly following. Damn her hide, she left the keys in the ignition, and knowing alien-kind, they had no compunction not to just take what they needed. Maria made a face as the Jetta bumped over the uneven ground as they drove off into the darkness of nowhere. “Note to self -- get four-wheel drive.”

Maria and Isabel arrived at Chavez County Electric Power Facility -- Plant #2.

“She's in there.” Isabel told Maria.

“Oh, no.” God, how did she get into these situations? “No. No. Now, you don't know that.”

“I feel it.”

Maria looked around desperately, biting her lip. “We need to get Max and Michael.”

“Then go get them.” Isabel told Maria as she got out of the Jetta.

“No. No.” Maria got out of the driver’s side calling to Isabel. “No. You're not going in there by yourself.”

“I have to.” Isabel said. The visions. They were calling to her. She had to go.

“No.” Maria quickly went around the Jetta stopping Isabel with a hand on her arm. “I'm not gonna leave you.”

Isabel looked at the smaller human girl, and for a moment, she envied Michael, understanding what made him so attached to Maria. Maria was a good friend. Devoted. Isabel caught that over the summer while they bonded, but her connection to Maria couldn’t come anywhere as close as the one between Michael and Maria, and that she regretted. “Look. Go get Max and Michael, all right? Just go.” Isabel looked at the power plant. “But I can't wait. I have to go in.”

“All right,” Maria bit her lip hard, trying to reason through what had to be done, and what she could do. “Here. Take the flashlight.” Maria reached into the Jetta and gave Isabel the light. God, Michael was going to kill her.

“Ok.” Isabel took the light and went to the fence as Maria drove off in a spray of gravel, driving too fast for the light and road conditions. Isabel ripped her dress as she climbed through the fence. Unable to walk on the uneven ground in her high heels, she took off her shoes.

~~~

After searching Tess’s belongings, Max and Sheriff Valenti broke into Grant Sorenson's motel room and start searching for anything that might give them a hint as to Tess' whereabouts.

“Stop right there!” Valenti said when Grant entered this hotel room.

“Whoa!” Grant held up his hands. “Whoa. Sheriff, what are you doing in my room?”

Jim put down the gun. “When was the last time you saw Tess Harding?”

“Who?”

“Tess Harding.” Jim repeated. “And don't lie to me.”

Grant glanced at Max, his eyes narrowing. “I barely know the girl.”

“Then why'd you call her cell phone today?” Max asked.

“She's a friend of Isabel's.” Grant told them. “I wanted to ask her advice on a birthday present.”

“And what did she tell you?”

“She said she was going to Jensen's to pick something up.”

Max looked over at Jim. “That's what Kyle said.”

“I knew I'd be on the dig all day and was pressed for time, when she suggested flowers.” Grant told them. “She said purple roses were Isabel's favorite.”

“Sorry.” The Sheriff said. “Procedure.”

“Procedure?” Grant looked at the Sheriff in disbelief. “You break into my room and stick a gun in my face?”

“Tess Harding is missing.” Jim told the man as if it justified everything.

“Well, then maybe you should be out looking for her instead of harassing innocent people.”

“Look, Mr. Sorenson...”

“No. You look, Sheriff. There's obviously no evidence.” Grant stared at Max Evans, a knowing look coming over his face. It was obvious, the younger man didn’t want him near his sister. “I don't appreciate you and Deputy Dog here accusing me.”

“Nobody's accusing you of anything.” The Sheriff told him.

“You got a search warrant?”

“I can get one.”

“Then get it,” Grant said opening his door, “but until then, get out.”

“If you hear from her, you call me.”

“Right.” Grant slammed the door behind them.

~~~

Courtney walked outside to smoke a cigarette when Michael found her. He took the cigarette and tossed it on the ground, his back stiffening.

“Worried about my health?” Courtney asked, her eyes gleaming.

“Who are you?” Michael asked.

Courtney seemed taken aback. “What?”

“You know what I'm talking about.”

Courtney moved further down the back wall. “Are you, like, high or something?” Michael shoved the picture of her he found in Whitaker's office in front of her face. “Where'd you get that?” She asked snatching the picture from Michael.

“From your file in Whitaker's office.”

Courtney pushed him aside, trying to walk around him. “Get out of my face.”

Michael refused to budge. “You're gonna tell me exactly what's going on.”

“No, I don't have to tell you anything.”

“So, you’re working with her?” Michael asked, his voice rising, as suspicion moved over him. “You spying on us? Is that what you're doing?”

“You're a big man, aren't you?” Courtney said trying another tactic to move him.

“Don't jerk me around.” Michael said rolling his eyes at her attempt to seduce him. “If you're not working with Whitaker, then why does she have photos of you … documents, huh? Why is she watching you? Why is a U.S. Congresswoman interested in a waitress from Roswell?”

“Because I was sleeping with her stepson, that's why!” Courtney snarled, pushing him away from her.

“Stepson?”

“That's right. He screwed his life up with drugs, and I screwed my life up with him. When we got busted, do you know who went down for that?” Courtney spit at him, her face twisting in anger. “I spent two years in Buckman, and the only reason why I got out of there is because I promised that bitch that I would never see him again. So I guess that she's just making sure I keep that promise.”

“All right.” Michael knew when to back away. A Congresswoman was going to relocate to Roswell to keep an eye on a trashy waitress? Uh-huh. Michael backed away before he gave up too much of his own interest. “Thanks.”

“Thanks?” She slapped Michael. “Jerk!”

Michael lost his patience and his anger. No one hit him! No one. Not now. Never again. Maria pulled up in the Jetta just as Michael had his hands on Courtney's shoulders.

“Michael, we’ve gotta go!” Maria called to Michael. “Isabel's in trouble!”

Michael pushed Courtney away from him, already forgetting her as he went to get into the Jetta.

Maria glanced at Michael, his jaw was firm, and anger was still etched on his face. “What was that all about? I almost thought for a moment you were going to kiss her.”

“Or hit her.” Michael looked at Maria. “She slapped me.”

“What? No! Really?” Maria looked at him seeing the slight tinge of color on his face. “That bitch! Why? I know you didn’t hit on her or try to abuse her in any way. What happened? You say no?”

“I found a file on her in Whitaker’s office. She says that she was doing Whitaker’s stepson when he got in trouble with drugs, she took a small trip up to the big house, and to get free, she made a deal with Whitaker to stay clear of the Prince. Whitaker is keeping tabs on her to make sure she keeps her deal.”

“Uh-huh.” Maria glanced at him. “And what bridge is she trying to sell us in what damn country?”

“Yeah, I thought so too. Why would a US Congresswoman care about a waitress in Roswell, nowhere near her crowned heir apparent?” Michael had more than enough of socializing with the disenfranchised. “What the hell is up with Isabel? I thought you were keeping an eye on her.”

“As I did. Hence the reason I know she is in trouble.”

“You were supposed to keep her out of trouble, Maria.”

“Hey, back off, Sweet pea! I tried, okay? She wanted my car, and being alien, she is very able to start it without a key. I drove, okay?”

“You should’ve stopped her.”

“Oh? In case you haven’t noticed, I am smaller than the Amazonian alien Queen by about three inches and twenty pounds. Add in that she has powers, and duh…I don’t. What exactly did you expect me to do, except come and get you, saving you from macking on a creepy trailer trash bottle job?”

“More like forty pounds. You’re small boned, and I wasn’t macking on no one!”

Maria pointed a finger at him. “First, you better amend that weight estimation or swear you never voice it to Isabel, or you will be singing soprano. Second, do I care if you were making a scary mack attack on the very wrong side of the tracks? No! I care that Isabel made me leave her, and we need to find Max and Valenti.”

Maria and Michael were on the way to the power plant and the darkness was suddenly sinking into Michael how alone they were and how deserted the road was. They could be walking into trap. Glancing at Maria, he frowned.

“I can't believe you let her go after Tess alone.”

“She didn't give me a choice.” Maria reminded him again.

“Well, where's the phone? I'm gonna call Valenti. Get him and Max to meet us there.”

Maria tossed him her phone. “You better hurry. I lost my signal out here last time.”

~~~

At the power plant, Isabel found a sobbing Tess who was wounded, half unconscious. Helping her as best she could, she tried to get Tess out of there, looking over her shoulder searching for their enemies. She could feel them, hear them…their enemies, and like a prey to the hunt, Isabel could feel it as an approaching doom. Isabel moved Tess to an empty room, and bolted the door.

“There. Tess. Tess, stay with me. Stay with me, Tess. Damn it. Don't die on me now!” Isabel said her voice rising in hysteria.

The bolts on the door slide over by themselves. Someone was opening them from the other side. Isabel stared at them in horror. That would take alien powers to open the bolts. The door swung open to Congresswoman Whitaker.

“It's you.”

Congress Whitaker entered the room unhindered. “Impressive.”

“What?”

“You. Coming here like this.” Vanessa Whitaker said. “I see my mistake. It wasn't her I was looking for.” She had been so sure when little Parker talked about the other woman in her ex-boyfriend’s life … the one he shared a past with.

“Then why did you take her?”

“Thought she was you. But neither of you looks like you did in the other life.” The Congresswoman smiled. “I knew I needed one of the female hybrids. It was a 50/50 chance.”

“Oh, God.” Isabel pulled Tess back with her as Whitaker approached. “What is it you want from us?”

“Where's the Granilith?”

“The what?”

“The Granilith.” Whitaker repeated. “Don't pretend you don't know. We've been looking for it. We can't exist here like you … not in our natural state. We don't have the DNA. All we have are these … uh, skins. Our limit is fifty years. My time is almost up. I need to find the Granilith if it's the last thing I do.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You're hiding it. The four of you.” Whitaker scoffed. “The royalty they tried to save by sending you here. You're gonna help us.”

“Never.” Isabel screamed keeping Tess with her.

“You did before. You will again.”

“You killed Nasedo, didn't you?” Isabel said as it all came clear. Nasedo was in an intimate relationship with the Congresswoman. She must have figured out who he was, and Nasedo led her to them.

“To save you.” Vanessa assured Isabel.

“From what?”

“The other three. You belong with us, our race. We're in charge now. Your kind doesn't rule anymore.”

“I'm not one of you.”

“You don't remember, do you?” Vanessa laughed, amused by the stupidity to re-engineer them as children giving them nothing, not even their memories. “Let me give you a piece of history about your planet. Your name was Vilandra, and you were beautiful … even more beautiful than you are now. You had a great love … and for him … for us … you betrayed your brother, your race.”

“No.” Isabel shook her head. She couldn’t believe that. She couldn’t. Her people. Her mother. Her brother. Never.

“You sacrificed him. You sacrificed everyone … even yourself. And history, my dear, always repeats itself.”

“God, you liar!” Isabel screamed at the woman. She reached down to help Tess stand. “We're leaving. Tess, come on. Come on.”

“Not until you tell me where you're hiding the Granilith.” Vanessa said barring Isabel’s path.

“I told you before, I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Well, maybe this will help jog your memory.” Whitaker raised her hand and an invisible force tossed Tess into the air. She landed with a thud and a cry of pain.

“Uhh! Unh!” Tess moaned as her body reflexively curled into a protective position.

“Stop it! Stop hurting her!”

“I'll stop when you tell me what I want to know.” The Congresswoman lifted her hand to hurt Tess again.

Isabel helped Tess to her and feet. They jumped with her through the window to the platform below. Panting, Isabel helped Tess as they made their way to the exit. Isabel kept looking over her shoulder knowing Whitaker wouldn’t stop, that she would give chase.

“Come on.” Isabel said to Tess, helping her. They limped out of the power plant. As they were trying to make it to where Isabel came through the fence, Whitaker found them, and once again she barred their way. She tore off an electrical cable holding it threateningly at Isabel. Max and the other arrived, and Max ran to the gate seeing them from the gate to the power facility.

“Isabel!” Max yelled to his sister.

“Where's the Granilith?” Whitaker asked, her hand holding the live wire.

“Get away from us!” Isabel pushed Tess behind her, holding her hand up defensively.

“I'll destroy you.” Whitaker promised Isabel. “I'll destroy you all if I have to.” Whitaker used her power to start sending a stream of electrical sparks through the cable towards Isabel and Tess.

“No. No!” Isabel begged. “Get away from us!” Isabel held out her hand and an invisible force reflected the electricity back at Whitaker. She blew up in a hail of burnt skin.

Max, Sheriff Valenti, Michael, and Maria rushed in to help. Sheriff Valenti went to Tess, checking her out. The young girl was unconscious. Picking her up, he took her to his car.

“What happened?” Max asked Isabel, his hand holding her arm.

“It was Whitaker. She killed Nasedo.”

Max frowned at his sister as Michael and Maria held back. “It's ok.”

“No, it's not.” Isabel said, her voice hollow as she shrugged Max’s hands off her. “It's not ok.”

“I guess you were right about Grant.” Max conceded, uncertain what to say to make Isabel feel better. “I'm gonna have to trust your instincts.”

Isabel looked at her hands. “I didn't know I was capable of this.”

“You're getting stronger.”

“We all are.” Isabel told him. “Nasedo said we would.”

“We have to protect each other. What you did for Tess, I know you would do for me, and I would do for you. No one can come between us.”

Isabel gulped hard seeing Michael and Maria watching them. “Max, she said things.”

“What kind of things?”

“Something about a Granilith.” Isabel said as Maria pushed Michael forward to talk to Isabel.

“I know how I … after I used my powers on Pierce… ” Michael looked at Maria for help, she nodded for him to continue, “so, uh, if you want to talk or something … ”

“I think I just need to be alone.” Isabel walked off alone, needing to find some peace, some answers, but uncertain who to ask. Michael, Maria and Max stood there in the deserted power plant, none of them certain what to do.

Suddenly Maria’s heard something … something suspiciously like …?

“The Jetta!” Maria rushed to where she had parked the Jetta. “Isabel!” Michael and Max joined her, both of them waving their arms. They watched as the Jetta lights disappeared from sight.

“You left the keys in the ignition, again? How many times do I have to tell you…?” Michael stopped when Maria tossed her keys in his face.

“Hello? Since when does an alien need keys to steal a car?” Maria looked around. “Oh no! Where is the Sheriff?”

They saw Jim’s car taking off towards the front gate, hurrying to take Tess back to Roswell.

“Sheriff!” They yelled as they took off running to intercept their ride home.

~~~

Isabel went to the pod chamber alone. There she looked at the incubation pods, the very place her mother, or an image of her real mother had appeared. She was alone. Lost on a world that was unfriendly to her kind. She didn’t even know her own kind. Eighteen. This was her birthday, and she was more alone than she ever had been. She had killed someone tonight. Was she a really a bad person, a person who betrayed her own family? Her family. Her mother. All she had was the image, and it wasn’t really her mother. She didn’t even know what her mother looked like. Nothing.

Isabel grabbed a nearby rock and threw it at the pods in frustration. Before they found the pods, she had been happy. Happy to be an adopted human, uncaring of her alien background. That was ripped from her. Taken by a destiny she couldn’t understand or follow, by a people she supposedly betrayed. There was a glow from one of the pod chambers. Isabel crawled into one of the pods. At the back of that chamber, a previously hidden door slid open, revealing a humming alien device. Isabel straightened to look at the large devise, standing in a chamber staring at it.

“The Granilith.”

The four alien children stood in the chamber staring at the Granilith. Tess was there, having recovered, a few marks still on her face, but she looked better.

“Sounds like the fluorescent lights in bio lab.” Tess remarked, moving around the device.

“Did Nasedo ever mention a rock collection?” Michael asked Tess. She shook her head.

“Do you think it can hear us?” Tess asked Max. Michael rolled his eyes. He doubted it was capable of thought, let alone hearing.

Max looked at the others. “We'll come back after school.” The others agreed. Michael looked back one last time on his way through to the outer pod chamber. He was late, and he needed to return a Jetta to a very unhappy human girl. She had left numerous messages on his machine, all of them getting more frantic as her mother kept questioning her about the car.

At school, Michael and Max were walking through the halls. Maria wasn’t at their usual place, and Michael kept checking the time. Today would be too long. He should’ve skipped.

“After ninth period, we'll go back.” Max told Michael, needing to keep him from impulsively taking off.

“Way to prioritize, Maxwell.” Michael said.

Maria walked up to Michael. She wasn’t happy, and he could tell she was rushed. She was carrying a partially eaten breakfast burrito and a juice, talking a mile a minute. “I had to take the bus to school today! The bus!” Michael nodded taking the breakfast burrito and finishing it. As Maria continued to rant and rave, he took her juice too. “Look at my hair. I sat next to a man that might have been a woman, and smelt of armpits.” Maria stared at Michael’s hair. “Hey. New gel?” Maria took back her juice, almost finished off by Michael. “Did you not get my messages? So, um, Portishead tickets went on sale this morning. Which will mean nothing unless you can answer one real important question … do you have my Jetta?”

“Yeah.” Michael kept walking, tucking Maria under his arm while searching for a place to duck into so he could talk to her. He was tapped for money, and it was her turn to pick up the tickets. Maria passed something shiny. Something reflecting. She saw her hair. With a sound of distress, she patted Michael on the stomach and was gone through the first door that led to the ladies’ room.

“You’re going to tell her?”

Michael didn’t bother to answer that stupid question. Of course he was going to tell her, but only after he bought their Portishead tickets. He had waited all through September for those damn things to come on sale. All he needed was the money to cover and for that he needed Maria. “Hey, our agenda involves the four of us.” Michael reminded Max, not wanting anyone else to mysteriously appear in the mix.

“What about Maria?” Max asked.

“What about her?” Michael asked confused. “She’s understood, but otherwise, nix on the blabbing. There is no time for distractions.” Michael made a grunting noise as the biggest distraction he knew came to join them. Liz Parker.

“Oh, Max … look, I don't know what to do. Calls keep on coming into Congresswoman Whitaker's office. Should I return them or… ”

Michael rolled his eyes. Trust Liz Parker to get up early and go to the office before school like a little workaholic freak. How many calls could there be? Congresswoman Whitaker had only been dust for less than twenty-four hours.

“Not now.” Michael told the Parker pest, brushing her off.

Liz shook her head. She was used to Michael, but even for him, this was rude. “We'll talk in Trig,” she said to Max and then walked off before something horrible happened, like she might actually have to talk to Michael again.

“You know, mean people suck.” Max lectured Michael as they continued on down the corridor.

Ignoring Max as uninteresting, Michael wanted the day to be over. He had things to do. Lots of things. Tickets to a concert to buy and a pile of rocks to explode. He was obviously overextended. That was probably why he didn’t notice his history teacher stalking him until it was too late to escape.

“Mr. Guerin, true or false? We're not even a month into the semester, and you're already failing my class.” Michael made a face. True or false? He had a choice? “This is a new record.”

“To be perfectly blunt with you, sir, World War II just doesn't do it for me.”

“Well, try doing this. The 509th bomb group is in town this week for a reunion. Your biographical account of one veteran's wartime experience will be on my desk by 5 o'clock.”

“Old people creep me out.”

“Ha. Then think of them as living history.”

Michael watched as his history teacher strode away and the steel trap of doom closed around him. Turning to comment to Max, he found himself alone. Damn. Maria! He needed to find Maria.

~~~

“You want me to do what?” Maria made a face glancing at her watch. “I’m already late, and …”

“Good, you’re late. No use in going.” Michael gave her a helpful shove to the outdoors. “You can drop me off.”

“I’d like to drop you off a cliff!” Maria sighed getting into the Jetta. “Why can’t you get the tickets? You don’t care if you skip class, and I have an assignment due today.”

“I got trapped doing this thing by five today. I can’t.” Michael turned on the real power. “Tickets, Maria. Here today … gone tomorrow.”

Maria stopped at a fleabag motel. “You suck.” Looking at the motel, she turned to Michael. “I better not be standing in line, skipping class, and dumping my hard earned cash into tickets while you’re off on a binge with some bimbo in a cheap nookie motel!”

“I’ll take pictures. ‘Sides, I only spend time in cheap nookie motels with you!” Michael offered with a wink as he shut the door.

“Great,” said Maria as she drove away. “Now he’s giving me an eating disorder. Like that won’t make me toss my breakfast … which he ate!”

~~~

Michael was bored. More than bored, he was struggling to stay awake as he sat at a table interviewing Hal Carver, one of the members of the 509th bomb group. His notepad was collecting new doodles at an alarming rate of speed.

“What was World War II like?”

The old man, Hal Carter looked at the young punk and cut him no slack. “What do you think?”

Michael made a face. Okay, so he wasn’t going to grow up to be an interviewer. He could deal with that. “Ok, moving on. Uh, Roswell … how is it different now than it was back then?” Damn. Michael squinted at his list of questions he came up with off the top of his head. They were lame. All lame.

“I don't know. I haven't darkened her door since '47.” Hal Carter said, his answer noncommittal.

“Look, Hal… ” Michael said rechecking the man’s name.

“Captain Carver.” The old man said with a little brass, drawing himself up to his full height.

“Captain Carver. Let's make this easy. Why don't you give me a few good details that I can put in this little notebook of mine. Then I'll just copy the rest out of a book.”

“Well, when the going gets rough, resort to plagiarism, huh?” Hal said with disgust. “You kids today are softer than soap. You ever heard of, uh, Omaha Beach or the V-1 flying bomb? Yalta? Jane Russell? I mean, have you ever… ”

“Taken my teeth out to brush them?” Michael mumbled under his breath.

“What'd you just say?” The Captain stood up in anger, more than finished with this little punk.

There was a flier on the table. Michael took a look at it. “B-17G.”

“That's a flying fortress.” Hal informed Michael more than a little proud of the plane he once piloted. “You like planes?”

“You could say I was born to fly.”

“So was I.” Hal showed Michael a picture of him with his plane. “That's my picture there.”

Michael looked at the older man who suddenly seemed a little more interesting. “So, why did you leave in '47?”

“Don't you know what happened that year?” Hal couldn’t believe a kid, not even an uninterested kid raised in Roswell, wouldn’t know.

“Aliens crashed. Humans went bonkers.”

“Yeah. Think you could've handled that?” Hal’s eyes moved over Michael’s face, his face taking on a new look. “I mean, you had survivors running loose in the streets.”

“Sounds terrifying. Four feet tall, silver suits, no hair.” Michael scoffed. “Very scary.”

“That's what the crackpots that wrote the books wanted you to believe.”

Michael let a look of irritation move over his face. He knew more about the crash than most, and the accounts were laughable. “Look, it's all just a bunch of crazy… ”

“We weren't crazy.” Hal said. “We were lied to.”

“Whatever.” Michael went back to doodling, uninterested in the made-up truths that had nothing to do with facts.

“Hey, look, kid. I'm not one of your hoodlum friends.” Michael looked up at that. Okay, Maria got a little out of control, but she wasn’t exactly a hoodlum … yet. There was hope for her. “You better start showing me a little respect, or I’ll kick your ass through this door.”

“Well, let me save you the effort.” Michael told the man picking up the flier. “I'm just gonna take this. Then I'll be out of your hair, ok?”

“They have black eyes. Empty. Vacant. Ageless.” Hal said quietly to Michael, his voice earnest. Michael stopped short, looking the sincere expression on the man’s face. “You gonna stand there like some slack-jawed simpleton, or do you want to learn something?”

“You're gonna teach me about aliens?” Hal nodded. “Ok, let's hear it.” Michael sat down as Hal began his story.

~~~

“You know, these sissies today that complain about global warming should have to spend a New Mexico summer on a military base without any air conditioning. In those days, you could write an invoice without depending on Bill Gates. Women had curves. Something you could hold on to. Me, I was a 21-year-old know-it-all. Well, a little joy-ride that May still had me grounded in a dead-end desk job. What can I say? I was nuts about the girl, and she wanted to see Hoover Dam from 3,000 feet.”

“Take a chick up and get grounded, you weren’t nuts about her … just nuts.”

“You want to hear this or not?” Hal asked, threatening to cut the interview short.

“Yeah, yeah. Just no graphic details. I’m a kid.”

“Where was I?” Hal asked himself ignoring Michael’s soft murmur about senility. “So, after three years of army cots and cheap cigarettes, I was gonna do things my way.”

“Finally! So we ain’t so different.”

Hal ignored Michael, caught up in his memories. “I got that call that morning. It woke me out of my sleep on the desk. It was Jesse. There had been a crash.”

“The crash?”

“The crash,” Hal confirmed. “It wasn’t one of ours.” Michael nodded, creating a doodle of Hal in a plane joyriding over the Hoover Dam with some dame with a large rack.

“Excitement in these parts was about as common as pink elephants, but when Jesse Marcel placed that call, the whole place was buzzing in a heartbeat.”

“Interesting,” Michael said finally looking up from his drawing. Hal was cleaning his service revolver. Michael motioned to Hal's gun. “Do you always travel with that thing?”

“Better be safe than sorry.” Hal went back to his story. “You know, some people thought maybe it was a glider or a test missile, but my money was always on the Commies, you know?” Hal seemed aware that Michael wasn’t paying attention, but rather doodling in his notebook. “Hey, you listening to me?! What's with that hair of yours, anyway?”

“The chicks dig it, grandpa.”

“In my day we wore it high and tight. You know, classic, respectful.”

“Really?” Michael gave the man the once over. “I thought you said you were all about trouble.”

“You better learn quick, son. There’s trouble, and then, there’s trouble!” Hal seemed proud of his explanation. “They sent me and Richard Dodie out to the crash site some 30-odd miles from base. Dodie and I stopped along the way for a couple of Zagnuts. By the time we got there, the place was buzzing. Richard was a good guy. He really was. He was a buddy of mine who worked in the office with me, but he has a tendency to get his skivvies all up in a bunch. We were a little late due to a little flirtation on my part with the gal behind the counter. She gave me two Zagnuts for the price of one.” Hal winked at Michael.

“I’m sure your waistline could handle it a lot better back then.”

“Are you gay?”

“The story,” Michael reminded him sourly.

“Right.” Hal smiled at having gotten under Michael’s skin. “The crash site was something. It was no plane like I ever seen. Smaller than a B-29, and spread about the place. Unfortunately the commanding officer was Cassidy. Colonel James Cassidy was the kind of guy that hated guys like me, and that suited me just fine, because I loved taking on blockheads like him.” Hal smiled at the memory. “Luckily the Colonel was called away to the roadblock. He told us to check in with Smith and get down to the site to help out. Of course, Richie thought it could be an experimental aircraft, but I knew different. There were these soldiers loading stuff into a truck. A thin shiny object fell to the ground. I picked it up. When I crumbled it in my hand, it went back to its original shape.” That got Michael’s interest. “I showed Richie but he wasn’t too excited about it. I’m telling you, people would’ve paid good money to see it.”

“So it was just you and … Richie?”

“Yeah, the Colonel was over taking care of a menace in the form of sweetest pair of legs I ever saw. I live by one simple rule when it comes to women - a great voice equals great gams.”

“Did I not mention the whole graphic details thing?”

“Oh, you want details about this Betty. She was a Betty, and that was her name too. It was the first time I ever heard her, or saw her. Betty Osorio, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She was following the rumor about a flying saucer. She was a real livewire. Having her cameraman George snapping as many pictures as he could. Of course, Cassidy couldn’t allow that, so the camera was detained for national security.”

“So what happened to Betty? Did you talk to her? I thought you were making it with the zagnut queen.”

“No, they escorted her away. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time that wild beauty saw handcuffs.” Hal motioned to Michael to follow him. They left the motel room and found a place outside to continue talking.

“Details! I told you, no graphic details, and we’ll amend that to include your perverted fantasies.”

“A young kid of today talking about perversions to me?” Hal snorted. Yeah. Right. “It was too bad they carted off Betty. She was a nice piece of scenery. Instead, we got Cavitt. Our senior counter-intelligence agent, Captain Sheridan Cavitt, was known around the base as Mr. Brain. So I guess when you're lacking in other assets, you've got to trump up the one you've got.”

“Eggheads. Yeah, unfortunately, I know a few. They can make the paper grade, but in simple everyday life …stupid people.”

“That was Cavitt.” Hal made a face, it twisting in distaste as he remembered Cavitt. It seemed that even after all those years, the man still left a bad taste in Hal’s mouth. “He ordered me to get another man and take a troop truck to hangar 20. No stops. No questions. Nothing. I, of course, got my good pal, Richie.”

“I know the rest. The feds made Marcel the scapegoat. Blamed the crash on a weather balloon. And it was all Cavitt's idea if I remember correctly.”

“That pencil neck.” Hal confirmed staring at Michael. “Where did you hear that?”

“I've been reading UFO magazines since I was eight.”

“So you want to believe.” Hal took out his cigarettes and lit up.

Michael saw the cigarette and the old man who didn’t look like he could afford to burn up too many more of his brain cells. “You shouldn't smoke.”

“Look, kid, my doctor says it doesn't make any difference what I do.” Hal blew out the smoke looking around while sitting on a bench with Michael.

“Is that why you came back here?”

Hal shrugged. “War has a tendency to create an incredible bond between men. You know what? Some of the best days of my life were spent right here on this base alongside the boys of the 509th. So I guess this … is just my last chance to say good-bye.”

Michael took in what the man was saying. In his last life, he was a soldier, and supposedly Max’s second in command. Maybe he understood the sentiment somewhere deep inside him. In the trenches, there had to be a trust, a belief in the person next to you, and that had to build something special. Michael thought of Maria and all the nights they spent searching for clues, watching the enemy, and standing guard. He could understand Hal in many ways. Michael glanced over and saw an elderly man having trouble fitting into his old uniform, being helped by his wife.

Michael gestured to the man. “Do you still fit into yours?”

“The longer I sit here, the harder it is to think that I could put one on.”

The soldier in Michael was confused. “Why is that?”

“'Cause everything I believe that uniform stood for died in '47.” Hal tossed Michael the strange object he found in 1947. It was crumpled when Michael caught it, but when he opened his hand, it straightened out.

Hal laughed at the look on Michael’s face. “Hey. A little something from way back when.”

Michael stared at the man with a dawning respect, and an interest he couldn’t keep from his face. “So you were driving the truck to hangar 20?”

“Richie and me. Yeah. I tried to discuss the possibility of the reporter being onto something, but Richie, he was a straight arrow with a dream of a wife and a white picket fence. You can imagine how upset he got when the truck slowed down.”

“Thought you were supposed to go straight to the hangar, no stops.”

“Well, someone forgot to tell the truck that order, because at that moment some strange force seemed to take control of the truck.”

“A strange force or a person. What did you see, Hal?”

“A glowing white person in front of the truck. I ran it over. Richie and I got out and I told him to check under the truck. Richie went to look in the back of the truck, and soon he was screaming for me.”

“What was it? The alien?”

“Pods. In the back of the truck. They were red glowing pods, pulsating, and you could tell there was something in them. The things that stopped the truck must have tried to retrieve the pods.”

“What did you do?” Michael asked sharply.

“What do you think? We got into the truck and hightailed it straight to Hangar 20 pretending that nothing happened, that we never stopped, and we never saw those pods.”

“And that is it?”

“No.” Hal shook his head. “Of course that wasn’t it. We went to get drunk.”

“Right.”

“Parker’s. It was a military hangout. Shoot a little pool, unwind, and get a nice snot full. The local yocals were talking. Everything from stories of the crash, end of the world stuff, and fear that the military would leave, and the town would die.”

“Guess you were right. Roswell is hardly a big town.”

“Big enough to do right by you.” Hal looked at his watch, checking the time before he needed to be at the reunion. “Anyway, Richie and I were there talking about what we saw. I was a little more open, wanting to talk, but Richie, he was scared. Cassidy had blasted us for being fifteen minutes late. I wanted to kill aliens, but Richie … he rather pretend it never happened. Richie couldn’t run from the bar fast enough.”

“Guess those egghead types are all the same, regardless of what generation they are born into.”

“Pretty much. Anyway, that was when I got to talk to Betty, the reporter for the first time. I was more than happy to make time with her. Like I said, she was a real live beauty.”

“Let’s by-pass the geriatric mating and get on with the story.”

“That is the story, son. Betty was a smart woman. Real smart. She knew something was up, and she knew how to dig. She tried to get me to buy her a drink so she could pump me for information. I was more interested letting her pump me in other ways, but unfortunately, she wouldn’t even give me her phone number. She had heard me talking to Richie about blowing up aliens to Kingdom come. That pretty much ended our conversation. If I told her, I’d have to …”

“ …kill her? Yeah, sure. So you left.”

“Nope. Got my beers and had old needle dick, Cavitt in my face wanting to know why I was talking to the reporter. He basically told me to give her a clear field. Too bad. She was candy to a baby. Sweet.”

“So then you went home.”

“Actually, no. Since I couldn’t convince Betty to play nice, and not ask questions, I decided to go visit my sort of steady.”

“Steady?” Michael shook his head. Maybe the old man’s language was a code or something.

“Around this time I had this girl I used to go with, only she wasn't a girl. She was a woman. Rosemary had been widowed once and divorced twice … all before her 25th birthday, and our relationship was simple pleasure.”

Michael looked at the man in disbelief. “Okay, so you had this chick that you were hot about, the one you flew over Hoover, and cost you your flight status. Then the Zagnut counter girl, Betty the reporter with legs that could wrap around you twice, and now this Rosemary person, who was your girl?” Michael scratched his brow. “Not into fidelity much, huh?”

“No reason to be faithful to Rosemary. She wasn’t that kind of girl. There were more men creasing Rosemary’s sheets than an army brigade. She wasn’t a keeper girl. Just sex. I knew the score with her, and she didn’t care enough to ask me questions I couldn’t answer. Rosemary was interested in only one thing.”

“Sex.”

“Nope. Money. How big my paycheck was, and how much of it I was willing to spend on her. With that in mind, she gave me some, if I gave her some.”

“She was a whore.”

“Watch your mouth, son! She was a woman who knew how to take care of herself. I figured in another five to six years her full figure would start to thicken, so she was out there looking for a more permanent situation.”

“But not with you?”

“Not with me. Rosemary knew I was making time with other dames. I was young. Early twenties. Cocky. I had my pick. I never had fallen in love. I figured when I did, it would hit hard, and I would be a converted man.”

“So you got married later, but not to Rosemary.”

“Not to Rosemary. Not to anyone. I … my chance came and went so quick, I never saw it until it was too late.” Hal obviously didn’t want to talk about that anymore. “Anyway, I went to Rosemary’s and while I was there I caught someone watching us from the window.”

“Did you catch them?”

“No, they took off, but it put a damper on the evening.” Hal looked at his watch again. “Listen, kid. I’ve got to find some grub. My reunion starts in a little while, and you can’t image the crap they’ll serve.”

Michael couldn’t lose his source. “I know a place.”

~~~

Hal and Michael were at the Crashdown eating lunch when Maria came to check on them.

“Would you like some fries with that shake?” Maria asked the old man making a face at Michael.

“Give me another one, sweet cheeks.”

“That'll be your third banana split, sir.” Maria told the old man, uncertain if that was a good idea.

“What are you, the dairy police?” Michael asked. Maria made another face at him. “We're in the middle of a story here.”

“Oh, yeah, I'm not the one sitting next to an ancient gastrointestinal tract, Pally.” Maria walked off.

“Get the check.” Hal told Michael. “I'll tell you the rest later.”

“You're gonna be at the reunion later.” Michael asked wanting to hear the rest, and unwilling to lose track of Hal.

“To tell you the truth, kid, I don't know if I want to go anymore.”

“The day's young.” He couldn’t lose his source. Michael quickly thought of an alternative. “We'll go hit some of your old haunts.”

Hal seemed suddenly interested. “Well, you got wheels?”

Michael looked around for Maria. She didn’t seem in such a good mood, but this was important. Telling Hal to wait, he went to find her.

“I need a favor.” He told her when he found her in the back break room.

“If it’s money … forget it. I’m tapped out. I’m grounded because of misplacing the Jetta … courtesy of the great alien rights to everything. I skipped class, missing turning in an important assignment, but hey, we got tickets! Which I probably won’t get to use … since I’m grounded. And I’m working here instead of going back to school in hopes of recouping some money I spent today.”

Michael felt bad. Isabel taking the Jetta was bad enough, but he should’ve returned it immediately. “Look, I came in here because… ”

“Just please tell me that the cheap interlude in the motel wasn’t the bleached blonde skank. For God's sake, Michael, she's not even a real blonde.”

“Who?” Michael asked, confused.

“Let me set the scene for you, all right? You. Courtney. The dark alley back there. Me controlling the urge to spew. And now you have me drop you off at a cheap motel! Eww. Okay. I’m just saying I expected you to have better taste, and this …”

“It was the old guy out there, okay?”

“Old Man River out there?” Maria repeated as Michael nodded. “Oh, okay…extra ewww! You met him in a motel? Old people creep me out.”

“I have a history assignment I have to get done by five. He’s it.” Michael didn’t have time, but he came clean. “Ok, that man out there knows stuff about the '47 crash. All right? Stuff specific to me. Ok. So I want to take him around. I want to jog his memory, and to do that, I need the Jetta.”

“Oh, no way! I just got the Jetta back!” Maria shook her head. If she showed up with the Jetta, her mom might show leniency. “I'm sorry. When humans need rides, they take Jettas. And when aliens need rides, they take spaceships. Oh! Find one.”

“Hey, Maria … hanging out with this guy is gonna help him a lot more than it's gonna help me. Can't you just make an old guy's day?”

Maria made a snorting noise, poking Michael hard in the chest with her finger. “Do not try to play me, Pally! I know you.”

“Maria.”

Sighing, Maria tossed her keys to him. “You owe me big.”

“You betcha.” Michael kissed her cheek, rushing to find Hal before he settled for a nap. “Put lunch on my tab, and don't forget the senior discount.”

Maria flopped her hands helplessly. Why did she always let him get away with murder?

~~~

Michael took Hal for a drive. They ended up on a back road where Hal could do some target practice with his gun. They were sitting on the hood of the Jetta, and Michael prompted Hal to continue.

“So what happened next?”

“Aw, my morning was harkened with the voice of an angel. Betty called me at home, woke me up to invite me to breakfast with her. She wanted to meet at Parker’s.”

“She called you at home? I thought you were at Rosemary’s?”

Hal made a face and a snorting noise. “I told you, she wasn’t that kind of gal. More of the ‘get your business over and get out’ type. You don’t stay over with those types of women, son. Always keep an eye on them. They lie with their eyes, their mouths, everything, and one day you could find yourself floating up a river.”

Michael waved that off. The relationship advice was creeping him. “Yeah, whatever. So you meet the delectable Betty with the legs.”

“Right. Except the dame wasn’t interested in a cherry Danish.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Is that another way of implying sex again?”

Hal laughed. “Yeah, in a way. The hotel coffee shop across the street from Parker’s served a swell cherry Danish, and it was an offer for sex, and a Danish afterwards.”

“No wonder you were grounded. You were too busy to work.” Michael said skeptically. He looked the man over. Those pilot wings must have come with some major mojo. “So if she wasn’t interested in your … um, swell cherry Danish, what did she want?”

“Me to talk to this nurse from the base, a Yvonne White. I guess this Yvonne saw things, things she couldn’t explain. Betty wanted me to spill my guts so the two stories together could maybe give her one full story.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did not. I was out of there fast. Being seen with Betty was bad enough, but I wasn’t willing to risk my career by being her pigeon. I told her not to call me again. I couldn’t believe it. She was using me for her headline story, and that didn’t sit too well.”

“So you went to work.”

“No. I went to Rosemary’s.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Of course you did.”

“Look, I just needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn’t really listen, so I didn’t have to worry about getting into trouble or anything, and obviously, my pal Richie was a dud.”

“Obviously. So did Rosemary want your Danish?”

“Nope. I wandered in on her busy doing another. Deputy Valenti was in her bed. Guess she found out who left the socks at her place. Of course, she said he was just there helping her clean up the mess that the military police left at her place. She said she tried to call me.”

Clean up? He was in her bed?”

“Yep.”

Michael flipped his notebook. “Okay, I really need to take some serious notes here. Cherry Danish... Cleaning up...”

“Get over yourself.” Hal told Michael, smiling a little at the younger man. “So I got all pissy, and went to work to complain about the military police tossing my girlfriend’s place.”

“Everyone’s girlfriend’s place,” Michael corrected the older man.

“Yeah. So I got to work and talked Dixie into letting me see Colonel Cassidy.”

“Dixie?”

“His secretary. The dame I took over Hoover Dam.”

Michael put his notepad down. “So did you ever really work, or was this just a constant scam to get laid?”

“Your mother should’ve washed your mouth out. Getting laid?”

“Don’t have a mother. Get on with the story.”

“I ignored Dixie’s attempts to stop me and stomped into the Colonel’s office. I complained about my ‘civilian’ girlfriend being rousted, but the Colonel came back with my being at Parker’s before they opened at 11 am. He had had me followed. He basically threatened me to stay away from the reporter or lose my flight status forever. Then he gave me an assignment to write two letters to the family of two privates who were killed in a jeep accident that morning.”

“So you finally went to work.”

“No, I called Yvonne White at the women’s barracks.”

“Right. What was I thinking?”

Hal ignored the sarcastic Michael. “I decided to hear her story, but she had been transferred to London. She was catching a bus to the airport that night. I told her to wait there, and I would meet her without the pesky reporter.”

“With the legs to shoot your load to, yeah. Got it.” Michael pushed the story along. “So what was her story?”

“We met in my car. It was raining. She had seen two cadavers. There had been doctors, ones she never seen, performing the autopsies. The cadavers, according to her, weren’t mammal. The epidermis, hands, and organs, they were unlike anything she ever saw in her life. She was afraid. After the autopsy, they sent in a high-ranking general from Wright Field to debrief her, and she was told that she couldn’t talk about anything she saw.”

“But, she called Betty.”

“She did. According to her, Betty was willing to listen. She was so afraid that she couldn’t sleep. London was a good transfer for her because she wanted out of Roswell, as far as she could get.”

“Join the club.” Michael said bitterly. “So she got on the bus and left.”

“Not quite. I watched her leave, but moments later there was this loud scream. I got out into the rain and got on the bus. She wasn’t there. I asked, but the driver told me there was never a nurse on the bus. Yvonne White disappeared that night.”

“That was it?”

“No. I went back to the office. Dixie was there. I asked for her help to locate the transport bus, but she gave me some friendly advice. I was told to help myself. That I was bucking a section eight for being crazy. After Dixie left, I searched Cassidy’s desk and took a confidential folder. Then I went out to Hangar 20 where all the crash debris was sent. I found Richie there, in charge. He had the right security clearance, and I didn’t. He had me escorted from the hangar. Obviously someone had gotten to Dodie, so I decided to talk to that reporter after all. I gave her a call, and we were meeting on the side of the road.” Hal motioned to the place he had had Michael drive him. “Right here.”

“So you got to meet your dream girl again.” Why was Michael not surprised it was once again a female?

“I met her. She was late. I guess her car had problems. I offered to take a look at it for her, but she told me that she already fixed it, that cars were like men. Give their cable a little jiggle and they’re fine ‘til morning.”

“You have way of picking women.”

“Naw, she was different. Spicy. A real tough woman with a soft inside. I could tell she had an honor thing going for her, you know, real honest, forthright. She was different from Rosemary. Rosemary had husbands. Divorced. She was trading up until she found the man with enough bucks to keep her in the style she wanted. Betty, she was different. This dame would get where she was going on her own. I had to respect that. I also knew that she wasn’t the marrying and divorcing type. Once she made a commitment to one man, it would be forever. It was on her face, in her eyes. She was an open book.”

Michael seemed surprised at the rush of honesty and depth of interest Hal was showing in Betty. “So she was your dream girl. What happened?”

“The crash happened.” Hal said cryptically. “We exchanged information. Betty found a man, Glenn Dennis at Ballard's funeral home who got a special request from the base mortician for child-size coffins.”

“For what?”

“Yeah, that is what I said. She told me coffins were for burying things.” Michael laughed and Hal joined him. “Anyway I told her about Colonel Cassidy asking me to draft death notice memos for the two privates he claimed died in the jeep accident. What really happened was that those kids were at the debris site when they stumbled on two sacs 6 feet or so in diameter. Before they could notify a commanding officer, something came upon them. Now, one witness says it was two figures glowing white. The men tried to pull their guns. There was a blinding light.” Hal looked at Michael. “I gave her the confidential file I took from Cassidy’s office. My brother was shot down over Manila Bay. I watched my mother open that telegram. Those privates deserved more. Their families deserve the truth.” Michael understood that. The men you fight with were always where your loyalties lie. “Betty asked me if I was willing to go on the record. Once the story ran, my career would be over, and I would be either a traitor or a hero.”

Hal stopped talking for a moment, sitting there on the hood of the car, he cleared his dry throat. Michael left him for a moment going to the back of the Jetta. Reaching in, he took a bottle of cola and changed it into a bottle of beer.

“You can run fast, but time always has a way of catching up,” Hal said, his throat strangely hoarse. Michael handed him the beer.

“My friend had one in her car. She's a little bit of a drinker.”

Hal twisted off the lid. “That firecracker from the diner?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you two going steady?”

“No. It's nothing. I mean, well, I mean ... whatever there is, it is a friendship. We’re just friends.”

Hal laughed shaking his head. “Not from where I was sitting. You know, I'd … um, I'd never been in love before, but … but on that night beneath the stars and with that woman … and with all that we knew … I should have kissed her then.

“Why?” Michael felt a sinking feeling at the look on the older man’s face. “What happened to Betty?”

Hal tossed off the beer in one more gulp. “Got another beer?” It was the part of the story he hated the most, and after all those years, it never got easier to tell, or to live with. Michael nodded going to the back to alter another cola.

Hal kept on talking. He seemed to want to get it over with. “I went to Parker’s. Richie was there. He was drowning his sorrows, his cowardliness, in a cold one. I told him it would be okay, that I had a friend. I told him that by tomorrow morning’s paper, it would all be out there. I didn’t know it, but he was playing me for Cavitt.” Hal glanced at Michael. “I didn’t know it then, but I had just given up Betty.”

Michael closed his eyes rubbing them.

“That morning was like any other. Too much like any other. The story was never printed. I called Betty at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She wasn’t in. I went back to the office and found a letter of resignation on my desk. I took it into Cassidy’s office, and found my good friend Richie there. My resignation was due to passing on ‘classified information’. That was when I realized that Richie had sold me out. He told me to sign the resignation and take the honorable discharge. I told him no, that they would have to drag me off the base. Richie asked me why I wasn’t my usual lazy, self-centered, son of a bitch self this time? I punched him in his little smarmy rat face, the lying sack of shit. Betrayal comes hard. They had pictures of me with Rosemary. I signed. There wasn’t an inch of my life they hadn’t tainted or covered.”

“You signed for Rosemary? So they would leave her alone?”

“No. Rosemary would always land on her feet, or at least her back. I signed because it didn’t matter. There was no more Rosemary for me. I wouldn’t be able to meet her price. It was time to leave. I wished Richie the Rat well with his picket fence and his future plain pie-faced mouse he would someday marry. A rat like him, it wasn’t like he could pull anything with any real looks. I went back to Parker’s to get drunk.”

“Drinking and women. I’m seeing a disturbing trend here.”

“Bitterly,” Hal agreed. His misspent youth was utterly misspent. “Anyway, Pete at the bar had gotten something for me that day. It was a message from Betty. There was a phone number and a key. I went to ring her up. I got her sister. Betty was dead. Car accident on Highway 70. It must have been right after I left her. Those bastards were following me. They had to be. They followed me to Rosemary, even had pictures. Obviously my life was hardly private. I didn’t know how to say I was sorry for giving Betty up, for ratting her out to Richie. I hung up.”

“God,” Michael said, shaken. “So all your leads were gone, and it was all for nothing?”

“No. I still had something. Betty’s message and a key. I went back to the base, to the hangar. Betty’s message led me to a room and the key unlocked it. She was some investigating dame! She got inside. She had to have. Inside the room there were alien pods, split into two groups of four pods, eight of them total. There were two doctors dead on the floor with silver handprints on their chests. I had brought a camera with me, and I quickly snapped some pictures. While I was photographing, I looked up into a mirror. There were two white glowing things behind the curtain.”

“You … what did you do?”

“Have you ever heard the sound a mother bear makes when anything gets between her and her cubs? It's something to be afraid of. Now at that moment, though, I realized I'd been afraid of the wrong thing. It wasn't us they wanted. I told them to save them. The pods were their children. I left the room, but there were three people about to enter the room. It wasn’t enough time for them to take the pods, so I pulled a fire alarm and called to them, redirecting their attention. They followed me, and I escaped by climbing over a wire fence. I dropped the camera. It broke, and I lost all the evidence … the evidence that would’ve justified the loss of Betty’s life. I ran that night. I ran and never looked back until today.”

~~~

Michael watched as the older man set up a line of bottles for target practice. After hearing about Betty, it was apparent that the reporter was the one death he never forgave himself. He had set the bottles up on a truck and shot at them with his gun.

“Wanna try?” He offered Michael who shook his head. Guns. He had enough exposure to them.

“What did you see? What was in those sacs?”

Hal made a laughing sound. “I never planned on telling this much of the story, kid. I never have.”

“Please.”

“They looked like human fetuses. There were four to a sac. Eight total.” Hal stared out at the bottles, his jaw clenching. “That night, I packed my things and never came back. The base was on full alert. There was no way anybody or anything else could have escaped … and that's the story of Hal Carver. The only time I ever stuck my neck out to save anything … and it all went to hell.”

Michael stared at the man a moment before reaching out his hand and blowing up the bottles from a distance. Hal’s cigarette in his mouth dropped unnoticed to the ground.

“You saved me.” Michael told the older man. Hal was shaking. Taking out another cigarette, he was having trouble lighting it. Michael created a flame on his thumb and lit it for the old man. Hal let the cigarette drop as he and Michael embraced with tears in their eyes.

So it hadn’t been for nothing. All those years, he thought he had destroyed everything, his career, his friendships, lost Betty’s life, and all for nothing, a lie created by the government to cover the truth. He hadn’t known if they had gotten away or survived.

“Thank you.” Hal said to Michael as he released him. “Thank you. I can actually look at dying a little better now.”

“Was that why you never married? Knowing the truth about aliens?”

“No. Betty. I only knew her two days, and in truth, for most of it she was trying to get me to talk. That last time, I just knew that for me, from that moment sitting with her in the car, that she was it for me. The one.” Hal cleared his throat, his eyes suspiciously bright. “Two days, and she was gone. I never got to kiss her, or … well, anything. I regretted my actions being a failure, but what I regretted most was that, given different circumstances, she could’ve been my world. I spent my entire life regretting the missed opportunity. I knew that she was the most important event of my life, and it was there and gone so fast, I never had a chance.”

“You might be wrong.”

“No. Believe me. Someday, you’ll meet someone, and you’ll look at them during a moment when your path and hers are at a divergence where you either walk on alone, or make the decision to stay and walk with her. When that day comes, you’ll understand what I mean, Michael. You’ll know that you’re possibly walking away from the most important event of your life. Love. Then you’ll be forced to decide what’s more important, the life you always envisioned for yourself or love.” Hal looked at the young man he saved so long ago. “I hope you get to make the decision and it’s not taken from you, because living with the ‘what could have beens’ isn’t living. I don’t care who or what you are.”

~~~

Michael made it back to school before his five o’clock deadline. He needed to find Max. He paused when he saw Liz getting stuff out of her locker. Sighing, Michael stopped beside her.

“Have you seen Maria or Max?”

“Oh, Michael...” Liz seemed shocked that Michael was talking to her. “Um, no. He said something about stopping by the Crashdown later. Maria, I’m not sure. She’s probably at your place.”

“You ok?”

“Me? Yeah. Sure.” Liz gave him a confused look. “Why?”

“Well, the whole Congresswoman Whitaker thing. We'll work it out.” Michael said, apologizing for his rudeness that morning in his own way.

“Yeah, I know.”

“And, uh, and this morning … yeah … I'm sorry.”

“Thank you. Did Max ask you to do that?”

“What?”

“The whole being nice thing.”

“No, I came up with it myself.” Michael walked away as Liz called to him.

“I like it.” Michael nodded leaving, slightly uncomfortable. He hoped she didn’t expect it of him all the time.

~~~

“Hey.” Michael said as he shut the apartment door. Maria looked up from her reading.

“Please tell me you have the Jetta, and that it’s intact, running, and has no new dents or bullet holes.”

“It’s fine. I even filled up the tank.”

Maria literally threw herself into his arms hugging him tight. “Oh thank god! You have no idea how close you came to having me move in with you. If I came home tonight without the Jetta, my mom would’ve put me up for adoption.”

“What are you saying, DeLuca? I don’t get to keep you?”

Maria gave him a long look, her eyes noting the seriousness in his face. “Well, you should be careful about what you ask for.” Slightly unsure of the atmosphere, Maria stepped back crossing her arms thoughtfully. “So you got done with your Roswell Geriatric project?”

“Yeah. He wasn’t such a bad guy.” Maria lifted a brow. “Reminded me of stories you told me about your Grandpa DeLuca.”

“Then you were blessed.”

Michael nodded. “I was. You have no idea.” Clearing his throat he looked at what she had been reading. “So you have time to go for a short drive? We can drop off the Jetta at your home and take my bike.”

“Sure.” Maria paused for a moment. “This doesn’t involve me climbing into tight spaces, breaking into a second or third story building, or running?”

“No. You’re dressed fine.”

“Oh, good. You know I hate to wear the wrong shoes for the wrong occasion.”

~~~

Michael took Maria to the Granilith chamber. At first when they climbed up to the pod chamber, she was hesitant. It was a place Michael had taken her a few times, but for some reason it always felt completely alien, completely belonging to the aliens, and there was a feeling of it being forbidden to humans like her.

“Meet the reason your Jetta was missing.” Michael pointed to the large alien device.

“My God. What is it?”

“I don't know … but eventually I'm hoping we can find out.”

“We?” Maria asked needing clarification. “We as in you and me, or we as in the entire group … human and aliens?”

“All of us, Maria.”

Maria smiled and took his head to lift on her toes, she kissed his mouth softly. “Thank you.” It was hard being Michael’s only confidante. At times it put a wedge between him and the others, and often Maria found herself caught in the middle. They had been a group before, but since last year it had been her and Michael only. It was nice to finally work towards normal.

“Well, today I had a little history lesson, and here's the thing … I owe more to you than I can imagine. To Liz, Alex, Valenti, to some old guy named Hal who lives in Tampa and plays shuffleboard. I never realized it … so here it is.” Michael held out both his hands to Maria. “Thank you.” Maria smiled softly. Michael wasn’t given to bouts of sentimentality, and saying thanks was something he rarely did. She put her hands in his, feeling his familiar touch. Looking up at him, Maria paused when she saw him. Him, Max, and Isabel walking in the desert. Blinking, she saw him standing in the circle …in the Balance, and he reached over and kissed her. They kissed.

“You're welcome.” Maria said, finally seeing him in the Balance, understanding how fragile his life had been at times, and it was people like her, Hal, Alex, Valenti and even Liz who saved him. Maria saw him looking around the place. “What's wrong?”

“You know those pods that housed Max, Isabel, Tess, and me?”

“Yeah, before you were born?”

“Well, there's another set of them, and they're somewhere out there.” Michael pulled her closer to him. “We’re not alone. We weren’t the only ones they sent.”

“Why didn’t Nasedo mention this?”

Michael shook his head. That was a question.

“How couldn’t he mention there were others? I mean ‘Royal Four’ seems to imply only … um, well, four.”

“There is so much more to know, Maria. So much I need to understand.”

“Maybe they didn’t make it?”

“I don’t know. Hal said there were two white glowing figures, and two sets of four pods for a total of eight. If we exist, then maybe so do they. And if Nasedo existed, maybe there’s another shapeshifter out there.”

Maria stared at the alien device. “There’s so much more to know.”

“You can run fast, but time always has a way of catching up.” Michael put his hand in Maria’s. “We’ll find it together.”

Maria was driving Liz and Alex to Madame Vivian's place almost two weeks after Isabel’s birthday party. Looking in the rear view mirror, she frowned at her despondent friend in the backseat. Alex was practically lying down.

“I'm so confused.” Liz said in the passenger seat next to Maria.

“I'm so depressed.” Alex said as he groaned and he fell over the rest of the way.

“Wimps,” Maria shook her head at her friends. Damn, this love thing was a blight.

“Max keeps coming to my window and telling me he wants to be with me again, but I know it's … it can never work out.”

“Isabel gave me another one of those "Alex, you're such a great friend" speeches.” Alex told Liz, his grievance much worse than Liz’s, after all, at least Max wanted to be with her and she wanted to be with Max, so what the hell was Liz doing stealing his sympathy? “It made me want to puke.”

“Okay, both of you need to get a grip.” Maria was glad Michael had passed on the trip. She would hate to have to put up with his reaction to the doom twins. “No one said the path of true love is easy. You just need a little guidance.”

Liz looked around. “Where are you taking us, anyway?”

“Mmm. To a place where all questions will finally be answered. She'll tell us where our future lies with our hybrid freaks. She's a prophet.” Maria smiled big in the rearview mirror at Alex trying to command her confidence to him. “My mom lives her whole life based on her advice.”

“And this is a recommendation?” Alex asked in disbelief, more than a little aware of Amy DeLuca’s relationship problems.

“Well, sometimes the stars are slightly skewed, and I suspect my mother interprets the advice to mean what she wants to hear.” Maria pulled into the parking lot of the psychic’s house.

“Why didn’t you bring Michael?” Liz asked curiously.

“Oh, he and Madam Vivian have a few problems and conflicts.” Maria looked at Liz. “It’s tragic, but I don’t think he believes in her advice.”

“Imagine that,” Liz sighed as the other two got out of the car.

Inside the psychic's house, Alex was the first to talk to Madame Vivian. “So, Isabel and I will be …?”

“You are a wonderful friend, her foundation. You will never have a carnal relationship.”

Alex made a face of horror, complete disbelief, not wanting her advice to be true. “Oh, come on, Madame Vivian, there's gotta be something in those leaves … a few moments of pure lust? Anything?” Madam Vivian sadly shook her head no. Uh … Story of my life.” Alex put his head down on the table groaning.

At Liz's turn, she asks about Max.

“I've never seen the cards fall like this before.” Madam Vivian said staring at spread. “The boy, he's different.”

Liz made a face. That was an understatement. “Yeah.”

“He's very important, this boy. A leader.”

“Yeah, he has this whole other destiny … one that doesn't include me.”

“No.” Madam Vivian shook her head, reading the cards again. “He chooses love.”

Liz sat up straighter. “What?”

Madam Vivian looked at Liz. “He chooses you.”

“No, no, no, no, see, that's impossible.” Destiny. Tess. Liz frowned. She walked away, and …

“The reading is clear. You marry your true love. You have happiness. The card here?” Madam Vivian pointed out as Liz leaned in. “Intimacy, sex. You will not be left wanting.”

Maria stood up when Liz came out, a smile on her face. “Aw! A good read.” Maria glanced sadly at Alex who was still devastated. “Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for some.” Maria took out her keys ready to return her friends to their lives.

Liz was confused. “What? Aren’t you going to see Madam Vivian?”

“No. I really don’t have anything to talk about.”

Madam Vivian came to the door. “Maria?”

Maria sighed. “Well there is the matter of those two new dresses. The one with the lattice top looks so good on me, but the other’s skirt is totally loving my legs, and …”

“Maria.” Madam Vivian called to her.

Maria waved the other two down. “Take a seat. This won’t take too long.” Maria arranged herself in a chair she sat in since she was a child when she first consulted about the wisdom of tossing Jimmy Watson into the lake for calling her ‘Fish Lips’. “Forget the tea leaves, the hand, and just give an opinion on my two dresses.”

Madam Vivian ignored Maria as she had Maria cut the deck restacking it. She started the layout.

“I was thinking …”

Madam Vivian held up a hand to stop Maria’s talking. “There is a man.”

“What!?” Maria moved her chair around the table to sit next to the Madam. “Where?” She searched the layout. “No. No. No. We had an understanding. No boys, no mention of boys until after my twenty-fifth birthday. Take it back.”

“It is not a boy. He is a man. A young man.”

“Stop it! You’re scaring me. You stop this right now, Missy! Tell me about my damn dress, or I won’t be paying.”

“I put it on your mother’s account.”

“Oh, god!” Maria chewed a nail. “When do I meet him? Next year? Tell me! Five years, maybe seven or eight?”

“He is here.”

“No! Dammit, I don’t even have my dress! You are not being very helpful.”

“He is very volatile.”

“That's good for sex, right?” Maria couldn’t resist asking as she moved closer squinting at the card. Hell, if her heart was going to be broken, she better get something out of it. “Tell me it is a quick affair of the heart, mutually satisfying, and a happy conclusion … you know, in and out? That I can take.”

“This relationship will endure.” Madam Vivian looked at the cards, and then at Maria. “He is a man with a past. A man of great hidden depths and mysteries. He has looked for you all his life.”

“Look, lady, I am not looking for anything. I don’t want to change my life or how I feel. I don’t want …”

“Too late.” Madam Vivian took Maria’s hand in hers and pointed to a card with lovers. “The heart already knows what the mind refuses to see.” She glanced at the young girl. “Not wanting it does not make it untrue. Your heart is your heart, and it recognizes a timeless love. When you are ready, your eyes will be opened as the veil is ripped away, and only then will your heart and mind come together as one. Until then, you will follow your heart unconsciously.”

“A man?” Maria gulped nervously as her mouth dried. “Do I know him, or is he here and I have yet to meet him?”

“You have always known him in your heart. He looks to the stars for truth, but in that quest, he only sees one. You. When you smile, he sees the light of creation. You are the whole of his heart and until you, there was no light there.”

Maria sat back. “Oh, great. That’s not something too hard to live up to. Thanks!” Maria leaned forward. “You wouldn’t happen to know how my ACT scores will come out?”

“Study harder.”

Maria sighed getting up to leave. Whose fat frickin’ idea was it to visit a fortune-teller anyway?

“And Maria, go with the dress with the skirt. Your legs are unstoppable.”

~~~

Liz stood in front of her mirror placing a scarf on her head. “Mrs. Max Evans.” Smiling, she stared at herself, but her mind was off somewhere else dreaming of a future.

Suddenly in a flash of light, she turned to her bedroom window. Looking out, she stared into the eyes of an older Max Evans, and in that instant her world was destined to change.

~~~

Maria found Michael at the Crashdown working. Going into the kitchen, she paced the room for a moment waiting for him to ask her what was wrong. Michael glanced up at her, noted her state of agitation, and then went back to work.

“We need to talk.” Maria said giving up on him.

“Talk? Or rant? You seem a little tight.” Michael glanced at her. Giving in, he asked the one thing he shouldn’t have. “What’s up? Madam Vivian predict the end of the world?”

“Yes! No. Worse!” Michael went back to his cooking expecting a full mode Maria nuclear meltdown. “Let’s talk about our relationship.”

“We have a relationship?” Michael stopped cooking. This was news. Obviously he hadn’t been paying attention. “Um, did something happen when I was … um, doing something else?”

“Yes. No. No. I don’t know!” Maria paced some more. She stopped. “There’s a man.”

“A man?”

“The man.”

“The man?”

“I’m doomed! God, if it’s not you, then I’m doomed. I mean you...you I can ignore, but someone else …? This is not good. This is so not good. I can’t even decide between those two dresses, and …”

“Go with the one with the short flared skirt. It makes your legs look like miles.”

Maria stopped. “You think? I mean the other one with the lattice top looks awesome on my …”

“Maria, your legs over your tits. Trust me. Unless you get a boob job, your legs are going to reign supreme.”

“Trust a man...” Maria stopped. She had just said the ‘man’ word. “Is it you?”

“What?” Michael was confused.

“She said he’s been looking for me a long time. When I smile he sees the light of creation. Do I do that for you?”

“You gotta be joking me.” Michael put his head to the side. “What the hell is going on? Light of creation? Um, Maria, have you been sniffing the cedar oil again, because I am telling you, that crap is pickling your brain.”

“Some stupid psychic told me that he’s here. The man. A man. Not a boy, but a young man, and that he’s been looking for me for a long time. He looks to the stars for truth, but he finds it in me. A man with a past. He’s volatile. Mysterious and deep.” Michael laughed at the silliness of listening to a hack fortune-teller, and made a face at Maria. “This is critical, so could you just try not to be a bonehead? Is that, like, a possibility? I’m needing some input here! Is that you? Could it be you? I mean …”

Courtney entered the kitchen sauntering up to Michael. Maria made a face at the girl, too upset to deal with the latest edition of psycho bimbo.

“No waitresses in the kitchen.”

Courtney ignored Maria, who was obviously, a waitress in the kitchen. “Hey, Mikey G. You got my order yet?”

“Yeah, right there.”

Courtney looked at the order. “Takeoff Tacos, Plutonium Platter, and the Greek God salad, light on the feta.” Courtney flashed Michael a saucy look. “You're such a good boy.” Slapping Michael on the butt, she gathered her orders and left.

Maria lifted a brow. “Something you want to tell me, Mikey G?”

Michael shrugged. “She put in that order before I got busy.”

“And now she’s patting you on the ass like a trained seal? Hmm, I have to reassess everything I know about you. Led around by the dick, Dick?”

“Cut it out. I’m not panting at her panties drawer. Anyway, I doubt she wears them.”

“Ok, give it up, Guerin. What's going on with her?”

“Yeah, that's exactly what I wanna know.” Michael glanced at the door. “You were supposed to get busy with a plan. Remember?”

“Michael...” Maria snarled, too put upon to handle yet more crap on her plate.

“I don't trust her,” Michael mused, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Maria’s eyes did the same, and for a moment, they both had the same look and gestures as they contemplated the empty door. “Hmm. Neither do I. She’s obviously jonesing for you, so that immediately is suspicious.”

Michael made a sour face at her assessment of his attraction for other women. “I mean, there's something going on with her. Another new face in town. Arrived this summer after the signal went out. Her picture was in Whitaker's office. Constantly hanging around me, always giving me these looks.”

“Which looks would those be, Mikey G?” Maria said with sugary tones, giving him a little perky sultry look.

“Cut the crap, Maria! And do not call me Mikey! You know Hank used to call me that.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Spaceboy.” Maria said contritely, sorry for inflicting pain on a wound of Michael’s that had never healed. “So, do you think she's an alien?”

“Or with the government. I don't know.”

“Well, I'll tell you what I know. The slut wants in your pants.”

“That might work.” Michael said more to himself. “Oh, nice.” He could use that.

“What might work, Michael?” Maria looked her friend over. Lifting a brow, she stood with her arms crossed. “You and her? Maybe get a little close? You realize if you get any closer to her, I’ll have to extract her out of your ass?”

“So I use her obvious desire to know me better.”

“Michael, you better take your rabies shots now. And I hear they’re very painful.” Maria seemed to think about it. It was his life, and if the slutty waitress was more than just a nymphomaniac looking for her next ride, then someone had to get them closer. “You know, she has to be an alien. I mean, you’d expect a government agent to have more guile. She is so overly blown, obvious in her intent, it’s actually humiliating to watch.” Maria nodded. “It’s decided. You’re going in. Taking one for the cause. Laying your virtuous body on the line for God, Country, and the Alien Way. I better buy you a wet suit.”

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Michael said to himself.

“Buck it up, Pally. No spewing on your first time out of the gate.” Maria looked at Michael suspiciously. “Do you even know how to kiss?”

“My ass, DeLuca!”

~~~

Michael pulled up to a group of apartments designed for singles. He waited as Courtney got off the back of his bike, handing him the spare helmet.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem.” Michael answered, in a quandary on how to get himself invited inside. Maria told him to let Courtney do the work, since she was so obvious, but Michael had little faith in that strategy. Why would a Skin invite him into their space?

“You handle your machine really good,” Courtney commented suggestively. Michael refrained from rolling his eyes.

“Thanks.”

“Well, I guess it's time for another night curled up in my sheets, fondling my remote control,.” Courtney continued.

“I guess.”

“Unless, of course, you want to be my remote control for the night?”

“I'd better go home.”

“Too bad. Well ... good night.” Courtney leaned over and kissed him on the mouth.

Okay, so Maria was right. It happened, but then so did solar eclipses. “What the hell.” Michael got off his bike and followed her inside.

~~~

Kyle walked into his old room to find Tess taking a poster off the wall. She used her powers to wipe the wall clean.

“I thought I told you I didn't want you doing that bewitched crap in the house.”

“Out of my room,” Tess commanded him.

“It's my room!”

“You … you know what? Just … just forget it.” Tess said more than a little testily. “I'm sick of this place, and I'm sick of Max Evans.”

“Don't toy with me,” Kyle answered, happy to have someone else who didn’t think Max Evans was god’s gift to the planet Earth.

“I never asked to be his mate. He thinks I'm just gonna wait around until he comes to terms with his destiny?” Tess was working off a summer of abuse, neglect, and general feelings of being treated like an interloper. “Well, I'm not. He can figure it out on his own. They all can. You know, they didn't even know where the pod chamber was until I came along. I hate this life.” Tess breathed out harshly, pushing all the pent up feelings away. “I feel better.”

Kyle could take his eyes off her. “You look really great when you're pissed.”

“Yeah, right.”

“No, I'm serious.” Buddha Boy laid on the charm. “I feel, like, all this energy coming from you right now. In order to trim the lamp of wisdom, we must attend to our bodily needs.”

“Let me tell you something, Buddha Boy …” Tess got up close and personal with Kyle, “I got a lamp that needs some serious trimming.”

The doorbell rang and Kyle swore under his breath at the interruption. That was so his life! He gestured to Tess not to go anywhere as he went to answer it. It was Liz.

“Hi.”

“Well, you here for a reason, or you just rushed right over 'cause you sensed I might be experiencing some actual joy?”

Liz had the grace to turn slightly red at Kyle’s tone. “Oh, uh, actually, I need to talk to Tess.”

Tess, equally surprised to see Liz, patted Kyle on the stomach sending him on his way. “We'll finish trimming my lamp later.”

“Right. I'll keep my equipment on the ready.” Kyle said before walking out to leave the two girls alone in the living room.

“Mmm,” Tess hummed appraisingly, her eyes following Kyle before a quick change of expression, and a blank look moved over her face. She turned back to Liz. “What's up?”

“I thought maybe we could talk.”

“About what?”

Liz hadn’t known it would be this difficult, and Tess didn’t look too pleased to see her. “Look, Tess … um, I know that we got off to a bad start …”

Tess laughed under her breath. Oh, no. Little Liz Parker making nice? “Look, I'm not into bonding.” Over her dead body.

“Well, neither am I, but …” Liz licked her lips, forcing herself to do what she had to do. “I want to help you with Max.”

The disbelief Liz felt inside moved over Tess’s face. “What?”

“I know Max, and I think I can help you with him.”

“How …,” Tess tried to hold onto her anger, “how stupid do you think I am? I don't know what your plan is, but I know you don't want to help me. You hate me. You all do. Don't you think I know that?”

“Yeah, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for Max.” Liz swallowed the bitter bile rising in her throat. “His future's you.”

“And you just came to this?” Tess looked Liz over suspiciously. The girl hated her. That was apparent. Why would she help?

“No, no. Look, I came to it that day in the desert when I walked away from him.” Liz resisted the need to cry, and straightened her shoulders. “Tess, I … I … I’m sick of living like this, and I'm not gonna be free to move on unless I get Max to move on.”

“Look, I don't need your help.” Tess told her mortal enemy. “If Max doesn't come around on his own, he can … he can go to hell for all I care.”

“Tess … it was really hard for me to come here. You can imagine, and look … I know that it's hard for you to admit that you need help … but you do.” Liz took another calming breath. She had laid her cards on the table. “It's up to you.”

~~~

Michael was sitting on Courtney’s bed in the one room apartment as she gave him a massage. Michael discretely looked around, the massage hardly interesting. Maria gave much better ones, but then again, he wasn’t really there for that.

“So, how long have you lived in Roswell, anyway?”

“A few months.”

“What brought you here?”

“I've always been into the whole alien thing, I guess, but I have to admit, the sightseeing has exceeded my expectations.” Courtney said, obviously meaning Michael. “What now?” she asked, moving in close and kissing Michael again.

“Shower,” Michael said, moving away from her.

“Let's! Courtney stood up ready to strip.

Dammit, he hated it when Maria was right. “Just you.”

“What?”

“I'm a germ-a-phobe.” Michael said quickly, wincing at the stupid lie. “A clean girl is a sexy girl.” Damn he was glad Maria wasn’t around to hear that, she would never let him live it down.

“Ok. Water sports. I like it.” Michael suddenly felt a little nauseated. “I'll play any game you want me to, Mikey G.” Michael tried not to react to the name.

He waited until Courtney stepped into the bathroom to take a shower. Damn Maria for getting him into this! Michael conveniently forgot that it was his suggestion to start, as he began to snoop around the small apartment. Opening a cabinet, he found it full of skin lotion. Pausing, he cocked his head as he heard a noise from the window. It was Maria.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Investigating Courtney,” Maria answered in irritation. “What are you doing here, hound? You were supposed to keep her occupied, and that means somewhere else! Not her place.”

“No, I'm investigating Courtney. Isn’t that what you told me to do? Get close?” Michael looked around nervously to see if the other girl was out of the shower yet. “Get outta here!”

“No, no, no. I found a picture of you, Max, and Isabel in her locker, and your face was circled. This chick is either seriously an alien, or she’s got a psychotic fixation on you! Maybe both! I can’t just leave you hanging here!”

“No way,” Michael frowned. A picture of him? Damn. Granted the girl was a little more obvious than he liked in a chick, actually way too obvious, but the picture was disturbing. Shit, he was in an apartment with a stalker. “I’m bailing!”

Courtney called from bathroom, “Maybe you should put on some tunes, baby.”

“Damn, Michael. I told you to get close, not screw the skank!”

“No one is screwing anyone! I had to get her out of the room somehow!” Michael called back to Courtney, “Good idea, baby.”

“I … I'm gonna retch.” Maria made a face. “Baby? Eww!”

“Ok, I've got the situation under control, so get out of here … seriously.”

“I can’t leave you here alone, and I don’t know if my stomach can handle watching or listening.” Maria visibly paled.

“Look, no one is laying anything on anyone. Until we know what she is, I don’t think I should get that close alone.”

Courtney called from bathroom. “By the way, you are an amazing kisser.”

Maria whapped Michael upside the head. “Damn, what are you thinking? Diseases! Now you need to be inoculated!”

“Hey, you were the one who told me to get close. Remember? Lay my body on the line, etc?”

“Well, there is that, but obviously you came here for two reasons, huh?”

Courtney came out of the bathroom dressed in a towel. “Is somebody here?”

Maria tossed Courtney a hair piece. “Um … here. You left that at work.” Maria looked at Michael, the repulsion clear on her face. “And umm … remember how I asked if you were the man? That was … that was way too optimistic. If you would kiss that … it’s pretty obviously not you.”

Maria left, slightly unsettled. She didn’t know what to feel. She had been slightly afraid Madam Vivian had meant Michael, but now, she wasn’t so sure. Michael she could handle, maybe learn to ignore in that way because he was leaving, but now… God, was there someone else out there? Her stomach felt sick, and it wasn’t just the spew factor at the thought of Michael with Courtney, though that did bring up the bile taste in her mouth.

Michael watched Maria leave, and for the first time since they started this plan, he felt equally sick. It felt like he had lost some of Maria’s respect, and that hurt. “I'm gonna go.” He told Courtney not bothering to wait for a response. He was out the door and on his bike. For the first time, he felt something unusual in his stomach, a feeling he couldn’t quite understand, but if he was to define it, he would say it felt like he cheated on Maria.

Michael didn’t notice Courtney watching him from her door in nothing but a towel and a strange look on her face, nor did he see Alex Whitman driving by, noticing him leaving a very undressed Courtney.

~~~

Liz watched Tess from across the street in Congresswoman Whitaker’s office. Tess was planted at a table in the outdoor café directly in line on the route Max took to work. She was wearing the top Liz told her to wear. Max arrived promptly on schedule. He was like clockwork, given the same anal retentive genes as Liz possessed.

Liz watched, talking to herself. “Just don't look at him. Let him come to you. Show him the book. Make sure he sees it.” Liz watched as Max stopped to talk to Tess. She could almost hear the conversation.

“Really?” Tess said. “Steinbeck is my favorite author, too.” Max sat down and Liz refrained from the need to spew.

“Listen, I…” Max paused trying to order his thoughts. “I realize none of this is your fault. You just sought me out because it was your destiny.”

“Hey, I … I can only imagine if you thought you'd found the love of your life and someone comes to tell you that you're meant to be with someone else.” Tess said shrugging sympathetically.

“Exactly.”

“You know, if things change, they change. If they don't, it's ok, Max.”

“I don't think things will change.”

“I know, but it takes two,” Tess said, “and if Liz isn't interested …”

“What do you mean, ‘if Liz isn't interested?’” Max asked. Suddenly he felt the contrived coincidence of the chance meeting.

“No, I … I didn't mean …” Tess suddenly realized she had overplayed the part.

“You were talking to Liz about this?”

“N-Not exactly.”

Max watched at Tess’s nervous eyes dart to the offices across the way. He stood up looking around. He saw the blinds move as someone was peeking from Congresswoman Whitaker's office. Max stalked that way quickly. Liz stood back saying ‘damn’ exactly the same time as Tess said the same thing across the street, and as her eyes met the eyes of an older version of Max Evans.

~~~

A worried Alex found Maria at the Crashdown. She was in the backroom pacing, agitated, as unhappiness moving over her face like an approaching storm cloud.

“Maria.”

“Alex, I’m … god, I don’t know what I am! Could you give a few moments?”

“Sure.” Alex couldn’t help it. “Maria, I have to tell you something.”

Maria sobbed, her stomach bothering her. Wrapping arms around her stomach, she bent over a little.

“Maria, what's wrong?”

“Could you just get out of here?”

“What happened? Is it Michael?” Alex swore. “I knew it was! I came to tell you that I saw him leaving Courtney’s place, and she was in a towel.”

Maria waved off that information … too much information. She didn’t need him to repaint a picture in her mind that was seared there indelibly. “I found this picture of Michael in Courtney's locker … like some sort of surveillance photo or something.”

“Oh, my God. Is he all right?”

“Yeah, he's all right. Actually, he's terrific. I was worried about him, so I went all the way across town to save his ass, and I get there, and … he's already there, and so is Courtney … in a towel.” Maria never got to finish the story and her part in the plan to spy on Courtney. She was too upset and unsettled.

Alex swore under his breath. “Maria.”

“God, I feel sick!” Maria said not paying much attention to Alex, who didn’t get all the information, but only parts of it. “Why did she tell me all those things? If it was Michael, I could handle that, because you know I love him. But, now this? Every time I look around a corner I’ll be expecting ‘him’, and I can’t deal with it. Not right now! God, what if I am already too far gone? Can you be in love with someone you don’t even know? I don’t know him. I can’t …” Maria was at a lost. Her worst nightmare, being out of control with her emotions, a slave to love, opening her heart to possible pain. “Alex, I’m sorry!”

Alex watched helplessly as Maria went into the bathroom slamming the door. He could hear her being sick. Michael Guerin, that bastard, had a lot to answer for!

~~~

Liz stood outside Max’s room for a moment or two trying to get the courage she needed to do what had to be done. The failed attempt with Tess was still a sore point in her mind. Max hadn’t been too happy to find her working in cahoots with Tess to get him to give up on her, and get with Tess. Breathing harshly, hating her life more than anything, she closed her eyes wishing she had never gone to Madam Vivian’s, was never given hope that she was what Max would choose. It was all too late now. It could never be, and knowing what would have happened was making it harder than it needed to be.

Liz knocked on the window and waited as Max opened it. She stared at him for a moment, as if it were the last time ever, as she started to change her future.

~~~

Maria had settled down a bit after Alex left. Still worried by the fortune told her, she couldn’t help but be paranoid about every male coming into the diner that night, or obsessing over every person of the male persuasion that she recently met, running them through her mind like a long series of lists, checking them off mentally. Seeing Max was a welcomed distraction.

“Okay, start from the beginning. Liz set you up with Tess...?” Maria asked incredulously, sitting with Max at the end of the Crashdown counter.

“Yes. She had Tess in a place where I would see her, across from Whitaker’s office. Told Tess what to read, my favorite book. Told her what to wear, my favorite top on Tess.”

“You have a favorite top? On Tess? Jesus, Max!”

“Hey, I’m still a guy. I can look, it doesn’t mean I’ll touch.”

Maria snorted remembering Michael with Courtney. “Yeah, and what guy resists something offered to him on a platter, no matter how trashy it is?”

“Will you concentrate on Liz here for a second?” Max asked, frowning at her uncharacteristically bitter tone.

“Love to! My own life just took a scary turn today, one I’m not ready for. I am more than happy to live in denial and ignorance, so by all means, let’s talk you,” Maria frowned. Liz was acting weird. After Madam Vivian she seemed excited and happy. Maria had thought it meant that a reconciliation with Max was imminent. She had expected to hear about the make up, how Liz had given him a chance, and not that Liz was setting him up with Tess.

“You’re right, something is up with Liz, but what, I’m not sure. It’s only been a couple of hours since I last saw her.” Maria shook her head. “So she tried to remake Tess into a woman you would want.”

“That’s not all of it. She came to my room.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, afterwards.” Max looked as sick as Maria felt. “She told me that she didn’t want to be the Juliet to my Romeo. That the story wasn’t romantic, it was a tragedy. Juliet died for Romeo, and she might love me, but she didn’t want to die for me.”

“God,” Maria said shaking her head. This was a twist she hadn’t expected. It was the very sentiment she had expressed to Liz numerous times last year, the very same sentiment that Liz refused to acknowledge as she blindly pushed herself into the alien’s lives. What had happened to Liz to make her do a hundred eighty degree turn around after Madame Vivian’s predictions had made her so happy? “You just want me to tell you that it's all gonna work out, right?”

“No. I want to hear what you have to say.” Max said firmly, meaning it. Maria was the only bystander who saw everything, but had nothing invested in the outcome.

“Ok. Here's what I think … give Liz up. Leave her alone. All this is leading nowhere. None of us belong with any of you. And I'm really sick of how much it's screwing us up. I mean, look at us. We're pathetic.”

Maria meant it. Alex was upset over Isabel, Liz was devastated by her love of Max, and now, even she had problems with Michael. At times, he was slipping out of that nice safe category of ‘just a friend’ to a place she was uncomfortable with. If he had been ‘the man’ that Madam Vivian foresaw, that would’ve been hard, but at least she loved and cared for him, so there was a place to start and a place to end. He was leaving. That was that.

Maria sighed shaking her head at the dazed look on Max’s face. “You're not there, are you?”

“I can't help it. I love her. What can I say?”

“You're hopeless.” Maria hugged her stomach. Maybe her ulcer was back. It hadn’t bothered her since her dad left, but now she felt ill. “We all are. I don’t know, Max. I really don’t know. Maybe there is a hand of fate, and it reaches out and pushes us to places we never thought we would go, or even wanted to go. I’m not ready to fall in love. I don’t want that in my life, just like you don’t want to be told that your destiny is with someone not Liz.”

“I wish I could get drunk.”

“Me too.” Maria looked at her friend. “Do you think that if fate was chasing you down in the form of ‘the one’ and that you could run far enough, or hide long enough, that it would wait until you were ready?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Maria.”

Maria patted his hand. “I know. Most children don’t.”

~~~

Maria was cleaning up for the late night shift. The Crashdown stayed open into the early morning, and though it was dead, usually the rest of the group found a way to be there. Michael was out front with Isabel and Max. They were closing the diner for the night. Maria spied Liz glumly gazing from the back room into the main Crashdown area.

“What's wrong?”

“Uh … nothing,”

“You look upset, Liz.”

“I … I just can't talk about it.” Liz finally seemed to really see Maria. “Oh, I heard about Michael and Courtney.” Alex had found her, upset about Michael.

“Yeah, it’s like a freak show. Better him than me. Thank god she wasn’t gay, though looking at her, who’s to say she doesn’t lean that way too? Plus it was Spaceboy’s turn to lay his body on the line. I mean he had no problem using you for flashes or trying to get me to participate.” Maria frowned. “What I don’t get is what I’m going to do about Madam Vivian. Her reading has me all over the place. I thought I knew what it meant, but now, I don’t know.” Maria was rambling, and perhaps no one could understand how upsetting it all was to her. “I mean if I can find him, derail him from this path, but then do I want to? I mean, if he is the one, can I just ignore that and toss it away? And how do you get someone who’s meant to love only you forever to walk on by? Should you even want that?”

Liz suddenly heard half of what Maria was saying. “Maria, how do you do that? How do you get someone to give up on you romantically?”

“Cheating. I have no claims on Michael, but the truth is that when I saw him with Courtney, the reality of it, felt … I don’t know. Wrong. And I felt awful! He looked it. God, Liz, you should’ve seen the guilt on his face, and god, we’re nothing about that!”

“Oh, my God.”

“Yeah, it is definitely being unfaithful. I mean, ‘cause ... when you see that with your own eyes, you realize there was nothing that could be said or done that could ever make up for it. You know it's over.”

~~~

Liz found him. Kyle saw her, and he groaned. Lamp trimming interrupted again.

“I need your help.”

~~~

Alex paced outside Michael’s apartment for a while, slowly building his courage. He let his anger fuel him. Maybe it was more about Isabel and not so much about Michael and Maria, but maybe it was about all of them. Alex banged on the door.

“What's up?” Michael asked opening the door. He had been expecting Maria, but she wouldn’t knock. She used her key.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Alex walked into the apartment.

“Well, I was kinda watching the game, so if you got something on your mind …”

Alex grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “Do you have any idea what you've done to Maria?”

Michael held up his hands, already having Maria tell him that Alex talked to her, that he saw him leaving Courtney’s apartment. “Dude, it was a misunderstanding.”

“Look. I don't care that you've got thirty pounds on me or … or that you can kill me with some … some twisted alien power. I will not let you treat her like that! I … I don't care that Isabel treats me like crap, but no one does that to Maria, all right? She's not just some girl!”

“You gotta believe me … I have nothing …” Michael didn’t get to finish as Courtney just happened to stop by at that moment, coming through the open apartment door.

“Knock, knock,” Courtney said with a hopeful look on her face and a skimpy halter top barely concealing her assets.

Alex saw the other waitress at Michael’s place and without thought turned around and nailed Michael with a fist in the face. Alex winced as he shook his hurt hand taking some satisfaction of having landed Michael on his ass.

“Ow!”

Michael lay there a moment wiping his mouth. “You realize you just risked your life?”

“Yeah,” Alex answered, shaking his hand and wincing.

“You're a really good friend, man.”

Alex’s face took on a new shade of red, so sick of being a ‘friend’ to every female he knew. “Call me that again, and I'll really kick your ass!” Alex stalked past the other girl, giving her a look of repulsion.

Courtney went to help Michael up who was still rubbing his jaw. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Michael got up, his eyes meeting Courtney’s and for a moment, he felt something, a flicker of awareness, almost a sense of recognition, like she was someone he knew. Suddenly they were kissing and Michael reached around to her back. His hand came away with a piece of skin. Holding it in his hand, he stared at her with a dangerous glint in his eyes, anger fused his face as whatever that ‘feeling’ was evaporated as if it never existed.

“You're a Skin?” His hand came up defensively as he fired his alien power at Courtney and his television exploded when he missed. “Stop!”

Courtney ran crashing through a window in a quick escape.

Maria came through the door dropping the bag she was carrying. Rushing to Michael’s side, she looked out the broken window with him.

“What the hell happened?”

“Courtney. No more mystery. She’s a Skin.”

“How do you know?”

“I pulled some skin off her back.”

Maria lifted a brow. “Off her back? How exactly did you get your hand on her back?”

Michael made a face. “We were kissing, okay?” Michael shook his head when Maria made a gagging noise. “Stop it! It wasn’t like that. I … I was never attracted to her, or wanted her like that, or in that way.”

“Oh? Then not being attracted to someone is a new reason to shove your tongue down their throat? Or is that an alien mating ritual?”

Michael licked his lips looking out the broken window into the night as Maria watched next to him. “There was this moment, when I looked into her eyes … I felt something. I don’t know what it was. I don’t think it was attraction as much as this alien-draw, like a sense of recognition, much like I felt when I came out of the pods, and first saw Isabel and Max. Maybe it was an awareness that she was alien like me.”

“So that made you want to just mack on her?”

“Maria, can we drop it? I don’t know what it was. Alien voodoo? Vibes? I don’t know. But as soon as I was aware she was a Skin, the feeling was gone. Like it was never there. Almost like Tess’s mindwarp.”

“Michael, if it was attraction, like an alien attraction thing, and …” Maria held up her hand when he went to protest. “Hear me out. Maybe it was an attraction. I mean humans get it all the time. You can feel an attraction to people, and that doesn’t mean you act upon it. What I don’t get is why Courtney?”

Michael wasn’t following Maria’s point. “I’m not tracking. You’re doing that Maria twisted thinking thing again. What do you mean … why Courtney?”

“Well, follow my thoughts, but if you’re destined to be with Isabel, supposedly once engaged to her, and these ‘mythical’ planets aligned to awaken your biological urges, then why did you feel the ‘alien voodoo’ from Chunk-ney and not Isabel?”

Michael stopped staring out the window, to glance at Maria. His mind was obviously considering the theory, the feeling that he had flood over his body, and those that did not over the past year.

“You’re right.” Michael frowned at that. He always said Destiny was a hoax, a pile of crap, but this was the first time he actually knew it to be a fact. “I never once felt a draw like that towards Isabel. Sure, I felt this recognition thing when we came out of the pods, but that never translated into this desire to kiss her. Not once. Not ever.”

Michael was thoughtful for a moment. How could he be engaged and mated to someone without even a spark of desire? He had that with Courtney, even if it was only for a few seconds. But why never Isabel? Something was not as it seemed.

“Destiny is dead,” Michael told Maria as they looked out the window. They both glanced up at the sky as a shooting sky moved across it. “Destiny is something we make for ourselves. Anything else would be unacceptable.”

~~~

In Liz's room, Liz and Kyle were lying next to each other in her bed, both of them clutching the covers to themselves. Liz looked over at Kyle nervously, hoping this would be over soon.

“So Evans must have really pissed you off to get you to resort to something like this.” Kyle didn’t get the set up, but it seemed important to Liz.

“I told you I don't really want to talk about why I'm doing this.”

“Jeez, I just figured since I'm giving you my last shred of dignity …” Not to mention lamp trimming …

“I … I really... I can't.” Liz swallowed hard, trying not to cry.

“So … we have something in common.” Kyle told Liz trying to make conversation.

“Yeah? What's that?”

“We, uh … we're the only two people I know of who have died and were brought back to life by an alien.”

Liz smiled. “Yeah. You're right.”

“You feel different?” Kyle asked, wondering if that had to do with her breaking up with him after it happened to her.

“Yeah.” Liz was quiet for a moment, she glanced at him. “Kyle … when he healed you, um … did … did you see things?”

“See things?”

“Flashes. Images.”

“No. But since he healed me, I keep getting these flashes of Max Evans naked.” Liz laughed not necessarily sure that Kyle was kidding.

“Feels good to make you laugh again,” Kyle chuckled softly. He had forgotten why he had ever liked her as a girlfriend. Over the past year or so, she had changed, and laughing wasn’t really Liz Parker anymore.

“It feels like this is the first time we've talked … since …” Liz stopped. She was using him for her own needs and she callously dumped him also for something she wanted, Max Evans. Liz frowned, lost in her own thoughts, unhappy with the idea that she only acted toward others with self motivation. Then she paused. What she was doing had nothing to do with what she wanted, and everything to do with saving the rest of the world.

“Feels good to do that again.”

Liz nodded. “Yeah, it does feel good.” It did. It felt good to do something for the first time in a long time that had nothing to do with her and Max only, them being a couple, but rather, this was about everyone else.

While they were talking, Max showed up with the Gomez tickets in hand, just like it had been predicted. Liz saw him, turning to the window as if she sensed his presence, her wide eyes meeting his youthful ones, still so young and innocent … so trusting. It hurt to destroy that. He saw Liz and Kyle in bed together. Stunned, he dropped the tickets leaving as quietly and quickly as he arrived.

Kyle looked at the devastated girl next to him in the bed. “Well, I guess it worked.” He didn’t bother to touch her, somehow he knew that she wouldn’t be able to stand anyone’s touch at that moment.

~~~

Max hit the street running. He ran until he couldn’t run anymore, the images of Kyle and Liz in bed together replaying in his mind. Once in the park, he stopped next to a tree and threw up. Finally he took a seat on a bench, too exhausted to even register where he was. It really didn’t matter anyway. All he could think of was Maria’s advice to take the hint from Liz and walk away.

Grinding the heels of his hands into his eyes, he groaned to himself. An entire summer of agony, therapy, and even Maria’s ever watchful eye, and he had learned nothing. Liz told him it was over in so many ways, but he arrogantly refused to believe it. If he just stayed the course and never gave up, he would get the girl back. The mariachi band, learning a love song in Spanish, the Gomez tickets … telling Liz he was coming for her, all those things stuck in his pride like painful poniards inflicting endless pain.

Max sat there alone in his thoughts, self-derisive and painful when Tess walked by. She paused when she saw him, unsure if she should walk on or not.

“Are you ok?” she finally asked.

“No.”

“Can I sit down?”

Max shrugged. What did it matter anymore? “Sure.”

Tess was hesitant to put herself out there, having already been injured by Max more times than she could count. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to leave?” Tess asked, uncertain that her being there was the best thing for the sullen Max.

“No.”

Tess remained next to him, slowly her hand coming to rest in comfort on his arm. He glanced at her, his eyes a roadmap of misery. Together they both looked up as a shooting star moved across the sky.

~~~

Liz sat outside her room, wrapped in a blanket but unable to get warm. She was so cold, deep inside. Sitting there, she felt the fall of her stomach as something important was slowly strangled.

“So Max and … Tess are going to be together now?”

Liz glanced over to look into the eyes of an older Max Evans. “I don't know. I don't know anything now. This is a different world.”

Looking at a future version of Max, Liz couldn’t even voice how horrified she was at her actions, at what he had asked her to do. “I'm gonna be alone.” Liz felt another tear trickle down her cheek. How could she not? Her one true love, the man sitting beside her was now nothing but a fading memory of a future that would never happen.

“Maybe. Maybe not. From now on, the future is yet to be determined. It's what I’ve always said to you, Liz. We create our own destiny.”

Liz stared out at the cold calculating skies, the very skies that brought an alien destiny into her life, and she remembered all the things he told her, all the things that could have been, from the Gomez concert to a wedding that would never be. She was cursed with knowing for the rest of her life the life she could never have, and that knowledge would slowly kill her, because nothing would ever repay her for the sacrifice she had made.

“Could you dance with me?” Liz asked quietly.

“What?”

“I wanna have my wedding dance.”

The older man nodded to the younger girl, who after thirteen years of marriage had been the greatest love of his life, and the one thing he never could give up. Extending his hand, he pulled her from the chair. They danced on the stoop under the stars, and twirling, Liz came out of the spin alone as a lost future and a shooting star went by.

Maria was tired. Her head hurt. She needed sleep. She and Michael had stayed up all night outside Courtney’s apartment waiting for the stalker Skingirl to return home to the scene of the crime. Maria was rousted out of her walking sleep by the appearance of her friend Liz.

“You ok?” Damn, Liz looked bad. Really bad. She actually had a gray sheen under her skin.

“Oh, I didn't get much sleep last night.”

“You look like you got your heart stomped on. No, wait … that will be me once I find the man destined to grind me into the ground. Well, if it's possible, you look worse.” Maria took a breath to rant about her prospects of a life full of misery when Liz interrupted her basic neuronal process.

“Have you seen Max today?”

Maria stopped, staring at her friend, the pallor and unhappiness. “He did this to you?”

“No, uh … well, yeah. I just … I can't even explain it.”

“You can't explain?” Maria grabbed Liz by both shoulders giving her a good shake. “This is me you're talking to here.”

“I just want to make sure that he's ok. But, if you see him, just don't tell him I asked.” Liz quickly sped off before she saw Max, or didn’t see him. Oh damn. Either or. It didn’t matter. Nothing did.

Michael walked up to Maria. He frowning at Liz’s retreating back. She was looking dumpier than usual today, in his opinion.

“Hey.”

“Whatever, dude. I am not spending another night freezing my tush off outside that shank’s place.” Maria waved at Michael dramatically. “Do you not see the bags under my eyes? Here, any moment ‘the man’ is coming into my life, and look at me!”

“You look like a dreamgirl,” Michael assured her. More like a nightmare, but he wasn’t going to actually say that. His alien mom didn’t shake and bake no fool. “I just wanted to ask when do you think we should break the invasion news to the others.”

“God. Like life isn’t a nice stinking sinkwell already? Hey, let’s have a party and share the misery!”

Michael smiled walking Maria to her first class. “That’s my girl!”

Maria snorted. “That is not a compliment. From where I’m standing, you aren’t too discriminating over who’s your girl. Anything a fly would land and lay maggots on sounds like your speed. Nice and mulching.”

“Are you gonna let this go?”

Maria made a huffing noise. “Remember last term when Dennis Matthews backed me up against the wall and kissed me? You laughed! And you kept harping on it forever.”

“Hey, I lost ten bucks. I swore you would knee the guy, but no … you had to do a right cross to the chops.”

“I hurt my hand, and don’t think I don’t know who came up with the idea to egg Dennis Matthews on to kiss me in the first place!”

“Did I not put ice on your hand?” Michael asked innocently, reminding her that he was on her side. “If you had sunk your knee into his crotch like I taught you, I would have made ten bucks and ol’ Dennis would’ve had surgery to retract his balls from his throat.”

“Pig,” Maria muttered under her breath. “All men are pigs. Even the alien version… still a pig.”

~~~

It wasn’t a happy meeting. The aliens and Maria were there, and Maria was half paying attention as she made a list of possible men, not boys who could be her mystery man.

“I knew there was something wrong about her, even before I found her picture in Whitaker's office.” Michael was telling the others.

“Where's Courtney now?” Max asked, his voice quiet as Tess seemed to be hovering near him.

“I don't know. She went out the window. I tried chasing her …”

“But it was hard to run with his pants around his ankles,” Maria added as she scratched two men off the list as highly unfeasible. They were obviously gay.

“You were there! My pants weren’t around my damn ankles!”

Maria shrugged. “What do I know?” Maria pointedly looked at the exceptionally quite Max and the lurking alien girl, who was not Liz. “Maybe it’s in your alien nature to feel attraction for the enemy?” Maria didn’t notice Isabel’s apparent flinch.

“Settle the personal crap on your own time,” Tess retorted. “If Courtney's a Skin, it means she was working with Whitaker.”

“You're right,” Isabel said agreeing with Tess. “There's no way two Skins would just happen to be in Roswell at the same time. They were working together, which means Courtney knows everything about us.”

Michael had his eye on their fearless leader who seemed to be in a funk. “Maxwell, are we disturbing you?”

“Leave him alone. He's had a rough night.”

“Really?” Michael was seeing what had set Maria off. Tess was acting like a pit bull around the quiet Max and the ‘Personal Property’ sign was literally being stamped on Max’s ass as the moments ticked down. “Something you wanna share with the class?”

“No,” Max said irritably, finally getting into the conversation. “Look, if Courtney is a Skin and she was working with Whitaker, the first question is, does she know that Whitaker's dead?”

“If she didn't before, she does now.” Maria walked over to the television turning the sound up.

“We have this story just in. A controversial New Mexico congresswoman is dead. We'll have that story in just a minute.”

The group was speechless except for Michael who sat back on a table, his arms crossed in front of him. “Well, we’re in a shit storm now.” Maria came to stand beside him, her hand unconsciously finding his as the news report came back on.

“Widowed just six months before her husband John Whitaker's upcoming election, she took his place on the ballot and won the election by a higher margin than any Democrat in fifteen years. But all that ended yesterday, just outside her hometown of Copper Summit, Arizona, where a tragic single-car accident cut short a life of public service.”

“A car crash?” Tess looked at the others in confusion.

“In other national news, the Department of Transportation took …” Maria reached over and turned off the television.

“She died two weeks ago. I was there.” Isabel wasn’t likely to forget it. She killed Vanessa Whitaker.

Max squeezed Isabel’s hand. “We were all there.”

“How could she be in a car accident if she's dust?” Michael rubbed his forehead, frowning at an uncharacteristic headache slowly worked its way to a harsh pounding.

Tess paced a little. “So who's conveniently covering up her death for us?”

“Nasedo said the Skins were among us.” Isabel reminded them. Michael rolled his eyes. Yeah, he had sort of mentioned that before, but did anyone notice? Nope, when he said it they all acted like he was paranoid. “Skins. Plural. Maybe other Skins created a fake car accident to keep the Feds from looking too closely into Whitaker's background.”

“Max …” Tess asked trying to get his attention, “what do we do?”

Michael made a sound of disgust watching the quiet Max hardly register the conversation. “Uh, let me guess. Nothing.”

“Liz.” Max told the others.

~~~

Michael stopped to talk to Maria alone while the others called around to locate Liz. Something was up not only with Max, but with Maria.

“Hey, how long are you going to bust my chops over Courtney?”

Maria looked him over critically. “I don’t know. The rest of the day, maybe longer.”

“You sent me there.”

“Michael, I really don’t want to talk about it. I know I am being unfair, and I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t know it would bother me. Maybe I’m jealous or something? Or maybe I’m just disappointed that you weren’t the one that Madam Vivian was talking about.”

“You wanted me to be that person?”

Maria shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not. I mean I know you’re leaving someday, so maybe it’s best that you aren’t ‘him’. I just know that I love you, and it wouldn’t take much to make me be ‘in love’ with you. Or it wouldn’t have. But thinking of you kissing Courtney? I dunno. It makes me think that I really don’t know you that well.”

Michael felt it again. The feeling that he had lessened himself in her eyes, that he had somehow cheated on something they were, even if it was unspoken. But still, there it was. “Maria...”

“It’s all right. I’m being irrational. I know.” Maria put her hand on her stomach. “It’s just upsetting my stomach, the thought that out there somewhere might be my Mr. Right, and I am so not ready for him. I’m afraid that when I find him, I’ll be so scared to do anything about it, that he’ll pass me by.”

“You just need to calm down. Ignore Madam Vivian. She’s a quack. Remember this summer when she told me that I already found my home, and I would never venture further than a hand’s link away?” Michael reminded Maria. “Now how wrong was she?”

“You’re probably right.” Maria took a calming breath. Reaching up, she kissed him on his lips, both of them unconsciously opening their mouths. Quickly stepping away, Maria could feel the rising heat on her face. “I guess after I talked to her, I decided that if I was going to finally fall in love I wanted it to be you. Then I got slapped in the face with you kissing Courtney, and it felt … I don’t know. Like you somehow belonged to me, and …” Maria laughed ruefully unwilling to finish that thought. “I’ve got to go to work. Let me know how it goes.”

Michael nodded as she walked away, his eyes serious and intense. Strange as it was, he had felt the same way. If she was to finally fall in love, he’d rather she fell for him.

~~~

Liz looked at the alien invasion as she fielded the flood of phone calls since the announcement of Whitaker’s death. Avoiding Max’s eyes, she couldn’t quell the rising nausea of seeing him with Tess, and Tess so close.

“Yeah, we …” Liz said in the phone, “we're in total shock. No, we haven't set a date for the memorial service yet. Yes, I will let you know as soon as we do. Of course. Ok.” Liz hung up the phone. “The phone's been ringing off the hook for the past hour.”

“Somebody covered up Whitaker's death,” Max told Liz.

“Why?”

Max shrugged, his body almost too tired to stand, let alone answer probing questions. “Has anybody been asking questions over the past few days?”

“People have been calling. I just have been saying that she's on vacation, just like we said.”

“Well, somehow the Skins know that she's dead.” Max pointed out to Liz. “None of us has said anything … unless it came from here.”

“You mean, from me?” Liz asked sharply, upset at the unfairness of the accusation.

Tess had been looking through the mail. “Look at this. The postmark says Copper Summit. It's from something called the Universal Friendship League.”

Liz took the envelope. “Whitaker never mentioned it.”

Isabel peered over Liz’s shoulder. “What the hell is the Universal Friendship League? Could it sound any creepier?”

“Marked "Personal".” Tess observed.

Max took the envelope and opened it. “Dear Member: Your failure to report as scheduled violates protocol. We must receive word by the 25th of this month or terminate your membership, effective that date.”

“The 25th was yesterday.” Isabel mumbled reading the letter again.

Tess walked over to stand next to Max again. “That's when they say she died.”

“Sincerely, T. Greer, senior coordinator, Vilandra project.” Max finished.

Isabel suddenly was alert. “Vilandra?”

Max glanced at his sister and her reaction. “Does that mean something to you?”

“No,” Isabel denied. “We should call.”

Liz shrugged picking up the phone. Dialing, she waited for it to be answered as a man on the other end answered.

“Yes?” The man’s voice was unfriendly and cold.

“Hi, um, is this the …” Liz read the name from the envelope. “The Universal Friendship League?”

“Who is this?”

“I … I'm calling from Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker's office. We just, um, opened this letter this morning and … I wanted to call and apologize for not responding sooner.” Liz made a face at her long explanation. Maria would’ve shot back a quick response.

“Yes?” The person on the other end didn’t give much encouragement for chattiness.

“We just wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, Congresswoman has passed away.”

“Thank you for calling.” The person at the other end abruptly disconnected.

Liz glanced at the others. “They just hung up.”

“We're going to Arizona.” Max told the others.

“Hey,” Michael protested, “I'm not going anywhere until I find …”

“Courtney.” Max finished. “That's right, you're staying.”

“So we agree.”

“Yeah.”

“There's a first.” Michael snorted.

Max ignored him turning to Liz. “But we do need you to come with us, Liz. You're the only one of us who has a legitimate connection to Whitaker.”

~~~

Max, Isabel, Tess, and Liz were in the jeep on their way to Arizona. Max was driving, with Isabel next to him in the passenger seat and Liz and Tess were in the backseat trying to stay as far away from each other as possible. Isabel stared out the window remembering what Whitaker had told her about Vilandra, about who she once had been.

“Your name … was Vilandra. And you were beautiful … even more beautiful than you are now. You had a great love, and for him, for us, you betrayed your brother, your race. You sacrificed him. You sacrificed everyone, even yourself. And history, my dear … always repeats itself.”

Isabel rested her head against the glass unable to find order to her thoughts. Vilandra. Betrayer. Her great love, Khivar. It made no sense. How could Khivar be her great love if she had been engaged to Michael in a past life and destined to be with him? She sacrificed herself and all the others for Khivar, so it sounded like it was a current love affair at the time of her death. Isabel rubbed the area between her eyes as a headache hit her hard. Maybe that explained the lack of attraction between her and Michael, the fact that most the time they were on opposite sides. Destiny? Isabel shook her head. It made no sense. Vilandra made no sense. If history could repeat itself, then was she destined to betray the others, betray Max?

“Max, could we stop for a refuel? I’m feeling a little sick.”

Max glanced at his sister in concern. “Yeah, next one is up in a mile.”

After the stop, Isabel and Tess had fallen asleep. Max and Liz had switched places, and Max was in the back with the sleeping Tess. Liz was driving, but it was difficult to concentrate on the road with Max staring at her from the backseat.

“I'm … I'm ok up here … if you want to get some sleep.” Liz told Max’s reflection.

“I haven't slept since I saw you with Kyle.” Max confessed. “Liz, I know you, and I don't believe that you would do that to me. It doesn't make sense. Tell me what happened.”

Liz stared at his reflection for a moment and though she was tempted to confess about Future Max, but she held her silence.

~~~

Maria bumped into Michael’s back as he unlocked the door into Courtney’s apartment. Reaching behind him, he scooped Maria forward into the dark room. quickly glancing around to make sure no one saw them breaking and entering the low rent apartment.

Maria turned on the new flashlight Michael bought her. It was slim and formfitting to her hand, so easy to hold unlike the older version that weighed on her arm and made her complain if she had to hold it still. Lifting it up by her head, she moved it around the room. “Michael! I feel like we're Scully and Mulder or something.”

“Shhh!” Michael shut the door turning on his matching flashlight. “Would you shut up?”

“Ok.” Maria whispered back in a whisper so loud it was hardly worth pretending. Mumbling under her breath about cranky aliens who were sexually frustrated because they tried to bang their mortal enemy, she quickly stopped that too when Michael sent her a glare having heard everything she mumbled.

“Nobody's home,” Michael said trying to get them back to their familiar ground of easy camaraderie.

Maria picked up some CDs flipping through them her face taking on a combination of horror and repulsion. “Oh, god! You felt attracted to someone that listens to Culture Club? Wham? The Backstreet Boys?” She cleared her throat with a gagging noise. “God, she really is an alien, this one.”

“A little help here?” Michael asked not so pleasantly, not wanting to know if the alien owned a Partridge Family Album, more afraid the answer was yes.

“Fine,” Maria looked around the small one room apartment. “What are we looking for?”

“Clues? You know … an address book or a calendar somewhere. You know the drill.”

“Of course. Like she's gonna write her hideout in an address book, oh ho!” Maria made a face. “You superior beings are so sneaky!”

“Hey, are you just gonna rag on me or are you gonna help?”

Maria leaned down seeing something. Picking it up, she held a piece of shed skin. “Michael … What is this?”

Michael glanced at the shedding. “That's why they call 'em Skins. She's shedding.”

“Eww, it's so gross! Eww!” Maria tossed it on the floor as it disintegrated, rubbing her hands on clothing. “And you pulled a piece off her?”

“Yeah. It just peeled off without much effort.”

“Just her back? So what? Her shirt was already off?”

“You saw her go out my window fully clothed, Maria. Did you see her discarded top? When are you gonna get off this?”

“Not for a very, very long time, Mikey G. How long did you rag me about Andy Carson?”

“That was different. You don’t date, remember? And I find you at the movies with him!”

“I told you, he was there to see the movie when I picked up my ticket … which I wouldn’t have had to do if you had gone with me. We were both alone so we saw the movie together and went to discuss it over coffee. So not a date!” Maria emphasized the point. Was it her fault Michael changed his mind at the last moment and came to find her? If he had gotten there on time, she wouldn’t have had to pay for the ticket, and she would’ve never agreed to sit with Andy. “It was more a chance meeting between two people appreciating a special genre of film.”

“Chick flick. He’s gay, has to be.” Michael quickly picked up on Maria’s explanation. “There's nothing going on between me and Courtney. There was never a date. I dropped her off at her apartment, and she found her own way to mine. I definitely did not ask her to meet me anywhere.”

Maria sniffed, not appreciating having to give up the teasing. Michael had cruelly teased her for over a week until she dumped his dinner in his lap.

Maria and Michael resumed their search. As Michael searched for a hiding Courtney in her trashcan, Maria opened a storage cabinet, her mouth opening in an involuntary scream.

“Ohh! Ohh!”

Michael rushed to her side, his arm immediately circling her waist to pull her back from harm. They both stood there staring in disbelief at what appeared to be a Michael shrine in the closet. There were numerous pictures of him, as well as some of his belongings tacked to the walls.

“That's the shirt I lost at work.” Michael picked up his shirt. “What the hell is this?”

“It's Graceland … and you're Elvis.”

“Wow,” Michael murmured in wonder at the full display of his life capitalized in an obsessive display.

“Wow? Is that all you can say right now, is ‘wow’?” Maria shook her head at the oozing sickness, apparent by the display. “She's obsessed with you. She's, like, an alien stalker. She's been spying on you for weeks. She's been dreaming about you, fantasizing about you …”

“You don’t know she’s been fantasizing about me.” Michael couldn’t help but be a little flattered by the attention.

Maria peered closer. There were pictures of her too. A picture of her and Michael laughing at a party they had gone to a few weeks back. A picture of them walking down the street and Michael was pulling her along by her hand while she was eating an ice cream cone. The picture that disturbed her the most was a picture of them sleeping together. “She was in the apartment while we were sleeping!”

“Hey, shut up for a second.” Michael said frowning at the pictures of Maria’s home and the fact that Courtney had marked out Maria’s face on the pictures she was in. He quickly assessed the greater majority. “Take a look at the pictures. Almost all were shot from the apartment across the street from my building.”

“So?” Maria was too distracted by the picture of her sleeping with Michael in his bed. It took a moment for what he was saying to sink in. “Oh! That's where she goes to spy on you.”

“Yep,” Michael lifted a brow, a slow smile moving over his face.

“Ohh!” Maria reached out and took the picture of them sleeping together, the only one where her face hadn’t been mutilated. She put it in her pocket as Michael dragged her through the door.

~~~

Max and company arrived at Copper Summit. They stopped at the Stagecoach Museum and asked one of the locals where the Universal Friendship League was.

“Actually, we're looking for the Universal Friendship League.” Max told the local man.

“Here for the harvest, then?”

Isabel leaned forward to look at the man. “Harvest?”

“Uh, Friendship League's a members-only outfit. Very hush-hush. They don't like outsiders, especially with all the press around here these days.”

“Actually, we've been invited.” Isabel informed the man.

“That right?”

Isabel smiled charmingly. “Yeah.”

“It ain't hard to find. Big old building.”

“Stay on this street?” Max asked.

“Well, I did say this was the main drag, didn't I?”

“Thank you.” Max pulled the jeep away heading further into town. The man watched the jeep for a moment before going inside the museum to make a call.

“Four on the way.” He said in the phone. “Non-members.”

~~~

Max parked near the UFL, which was literally across the street and up a block from the museum. Strange town. The man had been right. It wasn’t very big and almost appeared deserted.

“I'll go.” Isabel said unfastening her seatbelt.

“Wait.” Max looked at Isabel and the other two in the backseat. “We all have to watch our step. From this point on, trust only each other. Be aware, be careful, and don't go anywhere alone. All right?” They all nodded, and Tess and Liz stayed in the jeep while Max and Isabel went inside.

Tess glanced at Liz clearing her throat. “So … you and Kyle?”

“Yeah,” Liz didn’t really want to talk about it, and definitely not in detail. “Oh, Kyle … he told me that you two were, uh, getting involved.”

“Oh, it's ok, don't worry about it.”

“I'm sorry.” Liz said more than a little sorry. She hadn’t meant her messed up life to mess up both Kyle’s and Tess’s as well.

“About what? All you did was sleep with him.” Curiosity moved over Tess’s face. “How was he, anyway?”

“Oh, I, um … I … we …” Liz could feel the heat moving up her neck and face. She was too stunned to find an answer, but then again she really owed Kyle. “He was great.”

“Noted,” Tess lifted her brow looking at the front of the building housing the UFL.

Max and Isabel had walked up to the Universal Friendship League and knocked on the door. Mr. Greer opened the door to address them.

“I'm sorry, we didn't mean to bother you.” Isabel said. “We're looking for a Mr. Greer, the senior coordinator?”

“Yeah, that's me. T. Greer.” The man greeted them. “Welcome to Copper Summit. All kidding aside, it's a wild ride."”

“Could we come in for just a minute and talk to …” Isabel suggested.

“Uh … we're a private organization. Members only.”

“What exactly is the Universal Friendship League? Max asked, his voice suspicious.

“The friendship league is a private organization, and we ask all our valued visitors to avail themselves of all the tourist opportunities here in Copper Summit and to grant us our privacy.”

Max glanced at Isabel who shrugged. “Coming through town, it seemed like all the tourist attractions were closed.”

“Then maybe the best thing to do is just head on down the highway.” Greer said suddenly not so friendly. “Try Tombstone. I ought to be going.”

“What's the Vilandra project?” Isabel interjected before the man could shut the door on them.

“I wouldn't know.”

“We were friends of Congresswoman Whitaker's.” Max told the man frowning slightly at Isabel and her questioning about Vilandra. “Before we leave town, we'd like to pay our respects to the family.”

“That'll be the Crawfords.” Greer said. “Two blocks down, turn left, red mailbox.”

“Appreciate it.” Max thanked the man taking Isabel’s arm to lead her away. The man wasn’t going to talk to them. Greer closed the doors to the UFL.

~~~

Max, Tess, Isabel, and Liz made their way to the Crawford's residence. They found a mailman leaving the house while a woman was at the door looking through her mail.

“Excuse me,” Max said to the mailman, “is this the Crawford's?” The mailman nodded gesturing to the house.

“Thanks.” Max said pleasantly to the mailman before turning to Liz. “You're on.”

Liz slowly approached the house and woman. “Ms. Crawford?” The woman nodded frowning at the four teenage strangers on her doorstep. “Hi, I'm Liz Parker. Vanessa's assistant. We talked on the phone?”

“Oh, sure. Liz Parker.”

“I'm really sorry to hear what happened to your daughter. It's so terrible.”

“Oh, thank you, dear.” She glanced at the small group of teens. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, I just wanted to drop off some of your daughter's personal effects.”

“Oh, honey, that is so sweet. Well, you didn't have to come clear up here. My gosh, it must be 400 miles!” The woman seemed genuinely touched, she called into the house. “Walt! Visitors!” Smiling at the teens, she looked them over. “Did you kids work for Vanessa?”

“No, not exactly.” Isabel said.

Liz quickly did introductions. “Oh, um, this is Max, Isabel, and, uh, and Tess.”

“Walt …” Ida Crawford called to a man in the house. A large man appeared staring at the group of teens.

“Hmm?”

“These young people drove all the way up here to bring home some of Vanessa's things.”

Walt scratched his stomach. “Why didn't they just send them?”

“What a thing to say!” Ida said covering Walt’s lack of gratitude. “After they went to all that trouble. You must be so tired and hungry after that long drive. Come on in the house. I want to make you something to eat.”

Liz, Tess, and Isabel entered the house following Ida. Walt commented to Max as he was entering.

“I guess you're the man in charge.” Max frowned at the man uncertain how to respond. Was the man probing him as the leader, the King, or was he making an offhanded remark about his harem of women he was traveling with? It was hard to say. Copper Summit was proving to be a strange place.

Inside the house the four teens sat on a sofa facing Ida and Walt with Ida offering them refreshments.

“Did you take the 70?” Walt asked Max.

“No, the...uh...the 10.”

Walt nodded his face suddenly serious. “Ah, you don't wanna do that.”

“I don't?”

“You wanna go over to Lordsburg, hook onto the 70, stay on that ‘til you see the model reservoir sign, and that'll shoot you right on to Artesia.” Walt seemed pleased to find something to talk about, something that was a comfort to him. Directions. A man’s topic.

“Walt, did you hear that?” Ida asked Walt who was busy talking to Max to pay attention to Ida and the girls. He didn’t do well talking to girls.

“Hmmm.”

“They came all this way for her service.”

“Huh.” Walt’s face took on a blank look as if he had no concept of what service they were talking about.

Liz felt the uncomfortable conversation and the silence on their part so she quickly stammered through an explanation. “Well, we felt like … like we should come. You know, the congresswoman, she was very …” Liz licked her lips trying to find a word that worked, “she was special … to all of us.”

“Like a mother.” Isabel added.

Ida sat up at that. “Really?”

Isabel nodded, but her eyes moved to the doorway where a young boy was peeking in at them. Isabel smiles at the seemingly shy boy. “Hi.”

Ida turned to see the young boy and waved him into the room. “Nicholas, there you are! Come on in here. Come on, say hello.”

“No, ma'am.” The young boy took off before anyone could demand he enter the room and socialize.

“Nicholas!” Walt called after him.

“He took it real hard.” Ida explained to the teens. “He and his sister were very close.”

Max started to stand. “Maybe we'd better just find a hotel.”

“There ain't but one.” Walt informed Max.

“All four of you? At that old Motor Inn?” Ida said shaking her head. “I won't hear of it! You're all gonna spend the night here, and then tomorrow we can go to the memorial service together.”

Liz seemed uncertain. “Are you sure?”

“If Vanessa was like your mother, we're like your grandparents. We'll treat you just the way Vanessa would have wanted.” Ida said giving the impression that the matter was settled. “Well, ok, let's eat up, there!”

Walt nodded to the plate on the coffee table. “Get you one of those crispy treats there.”

“Yeah, and I made all those gherkins myself.” Ida informed them with pride. “The crispy treats and the …” Trapped in the house of the Crawfords, they were at a loss as to how to untangle themselves from the invitation without appearing suspicious.

~~~

Michael and Maria were back at Michael’s place staking out the building across the street from Michael's apartment. Occasionally they had a little spat over the binoculars, but otherwise it was uneventful.

“This isn't gonna work. She's not just gonna stroll up to her hideout while we're sitting here watching her.”

“This was your idea.” Michael reminded her.

“That's not the way I remember it.”

Michael shrugged. He was resigned to put up with a pissy Maria for at least another six days. “Ok, so now it's my fault.”

“Yes. You know what? Just to make things simpler, from now on you should consider everything to be your fault, k?” Maria smiled happily. “K.”

“Well, I know one way to make the time go faster,” Michael suggested lifting a brow.

“Oh, funny.” She was used to his flirting, but at this moment in time? Uh-huh. “Like I would kiss lips that touched Courtney? You know my gag reflex is very sensitive.”

“I know.” Yeah, he could take some evil pleasure in seeing her toss her stomach. Maybe it would remove all her ill will. “You realize all this started because you went to Madam Vivian’s.”

“What did we just agree on?” Maria asked. “Your fault. That is not attributable to you, so we ignore it.” She sighed. So she had a small reprieve from her anxiety over a possible future and he went and ruined it. “You want me to feel better?”

Michael nodded. Hell yeah. Maria in a snit was intolerable, actually fun to watch, but essentially intolerable. Her good cheer was what fueled his days. He liked it when she stayed over his place. It made his apartment feel like a home.

“Okay. Good. Promise me that if you see me allowing some total loser into my life, or obsessing over a freak … stop me. I don’t care what you have to do. Just stop me!”

“What’s really bothering you, Maria?” Michael stopped watching the other building. “You must have imagined that one day you’d fall in love or find someone to be with. Why is the thought totally making you neurotic?”

What to say, and how to say it delicately? Maria felt a need to cry, and that was so not good. “Truth?”

“Please. I know this isn’t about me kissing Courtney since you practically ordered me to lay my body down and get the goods on her. So what is this?”

“If I was to fall I wanted it to be you.” Maria said simply. “I needed it to be you.”

“You know I’m off this planet if I can get a ride.”

“I know. That is a problem, but when weighed against the alternative?” Maria sniffed. “Do you even know the type of men my mother has dragged home? The type of man my own father was?”

Michael shared a look with her. He knew. He had had flashes from her. They usually were strongest when her mother ended or started a new relationship, then he got a full barrage of her past. There were some very scary choices along the way. It hadn’t always been very good for Maria. Her young life was a story of being ignored, found a bother, and abused, not sexually, but verbally, plus one disturbing incident with a cigarette. She still had the scar. Her mother had been quick to get rid of the worst of them, but not without leaving scars behind.

“What if I’m like her? What if I’m attracted to the same type of men as my father, or the ones that seem to always appeal to my mom? I love my mom, and she always tries her best, but when it comes to men … she sucks. What if I suck?”

“You won’t. I know you. You would never love a total jerk.”

Maria closed her eyes for a moment. Laughing, she shook her head. “I wanted it to be you, because you I know. You I trust. And no matter what, I know that you would never let anything hurt me … not even you, especially not you.” Maria stared out the window. “The unknown has me paralyzed in fear.”

Michael couldn’t take his eyes off her. He never … no one ever trusted him so completely, without question … unconditionally. “Maria …” His voice caught in his throat.

“But if we can talk reality here for a second, I think she booked.” Maria said trying to change the subject. “Out of town.”

Michael respected the move away from a subject that was hard for Maria. It was only fair. She respected his ‘keep off’ signs in regard to Hank and his past life in foster care. He had told her things, and he suspected she knew more than she admitted to, but never did she cross the line into what made him uncomfortable.

“No dice. She wouldn't do that. She's obsessed with me.”

Maria lifted a sleek groomed brow at his smug tune. “Well, I guess that makes two of you, then, doesn't it? Is this a ‘I got a fan’ thing?”

“Bite me.” Michael pinched Maria’s side. “She'll show up sooner or later.”

“How 'bout sooner?” Courtney said from the door, unhappy to see Maria there.

Michael and Maria turned at her voice. Michael’s hand immediately went into his energy blast pose ready to turn Courtney into flakes.

“Whoa!” Courtney held up her hands. “Hey, truce.”

“Don't move.” Michael warned putting Maria behind him.

“Don't worry. I won't.” Courtney noticed the binoculars and that they were watching out the window. “You're watching the building. You figured out where I'd be from the pictures.” Courtney’s voice held admiration. “That's very good, Mikey G. You're everything I thought you'd be and more.”

Maria made a gagging noise. “Oh, please! Do your lips not get chapped from all the ass-kissing?”

“Sit down.” Michael told Courtney, pushing Maria back behind him.

“Anything you say.” Maria rolled her eyes, yeah, good luck to Courtney on him giving her an order she wanted. That ship had sailed.

“So you're a Skin, like Whitaker.” Michael stated. So why did Whitaker have Courtney’s picture in a file if she was a confederate?

Courtney looked impressed. “How'd you get onto Whitaker?”

Maria put a restraining hand on Michael’s back before he confessed their involvement in Whitaker’s death. “We're asking the questions here, ok? Now, why are you in Roswell? Where's the rest of your evil army? And most of all, why are you obsessed with my good-looking, if badly groomed boyfriend?”

Michael didn’t even flinch at Maria calling him her boyfriend. Technically, it was true. Not in the romantic sense, but true in the practical.

“I'm not obsessed with him, ok?” Maria shook her head. Yeah right. So what was Michael-land about? “I follow him in the … political sense.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Our leader?”

“We're not with the other Skins.” Courtney explained to Michael ignoring Maria, though answering her questions. “We're renegades who believe that if you were in charge instead of Max in the first place, that none of this would have ever happened.”

“What are you talking about?” Michael asked in confusion. None of what would’ve happened? “In charge of what?”

“Our planet, Michael.” Courtney said, her eyes suddenly understanding something that eluded her before. “You don't remember any of this, do you?”

“Suppose you tell me.”

“Yeah, the short version, please.” Maria suggested not up to a long history of a world that sent skin shedding aliens to hers.

“The short version … is that our planet was on the brink of a golden age, and then it all fell apart. You were the one who could have united our planet, pulled together the warring factions, brought peace. But you weren't on the throne.

“Max.” Michael said bitterly to Maria.

“You wouldn't betray him. That loyalty cost your lives and those of everyone you loved.” Maria waited for it, but Michael didn’t ask. He didn’t ask who was it he loved, who his parents were, or anything. Frowning Maria listened as Courtney continued. “Please, just don't let history repeat itself. You're the one we need. You're our leader, our salvation.”

Maria grabbed Michael, screaming in his ear, giving his body a little shake to wake him up. “Michael, if you can hear me now over the sound of your rapidly inflating ego, could you please tell me that you do not believe what this …” Maria was loss for any new words to describe Courtney, “this Michael-worshipper here has to say?”

“No …” Michael visibly shook himself awake, “no ... no way. No, this is just part of your plan to divide and conquer.”

“I knew you weren't ready to hear this.” Courtney said under her breath.

“And you knew that how?” Maria asked. “Until a few moments ago, you implied you hadn’t realized he had no memories of his past life.” Courtney made a face at Maria, her eyes narrowing as the two women faced off. Michael ignored them.

“What's in Copper Summit, Arizona?”

“Copper Summit's just some old tourist trap.” Maria shook her head turning away from the lying, skin-shedding bottle blonde bimbo. Some Michael worshipper she was, lying through her teeth.

“What's there?” Michael demanded, on the same wave length with Maria. Courtney wasn’t saying, and that implied something they needed to know.

“I'd stay away from there.”

“Why?” Michael asked, his interest piqued since Max and the others had gone there. Maria was practically hanging off him, her body still confrontational.

“Yeah, why?”

“Power it down a bit, Scooby-Do,” Michael said to her softly. Maria usually approached things with offers of honey, but obviously the other girl made her put her teeth on edge … she was pure vinegar.

“Let's just say there aren't any Michael-worshippers in Copper Summit.” Courtney told them.

Michael and Maria shared a look. “We’re going,” they said in unison.

Maria went off to do the mandatory phone calling and excuse making for a roadtrip while Michael looked at his not so honest or forthcoming follower. “And so are you.”

Courtney signed shaking her head. Those two wouldn’t be happy until they were all dead.

~~~

Tess was looking at an old picture of Vanessa Whitaker. She closed her eyes and tried to use her powers to glean some information, when Mrs. Crawford surprised her. Tess quickly covered by asking questions about Vanessa, and Ida Crawford was more than happy to share information. Tess settled down to a long winding reminiscing. Sighing, she smiled pleasantly wondering where the others were.

Outside, Liz was walking down the street unable to stay still much longer. Max called out to her and then ran up to her.

“Liz! Liz, what are you doing? We agreed none of us would go anywhere alone.”

“Fine.” Sighing, Liz turned back towards the house. She had needed a breather from Max, and especially from Max and Tess. She wasn’t going to make it. There was no way she could live in the same town and watch them become close. At a loss for what to do, she felt her life weighing on her like a heavy load, drowning her in memories of what might have been, and what was she knew was lost.

“Wait.”

“Max, look. There's just … there's nothing left to say.”

“Except the truth.” Liz closed her eyes at the look on his face. Of course he couldn’t believe it of her. He had put her on some pedestal, and in his mind she was perfect … beyond reproach. That was a hard place to live, and it wasn’t a place she wanted to be in any circumstance. She had flaws, made mistakes, wrong choices, and it was so much easier to handle when everyone around her didn’t expect her to never take a misstep.

“We’ve already been through this!”

“So far, all I know is what I saw, and what I saw can't be true, because it means everything I felt in my heart for the last year is a lie!” Max’s voiced raised in anger and hurt, so confused by what his eyes physically told him and what his heart knew had to be true. “Now, you owe me an explanation, and I want it right now!”

“Please quit shouting, Max.” Liz said, needing him to step back from her, give her space. “You're scaring me.”

“That's a lie, too! You're not scared. You're hiding something.”

“I'm not.”

Max knew better. Liz Parker was the world’s worst liar. “What the hell is going on with you, Liz? We never lied to each other, never kept a secret from each other.”

“You know, you’ve got me up on this pedestal, Max, and … I'm not this perfect person. I made a mistake.” God, Liz knew that was wrong. It was as if she was asking for his forgiveness, admitting it was a mistake, and she and Max were not a mistake. The whole damn world ended, how could they not be the mistake? “Look, Kyle and I made love. The end. I'm sorry.”

“You bitch.” Max shook his head, the betrayal and pain deep grooves etched on his face as he backed up and then walked away without a word.

Devastated, Liz watched him walk away leaving her in the deserted road as a tear ran down her face. Oh god, she couldn’t … wouldn’t survive this.

~~~

Isabel was in a room organizing her stuff when Nicholas stopped by peeking in. He told her that the room had once been his sister’s, Vanessa’s.

“I'm so sorry about your sister.” Isabel truly was sorry for the part she played in the young boy’s pain.

“I was gonna visit her in Washington next year. We were gonna spend three days just at the Air and Space Museum.”

Isabel smiled, unable to imagine a Skin as someone with family, someone that did normal everyday ordinary things. “Did you get a lot of time with her, growing up?”

“When she'd visit, she'd make time. She always told me there's this whole wide world out there. She didn't want me stuck in Copper Summit for the rest of my life.” The young boy lacked any real inflection in his tone, but he seemed enthusiastic about his sister. “She used to tell me stories about this planet in another galaxy, how there was this war going on, like a revolution.”

“True stories?” Isabel asked without thought. News of a revolution was something that peaked her interest.

“How could they be true?”

Isabel quickly distracted him with another topic important to her. “Did she ever mention Vilandra?”

“How do you know about Vilandra?” Nicholas asked as he entered the room finally instead of hovering at the door.

“Vanessa told me some stories, too.” Isabel said hoping to inspire the young boy to have him retell stories his sister told him except before he could Tess walked in ending the conversation.

“Hey.” Tess noticed the end of the conversation. “Oh, sorry.”

“I have to go.” Nicholas was gone before Isabel could stop him.

“I've been looking all over the house for you.” Tess told Isabel. “I was worried. I just found out that Whitaker was adopted. Ida told me.”

“That means that Ida, Walt, and Nicholas could be human.”

“Exactly. And the Universal Friendship League. It's supposed to be a civic organization, like the Elks. Ida says they've been handling all the arrangements for the funeral.” Tess came in eager to impart the information she found intriguing. “She and Walt haven't even seen the body.”

“Because there is no body.”

“Right, but as long as the League handles everything, nobody has to know that.” Tess nodded towards the empty door. “What about the kid?”

“I don't know. You came crashing in before I had a chance to start a real conversation.” Isabel stared at the door wishing she had time to ask Nicholas a lot more about Vilandra.

~~~

Michael and Maria were on their way to Copper Summit. Normally they would’ve taken Michael’s bike, but they were forced to take Courtney with them. It didn’t take long for both of them to regret taking the Skin with them. She never shut up.

“This is a huge mistake.” Courtney told Michael from the backseat, for the umpteenth time. “You're gonna get yourself killed.”

“Yeah, well, that's my problem.”

“I didn't spend fifty years finding you so that you could throw your life away out of misplaced loyalty.”

“Fifty years?” Maria repeated, suddenly curious as she glanced back at the Michael-bum-sucking Skin.

“Yeah, we came here in 1950. Do the math.”

“So, what? That would make you sixty-five, seventy? You're old enough to be Michael's grandmother.” Maria laughed seeing the look on Michael’s face. “I just … I love that. I do.”

“Hey, husks don't age.”

“Husks?”

“Yeah, me.” Courtney told Maria. “My skin … this thing that I'm wearing. It never ages.”

“What is your point?”

“The point is, I've been a babe for fifty years. What are you gonna look like in fifty years from now?”

“I won’t be mulching like a beady-eyed snake.” Maria gave the girl a look over. “Babe? Think a little highly of yourself, don’t you? I saw your music selection, so it’s not like I expect you to actually have any real concept of taste. Backstreet Boys?” Maria gave a rueful laugh. “Tell me, did they give you a chance to pick that moldy old skin you’re wearing, or did someone just dump you into it? Are you even female? Or are you unisex? Bet on your planet you were Michael’s parents’ age. You realize he’s only seventeen, so an old dinosaur like you searching for boytoy material is just obscene.” Maria was warming up, her mind racing with questions.

“Would you two let it go? You're giving me a headache!” Michael complained, about ready to toss them out of the car. To change and redirect the conversation, he looked in the rearview mirror at Courtney. “Yeah, what the hell is a husk?”

“It's basically a shell. It protects us from the environment.” Courtney said, happy to talk to Michael and not Maria.

“Like a space suit.”

“Yeah. This planet's atmosphere is hostile to our race. The husks are a lifeform technology that we can genetically manipulate to resemble human bodies. Our relationship to it is essentially parasitic.”

“So you’re saying your skin is alive?” Maria asked. “Because, news flash, my skin is alive too. It’s actually an organ, part of what is called the integumentary system. So you’re saying that yours is actually like another organism?”

“Like the trees are alive.”

“Great so you’re like a mistletoe clinging to this tree for life, and yet you claim your outer husk is you … the babe?” Maria gave Michael a look. “So which one did you kiss? The inner alien, small and gray with big black eyes, or the walking hull?” Michael made a face at Maria, but didn’t comment. News to him. He had no clue, but the thought was … disturbing. Maria scoffed. “Take it off. Dazzle us with your real beauty.” Courtney’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Uh-huh, thought so. Bet you look better as a human even with the peeling skin than you do as your real self.”

Michael seemed to be thinking about what they were talking about. “So, what's with the peeling? Is that a flaw in the husk’s design or does this parasite do that naturally?”

“Husks are good for maybe fifty years. But the husks are dying.”

“Oh, then I can answer the question you asked before,” Maria said. “How will I look in fifty years? Alive, thank you. Feel free to die anytime.”

“Maria, stop it. Play nice.” Michael told Maria before looking at Courtney again. “Well, if all the Skins in Copper Summit are about to die, then all we have to do is wait them out. If the husks die, we're home free, right?”

Courtney was quiet. Maria stared into the backseat. “Ok, what are you not telling us?”

“The harvest.”

Michael and Maria looked at each other, “The harvest?”

~~~

It was a long drive to Copper Summit. Courtney became quiet in the back listening and watching as Michael and Maria talked quietly to each other. They were talking low, but it was a small car. It wasn’t hard to miss the easy flow of conversation as they went through major points. It was hard for Courtney to admit, but they worked well together, working off each other to solve problems. She remained quiet when they stopped for gas and water.

Maria glanced into the backseat when Michael left the car. Courtney was watching her.

“What?” Maria demanded in irritation.

“Nothing.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “If you have a question, you might as well ask.”

“You two are close.”

“I thought I mentioned that to you before, but you chose to ignore it.” Maria reminded the other girl. “By the way … not that it’s any of your business, but would you stop calling him Mikey G?”

“Bothers you, huh?” Courtney asked happy that her little nickname for Michael made Maria feel left outside.

“No, it bothers him. His foster father called him Mikey, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Since you’re an alien, and obviously after fifty years of living as a parasite you still know nothing about human emotions or feelings, I’ll give you a big hint. It makes him wince in pain.”

“He’s not human.”

Maria scoffed. “Yes he is. His protector, Nasedo told him that he was re-engineered human with an essence of alien.”

“His alien side will always dominate.”

Maria was slowly getting it. “You don’t know that. Do you?” Maria turned in her seat. “This whole story of following him might be true, but why spend fifty years searching for him on a planet that is inhospitable to you? What do you expect him to do? Go back to your world and take the throne, be your leader?” Maria gave it some thought. “If you need husk technology to survive, and Michael doesn’t because he was re-engineered to be human, then why were you looking for him?”

“I told you, he was our leader.”

“No. No, he wasn’t. He remained loyal to Max, so that only means he was the King you wanted, but he was never part of your movement. How could he be? To be part of it would mean he was actively seeking the throne, but you already said he refused to betray Max, and that led to what happened.”

“Look, I’ve been looking for him for a long time. You couldn’t understand.”

“What? Bullshit when I hear it? The whole leader crap is nothing more than you licking his ass again hoping to get him to let you in, trust you. I’m trying to figure out your agenda. Obviously if you can’t live here without wearing a meat bag, then how well can my Michael live on his old planet?”

Courtney made no comment.

“Uh-huh. Okay, so what do you want? Obviously Max is no longer King, so Michael doesn’t have to dethrone him since he has no throne. If he was destined to go home, then why didn’t they engineer him to better survive on his home planet?”

“We are more advanced. We have ways.”

“Sure you are. That’s why you adhere to an outdated archaic monarchy system. You revolted because the King wouldn’t do what you want, but guess what? They don’t have to. They answer to no one but their own needs, especially if they’re a bad King. You didn’t elect them, so you have no real say in their actions, no more than you had over Michael’s choice in his past life not to take Max’s throne.”

“You’re too simple to understand what his duty is, and why he’s important.”

“You think? Why don’t you cut the bullshit and just tell us what Michael has that you need, and don’t give me any of this come-on crap. I’ve met you aliens before. You are a cold, heartless people with nothing but your own self interest to fuel your actions.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Maria watched Michael walked back to the Jetta carrying bottled water. “Meaning you’ll talk to your leader only? Then you’ll be talking to me.” Maria said smugly. “He tells me everything. Whether it’s his plan to play along with a skanky skin peeling barfly to get information or search her house when he sent her to the shower … alone.”

“Bitch.”

Maria sat back, pleased with herself at getting under Courtney’s peeling skin. “So Michael had a bet about where your piercing is. We were arguing whether you were edgy enough to have a clit or tit one. Michael thinks you’re all talk and easy come-on, but you don’t have any tits but he voted for them.”

Courtney turned away refusing to talk to the human girl any longer, her anger flowing off her in waves. She could wipe the smug look off Maria’s face in a moment with a wave of her hand, but Courtney suspected that the Commander wouldn’t take that too well, so she refrained.

~~~

The next morning, Max, Isabel, Tess, and Liz attended the funeral service for Whitaker at the UFL.

“I don't get it.” Tess said staring at the large gathering crowd. “What's the point of putting on a big show like this?”

Max glanced around too. “That's exactly what this is. A big show. After this, there won't be any questions about what happened to Whitaker.”

Isabel noticed Nicholas hanging out at the doorway, staring at her. She needed to talk to him, and after the funeral they were expected to leave. “I'll be back.”

“Isabel...” Max called to his sister who was already across the street.

Isabel followed Nicholas to the back of the Stagecoach Museum. In the back, there was a row of bodies in glass chambers. They looked exactly like the people at the UFL.

“Nicholas?” Isabel called her eyes moving over the bodies. Backing up slowly, she moved through the special showcase.

“Hi.” The young boy said coming into view.

“Oh, God, Nicholas.” Isabel put her hand on her chest in fright.

“I'm glad that you're here.” Nicholas motioned with his hand and an invisible blast knocked out Isabel.

“Ugh!” Isabel said with her hand going to her hurting head as she regained consciousness. Looking around she was two rows of cultivating husks.

“Hello, Vilandra. It's been a long time.” Nicholas said smiling at Isabel. He noticed her looking at the husks. “It's taken twenty years, nursing them from spores to maturity. Now, they're almost ready to harvest.” Nicholas noticed Isabel’s fear. “Don't worry. You're safe here with us, Vilandra.”

“My name … is Isabel.”

Nicholas shrugged. “For the moment. But when I looked into your eyes, it was Vilandra who looked back.”

“No.” Isabel denied. She wasn’t that person. She couldn’t be.

“Your destiny is with us. With Khivar. He's waiting to hear that we've found you.”

Isabel frowned, confusion moving over her face. “I don't even know …”

“Who the hell Khivar is?” Nicholas laughed highly amused. “The Royal Four. If only the people could see you now. Clueless teenagers groping for their own identities. You'd lose some of that legendary aura that's sprung up over the years.”

Isabel moved away from the boy and his derision. “What do you want?”

“It's what you want.” Nicholas reassured her. “You just can't remember. I'm here to take you back to him, Vilandra. The leader of the rebellion. The man who currently sits on your brother's tarnished throne. The man for whom you sacrificed a kingdom. Your lover, Khivar.”

“No.” Isabel shook her head. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t be that person. Isabel started to stand up, but Nicholas motioned with his hand dropping Isabel to the ground again.

“Ughh!” She screamed in pain.

“You're not going anywhere.” Nicholas told her. “You know, on our world, I was considered to be something of a ladies man. I even remember you giving me the eye now and again. But after spending fifty years as a teenage misfit, having all the women laugh at me, I've grown far less tolerant of the female sex.” The little alien tyrant moved on Isabel, his voice suddenly cold. “Where's the Granilith?”

Isabel looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

~~~

At the funeral, Max, Tess, and Liz walked up to the casket where Whitaker's body rested. Upon first glance, it really looked like Whitaker was there.

“Good-looking pile of dust,” Tess commented.

Liz glanced at the others. “This just can't be possible.” She touched Whitaker's hand and a piece of it broke off. Liz panicked for a moment, and then re-arranged the flowers so they covered Whitaker's hand.

“Let's go.” Max told the two girls. They moved slowly down the aisle trying not to attract attention as the service began. Looking around, they noticed all of the people in the UFL were scratching their necks, peeling off some skin. Max, Tess, and Liz attempted to make a calm retreat.

“Look, look!” Tess said grabbing Max’s arm in fright.

“This place is crawling with them.” Liz agreed noticing what Tess saw.

Tess stared at the amount of Skins surrounding them. “There's no way they're going to let us get out of here.”

Greer, the head of the UFL, noticed Max and the girls retreat. Glancing down into Vanessa’s casket he noticed the cracked husk realizing that Max and the two girls knew the truth. “Leaving so soon?” Greer asked. The front doors closed suddenly with a motion of the man’s hand. Greer turned his power on Max, Tess, and Liz as they crumpled to the ground. “You mustn't be in such a hurry to leave us. It appears our long search for the Royal Four has finally ended. How convenient of you to deliver yourselves to us.”

Max put himself between Liz and the man. “She's not one of us. Let her go.”

“She's a human who knows too much.” Ida said smiling at Liz. “It's a darn shame, 'cause she's awfully cute.”

“You must be the once and future king.” Greer said to Max as he glanced at Tess. “And his bride.”

“That's right.” Tess said with a little defiance in her voice.

“You won't remember me, but I remember you.” Greer moved towards them. “This is a moment I've waited for a long time.” Greer shot a yellow energy blast at Max, who countered with his green energy shield. The new power was too new for him to hold or control, but he concentrated since it was all that stood between them and the Skins.

“How long do you think you can hold out against all of us?” Greer asked.

“As long as I have to.”

Tess put an arm around Max, her hand coming up to extend her power. “I can help. Let my strength flow into yours.”

~~~

“Where?” Michael asked Courtney when they entered the town.

“It’ll be guarded! It’s suicide going there.”

Maria looked at the Skin. “We can’t let them harvest new husks. If their husks are destroyed, then they cease to be a threat. If what you told us is true, that it takes twenty years to mature a husk to harvest, then they’ll have no time to start again.”

Michael glanced back at Courtney. “Where are they manufacturing the husks?”

“Straight down the main road to the Stagecoach Museum. The husk facility is in there.” Courtney sat back dejectedly. No amount of talking or pleading could convince Michael and Maria to turn around, to leave it alone. Michael saw the building and parked outside it. They quickly entered the Museum, carefully to watch for guards. The place appeared deserted.

Michael could hear voices coming from below. Taking a short flight of stairs, Michael and Maria went down the stairs together with Courtney reluctantly following them. They paused at a door hearing voices, but not able to hear what was being said.

Nicholas was standing over Isabel, who was kneeling on the ground. “Where is the Granilith?” The door opened distracting Nicholas. Isabel grabbed a nearby pipe, and when Nicholas turned back around, she whacked him with it.

Nicholas easily overcame Isabel again knocking her back with a wave of his hand.

“Ugh!” Isabel hit the floor hard.

“Ok.” Nicholas said. “Now I'm pissed.” He hit Isabel again with another movement of his hand.

“Ugh!”

Nicholas stood over the withering Isabel ready to punish her brutally for her insolence when Michael, Maria, and Courtney made a dramatic entrance from the door. Michael knocked Nicholas to the ground with an energy blast as Maria and Courtney quickly helped the injured Isabel to her feet.

“Get her out of here!” Michael told them. His eyes meeting Maria for a moment before he turned back to Nicholas as he kept his body between the retreating girls and the Skin.

“And who do we have here?” Nicholas asked slowly regaining his feet. Wiping a hand across his mouth, his eyes took on a feral glint. “That gleam of dull stupidity in the eyes. If I'm not mistaken, you must be the king's second in command.” Nicholas chided Michael, his stance taking on an offensive stance belying his youthful appearance. Michael immediately recognized an adversary. “I killed you myself in your last life. Ready to die again?”

Michael nodded to the young boy. “Bring it on.” Ready to fight Nicholas in a showdown to the death, Michael didn’t see Courtney returning to the basement of the museum. Nicholas spied her first, his face taking on a look of horror as she picked up a pipe and swung at some kind of crystal.

“No!” he screamed.

The crystal shattered, and the husks around them began to break down. Nicholas suddenly hunched over in as if in pain grabbing his head.

Courtney did the same. “Run!” she yelled at Michael, quickly running out of the museum not bothering to see if Michael was following, but assuming he would be on her heels. Courtney rejoined Maria and Isabel in the main museum and the three girls exited together.

~~~

Back at the UFL, Max's shield collapsed despite the added power from Tess. Exhausted, Max and Tess were on the ground in front of the Skins.

“Well, it's time for this little game to come to an end.” Greer told Max and Tess. He lifted his hand to finish them when suddenly he appeared to weaken. His face paled as his hand went down and he seemed to wince in pain, almost as if a headache was ripping through his head at the same moment that Courtney destroyed the crystal killing the mental link the Skins had to their new husks.

Max watched at the Skins became incapacitated. Getting up, he reached down for Tess, and pulled Liz with them to make a quick escape from the URL. They dashed outside running into Isabel, Maria, and Courtney, who had made a quick exit from the museum.

“What are you doing here?” Max demanded. He glanced back to the Fellowship Hall of the Skins and shook his head. No time. They had to go. “We gotta go now!”

“Way ahead of you, boss.” Maria told Max opening the Jetta’s door. Pushing Isabel and then Courtney into the backseat. Maria looked around realizing someone was missing. “Michael … where's Michael?” She asked Courtney.

Michael at that moment came out carrying something in his arms. It appeared to be Courtney's husk.

“Open the trunk!” Michael told Maria.

“Is that what I think it is?” Maria asked catching the keys Michael tossed at her.

Michael deposited the husk into the trunk and went to get into the passenger side. “Just drive!”

Maria got into the driver’s side and followed the jeep out of Copper Summit. She glanced at Michael a few times, but he was lost in his own thoughts as were the two in the back. Sighing, Maria frowned as she tried to come to terms with the idea that Michael saved Courtney’s husk.

~~~

The Skins, led by Greer, made their way to the blown up husk cultivating facility. They found Nicholas there. Pieces of dried skins were filtering through the air like snowflakes.

“Huh … the husks?” Greer asked.

“Destroyed,” Nicholas told the group dejectedly.

“Well, that's the end of it, then.” Greer said. “We're all as good as dead.”

Nicholas went to look down the deserted road leading out of town in the general direction of Roswell. “We may be as good as dead, but this is not the end.”

As a tour bus raced towards Roswell everyone was off doing their own thing, going on with their lives as if what happened with the Skins was a distant memory.

At the Evans household, Diane Evans was trying out her cooking skills, essentially practicing a new type of urban terrorism in the form of Martha Stewart on smack. A nice frijole frittata was on the menu, and the Evans felt the quickening of their imminent doom, or ultimate food poisoning. Max watched his sister, carefully realizing that since Copper Summit she had been quiet and reserved.

Meanwhile the father and son team of Valenti and Valenti were angling their way to a good meal, or so it would have been as Kyle snagged a huge specimen of fishy delight that had Jim’s mouth already watering and adding extra butter. That feeling was quickly lost when Kyle practiced the humane ritual of catch and release, and Charley Catfish was free to once again hook himself on another line. Jim, confused by his son’s new Buddha lifestyle, was slowly coming to grips with how much their lives had changed.

~~~

Maria and Liz in their waitress uniforms were hurtling towards Roswell in the Jetta eating away the thirty mile errand that Mr. Parker sent them on. It was Liz’s first day back in uniform and to celebrate, they were sent to go get that ‘thing’ not to be confused with numerous other things, but a special thing that Mr. Parker needed, couldn’t live without.

“Would you step on it, please? My dad is gonna implode if we don't get this thing back by the lunch rush.”

“It's your first day back in uniform. We have one break in an eight hour shift, and the man sends us thirty miles out of town on an errand.” Maria said grievously, her humor lacking for awhile now.

“Well, he let us stay on the clock.” Liz pointed out.

“I'm sorry, Liz. I love your father dearly. I do. But this is totally Kathie Lee.”

Liz cleared her throat. “Is this really bothering you, or is it Michael? He saved her husk. What did he say about that?”

Maria’s chin firmed and her eyes narrowed deadly. “Nothing. We haven’t talked about it.”

“Not on the way home?”

“No.”

“Maria …”

“Look, Liz. Can we not talk about this? I’m having enough time dealing with one of my best friends turning over for the enemy and becoming a peeling Skin-loving freak. I can’t wrap my mind around it, and you know … I don’t think I want to.” Maria didn’t want to have to admit to being disappointed in Michael, to believe that a little flattery turned his towel tumbled head. It was hard to think of him so easily led astray by his smaller brain, but there it was.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you’re sorry, I’m sorry.” Maria glanced at Liz. “So you want to tell me what the hell is going on with you and Max, and why that overblown blonde alien home wrecker is hanging all over him like he’s the flavor of the week?”

“I don’t want to talk about Tess or Max. Let’s just drive.” Liz conceded, letting Maria wallow in her own thoughts while she did the same. It was hard. She could admit she was jealous and why, but Maria? Liz was beginning to understand that Maria had no clue what was upsetting her about Courtney and Michael. Maybe it was best that way … living in the dark, never knowing. She wished everyday that she never knew about what could have been.

Maria sniffed. “You know … if it wasn’t for Isabel, I’d think all aliens are blonde skanks from hell with not an ounce of loyalty and compassion, or even respect in their easy bones. Hell, Earth girls are easy? I don’t think so. Easy lay? Find a damn blonde alien. Thank god, Isabel is breaking the mold. She would never cheat, lie, or betray anyone.”

~~~

Miles ahead of Maria and Liz in a billboard sign for the UFO center on the outside of town was a glowing green rod struck through the billboard defacing it. A green pulse emanated from it and the pulse wave moved outward over the town of Roswell and farther in a concentric wave.

As the wave hit the Evans house Diane Evans who had been getting another serving for Max who was trying to distract his mother from asking about ‘that cute Liz Parker’ suddenly disappeared as the plate she had been carrying hit the floor.

“Mom?” Isabel exclaimed in concern.

Max and Isabel searched the house. Isabel came back down from upstairs not finding either of her parents.

“I can't find Dad either,” Isabel said entering the kitchen. She was alone. “Max? Max! Max!” Her voice rose hysterically. Max came through the kitchen door from outside.

“Where were you?” Isabel demanded, fear still in her throat.

“The neighbor's house is empty, too.” Max told her.

“What's happening?”

Max shook his head. “I don't know.”

Isabel grabbed the phone and tried to call someone. “Oh, come on. Come on.” Isabel slammed the phone down when she got no answer.

“No! Mom and Dad are missing!” Isabel said her hysteria reaching a new level. “They're gone. Oh, God. Are we the only ones left?”

Max tried to calm her down. Why did he ever think she was unflappable? It seemed that over the last year she was nothing if not overly dramatic. Maybe she was spending too much time with Maria.

~~~

Liz and Maria had been outside of Roswell when the green pulse went off. They arrived in town only moments after the shockwave had moved over the city to find cars stopped in the middle of the road.

“Why are all these cars stopped?” Maria asked, slightly annoyed by some people’s inconsideration for emotionally distraught drivers, namely … her.

“What's going on?” Liz asked staring with her mouth open as Maria went around the stopped cars. “Maria, w-what's going on--Maria!” Liz screeched when Maria swerved into a baby stroller.

“Oh, God!” Maria and Liz both got out of the Jetta in a hurry. “I didn't see it! It was just … it was just there, and I was going too fast.” Liz and Maria rushed to the stroller checking it, but there wasn't any baby in it.

“What?” Liz, holding a baby blanket looked around and noticed a lawnmower going around in circles without a driver. “What?! Oh, my gosh, look!”

“What?!” Maria mouthed opened to mimic the same look on Liz’s face as the two girls stared at the lawnmower.

“Where is everybody?”

Maria shook her head, her hand coming to her mouth. Was everyone gone? Her mother wasn’t in town, but … Michael...

~~~

The bus arrived in Roswell. Tourists disembarked including Nicholas. It was a charter bus of Skins coming to Roswell to see the Royal Four in their own stadium. The last game had been a home one for the Skins, one which they lost, but this one? They planned to win this time.

“Welcome to Roswell, New Mexico, folks,” said the Skin Tour guide smirking at the others. “UFO capital of the world and the last stop on our tour. Everyone, remember their sunscreen while you're out and about.” The group applauded the man. “Thank you.”

Nicholas looked at the others. “Let's find us some aliens.”

~~~

Jim and Kyle Valenti were driving back to Roswell when they saw the defaced billboard. Stopping Jim reached for his radio.

“Deputy Hanson, we've got some property defacement up by the Chaparral Turnout. I need you to rustle up a ladder and, uh, take care of it.” Jim said in his radio, his eyes looking at the phallic defacement of a green rod extending out of the alien’s nether region. Kids. Shaking his head, he glanced at his son.

“You could've told me you didn't want to go fishing.”

“No, I did. I wanted to fish.” Kyle reassured his father. “I just … it's just now I enjoy it from a different perspective.”

“Different seems to be the story of your life these days.” Jim pointed out. “The guys don't come over to watch games anymore. You hang wind chimes in my backyard, burn compost sticks in the kitchen.” Jim frowned in irritation when he got no response from his radio. Trying again, he talked into his radio. “Hanson!”

“It's called ylang-ylang, and it opens the mind.” Kyle explained.

“You know what? If you’d lay off the mumbo jumbo, you might get a date every once in awhile.” Jim told Kyle before screaming into his radio again. “Hanson!”

“Any other areas where'd you like to point out my incompetence, Dad, or is the list complete at fishing and dating?” Kyle asked bitterly, trying to bite back the feeling.

Whose fault was it exactly that he had to find some peace in his life after being dead, then brought back to life by an alien? Whose fault was it that he didn’t know what was driving his father to neurotic behavior last year, and made him afraid for his own father’s life? Kyle bit it all back, swallowed it deep inside, hoping for some calmness to smooth away the rough edges of anger that seemed to plague him for the longest time. It was eating him alive, and a calming philosophy was the only thing that kept him from murdering Max Evans or even saying things to his father that would never be taken back.

Jim ignored Kyle to scream at Hanson. “Hanson, if I get back to the station and find you sipping a damn frappaccino …” Jim slammed his handset back into its carriage restarting the car. “My one day off!”

~~~

At Michael's apartment, Courtney had successfully changed into the new husk in the bath tub. She had called Michael to come see how it worked. Emerging from a bath of muddy sludge, Michael reluctantly reached out to touch Courtney’s hand, touching the Skin.

“You put the husk on?” She looked the same as ever.

“The fit’s ok.” Courtney told Michael.

He pressed his thumb on the skin in interest. “Feels like real skin.”

“For now. The husk wasn't fully mature, and I don't know how long it's gonna hold up.” Courtney looked at him. “You saved my life … by stealing this.”

Michael shrugged. “Well, you saved ours in Copper Summit.” He stood up, passing her a towel as the phone rang. “Here's a towel, and here's a robe.” He certainly wasn’t going to mention to Maria that Courtney wore her robe. Michael left the bathroom.

“Yeah?” Michael said in the phone shutting the bathroom door to give Courtney privacy to get out.

“It's me.” Max said. “Meet us at the Crashdown right away.”

“Courtney and I will be there shortly.” Michael answered before he hung up the phone calling to Courtney in the bathroom. “Hey, can you get the lead out? Max called. He wants us at the Crashdown.”

“In a minute,” Courtney called back.

Michael went to sit on the sofa to wait for Courtney. Picking up a magazine, he flipped through it without interest wanting to get going. He heard Courtney opening the bathroom door. Looking up he saw a very naked Courtney posing in the doorway with a smile on her face.

“I really wanted to thank you for saving my life.” Michael sighed deeply. Finally her overly aggressive come-on style was more than irritating him; it was turning him off.

“Uh-huh.” Michael said with irritation moving over his face. “Get your clothes on. We’ve gotta go.” He went back to reading his magazine. Whatever attraction or alien vibe he had gotten before, it was gone. Now … now he didn’t want to get in the middle of some bitchy scratching fight between Maria and Courtney. He glanced at his the clock. “And make it fast!” Michael paused for a moment. “Hey, did you clean the bathtub?”

Hell, he didn’t want to have to explain the ring in the tub to Maria. She was already a walking bag of irrational behavior since she visited Madam Vivian. Like most females, she was highly unpredictable and strangely emotional of late. At least with Courtney, he sort of knew where she was coming from, not that he was buying her story completely either. Women. Too much frickin’ work.

~~~

Maria and Liz were moving down the streets of Roswell slowly as they investigated the chaos of life interrupted. There were streets left with open cars, stores with no owners or customers, a skateboard in the middle of the sidewalk, and a baby stroller with no baby or a mother.

“Look.” Maria said picking up a cup of coffee holding it to Liz. “Look, look! It's still warm.”

“Ahh!” Maria and Liz said together both of them looking around nervously. They both backed away. Whatever happened, it happened fast, and not long ago.

“Ok, let's just go back to the car, ok?” Maria said backing up pulling Liz with her.

“Ok!” Liz agreed fear moving over her face.

“Ok.” Maria took Liz’s hand and they crept back to where the Jetta was left.

“Wait!” Liz saw something on the ground. Stooping to pick it up, she held a piece of skin from the ground. “This is not good.”

Maria looked around paranoid and grabbed Liz’s hand to hurry them away from the area.

~~~

Max lifted a brow when Michael showed up with Courtney. Michael shrugged, explaining that she had been at his place when Max called. Max let it go as they searched the Crashdown.

Max came into the main diner from the breakroom. “No one's back there, either.”

“Everyone's gone.” Isabel said stating the obvious. She was still upset with the disappearance of her mother.

“Every human,” Michael pointed out. “Whoever's doing this is trying to single us out.” The group looked up in surprise as Liz and Maria came bursting through the Crashdown doors.

Courtney made a sound of disgust when she saw Maria. Well there had been hope. “There goes that theory.”

Maria caught sight of Michael in relief, and ran to him. “Michael!” Michael opened his arms and picked her up in a tight hug. Courtney turned away in disgust and Isabel watched with interest as Michael bent his head to kiss Maria softly on the lips framing her face he whispered to her and Maria nodded.

Liz turned away from Michael and Maria to look at Max, at the leader who should know what was going on. And didn’t. “Max, what … what happened? We … we just got back from Dexter.”

“Our parents disappeared. It seems like the whole town is gone. All the humans, at least.”

“Well, why not us?” Liz asked as she looked around the empty diner in dismay.

“I'm sorry.” Isabel told Liz as the other girl looked at her home.

“What’s going on here? Everyone’s gone?” Liz couldn’t believe it or even grasp it. “They're gone, like dead?”

“We don't know that.”

Maria glanced at Michael in fear. Her mother was in Texas, but Alex? She took out her cell phone and dialed Alex’s number. “Pick up the phone, Alex....”

“All we can do right now is focus on the fact that we have each other.” Max told them.

Maria was listening to the dial tone as no one answered Alex’s cell. She glanced at the counter. Reaching over, she picked up a CD off the counter. “Alex's band just burned a new CD, and he couldn't wait to show me...” She shut her eyes in grief as Michael pulled her closer.

Isabel couldn’t think about that, not now. This was serious, too serious to sit around all maudlin over those missing. “First thing we need to do is figure out who did this.”

“We know who did this.” Liz told Isabel. “The Skins.”

“Yeah,” Maria nodded, confirming Liz’s assessment. “We found one of those snake skin things off of Elm Street.”

“Nicholas.” Courtney said, her face a moving display of fear and worry.

Isabel looked around at the empty diner, remembering her mother disappearing. “This is our fault.”

“No.” Tess said entering the room from the back. “It's hers. You led the Skins straight to Roswell, Courtney!”

“She's with us, Tess.” Michael told Tess getting a strange look from Maria.

Tess ignored Michael. No Skin was with them. They were the enemy. “What did your people do to the town?”

“They're not my people!” Courtney spat at Tess, her voice low and angry.

“Stop pointing fingers!” Max held Tess back from Courtney. “We're the ones who destroyed their harvest. They're here to settle the score with all of us.”

Isabel had gone to look out the window at the mention of Skins. She saw people approaching. “Into the bathroom! They're coming! Now!”

Nicholas and Ida entered the Crashdown. Isabel glanced at Tess. “There's two of them … Nicholas and Ida. Hide us.” Tess nodded as she concentrated on mindwarping the Skins into not seeing the bathroom.

“Check in the back,” Nicholas said to Ida as he walked over to where the bathroom door was.

“Oh, please don't let me die like Elvis.” Maria mumbled in fear searching for her cedar oil. Michael wrapped his arms around her to calm her, pulling her back against him. His mouth went to her ear as he told her to be still.

Nicholas tapped on the mirror that Tess had created in his mind to replace the bathroom door. “Mom?!” Nicholas called to Ida as he searched his skin grimacing at his acne. Great his face was breaking out. Puberty for fifty years was making him cranky.

Ida came in from the back, slapping his hand away from his face. “Don't pick. There's nobody back there or upstairs, sir.”

“Look in the mirror, You're shedding.”

The group hiding in the bathroom visibly relaxed.

“Oh!” Ida peeled away excess skin. “It's the heat. Why couldn't those brats be from Seattle?”

“Let's get you back to the moisture chamber. This haphazard searching is going nowhere.” Nicholas remained interested in the mirror. “Time to switch to plan B.”

“What's plan B?”

“We'll search the town … street by street, building by building, inch by inch. I'm not stopping ‘til we find them.”

Nicholas and Ida left as Nicholas gave one long look at the wall, but shaking his head he went. Everyone piled out of the bathroom. Tess weakly stumbled to the counter as Max caught her, helping to sit down. “I've never come up against power like that before. It feels like … someone took a sledgehammer to my head.” she told Max. Liz, unable to stand seeing Max taking care of Tess, went through the door to the kitchen.

Max noticed her leaving. “I'll be right back.”

Maria hardly noticed as she talked to Michael in a low tone. They were talking about Alex, and Maria noticed Courtney watching them.

“Why is she here?”

“She came with me.” Michael answered.

“I see.” Michael stopped her from walking away. “No you don’t. She saved us in Copper Summit. I sort of owe her.”

“If she means something to you, Michael, you can just say that.”

“She does.” Michael pulled Maria back before she walked off again, frowning at her attitude. “Look, I know you and Courtney have been adversarial, and damn if I understand it, but she does mean something to me. She is the only living, breathing, and especially talking connection I have to my past. She can tell me about my past life, about my parents, and about who the hell I was. Maybe she can tell me why I was re-engineered.”

Maria nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I see her face, and it sets me off. I can’t even explain it. I see her touch you, my skin crawls. I don’t trust her, and what I don’t get is why you do.”

Michael didn’t know if he could explain it, but Courtney killed the husks, including her own. Her very life was at risk, and she sacrificed it to save them, to save him. He owed her for that. Before Michael could explain it, Isabel screamed “Max!” as Courtney slumped to the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Max and Liz rushed downstairs. Courtney’s skin was literally aging and peeling before their eyes.

“She just collapsed.” Isabel told them.

Michael had Courtney’s head in his lap. “Max, you gotta help her.” He couldn’t risk her dying yet. There was too much to know, too much to ask her.

“Let's get her upstairs.” Max suggested as the group helped her upstairs.

“The bathroom,” said Michael. “She got into her new husk in the bathroom. I had it stored there to keep it moist. Maybe the water will help.”

Maria chewed on a nail, uncertain. “Um … ok, maybe we should take her clothes off?”

The others agreed and the girls began to strip Courtney. “Got her?” Liz asked Tess who was keeping her upright.

Isabel noticed both Max and Michael hovering at the door. With a wave of her hand she shut the door on the guys.

“Ok.” Liz said once they had Courtney down to her underwear.

“What now?” Isabel asked.

“Um … you know, from what … from what she said, the husk is starving.” Liz explained. “It's looking at her thighs like they're two canned hams.”

“I heard that, you bitch.” Courtney said weakly from between Liz and Tess. They helped her into the bath as Maria turned on the water.

“Uhh!” Liz said from the strain of carting around the dead weight of the Skin.

“Well … what if we tempt it with food from … from outside the membrane … sort of like an all-you-can-eat buffet or something?” Isabel suggested.

“Yeah.” Liz nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I mean, it's worth a try. We need, like, some vitamins and minerals and … and nutrients.”

“Ok.” Maria searched in her bag and pulled out a container of pills. “We've got gingko, bee pollen, Echinacea, C, D, E, calcium, St. John's Wort, and Pamprin.” Maria dumped the entire container into the bath. Finally noticing the others staring at her, she made a face. “What? I’m Michael Guerin’s constant companion.” Liz and Tess both nodded their heads. Sure. What were they thinking?

~~~

Michael and Max were on the roof outside Liz’s bedroom scouting with her telescope. Max was searching the streets trying to locate Skins before they approached. From time to time he glanced at Michael.

“Main Street looks clear. I just wish I knew where they were hiding.”

Michael wasn’t listening. His mind was on the bathroom and Courtney. “You think she'll be ok?”

“I dunno.” Max stopped looking out of the telescope. “You and Courtney have gotten close.”

“Yeah,” Michael shrugged. If that was what Max wanted to call it, fine.

“How's Maria feel about that?”

“Why do you care? You've never been interested in my social circles before.”

“You were never sleeping with the enemy before.”

“And I'm not now.” It was true in the practical sense and the literal. He wasn’t sleeping with Courtney, nor was he planning on doing so. But, he also didn’t consider her an enemy.

“Then why was she at your apartment this morning?”

Michael made a face. He decided to keep most the details to himself. “'Cause she wanted to show me how the husk fit. That's it.” He had gotten an eyeful, and it was a fit.

“Good.” Max wasn’t sure about the Skin. Courtney had been spying on them for a while, and he wasn’t ready to trust her. It was surprising that Michael was.

Michael gestured to the telescope. “Let me take a look.”

~~~

Back in Liz's bathroom, Courtney seemed to have recovered from the nutrient bath.

“Pretty quick recovery, don't you think?” Tess asked the others. “This ‘I've fallen and can't get up’ routine seems a little too convenient. I think it's time for a Q&A.” Tess stared at Courtney. “What exactly did the Skins do?”

“I don't know.”

Wrong answer. Tess pulled the drain plug and the nutrient bath started to go down the drain.

“No!” Courtney tried to sit up to stop Tess.

“What happened to our families?” Isabel asked.

Courtney sighed. “Time exists in multiple subset dimensions on our planet. Nicholas must have a technology to impose one or more of these here.”

“Speak English,” Isabel commanded.

“It's like being on Pacific and Eastern and Central and Mountain time all at once. Human bodies can't function. They simply disappear.”

“To where? Where are our parents, our friends … Alex?” Liz asked when Courtney shut up again. “Where is everyone? Are they dead? Wha …”

Maria lifted a brow at Courtney. “Water’s getting low.”

“Somewhere! Another dimension, another plane of existence! I don't know where! They seem to have just … shifted.”

“Well, can we get 'em back?” Maria asked.

“I don't know.” Courtney looked at the water level. “Please.” Tess replaced the drain plug when the others nodded.

“Why haven't Liz and Maria disappeared?” Isabel asked.

“I don't … I don't know.”

“We were out of town this morning.” Maria told Isabel. “Thank God.”

“It probably bought you some time.”

~~~

Maria and Liz went downstairs to look for more vitamins and minerals to add to the bath. Courtney looked better, but they might need to repeat the Skin beauty treatment.

“So you’re not too happy with Michael being supportive and involved with Courtney.” Liz pointed out.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Maria asked frowning at what was available. “Michael and I aren’t involved in that way.” Maria glanced at Liz. “I was the one that sent him to investigate her.”

“Why don’t you just admit you’re jealous.”

“I will when I am.” Maria shut her locker door. Nothing. Her supplies were shockingly low. “There’s a lot going on, but my problems with Courtney aren’t jealousy as much as …” Maria paused lacking the words to describe what bothered the most about Courtney.

“Territorial?” Liz suggested.

“I think there is some vitamin C tabs at the cash register.” Maria said going to the outside café ignoring Liz’s assessment. She was desperate to change the subject. “Ok. So, what did she mean by "buy us some time"?” Maria asked Liz.

“Don't worry about it. She said we slipped through a window. We'll be fine.” As they entered the main café a Skin saw them. “Oh.”

“Run!” Maria screamed as both she and Liz moved to get away from the Skin.

“Come on!” They went to the order window and Maria climbed across the counter. “Go! Go! Go!” Liz said pushing Maria through and trying to follow. The Skin grabbed her feet.

“Go, go, go, go, go, go!” Maria said as she got to the other side and went to help Liz.

“Maria!”

Maria pulled on Liz's hands, while the skin pulled on her feet. “Go! Go! Go!” Maria said encouraging Liz to kick herself away from the Skin.

“Maria!” Liz screamed when she couldn’t get free. “Aah!”

Sheriff Valenti suddenly appeared. He shot the skin in the back approaching at the Skin hit the ground.

“Oh. Careful, Sheriff! He's a Skin!” Liz called to Valenti as the Skin was up again. He knocked the Sheriff to the ground and made a quick escape.

“Oh, my …” Liz said as she looked down at Valenti on the floor helplessly. “Oh …”

Kyle rushed into the Crashdown having been told to stay out of sight by his father. “Dad! Dad, you ok?” Kyle helped his father to his feet. “You ok? You all right?”

“Ohh!” Jim rubbed the back of his head. Maria and Liz joined Jim and Kyle as the others from upstairs came downstairs in a rush having heard the commotion.

“Maria!” Michael was the first through the door. He immediately found Maria and went to her.

They had Courtney in a booth after the incident asking questions about the Skins, questions they needed to know.

“If guns don't work, how do we kill them?” Max asked.

Courtney was reluctant to tell them, but facing the entire gang was more than she could handle. “Take the heaviest thing that you can find …” Courtney turned in the seat lifting her shirt in the back to expose an area covered in an artificial skin cover. There was a silver button recessed into the husk. The others stood back a little, somehow just coming to the realization that the creature in front of them wasn’t a real human, but something completely different inside. It made the outer appearance seem so mechanical, almost like a robot or something. “Smash this as hard as you can. It breaks the seal in the husk … permanently.” Courtney told them indicating the silver button.

“What about Nicholas?” Isabel asked, more afraid of the younger boy than any of the others. “What can he do?”

“All the things you can … times a thousand.” Maria frowned at that. The Skins weren’t human, and if the aliens’ power were human ones advanced by a thousand years, then where did the Skins get their powers? “But the thing you should be the most afraid of … is this.” Courtney pointed to her head. “He can get inside of your head and take anything that he wants. Basically, he rapes you of your memories and your thoughts.”

Jim nodded to Max. “We've gotta get everybody to a safer location.”

“The UFO center. It's a former bomb shelter. There are no windows and fewer ways in and out.” Max told Valenti. “After we get everyone situated, you, me, Michael, Isabel, and Tess will start picking them off one by one.”

“What about me?” Kyle asked not happy with being pushed to the side with the girls.

“You're not someone I trust.” Max said coldly. “Let's move.”

~~~

Everyone was in an alley across from the UFO Center. Max and Jim split them into groups. Kyle and Michael took Courtney first, and Tess, Liz and Maria followed with Jim. Max and Isabel pulled the rear.

Isabel stopped Max from going, asking him to let her go for Nicholas since it was her Nicholas wanted. Max, confused over what the heck had happened in Arizona between Isabel and Nicholas convinced Isabel to not wander alone, to stay in the safety of numbers.

Max motioned for Isabel to go, but when she didn’t he turned around to find that Isabel had slipped away. When he couldn’t see her anywhere in sight, he went to look for her.

~~~

Michael joined Courtney where she was resting against a wall. She looked sick again. Her skin was peeling and wrinkling, not as bad as before, but it was apparent she wasn’t going to last long. Michael felt bad. The other Skins weren’t as far gone as Courtney. It was the new husk. She had changed into the immature husk because it couldn’t survive, and it was a chance. It was now apparent that changing into the new husk sped her towards her own end.

“I brought you some water if you want. We're gonna pull together the ingredients for another bath. Ok?”

Courtney shook her head. “It won't work. It's … I'm dying.”

“No. No. No, that's not an option. Ok, there's … there's gotta be something that we can do.” Michael couldn’t watch this. She was his only chance to learn anything about his home world, and that was slipping away. He needed her to stay. Seeing the look she gave him, he frowned. “Courtney, what?”

“You won't want to do it.”

“Just say it. What is it?”

“The Granilith.”

Michael sat back from the girl, his eyes moving over her face. So know he knew.

Courtney and Michael talked quietly, and Michael fulfilled a debt of honor telling her things he should not. There was little time for anything else. It was important with the area infested with Skins. Michael stood up to leave.

“Michael …” Courtney gulped hard.

He looked down at her not leaving. “Yeah?”

“Maria … I noticed the way you watch her, the way you’re always holding her or hugging her, and for the longest time, I thought it was nothing since you didn’t seem aware that you do it.”

Michael didn’t comment. His past was his own, and explaining to someone, anyone what the comfort of human contact meant to him was next to impossible. Maria accepted it without real thought because it was something that had slowly evolved over time.

“We’re close.”

Courtney nodded, willing to admit to him, but not Maria that she realized that. She had watched them sleep together, watched Michael crawl into her bedroom when Maria was sleeping at home. It was a complicated relationship, one Courtney never could really understand, but she recognized possession. Michael was in Maria’s eyes her possession, but until today, Courtney hadn’t realized that Michael felt the same about the human girl, not until he thought she was gone and the look on his face when she walked through the door.

“I know.” Courtney looked at her hands. Hers, and not hers. “We don’t feel like that. We feel almost nothing from the husks.” Courtney looked at Michael smiling wryly. “I envy you that. I envy you both.”

Fifty years trapped in a shell that had no real sensory perception. It was hard to imagine how wonderful the ability to feel and the comfort of a human’s touch could be.

~~~

“Where are Max and Isabel?” Maria asked Tess, who shrugged as worry moved over her face. She visually brightened as Max arrived at the Center.

“Max,” Maria asked, “where’s Isabel?”

“She went off her on her own.”

“Did you find her?” Tess asked. Maria rolled her eyes and went back to pacing. Sure, she was resting in his damn pocket.

“Where's Michael?” Max asked not bothering to answer Tess’s question. It was pretty obvious that he was alone.

“He's in the back.” Tess said.

Maria sniffed. “He’s checking on Courtney, and Liz and Kyle are in Brody’s office using his equipment to see if anything unusual happened around 10:30 this morning in this region. I think Sheriff Valenti is with them.”

Max nodded his thanks to Maria as he went off to find Michael.

Maria paced the room. She walked by an exhibit with a mannequin in a window on her path to wearing a hole in the UFO Center’s floor. Turning around and walking back, she paused when she noticed the mannequin was now missing. A Skin stepped out and blasted Maria with an energy blast. She hit the floor hard.

Maria scrambled back from the advancing Skin. “Tess!”

Tess sneaked up behind the Skin kicking its seal self-destruct button. The Skin disintegrated into dust. Tess helped Maria up, brushing her off.

“Thank you, Tess.” Maria said aware that her usual animosity towards the alien girl gave Tess no reason to help her … to save her.

“No problem.” Tess smiled, surprised by Maria gratitude.

Liz was telling Max and Michael about an energy surge recorded by Brody’s sensors that morning. If it was an energy field that started it, then they needed to short the energy pulse out. That might bring all the humans back.

“They found a way in.” Tess told Max explaining what happened to Maria as Michael went to Maria to make sure she was okay. “We've gotta go.”

“All right. We'll head for the school. It's our turf.” Max looked at Kyle. “Get your dad.”

“I can't.” Kyle told them. “He disappeared right in front of me.” Kyle’s voice was a study in misery. His father had told him that he was sorry for ignoring him, for not appreciating the changes in him, and then he just disappeared right before Kyle’s eyes.

Liz frowned at the information. That wasn’t good. “You know, the Skins' time dimension must be catching up with those of us that are …”

“Human.” Maria finished for Liz, her worst nightmare realized. She looked at Liz and Kyle. “So if the time dilation is catching up, then who's next?”

Kyle rubbed his head. Glancing up, he saw a rack of UFO Center postcards. Picking up the card with the welcoming billboard sign, he showed it to the others.

“That time field is coming from the billboard out by Chaparral Turnout.” Kyle told them. “My dad spotted a green rod stuck through it this morning. We thought it was a prank.” Kyle pushed the card back into the stand. “I'm heading out there.”

“No.” Max told them. “We stick together.”

“Hey, I've been really nice about following your orders, Senor Presidente’, but if I can do something to help bring some people back or ensure that Liz, Maria, and I live to see another day, I'm gonna do it.” Kyle said ignoring Max. Hell, he might be the aliens’ King, but he sure as hell wasn’t Kyle’s.

Max stared at the stubborn look on the other boy’s face. Kyle had been mild mannered of late, but the Kyle that he literally fought with all last year was still there. “Kyle. Look, … take Bradford Alley all the way out of town. It's a straight shot. You can't get boxed in.”

“Thanks.” Kyle glanced at the other two humans. It was their lives, theirs and their peoples’. Liz and Maria nodded.

“Good luck … to all of you.” Max said when he noticed that Liz was going with Kyle.

“I'll take care of her.” Kyle told Max, knowing that despite everything Max thought to be true, he would still be concerned about Liz above all others. Kyle walked up the UFO Center’s stairs and Liz followed him after staring at Max for a brief moment.

Michael stood next to Maria, his arm stopping her. “This is insane. What if you run into Skins? One of us should go with you.” Michael nodded more to himself. “I’ll come with you. We can take my bike and Liz and Kyle can take the Jetta, that way one of us makes it.”

“Michael,” Max said. “Isabel is missing. It might take the four of us to get her back.”

Maria put her hand on Michael’s stomach. “Go. Find Isabel first. If we don’t make it, you know where to go. The billboard.”

“Maria …”

Maria stopped him. “Um … I know how you hate when things get all goopy, so …” She hugged him tight, closing her eyes lest it was for the last time.

Michael glanced at Max. “Max, you got your cell phone?”

“Yeah, why?” Max asked handing it over to Michael when he held out his hand.

Michael looked at Maria. “You call me on Max’s phone if anything happens, you understand?”

“Michael …”

“I mean it, Maria. Anything. You can’t make it. Or you need me. You call.”

“Okay.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely promise?”

“I absolutely promise.”

“Yeah. So I'll see you soon.” Michael said his eyes dark and serious.

“Yeah.” Maria said, her voice in no way convinced as her eyes became glassy.

“No. I will.” Michael told her. Maria quickly left before she changed her mind. It was hard to do this without Michael. They always worked together, and she never realized how much he made her feel safe, like nothing could happen to her as long as he was there.

“Ok. It's the four of us on foot.” Max said. “If we stick to the side streets, we can …” Max paused looking around.

“What's wrong?” Tess asked Max.

“Where's Courtney?” Max asked. Michael shrugged, but he didn’t meet Max’s eyes.

~~~

Isabel had found the tour bus. Following a toy remote car, she was distracted long enough to be knocked unconscious. When she came awake she was inside the Skins' bus handcuffed to the railing.

“Uh …” Isabel pulled on her arm. She tried to open them with her powers, but they would not open.

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you rejoined our side, Vilandra.” Nicholas said as he came onto the bus with Ida.

“Tryin' to ambush my baby,” Ida scolded Isabel. “I should pull out your filthy eyes and grind 'em into dust.”

“I came to make a deal.” Isabel told them.

Nicholas laughed. “And what could you possibly have to offer us?”

“Me.” Isabel shot daggers at Ida when the older woman scoffed at her suggestion.

“You always were a flighty little princess. Jewels before studies. That's our Vilandra.” Nicholas laughed. “We already have you, you beautiful moron.”

“I think you're the one who doesn't understand.” Isabel told the young boy. She made eye contact with the young kid lifting a brow suggestively.

“Leave us.” Nicholas ordered the older woman.

Ida made a sound of disgust. “You can't possibly think that this woman …”

“Do you really want to finish that sentence?” Nicholas threatened Ida who immediately backed off. “Leave. Now.”

“All right.”

Nicholas waited until Ida left before turning back to Isabel. “Go ahead.”

“The last time we were together, you awakened something in me. I remembered things from our past.” Isabel swallowed the bitter bile of nausea. “You and me.” She suggested. God help her, she didn’t remember a damn thing, and so this was a shot in the dark.

“Our forbidden meetings.” Nicholas smiled.

Isabel bit the inside of her mouth repulsed by the boy, and more so, by the person she used to be. “I came here for you.” She told him as she seductively ran her hand up his front. “I know what's hiding behind that husk.” Nicholas smiled as he motioned with his hand making the handcuffs that Isabel had been unable to manipulate disappear.

Isabel acted like she was going to kiss Nicholas, but at the last instant, she pushed him to the ground reaching for his fanny pack. Ida came back knocking Isabel out.

“Uhh!” Isabel said as she hit the ground.

Nicholas got himself up, dusting himself off. Damn her! He had wanted to see what Isabel would do when she found his Pokemon trading cards in his fanny pack. Vilandra always had been more looks than brains. “Mom, what are you doing?!”

“Saving you, sir!”

“She was no threat!” Nicholas looked at the unconscious Isabel his anger increasing. He had fifty years of sexual frustration boxed up inside a freaky loser boy’s body. “Damn it, now she's no good at all! I'm sick of this!”

“What do you want to do now?”

Nicholas’s eyes gleamed in murderous intent. “Kill every last one of 'em.”

~~~

In the Jetta, Liz, Maria, and Kyle were on their way to the billboard, carefully going so not to attract too much attention to themselves. Kyle was driving while Maria sat in the passenger seat, and Liz in the back.

“If we get out of this …” Maria said.

“When we get out of this …” Kyle corrected.

“Things are gonna change for me. I'm gonna start spending more time with my mother. I'm gonna … I'm gonna write more to my grandmother.” The moment of loss was a telling one, it redefined priorities. “I mean, these are the people who gave me life, you know?”

“No!” Screeched Liz more to herself in the backseat having a conversation with herself, ignoring the others. “I can't leave it like this!”

“Excuse me?” Maria looked into the backseat at her obviously demented friend.

“Max.” Liz explained. “No, I walked out on him without explaining what happened between you and me.”

“Huh?” Maria shook her head. You and me? She lifted a brow. Um, she had no idea that something happened between her and Liz, something that would bother Max. Maybe he thought that she and Liz were like … Oh! No way!

“I didn't even say good-bye!” Liz continued.

“Look, you've got a job to do.” Kyle told Liz meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror knowing exactly what Liz was prattling about . “Max has got a job to do. When everybody's done with their job, you can make nice.”

“He'll never know!” Liz said tragically, her over the top dramatic hyperbole making Maria open her mouth in confusion. What the hell was going on?

“He's Max. He'll always know,” Kyle told her. “Right?”

Maria looked to the back to reassure Liz over something she couldn’t understand when Liz disappeared.

“Liz?” Maria mouthed opened in shock, then fear. “Ohhh …” Maria could feel fear moving over her. “Not Liz. I need Liz.”

“Maria, Maria, look, look, look, look.” Kyle said, trying to get her to calm down. “She's coming back. They all are. All right? Now, Liz said something about generators and electric fields.”

Maria bit on a nail, her mind too upset to think straight. “So how does electricity work?” She asked Kyle hopeful that he could help where she normally depended on Liz.

“Why are you lookin' at me? We were both in the same remedial science class for three years.” Maria made a face. Okay, so science wasn’t her thing. She sort of listened, unless she was tired, bored, or, well, unless it was science.

“Basically, we have to … um, blow its fuse, right?”

“That means we mess with the current.” Kyle glanced at Maria. “Do you have jumper cables?”

“Yeah.” Maria looked up to see a Skin in the middle of the road. “Kyle!”

The Jetta swerved and they went down a slight embankment hitting it hard. Maria’s forehead hit the front dash as Kyle sat there stunned. Getting out of the car, he faced the Skin.

“Buddha, forgive me, but I'm gonna kick your ass!” The Skin rushed Kyle, and he flipped him over. Kyle reached into the car to the get "the club". He knocked the Skin with it and then broke the husk’s self-destruct button.

Kyle looked into the car at the hurt Maria who was stirring with her hand on her forehead. “Maria …” Kyle disappeared.

~~~

In town, Nicholas found a weak and dying Courtney lying on the ground in a back alley area.

“When my soldiers told me what they had found, I had to see for myself.” Nicholas smugly stood over the dying Skin. “What's the matter, Courtney? Too weak to run?”

“Leave me alone.”

“You always were the social butterfly, Courtney. Always the first to make new friends.” Nicholas crouched down to her. “But what I want to know is … where are yours hiding?”

“I think I see a chest hair, Nicholas.” Courtney said nastily to Nicholas making fun of his difficulty of being a small boy for fifty years. “Way to go.”

“Fine,” Nicholas countered, happy that she chose the harder course. “We'll do this the hard way.” Nicholas grabbed Courtney's head and started draining her mind, or what little she had left as the water depletion in her husk dried her essential body fluids making concentration a hard thing.

“Ohh! Ohhh!” Courtney screamed.

“Let's see … you had scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then you slipped into that husk that punk stole from us.”

“No! No.” Courtney tried to resist.

“Boring. Boring. Boring.” Nicholas laughed. “Oh this is interesting. Offered yourself on a silver platter to your dream leader … aw, he refused! How humiliating for you! Guess he doesn’t care for your overblown act anymore than the rest of us.” Nicholas said adding to the pain. “Aha!” Nicholas saw an image of Max through his mind drain.

“All right, we'll head for the school. It's our turf.”

“School? On a Saturday?” Nicholas tsked. “As I suspected, the old King is still a dud. How sad to refer to school as one’s turf. Dork. What a drag.”

“I hope they kill you.” Courtney told the evil young boy.

“You've become awfully chummy with them, haven't you? Courtney? Are you hiding something else?” Courtney tried to avoid him. “You are. You have a secret. What do you know?”

“Ohhh!” Courtney screamed as Nicholas grabbed her head again. He saw another image.

Michael was leaning in close to Courtney talking low. “If anything happens to me, Max, or Tess, I want you to be able to save yourself. Now, if I tell you where the Granilith is, do you swear never to tell anyone?”

“I swear.”

Nicholas laughed. “Oh damn! That Commander was always a dupe! Loyal to a fault, he must’ve felt obligated to help you since you helped him. We already know he isn’t interested in your scabby body.” Nicholas sat back on his heels pleased with himself. “The Granilith! That's a bonus! I hope he gave you detailed directions.” Nicholas reached in to probe deeper.

Courtney reached behind to her back and pressed the husk un-sealing button. She disintegrated.

Nicholas sat back in disgust, but also in respect. “Now, that's a soldier.” He stood up wiping off particles of Courtney from his clothes. No great loss. The Royals would tell him what he wanted to know, and he hoped they resisted for a long time. It would be his pleasure to torture it from them slowly.

~~~

They walked through the quiet halls of West Roswell High carefully peeking around corners. The place felt dead, despite being a Saturday and normally being empty, this feeling was different.

“You sure you don't know where Courtney went?” Max asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“I've got one.” Tess told them bitterly, hating that Michael seemed to trust the Skin more than he trusted her. “She and Nicholas are probably laughing at how gullible we are.”

“Would you just let it go?” Michael asked the alien girl. Max’s cell phone went off in his pocket, and Max swore at the noise as Michael quickly answered.

“Maria?”

“They’re gone! All of them!” Maria was almost incoherent.

“Maria, calm down and tell me!” Max tried to ask a question, but Michael waved him off.

“The Jetta! Kyle was driving it when a Skin stepped in front of it. We crashed.”

“Crashed? Maria? Maria! Are you okay?”

“Listen to me, Michael. Carefully. I’m not going to make it. I can’t make it there in time. You have to go. Short it out. Use the jumper cables.” Maria’s voice faltered on the other end as she took deep breaths. “I’m sorry.”

“Maria!” Michael swore into the phone. “Maria, you aren’t going anywhere! You hear me? Now tell me where you are!” Michael listened. He nodded to himself as he pictured exactly where she would be. “You stay there. I’m on my way. Stay there.” Michael emphasized to get her attention. “Maria, you be there when I arrive, or I will be very pissed.” Michael hung up tossing Max his phone. “Gotta go.”

“Michael, we need you!”

“Maria needs me.”

“Michael …”

“I have to go, Max. Kyle and Liz are gone. They were in an accident, and Maria can’t get there. She’s the last of them.”

Max stared at Michael for a moment. They were responsible for the humans, all of them. He nodded. Michael didn’t wait. He was gone.

Stopping in the gym, Michael found a bat. He didn’t bother to hide or avoid Skins. When he found them, he used his powers to knock them aside, then cracked their husk seals with the bat. It took him a few moments to get to his bike outside the Crashdown. He headed down Bradford Alley out of town following the route that Maria and the others took.

He saw the Jetta first in the ditch. Maria was sitting on the hood holding a pair of jumper cables. Driving up to her, Michael held out his hand frowning at the bump on her forehead. “C’mon!”

Maria quickly got on the back of bike as they sped off towards the billboard.

~~~

After Michael left, Max and Tess continued walking through the school halls careful to look around corners. They found Isabel on the ground leaning up against a set of lockers. “Isabel! Isabel!” Max crouched down to check out his sister.

“Ahem!” Nicholas said.

Max and Tess looked around. They were surrounded by Skins.

~~~

When Max, Isabel, and Tess came to they were tied to pillars. Nicholas sidled up to Max.

“This was far too easy.” Nicholas said in disgust. “What happened to you, guy? You used to determine the fate of entire armies with the flip of a coin.” Max flinched at the cruel knowledge of his former self. Courtney had already hinted that he was a bad King whose self interest had led his Kingdom to ruin and revolution. Now Nicholas was confirming his cruelty. “Luckily for me, you continue to put your faith in the wrong people.” Nicholas smirked at Isabel. “Does this scene feel familiar, Vilandra?”

Max glanced over his shoulder towards Isabel when Nicholas called her Vilandra.

“And now where is you trusted second? Oh, I hope he isn’t looking for the traitorous Courtney. He really is a disappointment … such a boy spilling the secret of the Granilith to one of our exiled members. Rule number one of war: keep your big mouth shut. Courtney knew that. That's why she killed herself before I could get its exact location. Maybe you should educate your Second a little better about loyalty, or better yet, get him a haircut. He’s definitely looking much more stylish than you, and you don’t need him gaining any more loyal followers.”

Max struggled to get free of the column which seemed to amuse Nicholas even more. “There's one more thing I need to know before we can all call it a day. Where's the Granilith?”

“I'm not telling you.” Max spat at Nicholas defiantly.

“Oh … you will.” Nicholas motioned with his hand. Isabel and Tess started screaming in pain.

“Wait!” Max said desperately looking back at the two tortured girls. “I'll take you there! Just you and me. This has nothing to do with them.”

“Max, don't.” Isabel begged.

“This is too easy. In the old days, I would've been no match for you.” Nicholas taunted Max for his ineffectiveness. “But … now?” Nicholas grabbed Max's head and started draining his memory. He stopped laughing. “Ouch! You have lousy taste in women! She slept with him? Oh, killing you will be a merciful end to your pathetic life.” Nicholas went back to probing Max’s mind.

“Nyggggg ... unhh! Ohhh ... uhh!”

“Either way, you're going to die, Max.” Nicholas assured him. “So why don't you just make this easy on yourself?”

Max screamed again as Nicholas applied more pressure. Max tried to focus and repel Nicholas' mind drain until exhausted he slumped against his restraints.

“Ready to tell me now?” Nicholas asked having too much fun. It was time to end this charade. He reached over to finish Max off.

Tess screamed shrilly and then gathered her power as she looked up in a rage, her hair blowing around her as the power hidden in her body raged outward in an inferno. A raging fire started to build behind her as she released it into the group of Skins, vaporizing them.

~~~

Michael and Maria reached the billboard. Michael took the jumper cables and attached it to his bike as Maria grabbed the other end and started to climb up to the billboard.

“Maria, I should put it on the rod.” She had taken a bump to the head.

“No. I will. If I disappear it will be hard to connect it and rev up your bike.” Maria continued to climb up the billboard to the rod. Maria tried to hook it onto the rod.

“Hurry, Maria!”

“Keep it together, DeLuca.” Maria said to herself in encouragement. She hooked the cable clamps to each other and placed it on top of the green pulsating tube. Looking over at Michael, for a moment their eyes met as she disappeared.

“Maria!” Michael yelled revving up his bike. The cables destroyed the tube and Michael ducked his head covering his head with an arm. Roswell glowed green again as the effects of the tube were reversed and the energy pulse moved back.

~~~

Once Nicholas and the others were gone, the column disappeared and the three alien teens hit the floor. Tess was unconscious.

Max and Isabel rushed to her side as she slowly regained consciousness. “What … what just happened?” She asked weakly.

“You saved us.” Max told her. He helped her to her feet.

Tess sagged weakly against Max, her hand on her forehead. “Ohhh …”

“Vilandra?” Max said softly to Isabel who looked away unable to talk about it. They walked down the halls of the school leaving to see if Michael and Maria succeeded. Rounding the corner of the hall, they got their answer as they ran into a janitor working, unaware that anything happened.

~~~

At the Crashdown, all the humans had returned. Alex was sitting at the counter eating when Jim came through the door seeing him. The Sheriff smiled big and went over to Alex.

“Hey,” Alex complained as he took a bite of his pancakes, “these are freezin'!”

“Alex.” Jim said happy to see the young man.

“Mornin', Sheriff. Uh, skip the pancakes.”

“Yeah?” Jim smiled even bigger his happiness almost contagious. “Hey, kiddo. How's it goin'?”

Alex looked at the older man uncertain but shrugged. Kyle was into Buddha, who knew … maybe the old man was getting into it as well. “Good. You?”

“Good.” Jim said joining Alex at the counter giving him a friendly pat on the back.

Alex made a face afraid to ask. “Great.”

~~~

At the Evans household, Isabel ran into the house stopping when she saw her mother washing dishes.

“Mom!”

“Ohh!” Diane said as Isabel hugged the stuffing out of her. “How hard can it be to sit down to one breakfast? But, no … everybody has to go running. Isabel, why can't we just be like a normal family?” Isabel just laughed and continued to hug her mother tightly.

“Oh! Sweetie, I'm drippin' water all over the floor here.”

“I'll get it later.”

~~~

Michael was staring at the place where Maria had disappeared. Suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see her standing there.

“Hey.” Michael grabbed her in a tight hug swinging her around in a circle. Maria laughed as her arms tightened around his neck. When Michael put her down, she grabbed him hugging him again.

“I thought …” Michael said.

“I know.” Maria smiled big, her cheek dimpling as a slight redness moved over her face. She felt … giddy. “Let’s go find Kyle and Liz.

Michael pulled the jumper cables off his bike and rolled them up handing them to Maria and she got on the back of the bike.

“The Jetta …” Maria remembered already resigned to being grounded yet again.

“I’ll take care of it.” Michael promised. He glanced back at the bump on her head. “Are you okay?”

Maria nodded, hugging her arms around his midsection and resting against his back. “Now I am.”

They found Kyle and Liz at the Jetta discussing how to get it out of the ditch. Maria and Michael got off the bike, and suddenly the four of them were a flurry of limbs as they jumped around hugging each other.

~~~

Max and Tess walked through a park, discussing what happened. They were enjoying the lively noises of the park, of people out and about. It was a welcome change from the scary silence of earlier in the day.

“I just wanted to scare them with a mindwarp. I thought if they saw fire …” Tess gulped hard. “It was awful, Max. I lost control. Tapped into … something completely different.”

“You think you could do it again?”

Tess shook her head. “I don't want to.”

Tess bumped into Max as a little boy who looked a lot like Nicholas bumped into Tess while riding a scooter. Max and Tess stared after the boy as he rode away.

~~~

Maria hung up the phone.

“So, is she okay?”

“Yeah.” Maria came to join Michael on the sofa leaning back against him as his arms came around her holding her close. “She’s going to stay in Texas a few more days. I guess Mom met this guy …” Maria let it drop.

“Sorry.” Michael said tightening his arms around her.

“Not your fault.”

“I thought we agreed for the time being everything would be my fault.”

“We did, but I think we can call a truce.” Maria looked outside the window at the night sky as Michael turned off the lights in the apartment with a wave of his hand. “I’m sorry about Courtney.”

Michael nodded more to himself. “Nicholas told Max that she self-terminated rather than let him steal the Granilith’s location from her mind. She promised me that she would never tell.”

“So you were right to trust her.”

Michael shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Hard to say. Time would’ve told. I just think she hated Nicholas enough that she would’ve rather die than let him have it.”

“So why did you tell her?”

“Debt of honor.” Michael sighed deeply. “I really wanted her to live. I guess it’s pretty apparent why she was looking for me.”

“The Granilith.” Maria said. She never believed Courtney’s spiel about following Michael politically. It might have been true in a past life, but not in this one. In this one, it was laughable. Michael was still a boy, barely moving into adulthood, and his powers were nowhere comparable to Nicholas or the Skins. Maybe in time, but not right now.

“Yeah. Guess she went renegade a long time ago. She couldn’t go back to Copper Summit for her husk so the Granilith was her only hope.” Michael made a face. “Guess in a way, Tess was right. Courtney did lead the Skins here. Whitaker was using her position in politics, her power to keep track of Courtney. Whitaker probably used the Special Unit the same way, the real Pierce, in the hope of getting them to find us. If Courtney didn’t find us, then maybe the Special Unit would. I guess between Pierce last year taking Max, and Courtney showing up here as well, it was all Whitaker needed to come here herself.”

“Exposed,” Maria mused.

“In so many ways, it’s not funny.” Michael shook his head. “It is hard to imagine how long they watched us, with us being oblivious, burying our heads like children in the dark, hiding under the covers, hoping that if we couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see us.”

Maria was quiet, staring at the stars in the sky. “Do you think they are still there?”

“Who? The Skins?” Michael asked. “Max said that Tess annihilated them. Vaporized their flaky asses.”

“No, your parents. Do you think they’re still on your planet? Antar.”

Michael followed Maria view staring at the same stars. “I don’t know. I doubt it.”

“Why?”

Michael shrugged. “If Courtney wanted my help, all she had to do was tell me about my parents. That would’ve gotten me to listen. Her unwillingness to say anything, and she came here in 1950, says a lot. If they were still alive, she would’ve used it.” Maria moved back into him in comfort, her hands coming up to hold his arms where they circled her body.

“You don’t know that.” Maria leaned her head back into the crook of his neck. “You wanted her alive so she could tell you things about your past life.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s gone. They’re all gone. Nasedo is gone. Every avenue I find closes. I don’t know if they’ll ever come for me, or I’ll ever find a way home, but Courtney was the closest I came to finding real answers. If the Skins hadn’t come today, I might have had some time to really talk to her once she had her new husk on. I don’t know how much I could trust, but it would’ve been more than I have now.”

Family. Maria closed her eyes for a moment. He might have found his family, or at least felt he had something to hold on to. Max and Liz had a message from home, but Michael, the only family he ever had was stolen by destiny.

Michael surprised Maria. “You’re my family, Maria.”

Sometimes he read her mind so easily it scared her, and other times, it was a comfort. There was so much she couldn’t say, so much she wasn’t ready to know herself, and it was a comfort to think he might understand the unspoken words more than any she could say.