Title: Replica
Author: SpiderGirl
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Roswell belongs to Fox.
Rating: This is mature. If this isn't your thing then don't read it.
Summary: Maxwell Evans is abducted from a camp site near his home in California while camping out with his big brother Michael Evans. On the same night on the other side of the country in Boston Liz Parker is driving home after visiting her best friend Maria Deluca when she is abducted as well. They are missing for three months, their family and friends begin to suspect that they will never been seen again. The two family get their children back but something has happened to them to change them. The two returnees feel a strange pull towards the unknown other but try and deny it because of the memories that they have from the time they were abducted.
Pairing: All CC, mainly focusing on Max(Zan)/Liz(Ava).
Notes: Liz is the only child of the Parkers, her best friend is Maria Deluca and her ex-boyfriend is Sean Deluca. The Evans have three children; Isabel, Michael and Max. Only Max is their biological son, Isabel and Michael were adopted when they were four years old and they are twins three years older than Max. The Crash never happened in Roswell and the world isn't aware of the possibility of alien existence that dawned from the 'supposed' Crash in 1947. This is an idea spawning from an original story I wrote years ago and the idea of cloning I wrote about in Hindsight.
Chapter Four
After he was checked out by Kenso he went home and life began to feel normal again; he spent time with his family and his friends all called surprised to hear that he was back safe and sound. Max even called up his old boss to see if his job was still available; Milton was delighted that he was back and willing to come back to work.
His family were disapproving, saying he needed more time to recover but all he wanted to do was to forget the frightening images that were hounding his mind and pretend that everything was normal. Max just wanted to get on with his life; since college was out until September he decided that it was best for him to work as much as possible and save money for going to UCLA.
“Alright” he said finally, rising from the couch “I'm going to go to bed”
“Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to come with you? Tuck you in?” asked Diane which made him smile
“Mom, you haven't tucked me in since I was twelve”
“I know” she said looking down almost apologetically, he instantly felt guilty for lightly telling her off so he put his hand on her shoulder
“Maybe just this one, okay mom?” he asked and she looked up, her brown eyes shining bright and she smiled warmly and patted his hand resting on her shoulder.
“Okay then, I'll be up in a minute” she said then he left the living room and went to his bedroom. As soon as he shut the door he sank against it in the dark.
Max sucked in a breathe before moving forward pulling off his shirt as he went and quickly kicking off his pants. He stood in his shorts as he rolled his shoulders stretching before focusing and the spikes rose up from their hidden line against his spine and he finally felt normal. This time there was no pain as they appeared and he happily scratched at the one nearest his neck, he jumped and they contacted back against his spine when he heard a knock at the door.
He dived for the bed just in time for Diane to come in and switch the light on, she smiled when she saw he was lying in bed
“Hey” he smiled warmly as she came over and sat down on the edge of the bed
“I'm glad that you're letting me do this. I keep feeling that you're going to disappear on me again”
“I'm not going anywhere. I have work in the morning”
“Are you sure you're up to it? You don't have to go in if you don't feel well”
“I'm fine, mom... I just want things to get back to normal”
“Hm, we're probably making it worse by going on and on about you disappearing, aren't we?”
“I don't blame you, mom, I was missing for three months” he pointed out then shook his head “But I'm back now... I don't want to be treated any differently”
“Okay, I'll do my best to pretend nothing happened and I'll ask the others if they'd do the same. But if you need anything or... or have a bad dream you come and wake me up okay?” she asked and he nodded his promise. She got up and moved to the door
“Goodnight mom”
“Goodnight Max, I'm glad you're back” she said before turning off the light and closing the door behind her. He sighed in relief as he sat up in the now dark room and let his spikes up again and letting the webbing appear on his hands; he had no idea why but it felt more comfortable like this. It was scary at first but now he was enjoying it, it made him feel more alive. His senses had been increased and he felt healthier than he had before but there was something missing, something that wasn't quite right and it made him feel like he was incomplete.
“What am I missing?” he mumbled to himself as he laid back down, his newly formed spikes adjusting to his movements on the bed then he realised what it was he was lacking “Ava...”
He drifted off to sleep dreaming about her, trying to find her and holding her safe in his arms when he did. She was sitting in a car being driven by another girl with blonde hair and he was sitting in the back, she turned in her seat and smiled at him
“You're him, aren't you? You're Zan, right?” she asked, she had doe eyes and long flowing brown hair
“Yes I'm Zan. My name is Max, you're Ava... what's your name?” he asked her and she smiled
“It's Liz”
“Uhh, Liz? Who are you talking to?” asked the blonde girl in the driver's seat
“Oh, Max, this is my best friend Maria Deluca”
“Nice to meet you”
“Liz, Chica, there's no one there”
“You can't see him?”
“No” she responded, then Liz turned back to Max
“She can't see you. I'm trying to find you, where are you?”
“I'm in California” he said as he reached forward and put his hand over hers “Are you coming here? Am I going to see you? In person?”
“You mean you're not really sat in the back seat?” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears “You're not really here?”
“I'm asleep in bed, I'm dreaming of you... I don't even know if this is a dream or not” he told her, she turned back so she was looking out of the window
“It's got to be official! I'm losing it, I'm going crazy... I was in an accident then kidnapped and they did something to me!” she buried a hand in her hair and stared at the glove box
“You're not going crazy” said Maria and Max at the same time, Max glanced at Maria before she continued “You've just had a lot to deal with”
“She's right” Max nodded
“But I can see him, as clear as I can see you and that weird thing with the spikes that happened back in my room. I'm doing my best to remain calm about all of this but honestly it's starting to freak me out!”
“Liz, I can't handle it if you go crazy because I'd have to be the sane one! And please, do I look like I'm capable of being smart and sane like you? We'll find this Zan guy and he'll help you, he'll make you better and we'll have the answers. All you have to do is hang on, okay, can you do that for me? If not then I'll turn the car around and get you medical help”
“Okay, 'Ria” she nodded then glanced over her shoulder to see Max still sat there “Where abouts are you in California? How can I find you?”
“I'm about thirty miles from UCLA” he told her “I'll give you my cell phone number so you can call me. I don't know why I can talk to you like this but I think it has something to do with me dreaming and you really needing to see me. I don't have all the answers you know, I'm just as confused about all this as you are but I'm beginning to accept it and find it enjoyable”
“Enjoyable?” she snapped “How can you find it enjoyable? You were taken for 3 months like I was right, do you remember what happened? I have god damn spikes coming out of my back and I'm having seizures when I try and remember where I was”
“I hate that part too, not knowing where I was or who had me but I feel stronger and I can see in the dark. I feel more whole that I did before and I'm pretty sure that you will too after you've slept”
“I don't want to enjoy this or grow to enjoy it! I just want it to stop”
“So did I” he said “It was scary at first and it still is but it's beginning to feel like it's meant to be and I'm more than grateful for it”
“Why? How can you like the changes so much?”
“Because I got to meet you” he answered honestly and that made her pause “I have a feeling that when we meet properly we'll both be complete and the reason behind this will all be revealed”
“Do you really think so?” she asked and he nodded then paused like he was listening for something
“You've seen them. You've seen the ones who took us” he gasped, she looked away before nodding once slowly
“I was in the hospital and they came to save me. What were they, Zan? I've never seen anything like them”
“Do you want me to see if I can go to them like I could go to you?”
“I don't think it'd work, I think I brought you here not the other way around. I should try and bring one of them after you've gone. They won't harm us will they?”
“No, I don't think so. You said they saved you, whatever they're doing they want us alive” he guessed
“What about the people helping us?” she spared at glance at Maria “They won't hurt her will they? Do you have people helping you”
“No one knows about the weird changed that's been happening to me... I'm a little scared for them to reject me”
“There's something else, isn't there? You're not telling me everything, I can feel it”
“Before I came home there was a body in the morgue, it looked exactly like me and my brother and sister identified it as me... I don't know who it was or why he looked like me but I'm afraid that that was the real Max and I'm just a copy”
“If that's true then that means I could be a copy too”
“I wish I could see and hear this guy too” said Maria suddenly “It's annoying listening to a one sided conversation”
Liz paused then reached over putting her hand on Maria's shoulder and pulled her into the strange connection she had with Max. The blonde glanced in the rear view mirror then shrieked when she saw Max sitting there in just his boxer shorts “Oh my God! Oh my God! It's real! He's real!”
“Yes I'm real, would you calm down or we might end up crashing... well you'll end up crashing. I would like to see you both before you accidentally kill yourselves” she nodded and started to focus.
“So what's going on? Are you freaky like Liz is becoming?”
“Yeah I am. So your name is Maria? Hm, I know my brother would go absolutely crazy if he ever met you. You're just his type”
“You have a brother? Is he cute?” she asked with a smirk, Liz grinned then shook her head
“His name is Michael and as far as guys go he is fairly good lucking” he replied
“Maria, time and place” Liz stated “Save it for when we get there. I'm sure Michael would love to flirt with you”
“You think so? Sorry, so what is exactly happening with you two?”
“I think we might be clones of our original selves” Max confessed nervously “And that we've been enhanced somehow with the weird spikes and webbed hands”
“So I'm not really Liz?” whispered Liz fearfully “If I'm not then where is the real me? How come I have all her memories? How can I feel like her if I'm not her?”
“I don't know but I feel the same, if it weren't for that body in the morgue then I'd believe I was Max”
“Body?” gasped Maria, her eyes went wide “You're saying that you could be clones and your original self is dead? That means if there is an original Liz she could be hurt or dead too. We should try and find her”
“I think we should continue on to California. If there is an original Liz then I doubt we'd be able to help her” she said quietly “Why do you think that the body in the morgue was the original?”
“Because I have spikes and webbed hands, he didn't” he answered her and she looked away out the window as her hand wound through her hair again. After that silence filled the car, none of them wanted to talk about it because deep down it scared them.
“What's it like where you live? Do you have have any brothers or sisters?”
“Shouldn't you know?” Maria asked “I thought you were supposed to have this... connection”
“I'm an only child, I lived with my parents. I was heading back to finalising things at college when I disappeared” she told him, briefly ignoring her friend “Maria is like a sister to me. She's my best friend and has been for my entire life”
“So you trust her”
“Of course she trusts me. Do you trust your brother... what's his name? If you were driving to find Liz would he be with you”
“I... I don't know” he said sadly “I'm scared to tell Michael. I don't think he'd understand”
“You should ask him, he's your brother right?” Maria pointed out taking control of the conversation “He loves you, he'll understand...”
“I think I'm waking up. Quickly, find a pen and paper so I can give you my cell phone number” he said desperately. Liz rooted through the glove box and found an old envelope and a pencil and quickly scrawled down his number. When she looked up back over her shoulder he was gone.
“That was so weird” her friend said before looking at the clock “He might be awake but I think it's best if we find somewhere to sleep. It's late and if we're going to California then we have a hell of a lot of ground to cover; I do not think that it's a good idea to do it in one stretch.
“Agreed, I'll get some money out. Since I'm not going to college for a while then I guess I could splurge some of the money I've saved up”
“Are you sure? I mean I could...”
“Maria, I have nearly two and half thousand dollars from babysitting, tips and wages from the café. Come on, let's find a motel and get some sleep. I'll take my turn driving tomorrow” she said with a smile.
*
Kaatori glanced at the readouts on the screen and smiled faintly, Ava's hybrid clone and her human friend were travelling to the location of Zan's hybrid clone. Things were progressing nicely and much faster than he'd ever anticipated; if Zan and Ava's clones copulated and produced a child then they would progress with the other DNA samples they had of their people. Their sole goal was to resurrect their race that had been wiped out by that damn virus, of all the planets they'd encountered and tested so far only Earth was immune.
He thought back to the family he'd belonged to back on Antar, they were fairly high up in the government but they treated him right and he loved all of them dearly. It had destroyed him to watch them dying slowly one by one until there was no one left. He smiled hoping that one day he would see them again
“What are you smiling about?” asked Nasero as he strolled into the room cockily almost as if he owned the place
“Ava's clone is using the connection formed before they died to travel to Zan, that means the cloning went better than expected if they can remember that bond! In a month or so they might be in a stage to produce an heir” explained Kaatori happily, his smile faded when Nasero scowled darkly “What? What's wrong?”
“Those filthy disgusting humans is what's up! Kivar was right! The Antarians were a mighty race and we're just defiling them by mixing them with those primitive savages”
“Oh no, Nasero, no! You're one of Kivar's activists! You don't honestly believe that we should try and save them instead of letting them just fade into dust?”
“I do, it's a crime what we're doing here!”
“Kivar was wrong! He murdered his own kind thinking that would stop this order going ahead!” Kaatori shouted back “Besides, there's nothing you can do to stop the go ahead of this ark program. We know who you are and where your allegiances lie now, we can stop you!”
“No you can't, I'm stronger than you and the other pilots. If I destroy the samples then Antar will finally rest in peace instead of becoming some twisted sick science experiment!”
“That's genocide!” he shouted, their yelling brought the other members of the ship
“What the hell is going on in here?” Feikeyor demanded, Nasero turned and sent a blast towards the coolers with all the samples in
“NO!” Kaatori yelled jumping in front of the bolt and stopping it from reaching it's target, while they were distracted Nasero dove for the control panel. His hands flew swiftly over the buttons arranging the ship to crash into this disgusting planet and for one transport to the other Antarian ship that was floating above Earth's atmosphere “Stop him” Kaatori begged as he panted for breathe, the three surviving pilots tackled Nasero before he could transport from the ship.
Shan looked through the programming that Nasero had input into the the flight command and saw how hopeless it was, he could change the angle to the impact wouldn't destroy the ship completely but it still would be a bad crash
“We're going to crash, there's no stopping it” he explained as Feikeyor and Kiel tied up Nasero, once he was bound Kiel went to Kaatori while Feikeyor joined him at the screen “We can't teleport out, the command is locked apart from one transport to the other ship”
“Send the samples” Kaatori said from Kiel's lap, he looked up into her eyes and smiled “I had liked to see my family again, I loved my owners as much as I loved you my beautiful Kiel”
“Hush yourself Kaatori! I don't want to hear such talk, you're going to be fine” she said as she put her hand over the blast wound
“Save your energy, you have to protect the samples and the King and Queen on Earth. I'm done for, save your healing energy for the others who'll need it after that crash. Send the samples to the cargo dock of the other ship”
“I'm doing that now” said Feikeyor, Kaatori was like a friend and a brother to him and he'd fulfil his dying wish. The samples were transported to the other ship, the pilots were surprised that they'd been sent and tried to get in touch with them but could only watch in horror as the ship lost altitude and headed towards the surface “It's done”
“He's gone” cried Kiel, Feikeyor glared over at Nasero before coming to sit down next to his best friends. Kiel took his hand while she still cradled her dead lover's head in her lap. They leaned their heads together as the ship began beeping and humming as it sped down through the atmosphere towards Earth.
*
The next morning the sun was peeking through the curtains and it woke Maria up, she rose out of bed then stood over the other bed watching it's occupant; was this a copy of her best friend? If so then why had someone done it... more importantly how and why had they messed around adding weird things to her? Could this copy be trusted? If the real version of her friend was dead then was the clone somewhat responsible? Was she in danger, by trusting and helping them? She watched her friend sleep for a moment before deciding that even if it meant that whoever behind this hurt her or even killed her she would go along with Liz or clone Liz; whatever happened in the end that'd be her decision and what she wanted. She knew that her Liz would have done the same if the situation was reversed.
“Liz, Liz... it's time to wake up” she said as she shook her friend awake, she jumped in fright when Liz sat up and those strange spikes shot up on her back like it was something that they did every morning when she woke up. Even thought she knew they were there, it didn't mean she was comfortable or used to seeing them appear
“You scared me” the brunette said as her shoulders sank “I was dreaming about when I was in the palace just after I'd met Zan”
“You're spiking” she pointed to her back and she looked over her shoulder before turning back to her and shrugged “Aren't you going to put them away? I mean, it looks a bit weird and honestly it's freaking me out a little”
“Can I put them away when we leave?” she asked quietly, Max had been right... she had grown accustomed to them and putting them down felt like loosing a limb
“Please Liz... I'm not used to them even if you appear to be” she begged, Liz nodded then silently folded them back against her spine. Maria was doing her a really big favour by being here and helping her in her quest, she had more than earned the right to normalcy.
“You're right. I'm sorry, why don't you take the first shower while I call my parents and try that number Max gave me”
“Will you get something for breakfast as well- that isn't out of the vending machine” she added the last bit quickly when her friend opened her mouth and raised her hand. Liz just chuckled as Maria grabbed her shower stuff and headed into the bathroom.
She stared at the phone wondering who to call first... Max would be excited to hear from her but her parents would be frantic and calling every cop in the state to get her back, she knew that it wasn't a very nice thing to do running off like she had and leaving just a note especially after they had just got her back after her three month disappearance. Picking up the phone she called Max first hoping that it would give her strength to deal with talking to her parents; they'd probably think she'd gone mad running off to find some man she had never met but dreamt about ever since she came back.
The phone rang and she held her breathe thinking for a second that she was in fact crazy and the person on the other end wouldn't have a clue what she was on about
“Hello?” came a soft and very female voice on the other end of the line. Hearing that voice she temporarily froze before gaining the courage, she had after all come this far, and began to speak
“Hello is Max there?”
“Yeah, I'll just go get him. Who should I say is calling?”
“Tell him it's Liz” she replied then there was a noise like the phone being put down and silence. A few minutes passed before a sleepy voice came onto the line
“Hello”
“Zan” she breathed then quickly corrected herself “I meant Max. It's um... it's me Liz”
“Liz” he drawled her name, his tone made her shiver and she knew that he was smiling brightly “I was hoping you would call last night. I didn't know if what I'd dreamt was real...”
“I thought the same when I was waiting for the someone to pick up” she said honestly
“Where are you?”
“Maria and I stopped at a motel for the night, she's in the shower and I'm on breakfast duty. It's my turn to drive today, it'll probably take a while for us to get there. I'm even contemplating just getting a plane out there but there is the Jetta to deal with... Maria would go crazy if anything happened to her car”
“I'd love it if you could come here... could you catch a plane? I'm sure that airports have long stay car parks...”
“Hm maybe... I still have to call my parents. They don't know I'm where I am, I left a note saying there was something important I needed to do before I got back into the normality of my life. I said that I needed to find you”
“Yeah my parents would be crazy too if I did that. After you call them can you catch a plane, I don't want to have to wait a week to see you. A lot could happen in a week, I have no idea what else might pop up”
“Like what? I never thought about anything else weird happening. I saw the things that did this to us, you don't think we're becoming like them do you?”
“It's possible. What did they look like?”
“Thin, grey... oh they didn't have spikes or webbed hands... so it doesn't look like we're going to turn into them. I wish I didn't feel like a science experiment, you were right about getting use to the spikes. I had to put them down because they were freaking Maria out but it feels weird not having them up, makes me feel like I'm missing something important. What are you going to do today?”
“I'm going to work. My boss runs a bar... my brother Michael did some of the art work on the sign above the door”
“Really? Michael's an artist? Hm, Maria is going to love that when I tell her! You should tell him about her, she's a musician... she's an amazing singer”
“I'll be sure to tell him” he said then fell into nervous heavy breathing before saying “I love you”
“I love you too” she replied, it was easy and it was natural and it was what she felt. She heard some commotion in the background on the other end of the phone and smirked “I should go, I'm going to call my parents now. Wish me luck”
“Good luck” he said then she rung off. She steeled herself for the disaster of the conversation she knew she was about to have with her parents. The phone only rung once before it was picked up quickly
“Hello?”
“Mom?”
“Oh my God! Liz thank god! Where are you? Why on earth did you leave in the middle of the night? We've been out of our minds with worry!”
“I'm sorry, I left a note... I'm with Maria. Mom, there's something I need to do, it's very important that I do this. When it's all over I'll come home”
“What is it you're doing?”
“I can't tell you, but we're both being careful and staying safe” she said hoping that this would reassure her mother
“Why can't you tell me? What are you involved in? Is it drugs? You're not a drug mule are you, what have they done to my baby girl? Please, Liz, just come home”
“I can't!” she said firmly, her anger rising strangely “Not until I've done this. I will come home when this is over but for now I have to go, I have to get breakfast. I'll call you later tonight, bye”
“Liz, wait...” she heard her mom calling her but she hung up. That could have been worse, she thought to herself as she sat back on the bed sighing deeply. Breakfast. She grabbed her jacket and left the room to find a diner or a store.
***
When he heard the phone ring he just knew it was her calling, but despite his knowing he didn't get to the phone first. Isabel answered it looking annoyed at whoever was calling so early in the morning. It was a few minutes past six and he was surprised to see his sister wide awake and coherent at this time of the morning
“Hello?” she said into the phone, she waited patiently until there was a reply. Max crept out of the shadows of the hallway and into the kitchen “Yes I'll just go get him. Who should I say it calling?” she put the phone down on the table before turning round to get him, she jumped in shock when she saw him standing there “It's Liz” he couldn't help the large grin that spread across his face as he hurried to the phone
“Hello” he said into the receiver as he rubbed his tired eyes,
“Zan” her voice was soft and sweet like honey “I meant Max. It's um... it's me Liz”
“Liz” her name rolled off his tongue like he'd said it a thousand times before, if it was possible his smile had gotten even bigger. He saw Isabel pottering round the kitchen pretending she wasn't listening to his half of the conversation “I was hoping you would call last night. I didn't know if what I'd dreamt was real...”
“I thought the same when I was waiting for the someone to pick up” he felt instantly relieved that she thought the same.
“Where are you?” he couldn't help but ask, he wondered if she'd gotten any closer to California since he'd last dreamt of her in the car
“Maria and I stopped at a motel for the night, she's in the shower and I'm on breakfast duty. It's my turn to drive today, it'll probably take a while for us to get there. I'm even contemplating just getting a plane out there but there is the Jetta to deal with... Maria would go crazy if anything happened to her car”
“I'd love it if you could come here... could you catch a plane? I'm sure that airports have long stay car parks...” his heart raced at the thought of a few hours passing and her being here where he could hold her in his arms and never let her go.
“Hm maybe... I still have to call my parents. They don't know I'm where I am, I left a note saying there was something important I needed to do before I got back into the normality of my life. I said that I needed to find you” he glanced at his sister who was making breakfast rather slowly
“Yeah my parents would be crazy too if I did that. After you call them can you catch a plane, I don't want to have to wait a week to see you. A lot could happen in a week, I have no idea what else might pop up” he said turning his attention back to the weird things that seemed to be occurring to the both of them
“Like what? I never thought about anything else weird happening. I saw the things that did this to us, you don't think we're becoming like them do you?” she sounded a little scared by the idea of it
“It's possible. What did they look like?” asked Max wondering if that could be a possibility, if he changed completely to look like the creatures she saw then he wouldn't be able to stay with his family. He'd have to leave and go somewhere were no one would ever find him
“Thin, grey... oh they didn't have spikes or webbed hands... so it doesn't look like we're going to turn into them. I wish I didn't feel like a science experiment, you were right about getting use to the spikes. I had to put them down because they were freaking Maria out but it feels weird not having them up, makes me feel like I'm missing something important. What are you going to do today?” he couldn't help but grin when she told him she was getting used to her new appendages; it made him feel less alone in the world. There was someone out there exactly like him, going through the exact same things.
“I'm going to work. My boss runs a bar... my brother Michael did some of the art work on the sign above the door”
“Really? Michael's an artist? Hm, Maria is going to love that when I tell her! You should tell him about her, she's a musician... she's an amazing singer”
“I'll be sure to tell him” he said before glancing at Isabel, she was still listening in on his side of the phone call and it made him nervous. All he could think about was how Zan had felt about Ava, he was Zan and this was Ava “I love you”
“I love you too” she replied naturally, he watched the eggs his sister had been holding fall to the floor and she glared at him in shock and disbelief “I should go, I'm going to call my parents now. Wish me luck”
“Good luck” he said then she was gone. Isabel was busying cleaning up the eggs that had cracked when she dropped the carton on the floor
“Who was that? I've never heard you mention a Liz before, and you're in love with her, hm? That's stupid! You're too young to know what love is” she demanded to know as he crouched down to help her wiping up the spilt eggs
“I'm eighteen Isabel, only three years younger than you!” he protested, getting annoyed with her “I know what love is and I'm in love with Liz!”
“Well how come none of us have ever met her? Where's she from? What school does she go too?” she shot question after question out at him until he reached his breaking point and dropped the kitchen towels down on the floor and walked out of the room.
He stalked along the hall to his room, Michael was coming down the hall and smiled when he saw his little brother heading his way
“Morning Max”
“Go to hell!” Max snapped back, he brushed roughly passed him and slammed his bedroom door shut. Michael blinked, he'd never seen that reaction out of his baby brother before and wondered what had caused it.
He continued down the hall and found Isabel cleaning broken eggs up off the floor, she looked deeply upset
“What's up with Max?”
“He's in love with some tramp, I have no idea who she is and he got prissy with me! Completely ignored me and walked out of the room. Something is seriously up with him”
“Hm” he grunted eyeing her warily, he had a feeling there was more to this story than met the eye “You didn't happen to interrogate him about this... tramp, did you?”
“So what if I did?” she snapped as she rose to her feet and dumped the eggs and kitchen towels into the bin
“God, Isabel! We're pushing him too far, I know he likes spending time with us because we're his big brother and sister but if we're around twenty four seven pulling on the strings of every detail of his life then he's bound to get annoyed. He's told us time and time again that he wants to get back to normal and we keep treating him with kid gloves; I don't want you asking anymore questions about this girl who ever she is”
“But Michael...”
“No. We've been around him his whole life and he was starting to get used to us not being around, now we're back while he's recovering from being taken and it'll seem like we're in his face. If we really do get in his face it could push him away”
“You're right. I'm sorry” she apologised “I should apologise to Max too shouldn't I? I still want to meet her”
“If I know Max it won't be long before he drags her round her to show her off. You can case her then”
“Oh I will” she said firmly then both of them started chuckling
“Need help with breakfast?” he asked and she nodded, the two of them worked in comfortable silence.
Max slammed his bedroom door then paced back and forth before kicking his bed, there was a flash of light and the mattress crashed into his chair. He scowled at it before pulling the mattress back to his bed
“I need to swim” he mumbled to himself, he got changed into his swimming shorts and went out to the pool. He could see his brother and sister through the kitchen window making breakfast but chose to ignore the fact that they were so close.
The water was cold on his skin but it was soothing, as he lowered himself into the pool he could feel his hands revealing the webbing in anticipation; Max kept lowering himself until her was completely submerged and he felt his spikes lift up from their camouflaged hiding spot. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see that he could see clearly without goggles and he could breathe under water with ease. He began to swim back and forth blowing off steam that his argument with Isabel had produced
Liz was Ava and Ava was Liz. He could feel the feelings of Zan and in love with Liz, it was like there was no line to be drawn; they were one and the same. How dare Isabel question her! He'd crossed stars to be with her! He felt his spikes altering to become more streamlined to the water, it was lighter and thinner here than it was on Antar and it felt odd to him even though he'd learnt to swim in this pool
“Ava... Liz...” he sank to the bottom as the memories came.
“Zan!” called Vilandra as she ran into the room “It's Ava! She caught the virus from her one of her aides”
“Ava? No, no not Ava!” he gasped as he turned away from the table where he had been discussing strategies about the growing lethal epidemic “Where is she?”
“I got Balthar to carry her to your bedroom” she answered, he paused in the corridor and took hold of his sister's hand
“I know you care deeply for Balthar, make sure that he's gone through decontamination. As long as we can keep our people from contracting the virus we should be okay. I have to go to Ava... get Rath to take over my duties for today”
“I understand” she replied, she took a few steps back as tears filled her eyes“I'm so Zan, I'm so sorry”
“Me too” he said then he went down the hall and up the stairs to his bedroom.
Ava was lying on the bed and it was dark in the room, he crept towards the bed fearing the worst as he saw her there on the bed still as stone. His heart stopped in his chest and only started beating again when she slowly turned to look at him, her eyes met his and she forced a smile “Oh love, you don't have to smile. I know how painful this damn virus is”
“But... I... am happy to... see you” she said slowly drawing her breathe then her face contorted in pain “Zan, it hurts”
“Let me take away the pain” he reached out towards her but she shook her head
“No! You know as well as I that connections spread the virus! You're even more susceptible to this damn thing because of the heir” she reached out and put her hands over her stomach “I am scared, my love, I do not want our son to die”
“He won't... we're working on a cure. I have all my advisors working as hard as they can to find a cure” he sat down in a chair next to her and took hold of her hand “But until they do I'm going to stay with you”
“No...” she groaned “Zan, you will catch the virus too. You'll get sick and die”
“I don't care. If that happens then I will be with you. I will be with our son” he answered her and tears filled her eyes “I am not leaving you”
He could feel the sadness filling him as the memories of her dying slowly repeated through his mind, he could tell that they weren't from him... if these memories weren't his then who did they belong to? Why did he have them? Would they go away? Would the feelings this Zan felt for Ava stop? It scared him to think that those feelings might end.
“Max!” he heard someone calling his voice, it echoed through the water making him remember where he was. He willed his spikes to lay drown flat against his spine before lifting his head so far out of the water that only his eyes were visible he was tempted to see who it was, tell them to go away and go back under so he could try bring up more memories of Ava
Michael was standing on the side of the pool near the steps he was looking at him disbelief and fear, the look on his brother's face strengthened the decision not to tell his family what was really happening to him
“I've been calling you for the past few minutes, if it weren't for the fact I could see you moving around I would have swore that you'd drowned. How did you stay under for so long?” he rose up more out of the water so he could answer him
“Practice... I was thinking about joining the swim team before I disappeared” he lied, Michael didn't look convinced
“Huh” he mumbled as he patted the hand rail before glancing towards the house “Well breakfast is ready. Come and get it before you go to work”
Diane could sense how tense the atmosphere was when she came into the kitchen following the smell of a well cooked breakfast. Max was glaring at Isabel while she was exchanging sympathetic looks with her twin
“Morning, kids” she said as she headed for the coffee and received a chorus of 'morning's' “What are you all up to today?”
“Are you just curious about my day or do you want to pry into my life?” Max asked coldly, staring pointedly at his sister who was now doing her best not to cry
“Maxwell Philip Evans! Apologise to me right now and apologise to your sister!”
“You'll never guess what I saw on the TV!” said Philip as he came into the room interrupting the argument in progress “There's been a crash”
“I'm going to get changed for work” Max averted his eyes, dismissing the demand for an apology
“Now you wait just a minute, young man” Diane began
“Mom, leave it. It's fine, I don't care” Isabel said trying to diffuse the situation
“No it's not. Max!” she replied quickly and he paused in the doorway near his father who just glanced back and forth between them
“Are you guys done squabbling? You have to see this for yourself!” Philip stated excitedly as he turned on the small television on the kitchen counter “I couldn't believe it when I saw it! It has to be a hoax!”
Max turned round curious what his father was rambling on about and saw the reactions of his family to the event on the TV, he would hardly believe it himself if he didn't know that they existed. There on the screen there was live footage of a space ship wedged half in the earth half sticking out, it was clear to see how damaged it was and he knew that whoever had been piloting it needed help. His people needed help! The little banner on the news report said it crashed in Roswell, New Mexico
“Oh my god” gasped Isabel as she clapped her hand over her mouth
“I have to go there” Max announced, everyone turned to stare at him in astonishment
“What? Why?” Michael inquired “It could be dangerous”
“I don't care. I need to go; look Isabel, mom I'm sorry for being so rude about being mean to Isabel but I need to go there. You don't understand”
“Apology accepted little bro, but Michael's right. We don't know what that thing is or who sent it, its dangerous” he looked round them fearfully before taking a few steps closer, turning round slowly and let some of his spikes rise up to poke through his shirt. He held out his webbed hands for them
“They have the answers, they're the things responsible for doing this to me” he whispered, Diane blinked back the tears as she saw how vulnerable and frightened her son looked and it wasn't because of the things that had done this to him, it was because he thought they would turn him away
“Oh my baby” she sobbed as she rushed forward and pulled him into a hug, he sighed against her and fought back his sobs
“What the hell did they do to you?” growled Michael angry at the changes that those monsters had caused to his brother
“Does it hurt?” Isabel questioned as she moved forward and touched one of his spikes, she jumped back when they moved compressing back against his spine
“No” he said “Whatever they did to me, they made me part of them. They have the answers I need...” he shot a glance at his father whose expression was dark and frightening, out of all of them he was the only one who hadn't spoken to him yet “Dad?”
“You're one of them aren't you?” he hissed “That body in the morgue that looked exactly like you. That was our Max wasn't it? You're someone else, you're something else... aren't you?” his eyes filled with tears and he looked down ashamed of his very existence
“Philip! Stop it! It's Max!”
“No, mom... he's right. I figured it out, I'm not your Max” he explained “When I came back before my spikes appeared I-I thought that I was... but the other memories I have. It's like whoever I am, I was made from your son and from one of them” he pointed at the spaceship on the scream
“You mean to tell me you're not my brother?”
“I am and I'm not all at the same time; I remember and think and feel things like he must have done but I think that the original Max is the one in the morgue” he couldn't bring himself to look up “I'm sorry. I never meant to deceive you”
“No” Michael grabbed his arm “I look at you and I can see you, all the mannerisms and quirks that my brother had. That person in the morgue might not be the original, as you put it... just because you have those things, it doesn't change anything”
“Are you mad?! Of course it changes things! He's one of them! Those things!” cried Philip
“He's my brother!” Isabel cried, despite what he'd told them all she could see was Max standing there scared and looking wounded
“He is not your brother!” he shouted back angrily, Max stepped closer to Michael for protection; he had grown up knowing that Michael and Isabel would always protect him from bullies and bad things. Isabel blinked when she saw Max step closer to her twin and take hold of his hand; she'd seen him do that a thousand times
“Yes he is, if this Max standing here is an alien pretending to be my youngest brother he's very damn good. I'm coming with you to New Mexico, I want answers too and I am your big sister... someone has to look out for you”
“I'm coming too, I let you down once... it's not happening again” said Michael flashing his trademark smirk. They turned to their mother, with knowing where their father stood on this they were half expecting her to be just as mad and angry
“This is hard for me” she began slowly “I'm not sure what to believe. When I look at you I can see my little boy, how can you prove to me you're not some alien monster who stole my son away and killed him?”
“You can't” replied Max as he felt those damn tears coming again “I have no way of proving that I am me, I'm your son and you're my mamie” he bit his lip and looked down
“Oh God, I lost you once. I can't loose you again” she rushed over to him pulling him into her arms “We'll all go”
“This is a mistake” cried Philip “We should call someone!”
“You're made your decision” she said “We'll see you when we get back. Let's pack up some things and go”
TBC...