The Consequences of Turning Green (CC/Teen) Complete 6-12

[ultimatepickupline]

Flamehair-well you'll just have to read to find out..
Shiesty23-um..wait for a few chapters here
Emz80m-so am I
83 AlienAngel-thanks
Timelord31-yes it is a relief isnt it?
Redrumm-and you will find out, but not till you read the update...
ken_r-thanks ken, I feel that dialogue is what I have had to work on the most as my writing has progress, and I feel honored to have you compliment me on it. Oh and thanks for the valentine. That was nice of you.
izzyandkyle-I know it is a little overwhelming that Max found out in front of everyone else. I feel bad for him.
PML-It is going to get interesting. I promise.
katydid-Yes we are all pulling for Thehlec. I've been pulling for him since I started writing his character! Glad you felt the tension. How about the tension in this next part?
SarahWhitman-Thank you so much! Seriously your fb made my day for like two days! I'm really glad you like that line of Kyle's too, because when I sent it to the person that beta'd it, there was talk of getting rid of it, but then we decided that it was worth it to keep it in, and look how well it went over with one person? That makes me sooo happy. You have no idea.
paper-yes those paradoxes are fun though.

Thanks again everyone. Now put on you seatbelt for the next ride!


Chapter 40

"So how do I open the door?' Serena asked anxiously after a few seconds of Thehlec just staring at her. "You do realize that in order to get everyone out, I'm going to have to open the door at some point don't you?"

"Yes! I'm thinking." Maybe only working out a plan that relied on some alien help was a bad idea. How was he suppose to do this with just a human now? Ok Thehlec. Think. Think! Thehlec looked around the room and saw the monitors of the cameras he had set up, including the one set on the storage room, and that was when he noticed something. All twelve of the people in the room were only restrained by rope. If the aliens couldn't get out of that, then obviously the power suppressors were turned on. Great that was just another problem for him to deal with. "Okay, I'm going to assume that there are guards by the door, and that they have keys on them. You're going to have to knock them out, take the keys, and open the door."

Serena was getting frustrated; this whole thing was getting pretty hopeless. "How am I supposed to do that with Alexa with me? And that's not even including the fact hat I have no idea how to fight!"

"Um...here!" Thehlec reached into his pocket and pulled out a modified version of the weapon Soirafen had used against him. The weapon was designed to knock a person out long enough for Thehlec to cover up whatever "inappropriate" activity he was doing at the time, and when the person woke up, they hopefully wouldn't remember anything. Of course, the weapon hadn't actually been tested yet, so he didn't know how well it would work. "Shoot whoever is there with this. It should knock them out long enough for you to get everyone out. But hurry."

"I've never used a gun before! I don't know how to shoot!" Any calm Serena previously had was quickly disappearing.

"Just aim the best you can, pull this trigger, and hope for the best. Now we have to go!" Time was running out, and Thehlec needed to talk to Khivar before Khivar decided to proceed with his plan to kill everyone.

"Hope for the best?! What kind of plan is that?!" Thehlec started to leave the room, and Serena had no choice but to gather Alexa and follow.

"It's not a plan. But it's all we have right now. Okay you're going to go down that hall, then turn right. There'll be some stairs on your left, and you're going to have to go down them without alerting the guards. Once you're down the stairs, the guards will be just around the corner, so you should shoot from there. Got it?"

"Yes." Thehlec left in the opposite direction, leaving Serena alone. She took a deep breath then headed down the hall, whispering to Alexa that she better stay quiet. Luckily Alexa seemed to know that this was not the time to cry, because although she was awake and not getting any attention, she stayed as silent as Serena had ever seen her.

*****

Khivar was just standing up to head over to the door when he heard a knock. He quickly made his way back to his seat, sat, and waited for a few seconds before announcing that the person could come in. When the door opened to reveal Thehlec, Khivar was actually a little surprised. He had been expecting one of the soldiers or Nicolas. "Thehlec, why are you here?"

Thehlec strode in with false confidence. He really didn't know how he was going to keep Khivar distracted, but he figured that as long as he acted like nothing was wrong, it would keep Khivar off track for longer. "Well, sir, I came to ask you about your plans for the prisoners."

"I'm going to kill them of course. But I'm actually very glad you came in. You can tell me what order I should go."

Thehlec swallowed. This was not what he actually wanted to be talking about. But he supposed that if he really wanted to keep Khivar away as long as possible that he would just have to suck it up and forge on. "Well..."

*****

Serena had just finished creeping down the steps, and she stealthily tiptoed over to one of the walls and placed Alexa in her carrier on the floor. "Okay Alexa, stay quiet for a few more minutes okay? I'm going to go get your mommy," she whispered as she reached for the weapon and then stood up.

Taking one last look down at the baby, Serena then cautiously and silently stepped closer to the end of the wall. Step by step Serena could feel the anticipation growing in her stomach. Two more steps and her stomach turned. Three more steps and her whole chest felt immovable. Four more steps and she was there. All she had left was to look around the corner. She could do this on the count of three. One. Two. Three. Serena carefully and slowly tilted her head around the corner. In a second she saw the eyes of one guard, and her heart jumped up into her throat. Without even thinking, she brought up the weapon and pulled the trigger twice, felling both of the guards. Her heart was pounding so hard, she could feel her whole body move with every beat, and she suddenly realized that she was in the middle of the hall.

After taking a quick glance at Alexa, Serena quickly rushed to the guards and looked for the keys. They should be somewhere easily accessible right? Like a pocket or a belt. Okay First Guard belt. No. First Guard Right pocket. No. Left pocket. No. Back pockets. No! Okay don't panic. Maybe they're on the next guard. Belt. No. Right pocket. Left Pocket. Back pockets. No. No. NO! Where were they? Where were they?!

Serena stood frozen, knowing she didn't have enough time to go back and get help, but also knowing that she couldn't do nothing. In desperation she just tried to open the door anyway, and when it opened, she had never been more relieved, or surprised, resulting in an inability to keep the hysterical laughter at bay.

The twelve prisoners in the room were blinded by the light coming in through the door, not because it was actually that bright, but because it was the first true light any of them had seen in a few hours. Unfortunately for them, the hysterical laughter that they heard at first did nothing to alleviate the anxiety they felt when the door first opened. It took several seconds for anyone to figure out what was going on.

Liz had the advantage that she had known Serena for longer, which meant she knew Serena's laugh, hysterical or not. So Liz didn't have to wait for her eyes to adjust completely before she could tell who it was. "Serena?"

Once Serena heard Liz's voice, she sobered up pretty quickly, and she raced to where she heard Liz's voice. "Liz! You're here!" Serena immediately started to untie Liz's ropes before Liz could even respond.

"What are you doing here Serena? How did you find us? Where's Alexa?!" Serena finished working on Liz's ropes, and Liz reached over next to her to help Max, while Serena moved on to Maria.

"Alexa's around the corner, and we have to get going soon. Those guards I knocked out might come to soon." Serena moved on to Tess, Maria moved to Michael, Liz moved to Isabel, and Max moved to Alex.

"You knocked out some guards? How did you do that?" Jeff called over from across the room.

"Um, with a weapon Thehlec gave me." Serena was having trouble with Tess's ropes, and couldn't concentrate on them and the story at the same time.

"Who's Thehlec? You kids didn't mention any Thehlec." Philip's eyes darted from one teen to another looking for an answer as Isabel came over to him to untie his ropes.

"We don't know Thehlec dad. And I don't know how Serena does." Isabel was nervous about this whole situation. Who in the world was Thehlec? How did Serena know how to get here? And did she know what was going on exactly?

Serena finally conquered the ropes and was able to answer again. "A couple hours after Liz left this morning, this guy showed up at her balcony window looking for her." Serena looked around for someone else to help, but Max and Liz were already getting Mr. and Mrs. Parker, Isabel and Alex were already getting Mr. and Mrs Evans, and Tess was getting Kyle, so there was no one left. "He dragged me over to the Evans's house and Michael's apartment looking for everyone, but all of you were gone." Serena saw that everyone was untied now. "Okay we have to go now!" Serena led everyone out of the room and over the guards, talking as she went. "On the way here, he told me this wild story about aliens, and said that I needed to help him. So I did. Though I don't know how much I believe." The group had reached the stairwell by now, and Liz saw Alexa's carrier and rushed over to it.

"Hey baby. Mommy's here." Liz cooed softly to Alexa as she picked her up. The rest of the group stood still for a second thinking about Alexa's paternity, Max in particular. But no one could really process the whole thing before Serena rushed them up the steps to the floor above.

They all sped down the hallway, not even seeing the door they passed. They turned the corner, and were in large open area that would lead them to the outside, when suddenly two guards sprang up in front of them out of nowhere, causing them to run in to each other as they stopped. Somehow, Liz had ended up in the front of the group, but Max pushed her and Alexa behind him. If anyone was going to deal with these guys it would be him. Michael also pushed his way to the front of the group to try to help defend it, and Max and Michael were both just getting ready to make their move, when a chillingly scary voice sounded behind them. "Going somewhere?"

[ultimatepickupline]

orphyfets-well I'm a week later than normal, but that still counts as soon doesn't it?
Flamehair-yes but they won't all be safe for long mhahaha
flyawayraven-yes, you can say you're outraged that Alexa is there, but where else could she be? Serena didn't know anyone in town, and I doubt it would have been a good idea to go up to a random person in the Cafe and ask them to watch a baby...
Timelord31-perhaps, perhaps...
Natalie36-you shall see, you shall see
Emz80m-thanks
polar vixen-but if I made the chapters longer then you wouldn't have as many cliffhangers, and that just wouldn't be as fun for me! Thanks.
Dream Weaver-I can leave it there, cause I like being evil like that at times...and I make no promises right now.
Jennifer24-but remember that those "power hindering thingies" were created to decapacitate everyone in the area with the EXCEPTION of Khivar!
SarahWhitman-umm...
bluebballjumper-Well I feel honored to have impressed you sis!
Redrumm-Yes I do enjoy torturing you guys, tho I am very sorry that I had to miss last week's update, but I kind of think that my school work is a little bit more important... I'm glad you enjoyed the part.
Addicted2AmberEyes-I don't think you'll be very relieved for very long...
izzyandkyle-yes, but Max have to wait for awhile...
ken_r-yep those cultural misunderstanding between us humans and those aliens happen all the time don't they?
Luna_Seer-Yes, I would hope for that too, but I don't think it would be very likely, do you?
katydid-I know, Serena is in a very bad position right now, and I may or may not admit that it gets worse yet.
paper-tell me about it!
Roswelllostcause-That she did, and she didn't really have any other options available to her for Alexa's care.
thetvgeneral-thanks for understanding.
Redrumm- I prolly should have included this note above with the other one to you, but oh well, I hope you look both places. Anyway, don't worry about this not getting done. This is the part of the fic that I have had planned out since the fall of 2005, and that was before I was even actually writing it! So there's no way I'm not going to finish this.
Flamehair and Dream Weaver- thanks to both of you for understanding.
sushine6258-Yes, that little thing called escaping might be a bit treacherous.
behrluv32-thanks, you've given me my first ever literal bump!

As always thanks to everyone for reading, and sorry about the wait here. Also for those of you who want to talk to me about this fic, or pick my brain about upcoming fic ideas (perhaps to teasers), I will be doing an Author's Chat on Roswell Heaven on March 6th at 9PM. I look forward to see you guys there!



Chapter 41

Liz could almost literally feel the adrenaline start to pump through her body. Her heart jumped, Alexa's carrier felt lighter, and Liz was suddenly very aware of the exact placement of every single part of her body. She turned around and saw the guy who had knocked her and Max out before. Nicolas, she thought his name was. She started to push her way toward the back of the group where the parents were, knowing that she was the closest to this new threat. Max and Michael were still standing in defence in the front of the group that was threatened by the guards, and Tess and Isabel were both standing on either side of the group right now, so Liz was the only one left to defend the back.

Seeing that Liz was pushing her way toward the new threat, Max hastened to get to the back as fast as he could. "Liz! What are you doing?" he hissed at her.

"Don't worry. I can handle this."

"What do you mean?" Max nearly got his answer, but he was cut off by Nicolas.

"I don't think Lord Khivar will like his prisoners escaping." Nicolas turned his head as he heard footsteps coming rushing down the hall, and once two men stepped into the large open area, Serena recognized them as the guards she had knocked out with her weapon. They were panting as if they had run the entire way up the steps and down the hall. Nicolas looked them up and down quickly and then barked out a question. "How did they get out?"

"Well, um, sir, we don't really know. We just woke up on the floor."

"That is unacceptable! Wait until Khivar hears about this!"

"No please, Nicolas! Please don't tell him!" The two guards were nearly ready to fall down on their knees and beg when another set of footsteps started to come down the hallway. But this set of footsteps could be described only as deliberate.

"That will not be necessary." All turned to the new occupant of the room, and once their eyes rested on him, they couldn't look away. He commanded an undeniable presence and demanded that everyone give him their attention, so it was several seconds before anyone even acted.

Nicolas acted first. "Lord Khivar! The prisoners were about to get out, but I got-"

"I heard Nicolas." Khivar looked over at the group and they couldn't help but quake in their boots a bit, though they tried not to show it. "Well, King Zan," Khivar sneered, "looks like I can do whatever I want, and I think I'll start with your parents." Khivar flicked his wrist and Philip and Diane went flying to the back wall, where Philip cracked his head and slumped to the floor. Diane wasn't in too good of a position herself, but she was able to pull herself over to him and sit against the wall with his head cradled in her lap. Isabel watched in horror at what happened, and it took a few seconds before she was able to react and run over to try to help her parents. Max kept an eye on his parents, and with everything he had, he wanted to go over to his dad to make sure he was alright. But Max couldn't in good conscience leave the group unprotected, and he had a feeling that even if he did go over to his dad he wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. The last time he had checked he hadn't had the use of his powers.

"What do you want, Khivar?" Max asked in a supremely controlled voice.

Khivar gave a half-hearted laugh before answering. "Well I think that's pretty obvious, Zan. I want you dead. And I want you to suffer before that."

Max didn't know how to respond to that. Khivar's reaction had actually been expected, but he didn't know how he was suppose to deal with that. So he stood in silence just glaring at Khivar, waiting for him to make the next move.

*****

Thehlec frantically looked around the conference room for the power suppressor. He had tried to give Serena as much time as possible to get everyone out, but Khivar hadn't been very chatty, and Thehlec was worried that he hadn't bought enough time. In fact, when Thehlec had left Khivar and gone directly back to his own room to check to see what was going on in the building, he had seen that the group wasn't out yet, and that the guards and Nicolas were all on their way to cutting the group off. So Thehlec had a pretty good idea that powers were kind of needed by the group right now. He just hoped that he could find that power suppressor and turn it off in time to help them.

Thehlec took one last look around the room and decided that it wasn't there. Then he left and made his way down the hall to Khivar's personal room, hoping that he could find it there.

*****

"What's wrong, Zan? Cat got your tongue?" Khivar taunted. "Nicolas, get the last guard and Thehlec in here. I want everyone to know what I can do." Khivar waited for a couple of seconds after he gave the order to allow Nicolas time to carry it out before he started to talking again. "Now I just have to decide what I want to do when they get here. Do I want to see how many I can kill at one time, or do I want try something else?" Khivar paused. "I think I might want to just go one person at a time. But who do I start with?" Khivar made a show of pointing to people at random in the group until he finally settled on Kyle. "I think I'll start with you. Come here." Khivar crooked his finger toward him, and Kyle started to involuntarily walk toward Khivar. He tried with everything in him to fight against it, but no matter how much will power he summoned, the most he could do was slow down how fast he walked, and when he did that, an excruciating pain would take over his entire head. Nonetheless, Kyle fought against the pain, and against Khivar's will.

When Tess saw what was happening she tried to hold on to Kyle to pull him back, but it did no good. She could see the pain on his face, and she tried harder to pull him back, but he continued to drag her forward. She closed her eyes and tried to get into Kyle's mind to push Khivar out, but she couldn't even get in. The usual power that she felt bubbling just beneath her surface was gone. She was powerless. But she continued to pull on Kyle until he stopped just in front of Khivar.

"Well look at this. I got two for the price of one. Why are you fighting for this human, Ava? Huh? Well I'm not ready to deal with you yet." Khivar flicked his wrist once again and Tess went flying to the left of the room where she landed in a heap by herself.

"Tess!" Kyle yelled, but he was cut off by Khivar putting a hand on his head and silencing him. The horrible pain that Kyle had felt before came back, and Kyle was almost willing to bet that it was getting worse. He could practically feel his brain being ripped apart.

Liz looked on in horror at what Khivar was doing to Kyle. She thought that Khivar would probably be ruthlessly evil, after all this was most likely the evil presence she felt come nearer for so many months, but she couldn't believe how incredibly evil Khivar was. The look of agony on Kyle's face was almost too much to bear, and when she saw the blood start to trickle out of his eyes, ears and nose, Liz felt her heart plumet, and tears fill her eyes. She was watching the death of one of her closest friends, and she was doing nothing about it! That was not acceptable!

*****
Thehlec was just getting ready to leave Khivar's chambers, discouraged that he still hadn't found the power suppressor, and anxious to figure out where it could be, when he decided to look in one last place. He figured it was a long shot for it to be under the bed, but it wouldn't hurt to check, he supposed. So he kneeled down on his hands and knees, lifted up the floor length blanket off the ground, and squinted his eyes to see in the dim lighting under the bed. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust properly in order to see, but surprisingly enough, once they did, he found what he was looking for upside down and just slightly out of easy reach. Thehlec lowered himself to his stomach so he could reach further, then stretched out his left hand, and just barely touched the edge. It seemed to take forever to maneuver the object into his hand, but after what was really just a few dozen seconds, he had it. He quickly stood up and got out of Khivar's chambers. He definitely didn't want to get caught in there.

Thehlec had just closed the door and was starting to walk down the hall, when Nicolas turned the corner and saw him. Thehlec's stomach jumped and he couldn't be more thankful that Nicolas hadn't come just a few seconds earlier. That could have been a rather large problem.

"Thehlec! Khivar wants us in the main part of the warehouse!" Nicolas called out as he passed by Thehlec on his way to find the fifth guard. Thehlec was quick to hide the power suppressor behind his back, and once Nicolas passed, he brought it out and disabled it on his way to Khivar.

*****

Khivar reveled in the awesomeness of his own power. The feeling of making this lowly human crumble before him was something he couldn't even really describe. But he definitely liked the absolute power that he had over this group in front of him. It was time to move on to the next victim. This sniveling human in front of him was close to death enough that he would die rather quickly. It would just take some time. "Okay. Who's next?" Khivar did another survey of the group, and his eyes landed on Serena. "I think you will do." This time Khivar had the human travel out to the very middle of the room and stand by herself.

Serena had never been so scared in her life. How had she gotten wrapped up in this? This was how she was going to die? How was that even fair? This wasn't her problem! All she wanted was to help one of her best friends, and now she was going to die for it! Serena tried to resist the pull on her move out from the group, but she couldn't. She just didn't have the strength, and she didn't have the slightest idea of what she was up against. So she just walked out of the relative safety of the group with her limbs trembling, and when she was forced to stop, she nearly felt her heart stop with the fear of what was coming.

Khivar gave a maniacal laugh, and looked back at Max as if to say "check this out". Then he just sent the largest blast Max had ever seen straight toward Serena. The blast was so strong and concentrated that it didn't even send Serena flying. Instead it pierced through her stomach, seared her flesh, and left her body so strongly that it made a fist-sized hole in the metal wall twenty feet behind her. Serena's body immediately went into shock as she fell to the ground, and everyone knew that she wouldn't be able to live more than a few minutes.

Jeff, Nancy, and Diane looked on in fear. How was it possible that one person could do this much damage! He had just knocked Philip unconscious, seriously injured Tess, and killed both Kyle and Serena! They knew that evil existed in theory, but they had never seen such manifested evil as this.

Max, Michael, and Tess were shocked that someone could command to much power behind what they did. They had all kind of experimented with their powers a bit, but none had gotten to such a high level. Even Tess, who had had the most practice with Nasedo had never seen such absolute power. Liz and Isabel were slightly less surprised since they had been practicing in the desert for the past few weeks, and Liz always pushed the two of them. Besides, when Liz had had the added energy from sharing with Alexa, she was sure that she could have reached those kind of levels, had she tried, or had that much of a will. She was a little worried about taking on Khivar now though, especially since she hadn't even regained the use of her powers yet.

The five were just trying to summon up any kind of power at all, when suddenly something passed through their bodies, and they felt all the energy return. Unfortunately, the sudden return made them all a bit woozy and uneasy. Michael had to lean on Maria next to him. Max had to lean back into Alex. Isabel had to take a seat next to her mother, Tess ended up falling in the middle of trying to stand back up, and Liz was forced to set Alexa down, and drop to her hands and knees on the floor for a bit.

Jeff and Nancy didn't know why Liz was acting so strangely, but they rushed to get around Michael and Maria and help her up. Jeff reached for Liz and pulled her to her feet, while Nancy reached out and took up Alexa's carrier. "Liz are you alright?"

"Yes, Dad. In fact things are going to be going much differently from now on." Liz said determinedly. Jeff and Nancy were confused as to what Liz was referring to, but when she pushed herself away from them, they oddly let her go.

"Wow you all stumble on your feet just because you find out what I can do? Well that's sweet. Now let's see who's next." Khivar was getting giddy now. "How about the precious heir? That should be fun." Khivar started to raise his hand, Alexa started wailing, and Liz got furious.

Liz threw up her hand and the lilac shield formed. It crackled with energy, and Max, who had been standing right next to her, was knocked back onto his butt. Nancy and Jeff looked on in shock, their jaws dropping. Nobody had really been prepared for Liz to have powers, and definitely not ones so strong. Even Maria and Alex hadn't seen Liz in such form. Isabel was the only one be aware that this was a possibility.

“Do NOT tick me off!” Liz said slowly, reigning in so much fury that even those she was protecting were a little frightened. “And a good way to do that would be to kill my friends and threaten my daughter!” Liz then dropped the shield and sent a blast that threw Khivar to the opposite side of the Warehouse. While he was down, Liz sent incredibly strong and concentrated blasts of power to the two guards in the front disintegrating them.

The tide of what was going on changed so fast that the guards behind the group barely had time to see what was going on, but once Liz killed the two guards in front, they started to send out their own blasts. One hit Maria's left arm, and it was all Maria could do not to pass out from the pain of it. She had never thought that something like that would be so incredibly painful, but it felt like her whole arm was on fire, and ripping itself apart. She tried to cover some of the wound with her right hand, but the wound was too large, and before long, Maria wasn't even able to stand up with all the blood she was loosing. Another blast hit Jeff, in the back and killed him instantly. Luckily, they didn't get any more blasts in before Michael whirled around and took them both out.

By the time Khivar got up from the floor not even ten seconds after he was hit, all four guards in the room were dead, and he was left by himself. But he didn't feel any anxiety. He had plenty of power left, and he didn't see how this raggedy bunch left could defeat him. "That was a well aimed shot. I hadn't expected it from a human, but I guess that the King has to have his meaningless human flings, hm?"

"There is nothing meaningless between Max and me!" Liz yelled and then sent out a blast. Unfortunately, Khivar was prepared for this one, and he raised his own ugly olive shield, which made the blast bounce back. This time both Liz and Max raised their shields, and with such close proximity to one another, they touched. The middle where the lilac and emerald green shields touched gave off a bright light that just completely absorbed the power into it, briefly turning a goldish tint, and then fading back to bright white.

Khivar dropped his shield in shock. He had never seen two shields blend like that to form such a blinding white. Normally when two shields were formed on top of one another, they formed a kind of murky color that was a mix of the two separate colors. And never ever did they absorb power and turn gold! That was completely unheard of. There was of course a rumor that if that the King and Queen ever combined their shields that it would do something like that, but Khivar had never seen it or believed it. The King and Queen hadn't had to fight side by side in hundreds of years, so their was no reason for them to create this phenomenon. Yet now here he was witnessing this marvel, and he was no longer certain of his fate. "You're the Queen! How can that be? You're just a human!"

Liz dropped her shield, and Max took her lead and dropped his. "Because it is!" Liz gathered up all of her energy and threw it at Khivar, while Khivar gathered up the rest of his energy and threw it at Liz. Time seemed to slow down as the two energy blasts were hurled at one another, neither one making it to the intended target. Instead it resulted in a magnificent explosion that shook the warehouse, and threw everyone to the very edges of the building. All just barely struggled to get to a sitting position. Liz was exhausted; she had spent too much energy, and she was sure that the impact of her landing broke her wrist. Max struggled to sit up, sure that he had broken a rib or two. Nancy had landed on her head and lost all consciousness, and she dropped Alexa in her carrier, leaving the baby hanging from the straps of the sidewise carrier. Michael landed on Maria, which softened his landing, but he was sure it wasn't good for her. The people who had it best were Isabel, Tess, and Diane, because they had already been up against the wall. But Tess was already injured, and there was no way she could do anything now. So Isabel shakily stood up and moved half-way across the room, where she searched deep inside of her and brought all her energy to the forefront. She let it ball in her hands, and when she had the energy pooled to the size of a basketball, she forced it across the room at Khivar.

Khivar barely had enough time to register that something was coming at him, when the energy ball hit him in the chest. It then spread to cover his whole body, and seeped into his skin where it electrified his muscles. His body jerked and spasmed, his eyes rolled back into his head, and his heart stopped. Khivar was dead.

But when Isabel took a look around the room and saw all the destruction that left only seven out of twelve people alive, Isabel did not feel victorious. Too much had been lost.

[ultimatepickupline]

Okay first of all, I apologize in advance for this update. I wrote it really really quickly just tonight because I didn't want to miss another week, but that means that it's not the best update in the world. I just hope you guyes like it anyway.

thetvgeneral-I'm glad that the last update knocked you to the floor, that was the intention. This update may or may not start to answer your questions.
Addicted2AmberEyes-thank you. Action seems very hard for me to write.
pandas2001-um...something?
Dream Weaver-Sorry it's my perrogative to leave you in suspense, and you'll be left in suspense for at least one more chapter.
Redrumm-thank you. I like to leave people speechless. btw, your username helped me get an answer right on a game of chain reaction online. so thanks for your inadvertent help too! Also thanks for understanding my difficulties in getting around to writing lately, and I would love to see you at my chat, so thanks in advance if you're able to come.
orphyfets-thanks, and sorry that my coming back took longer than normal.
Flamehair-thank you, it was meant to be powerful, but sometimes it doesn't seem like what I write is very powerful. Also thanks for understanding the delay.
Natalie36-thanks
ken_r- um... they're going to do something? That was a wonderful answer on my part wasn't it?
sunshine6258-yep Liz is a powerful one, and she just might contribute to something else too...
Timelord31-thank you, it's appreciated
Roswelllostcause-sorry it took longer than normal.
Luna_Seer-thanks for waiting and understanding.

And one more reminder here... I have an author's chat on Roswell Heaven tomorrow, Tuesday, March 6th at 9PM EST. Please come out and ask me questions if you have time. If you want more information on how to get there and how to get in, either go back to page 22 and look at my instructions in my A/N or just pm. I'm always happy to help.

And now on with the show...


Chapter 42

Silence and destruction was all that was left. Liz, Isabel, Tess, Max, Michael, Alex, and Diane were the sole survivors able to just look at the physical devastation this blow-out had cost, and to say that the costs were too much was an understatement. Kyle, Serena, and Jeff were all dead, and from the looks of it so were Philip and Maria. Once Liz started to focus again, she could hear Alexa softly crying, and she frantically tried to get up, but she couldn't. She was too weak, and with the sharp pain in her wrist it was just impossible. Isabel saw what was going on and she quickly walked over to Alexa's carrier. She dreaded seeing the condition Alexa was in. The carrier was lying on its side with the bottom facing Isabel, and Isabel could feel her stomach churn at the thought of what she might see when she reached for Alexa. Nonetheless, Isabel walked around the carrier to see Alexa's condition. What she saw shocked her. Somehow there was a crystal blue bubble around the top of Alexa's carrier, and while it looked like Alexa was very upset, nothing else seemed to be wrong. Of course there was no telling what kind of internal damage could have been done to the little baby, so Isabel was very careful when she reached to get Alexa out of the carrier.

Isabel didn't know if she was imagining it or not, but it almost seemed that Alexa calmed down a bit as she was carrying her. She hoped that was the case and that it meant Alexa was going to be okay, but Isabel was too scared to actually believe that might be the case until her brother confirmed that Alexa was okay. So Isabel gingerly walked over to Liz and Max and placed Alexa on her father's chest.

Max gave out a small yelp at the baby's weight, but he refused any of Isabel's moves to take Alexa back, and immediately lifted a hand up to cradle Alexa's head so he could connect to see how she was. The connection was one of the easiest connections he had ever made. Even connecting with Liz was harder, and connecting with Liz was natural. But Max didn't waste more than a few split seconds contemplating the ease with which he could connect to Alexa. He nearly instantly searched her body for anything wrong, and what he found shocked him. Alexa had a tear in her lung which was bleeding profusely along with a couple broken ribs, and some more internal bleeding. It was amazing that Alexa was still alive, but it was even more amazing that even as Max was connected with her, her wounds were slowly mending themselves, without his help. Of course, if he didn't help there was no way she would be able to survive, so he didn't hesitate to send his healing energy into her and completely heal her in just a matter of seconds, but he was amazed that Alexa was able to do such an efficient job at healing herself when she was only two weeks old. Just how powerful was Alexa going to get when she grew up?

Unfortunately, Max couldn't afford to spend any more time in the connection with Alexa, so he quickly exited the connection and opened his eyes to see Liz looking up at him.

"Is she okay?" Liz asked.

"Yeah," Max nodded, and Liz seemed to relax, but she made no move to get Alexa. Instead Liz just fell asleep without any conscious decision to do so.

Max turned his head from Liz to Isabel, and gave her a half smirk. "I guess she was tired?"

"I guess so." Isabel smiled back, and Max moved to get in a more comfortable position. This time, however, when he winced Isabel lifted Alexa off his chest. "You should heal yourself."

Max was about to protest, but Isabel didn't look like she would take no for an answer, and besides, he seemed he probably had other people to look at, so he would need to be able to get around. So Max just barely healed the two broken ribs he had. He could still feel that they were probably bruised, but now they were healed enough to actually be able to move. So he gently shifted Liz to lie on the floor, and stood up.

Max's first stop was Alex because he was the nearest. Alex seemed to be fine other than some major bruising and a headache, but Isabel took care of those. So Max took Alexa back from Isabel and left Isabel and Alex alone. Then he made his way to the next closest people, Michael and Maria. Michael was weeping like Max had never seen before.

Michael couldn't believe this was happening. When he saw Maria get hit, Michael couldn't even think, he just acted. But apparently that wasn't enough. Because now as he was sitting on his knees and cradling Maria's limp cold body in his arms, rocking back and forth, Michael could almost literally feel his heart bleeding. He couldn't handle this. He had never had a family before, but in the last few months he was realizing that Maria was it for him. Maria was his family, even more than Max and Isabel. And now she was gone, and Michael was back where he started. He was without Maria and he didn't think he could survive.

When Michael saw Max step in front of him, he immediately looked up and pleaded with him. "Max! You have to do something! Bring her back. I can't do anything. Please."

Max took one look at Maria and knew that there was no way he was going to be able to do anything worthwhile, but he couldn't just not try either, so he put one hand and her right arm, and tried to connect. It felt like an eternity that he spent just trying to connect with her and listening to Michael's pleading cries in the background, but it was useless. There was nothing he could do, and when Max looked back up into Michael's eyes, Michael knew that instantly. "I'm so sorry, Michael."

"No! You have to do something. I can't live without her. Please, Max. Please." Michael couldn't even see, and when he felt an arm come around his shoulders and pull him back, all he could do was fall back into the person behind him.

Max looked up and met Isabel's gaze. Isabel and Alex had seen what was going on and came over to take care of it. Alex looked nearly as devastated as Michael at the loss of his best friend, but he forced himself to stay together. Isabel couldn't comfort two people at the same time, and Alex could wait. He could wait.

Max reluctantly stood up and shifted Alexa in his arms. She was so perfect, his perfect little daughter. She was beautiful and calming as she slept, and Max couldn't help but sneak a look back to Liz sleeping on the floor. They looked so peaceful, why couldn't everything else be this peaceful?

Max forced himself to make his way over to Tess. He needed to make sure everyone left was able to leave on their own. "Are you okay Tess?"

Tess looked up at Max with tears in her eyes. "No," she whimpered. "I think my leg is broken, and..." Tess looked over to where Kyle's body lay and a tear ran down her face. Max followed her gaze and felt his heart clench. This cost was too much.

"Let me take care of your leg then," he whispered. Max placed one hand on Tess's leg, and looked deep into her eyes. The connection was slightly harder than it was with Liz, but Max didn't really have any difficulty, and within a few seconds he was in. Once he was, he wasn't sure if he would be able to breathe. Tess's grief was already too suffocating, and it was all Max could do to get in, heal her leg, and get out.

Max broke the connection abruptly and started gasping, and Tess knew that he had felt what she had felt, a complete numbness that spread all the way to her lungs, and made it hard to breathe. She was sure that her heart even found trouble beating, and Tess wasn't too sure she wanted it to. Kyle had been the one person to really make her feel like she belonged in this world. It wasn't worth it to live if he didn't. But then Tess took a quick glance around the room and saw the rest of her friends. They didn't have it much better, and she needed to go on, if only for him.

Tess met Max's gaze, and forced herself to talk. "I'll be fine." It didn't sound too assuring, but Max had to move on, so he started to struggle to stand up, only to be stopped by Tess. "Why don't you let me take her?" Tess motioned to Alexa. "I know you want to spend as much time as you can with her right now, but you still need to get to your parents and Mrs. Parker and keeping her with you is slowing you down."

Max didn't want to let go of Alexa ever again, but he knew Tess was right, so he gave Alexa a quick kiss on the forehead and then hesitantly passed his daughter over. Alexa immediately started to wake up and whimper, but Tess shushed her and rocked her and she quieted down faster than Max would have expected. So he reluctantly headed across the room to the parents. On the way he passed Kyle, Jeff, and Serena's bodies and he couldn't even look at them. He couldn't think of the death count right now. He just couldn't. So he forced himself to go on, and he reached his mother first.

Diane just stared at her husband's head in her lap as she ran her hands through his hair and she felt the tears stream down her face. Shortly before the last large blast between Khivar and Liz, Diane had felt her husband's pulse stop, and she didn't think there was anything that could be done about that.

"Mom." Diane looked up at her son, and Max was taken aback by the look on her face. He had never seen her so upset before.

"He's gone, Max," Diane said with a voice devoid of emotion.

"Let me see, mom," Max asked gently.

"There's nothing you can do, Max."

"Just let me see." Max forced his mother's hands away, and placed both of his hands around his father's face, but just like with Maria, there was no connection. His mother was right. His father was dead.

Max let his first tear fall. This wasn't right. It wasn't right!

Diane saw her son's reaction and started to cry harder. She had been right. Her husband was gone, and there was nothing she or anyone else could do about it. Her world would never be the same.

Max sniffed and forced himself to stand up, muttering something about having to check on Liz's mom, as he left his own. Mrs. Parker wasn't very far and Max was able to make it to her without letting a single thought enter his mind. He couldn't think right now. He just couldn't. Max knelt down and tried to connect with Mrs. Parker. It wasn't as hard of a connection as he thought it would be, but once he was in, Max saw something that he didn't want to see. Mrs. Parker had major head trauma due to hitting the wall with her head, and Max wasn't sure if he could heal all of it. If it had just be a normal day, Max would have had no problem, but Max had just healed three people including himself, and he had tried to connect to two dead people. He didn't have much energy left, and unfortunately, that meant that he wasn't sure if Nancy was going to make it through even after his healing.

Max had just gotten through with Mrs. Parker and slumped against the wall behind him in exhaustion, when he heard someone new rush into the room.

Thehlec had seen the end of the major showdown, and he saw Khivar's death. But he had only barely gotten there in time to see that, and when he did, he knew that the best thing to do wasn't to reveal himself, but to find Nicolas and take care of him himself. So Thehlec had turned around and run to the last place he had seen Nicolas. The search lasted longer than Thehlec would have liked, but he did find Nicolas, and when he did, he was just barely able to knock Nicolas and the last guard unconscious. Unfortunately, that was the best he could do, because he had never been trained with his powers or in hand-to-hand combat, and he knew that that it was ridiculous to even try to take down one of the best guards on Antar. But he had to try. He was just lucky he succeeded as well as he did. Of course, his accomplishment meant that he only had a few more minutes in order to get the group back to Nicolas and the guard to take care of them themselves. So Thehlec sprinted back to the main room to get them. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

Isabel's head whipped up at the call, and she eased herself back from Michael, stood up, and brought her hand up. "Why not?"

"Because I'm a friend. I just knocked Nicolas and the last guard out, but they're not dead, and I need someone to come take care of them." Thehlec frantically hoped that they would believe him and wondered if maybe it would have been a good idea to introduce himself before the parents had been taken.

Tess looked down at the little baby in her arms and felt a fierce protectiveness come over her. She stood up and tried to draw as little notice to herself as possible before she asked her question. "And why should we trust you?" she asked as after she had already brought her right hand out in front of her to protect herself and Alexa.

Max saw what Tess was doing, and felt his heard jump into his chest. Why was Tess bringing attention to herself and Alexa?

"Um...I was the one that turned off the power suppressor that gave you back your powers!" Thehlec shouted and took out the power suppressor from his back pocket.

Tess narrowed her eyes and really looked at Thehlec, then she eased her mind into his. Within just seconds she saw all she needed to see. "He's telling the truth."

Thehlec breathed a sigh of relief and started to turn away. "Good. Then follow me."

"No."

Everyone looked at Isabel. Why was she saying no to this? They needed to take care of Nicolas and that last guard. Why was she refusing? "Isabel-," Tess started.

"No. This has cost us too much. There must be another way, and Liz can help."

Alex looked up at Isabel from his place on the floor and gave her a questioning look. "How can Liz help us? She's so beat she already fell asleep."

"I know, but she can help. Help me wake her up." No one really knew what Isabel was getting at, but Alex had long ago decided to trust Isabel, so he helped anyway.

Thehlec felt his anxiety rise. "Isabel we don't have time for that we have to go!"

"No! Liz can help! Come on Liz, sweetie, wake up," Isabel commanded.

Liz could hear Isabel, but she was having difficulty actually making it to consciousness. It seemed to take forever, but eventually she made it. "Isabel, what?" she asked groggily.

"Liz you have to do that time jump thing. We have to change what happened. Kyle, Serena, Maria, my dad, your dad, and your mom are all gone. We can't live like that. You have to change this." Isabel knew that everyone thought she was crazy, but they didn't know everything that she did, and she needed to get Liz to do it.

Liz's mind was groggy. "Isabel, I'm too tired. I can't do it."

"Liz, you have to. Come on, just connect to me and borrow my energy." Liz forced herself to grab Isabel's hand and connect to her. Immediately she felt more energy flowing through her veins and she was able to think clearly again. Then she saw what Isabel wanted her to do, and she disconnected.

"Okay." Liz looked over at the new guy. He looked kind of familiar, but she couldn't place him yet. "Come here." Thehlec wasn't sure what was going on, but he followed his queen's order anyway, and when she placed her hands on his head he immediately opened his mind.

Liz connected with Thehlec and got the information she needed with lightning speed. "Okay, I got it, but I don't have enough energy to do this, so I need everyone to connect to me and loan me some."

Max was too weak to connect with Liz and loan her any energy, so he was helpless, and Michael was still nearly completely incoherent, but Isabel and Thehlec didn't hesitate to connect to Liz, and after some prodding from Isabel, Tess connected as well.

Liz shut her eyes and felt all the energy enter her. Then she gave up a silent prayer that this would work, and she let herself go.

[ultimatepickupline]

Hey everyone! Getting this part done tonight was a lot harder than I thought, so please excuse grammar and spelling mistakes. I didn't have time to proofread. I just need to get in bed. But I wanted to it done tonight nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to address everyone individually tonight, but as always thanks everyone for your feedback, and for understanding on the delays. For those of you who for got that Liz was able to jump time a bit, I think that was common. The last time she did that was in chapter 29, so it's been a while. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter! See you in a week and a half!


Chapter 43
Liz felt the familiar current of time all around her, and she fought to figure out exactly where she was suppose to be stopping. She hadn't known exactly how much time had passed since Serena had rescued them from captivity, and that made it a little harder to pinpoint when exactly she was suppose to fall out of the current and back into reality. But Liz did the best she could by picturing herself back in the dark room with the ropes tied around her wrists, telling the group the truth about Alexa's paternity. Liz felt a bit of a click that she normally would have attributed to finding the right time to jump back into reality. It didn't feel as strong as normal, but Liz was afraid that it would be the only click. So she jumped.

Liz jolted back into her body rather harshly. she immediately felt a mild headache start, but she didn't have time to really process anything other than the fact that they group was already running down the hall toward danger. "Stop!" Liz yelled and abruptly halted.

"What?" Alex asked as he almost ran into Liz from behind her.

"There isn't really time to explain. Just take Alexa from me, and when you get into the common room, do whatever you can to stay safe. I have to go." Liz didn't even wait for any sort of reaction. She just quickly passed Alexa off to the closest person next to her, which happened to be Alex, and she started sprinting in the direction they had just come.

"Liz, what are you doing?" Max asked as he panicked about where Liz was going and what she was doing.

"Just trust me!" Liz shouted behind her without looking back before she turned the corner and was out of sight.

Isabel didn't hesitate to take charge. She knew that in Liz's absence there would be no one to lead the group, and Isabel had learned from experience that when Liz said to trust her, it was better to just go ahead and listen. "Okay then, let's go." Isabel turned to continue in the direction they were previously moving.

Max grabbed Isabel by the elbow, and pulled her around. "What are you doing?"

"Max, I've been working with Liz these past couple of weeks after I found out about Alexa, and I know that it's usually just better to do what she says. So let's go." Isabel turned back around and started to lead the group back down the hallway. Max stood in shock for a few seconds wondering how Isabel learned how to take charge. He even briefly considered going with Liz, but when he saw the entire group leave him, and he saw Alexa being taken further away from him, he started to follow after Isabel.

*****

Liz was panting from running so hard. She had never really been in that great of shape, but she had just had a baby a week ago! It was silly to think that she would be able to run now, but she had no choice. She had to get to that room she had seen in Thehlec's mind before she had time-jumped. Liz landed funny on her left foot and started to stumble. She threw her hand out and touched the wall to catch her balance, and stood for a second looking around and trying to catch her breath.

She was shocked to see that the door across the hall looked exactly like the door in the connection with Thehlec. When she had connected, she had made sure to get a type of mental map of the warehouse, and this was not where she thought the door should be. Liz took a quick look around and limped to the other side of the hall where she put her ear to the door. She held her breath and tried to stop her heart from beating so loudly, but she could still barely hear anything other than her heartbeat. She didn't hear anything though, so she put her hand on the door knob and timidly opened it. When she saw the inside of the room, with the bed she had seen in Thehlec's head, Liz nearly jumped for joy. This was it. Everything was going to work!

Liz rushed over to the bed, and got down on her stomach to reach underneath. She quickly found the power suppressor she was looking for, but she still couldn't reach it. So she had to crawl under the bed a bit to get to it. It took longer than she would have liked for her to grab it, but she succeeded, and when she did, she didn't waste any time turning it off. She turned the pieces around to turn the object off before she even climbed out from under the bed, and she immediately felt the dizzying effect of getting her powers back.

Liz took a few deep gulps of air trying to get her energy back and was just getting ready to crawl out from under the bed, when the door to the room opened, and Liz looked out from under the bed to see someone she didn't recognize.

******

"Going somewhere?"

Max and Michael halted in the middle of trying to advance on the guards who had stopped the group from leaving the warehouse just moments before, and Max turned around to face the new voice. At the same time, Tess and Isabel pushed their way from the middle of the group to the back of the group in order to get in between the new guy and the rest of the group.

"I don't think Lord Khivar will like his prisoners escaping." Nicolas smirked at the group and was getting ready to taunt them some more, when two guards came running into the room panting. "How did they get-" Nicolas was cut off from questioning the guards by Max, Michael, Tess, and Isabel's unison moans, followed by them falling to their hands and knees.

Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess all felt as if they were going to throw up. The sheer power they felt being released in their bodies was staggering. They realized that it was only the power they had had already, but the sudden release was nearly sickening. Luckily it only lasted for a second before they recovered, and once they did, they knew this was the beginning of the changing of the tides.

The four slowly stood up with determined expressions on their faces, and Nicolas's expression subsequently changed from one of confusion to one of terror. Nicolas wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he did know that from the looks he was getting, that he was getting ready to be in some real trouble.

Isabel never took her eyes off of Nicolas once she stood, but she could see the other two guards in front of her, and she knew that the other two behind the group were still there. She had to come up with a plan. And she needed to let the others know about it. Maybe she could connect to the others, but she had never attempted more than one connection at a time before. She had practiced connecting to Liz without touching her, but it had taken some time to figure it out, and connecting to three new people now, didn't really seem possible. She had to try though; so to make it a little easier, Isabel decided to connect to the nearest person first, Tess. Isabel shut her eyes and concentrated on getting into Tess's mind. The connection wasn't the easiest she had ever made, but she was pleasantly surprised to get in within a few seconds nonetheless.

'Tess. Tess.'

Tess turned her head to quickly look at Isabel. Was she really hearing Isabel's voice in her head? "Isabel?" she hissed.

'Yes! Don't talk to me outloud. We need to connect with Max and Michael and come up with a plan, but I don't know if I can do it by myself.'

'No problem. I can, it should be like mindwarping.'

'Great.'

Just like Tess said, she was able to get in without any problems. She was even able to connect to Max and Michael at the same time and still keep the connection open with Isabel. 'Max. Michael'

'Tess?' Max and Michael both thought at the same time.

'Yeah. I'm connecting all four us here, but I can't do it long.'

After Tess said that, the whole connection seemed to speed up. No longer were the four actually talking, but flashing pictures at one another so fast, no one even knew who was sending what. It should have been confusing, but it all felt natural, and in no time at all they had established who would be taking out which guard as soon as Max gave the command. A few seconds later the connection was broken, and before anyone else even had a chance to wonder what was going on, Max shouted, "Now!" Then Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess each shot one guard. Max and Michael shot the two guards who had originally blocked their exit, and Isabel and Tess shot the two guards who were by Nicolas.

Nicolas saw the four guards turn to dust from the power that was shot into them and immediately let out a blast of his own at the group. But he was too late, Max had already formed an emerald green shield in front of the group, and instead of hitting anyone, the blast ended up bouncing off the shield and hitting Nicolas instead. Fortunately for Nicolas, by the time his own blast hit him, he had moved enough that it only hit his left arm, and the blast had diminished enough that all it did was burn him. Nicolas screamed and held his arm, but he didn't do anything about it before someone else entered the room.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

*****

Liz continued to peer out from under the bed as the man in the room looked around. She could only assume that this was the other guard Khivar had referred to in the other time and that this guard had seen her walk into the room.

The guard continued to walk around, looking in corners, and Liz prepared to attack. When she thought that he might have his back turned for a little longer, she quickly but quietly started to crawl out from under the bed. Unfortunately, just as she was starting to stand up the guard turned around and saw her.

The guard was shocked to see the girl in front of him. He had been expecting to find someone in the room, because that was the reason he had walked in, but he hadn't expected it to be such an innocent looking girl. Nonetheless, the guard had had enough training to know that appearances meant nothing. So he immediately drew the weapon out of his belt and aimed for her.

Liz was almost too slow to react, but she was quick enough to see the guard draw his weapon. She instantly stopped all attempts to stand up, and just dropped back to the floor, raising her hand to form her lilac sheild. The shield crackled from all the energy she put into it, and Liz concentrated on letting the blast flow into her and give her energy so she could store as much energy as possible for when she had to meet Khivar. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought about the fact that his blast was actually from a weapon, not another person, and the result was quite different. Instead of smoothly flowing into and making her feel like she was just oozing power, it acted as more of a shock to her. She like she had been lightly electricuted. Her whole body tingled in a less than pleasurable way, and her right arm felt completely numb. She ended dropped the shield not a second later.

If the guard had been shocked before, he was flabbergasted now. He had never seen anything like the lilac gelatin thing this girl had produced, and what was amazing was that the girl seemed to be fine. She she had winced when the blast hit the lilac thing, but the blast he had shot should have killed her, or at least knock her out. This reaction was completely unexpected.

Liz cradled her right arm to her body and stared at the guard. He seemed almost as if he were in shock, and although Liz was just trying to deal with the pain, she knew she had to act soon. She hastily brought up her left hand and fired the strongest blast she could. Unfortunately, the blast wasn't as strong as she was normally capable of doing, and all it did was knock the guard onto his back. But before he could react, Liz ran over to him, placed a hand on his chest, and burned him from the inside, just as she knew Nasedo had done. The feeling of the guy dying underneath her hand, made her stomach churn. She had never thought she would kill someone so brutally. She could feel the bile rise into her mouth, and couldn't help herself from vomiting the second she was sure the guard was dead. That was not something she had wanted to do.

Liz slowly stood up and wiped her mouth with the back of her left hand. Then she whispered her apologies to the dead guard and started to run out the door. She felt a shooting pain come from her left ankle and stumbled. She had forgotten about her sprained ankle with all the intensity of finding the suppressor and defending herself against the guard. Liz winced and reached down to touch her ankle and heal it the quickest she could. It wasn't the best healing, and she could still feel that her ankle was pretty tender, but she felt it was good enough to run on anyway. So she ran out of the room and flew down the hallway.

Liz was running so hard she wasn't able to stop when she saw Thehlec come out of a room, and she crashed right into him, knocking them both to the floor. Liz spent only a few seconds to apologize, stand up, grab Thehlec's hand, and start running again.

Thehlec didn't even really know what was going on, but he wasn't about to protest when it was his Queen who was pulling him along. So he went, flailing his arms around as he ran trying to completely regain his balance.

Liz kept running until she saw Khivar blocking the end of the hallway, addressing the group. She immediately slowed down so she could walk more quietly, and when she was finally just ten feet from him, she sent out the biggest blast she could. The blast was only strong enough to send him sprawling into the middle of the room, but it completely drained Liz, and she could only barely stagger into the main room.

When Max saw Liz enter the room with some strange guy, he dropped the shield and rushed over to her without thinking. All he knew was that he had to get to her to see if she was okay. He didn't even care what was going on with Khivar or Nicolas right now. He just prayed that the new guy wasn't doing anything to harm Liz.

Isabel did not expect to be able to see everything without a green tint so suddenly, but when she did, she didn't hesitate to act. Nicolas and Khivar were still in the room, able to function, and yet, Max had just abandoned them to see to Liz. Isabel really couldn't blame Max for it, but it didn't really help keep them safe right now. Isabel conjured up her own red shield and started giving out her own orders to Tess and Michael. "Michael! Tess! On the count of three I'm going to drop the shield. You guys need to hit Khivar and Nicolas with everything you've got as soon as it's dropped okay? One...Two...THREE!"

To say the day had been unusual was a understatement. The beginning had been weird enough with getting captured, spilling the truth to the parents, finding out about time travel, and attempting escape, but Michael and Tess were even more surprised to be taking so many orders from Isabel. They had never expected that she would be the one to take control in an intense situation, but regardless of their surprise, they followed orders. So as soon as Isabel dropped her red shield, they fired simultaneously.

The blasts were nothing like the usual blast. They both seemed to be more of a continuous stream of energy than a blast, and they flowed into the two enemies, slowly killing them. Khivar and Nicolas tried to get away from the deathly energy, or at least fight back. Nicolas's attempts were worthless, only making him convulse with the effort of getting away. But Khivar was able to fight back a little more. First he fired a few shots at Michael and Tess themselves, but when they didn't even twitch, Khivar moved on to taking the easy shots as the unprotected human, starting with Nancy.

Nancy felt a burning in her side, and dropped to the ground. The pain was excruciating; she wasn't sure what had happened exactly, and she couldn't think too clearly through the pain, but she did have the feeling that it was more of a surface burn than something deep.

Alex immediately saw what was going on with Khivar, and knew he had to protect Alexa. He turned his back and hudled down to the floor with her, and when he saw the blast land just in front of him, he felt his heart jump, knowing he had just been narrowly missed.

Isabel was furious that Khivar would threaten Alex and Alexa. This had to end now. She built up her power and started to release a stream of energy from each hand, only slightly weaker than the streams Michael and Tess were emitting. Michael and Tess also grew furious, and they themselves upped the intensity of the energy.

Khivar could feel that he was fading, and he took one last shot at Liz. She was the queen, if she died, it would affect the group the most. So he put the rest of his energy into it, and faded out.

Michael, Isabel, and Tess all saw that both Khivar and Nicolas were dead by now, but they weren't done. Khivar and Nicolas had to pay. The three continued to stream out the power until the were all so exhausted they just collapsed to the floor, and Khivar and Nicolas were no more that two smelly puddles.

Liz stumbled and fell to the ground from the hit she took. She had already been fighting herself from fading into unconsciousness from the after effects of the weapon blast she had taken, and the fact that she had just already used too much energy, but with the added stress of the hit, she couldn't handle it anymore. She started to fall, and Max caught her, but that didn't stop everything from going black, as her head dropped to the side.

[ultimatepickupline]

Hey, everyone. Thanks for reading my story. This is all coming to an end though soon I'm afraid. There will only be one more epilogue left after this chapter. I want to then start a new story, but with the way my classes are weighing on me right now, I might wait until the summer to start posting. Nonetheless, I will be putting up the banner and summer in a coming soon section on my author's page, which you can access through my signature. If you're anxious to see what the next story will be, that information should go up between Wednesday and Sunday, so you can check that out.

Thanks again to all of you who are reading, and rest assurred that this fic is indeed happy ending insurred, which I think you'll see in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 44

Liz and Max sat in the parked jeep and stared at the high school in front of them. It was the first day of school in their senior year, and somehow the school seemed so very different. "Okay, well we better go in. The group will be waiting for us," Liz said as she reached to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"Wait," Max placed his hand on top of Liz's, "Are you sure Alexa will be okay?"

Liz sighed. "Yes, Max. We've been over this like a hundred times. There's no one after us anymore."

"But she's just with your parents, what if something happens that they can't take of?"

"Then they'll go get Thehlec out of the kitchen. I'm sure he can take care of anything." Liz placed her hands on Max's cheeks and looked deeply in his eyes. "Max she'll be fine. Now we need to go." Before Max could stop her, Liz grabbed her bag and exited the jeep leaving Max behind.

Liz quickly walked into the building and tried to find Maria before Max could catch up. She didn't have to wait long, because Maria was standing with Michael, Alex, and Isabel right inside the front door. "Maria, Max is driving me insane! Isn't it supposed to be the mother who has separation anxiety? Not the father?"

Maria turned to her best friend and shook her head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. We've been over this, chica. You have to say hello to me before you say anything about Alexa or Max."

Liz grinned. "Sorry. Hi, Maria. Now can you tell me what I can do about Max?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Give him a break, Liz. He's just worried because he almost lost you both before he even knew that Alexa was his. He's still getting use to the idea that you never really betrayed him, and that he has this instant family. Let him be a little worried about her."

"I know. I know. It's just...am I a bad mother that I'm not anxious about leaving her?" Liz bit her lip.

"No, Liz. It's nothing like that," Alex reached over and gave Liz a reassuring squeeze. "It's just that you already acknowleged that you could leave her when you left her with Serena to go save your parents."

"Okay, okay." Liz nodded.

"Speaking of. Where is Serena?" Michael looked around the group and saw Kyle and Tess approaching, but Serena was the only one unaccounted for.

"Oh, you know her. She was still eating breakfast in her pajamas when Max came over to visit Alexa. So I just decided to catch a ride with him instead."

Tess and Kyle had just joined the group early enough to hear Liz's reply. "What kind of pajamas was she wearing?" Kyle asked. "Ouch!"

Tess smiled and rubbed the spot on Kyle's arm she had just hit. "Where was she eating breakfast?"

Kyle narrowed his eyes back and her and grunted at Tess, but he held his tongue. Maria and Isabel tried to hold back their laughter, and Michael and Alex just ignored Kyle's plight. Liz was the only one who was oblivious to what was going on because she could feel Max coming closer. So she just answered Tess's question. "In the Crashdown."

"In the Crashdown? In her pajamas? When are she and Thehlec just going to recognize that they like each other?" Maria asked, and Isabel and Tess nodded.

Liz didn't even hear Maria's questions, she was too focused on Max coming through the front door while stuffing his cell phone into his pocket. Liz groaned, "Max, please don't tell me you called my parents."

"Fine. I won't tell you. But in case you wanted to know, Alexa is doing fine."

"Max! We just left her fifteen minutes ago. Of course she's fine! Stop worrying!"

"I'm her father. I reserve the right to worry. Besides your dad he used to worry about you like that."

"That may be. But I'm sure he had the self control to not check up on me every twenty minutes! Please promise me that you won't call again today. We'll see her in just six hours after school."

"Liz, I lot can happen in six hours. At least let me call at lunch."

Liz sighed knowing that if Max even made it to lunch it would be a miracle. "Fine."

The other three couples couldn't help but watch the whole exchange. They knew they could have left Max and Liz to squabble by themselves, but these little arguments between Max and Liz were always just too entertaining. No one would have thought that the two would end up being like this, and all knew that it was only a matter of time before Max and Liz actually got together as a couple.

It was taking a little bit of time for Max to really come to terms with everything that was going on. He still wasn't sure if he really wanted to trust Liz with his heart again after she had purposely tried to break it. But at the same time he wanted to spend as much time as he could with his daughter, and really he couldn't blame Liz for what she had done. When he had connected to her after she collapsed when Khivar hit her, he had seen what she had gone through. He had felt how she had felt, and he knew that it was just as painful for her as it was for him. But he could only handle one thing at a time, and since his daughter was already there, he focused on her instead of Liz.

Liz was a little hurt that Max focused more on Alexa, but she understood, and really she wanted him to be a father to Alexa more than a boyfriend to her. So Max and Liz were lucky enough to have a working relationship, and eventually Liz hoped they would work it all out and be together. It just wasn't going to happen yet.

The group was getting ready to go on to the next topic when the five-minute warning bell rang, and Serena ran in the door at the same time. "Am I late? Please don't tell me I'm tardy on the first day!" Serena's eyes darted from one person to another as she panted trying to catch her breath.

"Serena, you're fine. You still have five minutes, and they never really take tardiness that seriously on the first day anyway." Liz said.

"Yeah, and Serena, if you're out of breath just from running from your car, you really need to get in shape." Kyle pointed out.

Serena glared back at him. "Bite me," she said before tossing her hair behind her shoulder and heading off in the direction of her locker.

The rest of the group started to break off and go to their lockers to get their books and get to class. Maria made it a point to do everything quickly and get back with Liz before first period started.

"You know, Liz. You're really different from last year." Maria commented as she fell into step with Liz.

"How so?"

"I don't know. It's just like everything with Alexa and Max..."

Liz shrugged. "Yeah...well it happens. I guess those are the consequences of getting involved in the alien abyss."

"I guess, but-"

"Maria, you know I want to talk, but I'm still the same in some ways, and I want to get to class on time. Okay?"

Maria grinned, it was good to see that some of Liz remained. She would have hated to see Liz lose herself in her situation. "Yeah. See you at lunch." Liz quickly turned to walk into her class room and sat down in the second row next to Alex just as the bell rang, and she didn't get to say anything before the teacher started.

"Well class welcome to the new year. For those of you who are juniors this class will probably harder than you're used to. For those of you who are seniors, please remember that while this year may be easier than last year, your high school career is not over yet. Don't slack off, and we will have a wonderful year."

Liz and Alex just looked at one another and smiled.

[ultimatepickupline]

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this last part, but I had a lot of stuff to take care of with end of the year projects, exams, and then leaving the country. But it's finally here. Thank you everybody for staying with me this past year. It's been fun. I might have a new story in the fall, but I'm not making any promises.

Anyway...enjoy!

Epilogue

“Happy Birthday, Dear Alexa. Happy Birthday to you.” The Crashdown was filled with 7 year olds, and Alexa was sitting in the middle of all of them blowing out her birthday candles and displaying a smile that could cheer up even the grumpiest person. It was always like that, she was rarely upset, and she made friends with everyone. Last year in school she had been the most popular kid in the first grade, and Max had never thought it would be possible for his kids to have a normal life, but Alexa did.

Max intently watched Liz cut the cake to serve. He saw the light glint off her wedding ring and smiled. He had always dreamed of marrying Liz and having a family, but he never really thought it was possible, and yet here he was coming up on his sixth wedding anniversary and celebrating his daughter’s seventh birthday. It was amazing.

Liz could feel Max’s eyes on her. She could always feel when he was looking at her, but she forced herself to stay concentrating on cutting the cake. If she didn’t, she might have to use her power once again to turn back time a bit and stop the two of them from doing something embarrassing once again, and Liz was starting to think that the others were beginning to suspect when she did that. Liz glanced up and met Max’s eyes with hers, but quickly looking back down and smiled to herself.

Maria was heading over to Liz to help her with serving the cake, and she saw the look Max and Liz exchanged. When she got over to Liz she poked her in the side, and Liz jumped. “Don’t you guys ever get tired of each other?”

Liz laughed. “Sure. Just not often.”

Maria rubbed her nine-month pregnant belly and shook her head. “I wish Spaceboy and I were like that. We fight all the time. Especially these last few months.”

“Yeah, well you’re pregnant and hormonal. He’s bound to get on your nerves more often.” Liz mentally counted up the pieces of cake she had cut and decided she had cut enough for now.

“Hey! I am not more hormonal now!”

Liz put down the knife and gave Maria a look that could only mean “get real” and Maria conceded.

“Fine. Maybe I am.”

“As long as you admit it.”

“Well, were you like this with Alexa?”

Liz shrugged. “Probably, but Max wasn’t there all the time to get me upset. I spent the majority of my pregnancy having to hide it.”

Maria mentally kicked herself for bringing up that time for Liz. It was a time that Liz and Max didn’t prefer to remember since they had missed out on so much with one another. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Liz shrugged again, and then turned to address the large group of kids and adults. “Okay everybody, come and get your cake!”

It was almost surprising that the Crashdown didn’t tilt when all the kids and even adults came running across the restaurant to get some cake. Liz and Maria made sure everyone got a piece and none of the kids were fighting and then Liz turned to look at Maria. “Are you sure you should be standing?”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Don’t start on me too, Liz.”

Liz grabbed a chair and set it behind Maria. “I’m just trying to make sure you’re staying healthy.”

“Yeah, like you actually did all of this with Alexa,” Maria grumbled as she sat down.

“Well, I was younger.” Liz grinned and waited for Maria’s hand slap.

“Don’t make me feel old. We’re only twenty-four.”

Liz didn’t answer, but sat down herself, and watched Alexa interact with the other kids. There was no doubt who was the leader of the group. The kids hung on to every word Alexa uttered. Liz figured that she must have got it from Max’s kingly side. The side he didn’t show much growing up as an alien on earth, but Liz suspected that if he had grown up on Antar he would have been much more like that. Though Liz did doubt if Max would have been quite as charismatic without having to work on it.

Alexa left her friends and ran over to Liz. “Mom! Mom! Can we open presents now?”

“Yeah sure, sweetie.” Liz got up and started gathering the kids together by the presents to facilitate the opening without things getting out of hand. In the past, this was usually the hardest part of the party, right after cake when all the kids wanted whatever Alexa got. On her first birthday, it wasn’t bad. Liz and Max had still been in high school, so they didn’t know other parents yet, and there weren’t any other kids at her party. Plus, Alexa was too young too understand what was happening. But by the time Alexa turned two things were different, and this was a prime time for Alexa to show powers she shouldn’t be using. Of course, now Alexa was old enough to understand the importance of not using them, but Liz wanted to be there just in case.

The party quickly passed without any mishaps though, and before Liz knew it, the kids were all gone, Alexa was asleep in a booth, and Liz was cleaning up with Isabel, Tess, and Serena.

“Serena, you should really probably sit down. It’s not good to be on your feet,” Thehlec said as he got up from the booth he was sitting at and reached for the broom Serena was using.

“I can still do things myself, you know.” Serena put a hand on her six-month pregnant belly and sat down in a nearby chair. “But thanks for helping.” Gone was the dark purple hair Serena had had when she first met Thehlec, but she still kept it a little punk by dying it black and keeping it short.

Thehlec smiled and continued to sweep. He and Serena had finally gotten together at Max and Liz’s wedding a few months after graduation, and they had gotten married just two years later after Serena’s sophomore year of college. Thehlec and Serena and Max and Liz had been the only two married couples during college. The rest of the group waited until after they graduated from college.

“See, that would be nice from you sometimes, Kyle.” Tess picked up a stack of plates and slapped Kyle on the shoulder as she walked by.

“Hey,” Kyle grabbed his shoulder, “I do help you sometimes, but I’m letting you save up your help from me until you’re at least six months along, like Isabel and Serena.”

Tess rolled her eyes and looked at Isabel who was sitting closest to her. “He’s just trying to get out of as much work as possible. Why couldn’t he have been as sweet as Alex is to you?”

Isabel looked across the room at Alex helping Thehlec sweep and smiled. “They can’t all be as sweet as Alex. Besides there are times when it gets on your nerves.”

“Yeah. Well, I can’t imagine that.” Tess didn’t bother washing the dishes for real, she just sat them on the counter and waved her hand over them, and in an instant they were nearly sparkling.

The guys put all of Alexa’s presents in tubs and carried them out to Liz and Max’s car, and the girls ran quickly ran their hands over anything else needing to be cleaned. By now all of them had powers, but Liz, Isabel, and Tess still watched out for Maria and Serena using their powers. It had been a few months since anything bad had happened, but no one could forget the time Maria had accidentally melted her wooden table while trying to clean it. It had taken all three women with powers at the time to fix it, and they were slightly worried that they would have to enlist the help of the guys as well. Maria always seemed to be the one to the have the trouble, which Liz thought was due to the fact that Michael’s most gifted power was so volatile.

When the guys returned from upstairs, the ten sat in chairs around a couple of tables and talked for just a minute before Maria made the most important announcements of the evening. “You guys. I think I’m in labor.”

“What?” Michael immediately reached for Maria’s stomach and connected to the baby, only to pull out of the connection a few seconds later. “Maria! You must have been in labor all night. Why didn’t you say anything?” Michael stood up and reached down to pull Maria up and into his arms. “Liz do you think we can use the upstairs? I don’t think we can make it to our apartment.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be right up.”

Michael left with Maria before Liz was even done speaking, and Liz immediately started giving out directions. “Isabel, make sure the Crashdown is cleaned up correctly, please. Tess, could you take Alexa back to your place tonight? Serena, can you help me with Maria?” Liz turned to go after she got Serena’s nod.

“Wait! You give all the girls jobs, but what about us?” Kyle asked.

Liz briefly turned back around and smiled. “I expect the girls to keep you guys in line.” Liz held back her own laughter as she grabbed Serena’s hand and helped her around a table and to the back where the stairs were, and Kyle was left making semi-fake angry sounds. “Okay, I know that I’ve been through this before, and at the time I was all read up on what I was supposed to do, but that was seven years ago. I’m going to rely on you now. Just tell me what to do.”

Serena nodded and waited till she got to the top of the stairs to reply. “Yeah, I get it. I’ve been reading a lot about childbirth for myself lately in addition to my classes, so this should be okay no matter what. And of course if anything goes wrong, we have you to turn back time, and Max to heal.”

“Right.” Liz nodded and took a deep breath. For some reason she almost felt more scared this time than she was when she was the one giving birth. But that was probably because she was so young the last time, she hadn’t really known how bad things could have gone. And then of course there was the fact that she felt she had no choice but to do it all alone, so she had just had to face it.

Liz went into her old room where Maria was laying on the bed panting and squeezing Michael’s hand.

“Geez, Maria. Do you think you can squeeze any harder?”

“Don’t start with me, Michael. This wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for you. Aaaagghhh!” Maria dropped her head back onto the pillow, obviously finished with a contraction.

“Me? You’re the one who wanted a baby!” Michael rubbed the hand that Maria had squeezed.

Maria raised her left hand up to Michael’s chest and raised one eyebrow. “Remember, Michael. I have powers now, and I’m not afraid to use them.” She paused and waited for Michael to almost imperceptibly gulp and dropped her head back to the pillow and her hand back to grasp his hand. “Besides, you wanted a baby just as much.” Luckily for Michael, Maria had now known Michael long enough to know that the main reason why he was trying pick a fight with her was because he was scared to death and fighting was better than thinking about what could happen to Maria in the next few hours, or how he could fail as a father for years after that.

Liz ignored Michael and Maria while she gathered some things together, including a chair for Serena to sit on while she gave instructions. “Ok, now I’m going to check to see how you’re coming along Maria, and Michael, couldn’t you connect with Maria and try to take away some of her pain like you’ve been practicing?”

Maria whipped her head over to Michael, and slapped his head. “You’ve been practicing to help me with the pain, and yet you didn’t offer the help yet?”

Michael touched his head where Maria had hit him. “Well, I’m not sure it’s going to work.”

“You can at least try.”

Michael placed his hand on Maria’s stomach, and the silver handprint appeared. Then he took a deep breath and connected to Maria and their son. A second later Maria had a contraction, but this time, the pain was considerably lessened, and Maria ended up only closing her eyes to deal with it.

“Good job, Michael. Maria, you’re doing great, and from what I know, Andrew will be here pretty soon.” Liz tried to be encouraging and not show her anxiousness. She didn’t even have to be that well educated about childbirth to know that Andrew would be making his appearance almost within an couple of minutes, and Liz didn’t quite feel ready. Liz reached out to Serena mentally to get some information and encouragement.

Serena felt Liz probing her mind and immediately opened it up to see what Liz was going to show her and to tell Liz what to do. It had become clearly fairly early in her pregnancy that Serena’s gift was telepathy. It was the first task she mastered, and it was the first one that showed up to let her know she might be pregnant. It had actually been kind of weird at first. She was just getting some directions to a new club from a friend at school and suddenly images of the buildings the friend was talking about flashed through her mind. At first she hadn’t known what was going on, but when she told Thehlec about it that night, they had quickly figured it out.

It took no more than a few seconds for Liz to get the information and reassurance she needed, and it was a good thing, because just a few minutes later, Maria was ready to push, and Liz had to act. Andrew Patrick Guerin was born quickly with no problems, and before they knew it Maria was holding Andrew in bed with Michael sitting next to her with his hand on Andrew’s head, and the entire rest of the group, including Alexa were standing around watching.

“He’s so beautiful, Maria,” Isabel said. “Can I hold him?”

“Yeah.” Maria passed Andrew to Isabel, and she cradled him and rubbed the back of her index finger down his tiny, soft cheek.

“I want to hold him too!” Alexa said, and all the adults looked at her, then Liz gave Maria a questioning look, and waited for her nod.

“Okay, Alexa. You can hold him, but you have to sit down first. Okay?” Liz gestured over to the chair Serena had been sitting in before, and Max pulled it over a little closer to the bed, then Alexa sat in it.

“Okay. I’m ready.” Alexa swung her feet a bit and rubbed her hands together in excitement.

“Sit all the way back in the chair, Alexa,” Max instructed.

Alexa scooted back as far as she could, and Liz reached for Andrew in Isabel’s arms. Then she carefully put the baby in Alexa’s and stepped away just a bit into Max’s embrace. With all their friends starting their families now, Max and Liz had also been trying, and Liz couldn’t wait until the time when the baby Alexa was holding was her own brother or sister.

Max had very similar thoughts to Liz as he pulled Liz just slightly closer to him and rested his hands on her stomach.

Alexa giggled when Andrew grabbed her finger. “Look, he’s holding my finger!” Alexa looked up and Max and Liz with a huge smile on her face for just a second before it changed to a questioning look. “Mom? What’s on your stomach?”

“What, sweetie?”

“Oh my goodness, Liz! Lift up your shirt,” Maria ordered from the bed.

Liz looked down and saw her black top slightly illuminated from behind under Max’s hands and felt a rush of excitement move through her. Max moved his hands, and her stomach returned to normal, but she lifted her shirt a few inches and reached for Max’s hand and brought it just a few inches from her stomach. Two handprints instantly appeared, and Liz squealed, turned around, and grabbed Max and kissed him. “I’m pregnant!”

The group had quickly realized that with all the other pregnancies, the silver handprint wasn’t always there. It was only there when the father put his hand near the mother’s stomach, or when the mother tried to connect to the baby. They guessed that it had only been there the entire pregnancy with Alexa because Alexa was the heir.

“Yeah. And did anyone else see two handprints?” Alex asked.

“Oh yeah.” “Definitely.” Kyle and Thehlec agreed together.

Max hugged Liz just a little bit tighter and whispered in her ear, “I guess we’re having twins.”

Liz squeezed him and whispered back, “I guess so.”

“Wow. You know what that means?” Maria asked.

“What?” Alex asked.

“About nine months from now, there will be six babies around here under a year old.”

“Whoa.” Kyle almost looked like the blood had drained from his fast, and Tess tried to hold back her laughter at his reaction.

“Don’t worry, Budda Boy. We’ll only have one of our own.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Liz smiled and looked at all her friends, her husband, and her daughter and couldn’t help but think that this was the best the world could possibly be. “I guess those are just the consequences of turning green.”