When the Rain Begins to Fall (DA-XO,UC,ADULT) AN (2/22)[WIP]

[Calinia]

Hey guys, I know, I know...this is not updating weekly. Sorry. I guess telling you that I update my site daily doesn't help me here either, does it? Well, I'll try to be better from now on, especially since I'm really starting to get close to the end of this story. Wow. Never thought that day would come.


Ariadne, trueblue...thanks for the feedback!

Traitor, nice avi you got there. Honestly, it's SO beautful... I'm glad you liked the part. It wasn't all that easy figuring out how to write them now that things had changed, but judging from your feedback, I guess I managed to do what I wanted to do. So thanks.

Elf3748, aww, you made me a flag? How sweet! Nope, Alec won't see Liz making a document, at least not before he knows the truth about her. He will however see her doing something else and sooner than you might think.

A Rose Is True Blue, devious is my second name. No, wait, my second name is evil bitch. Guess that makes devious my third name. I'm very relieved that you liked them not having sex, I was kind of worried people would want to kill me for that. And Alec will find out more about her soon. I'm not going to promise a non-conflict relationship from now on but they've definitely been through the worst of it. I can't even think of any real fights that I have planned from now on. Doesn't mean I won't insert one or two for the hell of it. Liz would need a picture of Ava to dreamwalk her, at least that's her assumption. And since she only has a picture of Tess, that wouldn't work. But she's actually not that far away from finding her. Woah, $800 is a lot of money. Sorry to hear that. Stupid computers. I'm glad I could brighten up your day a bit though. And nagging Randi is a good idea. She's already working on another xtremer fic, she just has to finish it and then she'll start posting, I think. So go nag her. (Yes, that's an order. ) And no, the new fic is not a crossover, it's pure Roswell, and UC of course, but that's all I'm saying for now. I want it to be a surprise.

morpheus awakened, thanks a bunch, glad you liked the part. I'm trying to make Alec sweet without going out of character and making him too mushy or anything. I hope I'm succeeding. But as you said, we did see his caring and vulnerable part in The Berrisford Agenda so I'm trying to stick to the Alec we saw then. And yes, Liz was definitely shocked by Alec's actions more than by anything else he's ever done, lol. Well, you won't have to wait long till Alec gets a little demonstration of Liz's powers. Hehe, I'm sure Alec wouldn't say no to Liz taking him into the dream of a playmate. Don't think Liz would be too happy about that though.

WomanofMystery, you want a clue as to what member of the Roswell gang will show up soon? Okay. It's a male character, but that's all I'm saying. Well, I figured that Alec needs to wash his own clothes since I don't really see anyone else doing it for him, so... As for the cooking, I can really see Alec going crazy over some nice, two-inch steaks. Seeing how Alec was in Manticore for about 20 years, I figured names and age aren't that important to him since he didn't have the first and didn't celebrate the latter for the biggest part of his life. But while not knowing those things, I think he knows a lot of other stuff about her that people who have known Liz for years don't really know. Anyway, glad you liked the part

_liz, hehe, as long as you don't kick me, I'm fine with you getting upset about me taking so long to update. Sorry, I know I take too long sometimes...like now. But if you like the part, will you forgive me? And I'm very glad that the last chapter brought a smile to your face. To sum it up, that was pretty much what I wanted it to do.

vampiricheart, nope, I never get tired of hearing that, so thanks a bunch. Alec really does want to know Liz, and not only because her being so mysterious makes it even more tempting to solve the puzzles that surround her. And I love jealous Alec too. He's even cuter and hotter then than he normally is, and that's saying a lot. Yup, this is DA timeline. I thought it was more fitting to move the Roswell timeline forward since this takes place mostly in the DA univers. As for who's coming from Roswell, it's a male character, but that's all I'm saying. And yes, Ava is still around.

Onarek, glad you liked the last part and that you liked it being different. Hehe, I adore Alec as well, in case you haven't noticed. Sigh...he is charming...and hot and sweet and funny and witty...I could go on forever.

Hotaru, hehe, is someone slightly upset about Liz here? Okay, so she hasn't been very open with Alec, but that's changing. More major sharing is coming up soon. And no, Alec will not let Liz get away with that, but he knows when to push and when to be patient, and pushing to much won't get him the results he wants. Hehe, the teeth brushing scene was probably never done before, was it? Lol, I wish Alec's boxers were under my bed and that he was distracting me from writing. Hmm, nice mental image there. Glad that you laughed about them talking about having sex being a crime. And no, Alec won't pull a Maria. Um, I'll try to get back to weekly updates, I liked that myself. Not promising anything though.

RavenSprite, yes, you have been very bad with feedback. As a punishment you must therefore update SYP II once a week from now on till you're finished with that story, okay? Liz is frustrating in this story, but she's slowly really getting to the point you (and I) want her to be. And yes, Max did quite a number on her. Alec and Liz have come a long way, haven't they. And aww, you're so sweet. I'm really glad you're enjoying this. Now, go and write!

lyra, um, my cat ate my part so I had to rewrite it. Yeah, exactly, that's what happened! I swear on Max Evans' life! I'm really glad that everybody liked the last part so much despite the lack of nookie, or even because of it, I was kinda worried you'd all want to kill me. Very relieved to see that that isn't the case, lol. And jealous Alec is hot, isn't he? I don't see Alec fussing around in the kitchen either, but I wouldn't put throwing some pasta into boiling water past him. That isn't that hard after all. And I have to say I do see him going crazy over some nice two-inch steaks. Oh, I am so relieved that I'm not the only one who automatically conects Alec cooking to naughty, carnal things. And I am definitely moving into the direction of Ava showing up, don't worry.

Mariiska, I'm very happy to hear that you've fallen in love with this story. Hehe, having an avatar with Jensen always pays off, if only because you have something to drool over. Dark Angel is such an amazing show, you seriously have to watch it. S1 was great, but I liked S2 more because Alec was in that one. So yeah, go watch it. I can highly recommend it. Alec and Liz do have similar pasts, or at least their pasts had similar affects on them. But together, they somehow manage to negate all those negative things. Sigh...I could go on and on about them.

KnightOwl, lovely avatar you have there. I'm glad you liked the last few parts so much. Thanks for the feedback, it really made me feel good somehow. You're right, it's not fair that Liz knows about Alec's secret while he doesn't know hers, but that will change very, very soon. And she will learn to trust him and she will eventually confide in him, even though it stil won't be easy. Anyway, thanks again for the lovely feedback.

DMartinez, I thought I was dreaming when I saw that you'd posted on this thread. I am so in love with Crushes, and Kiss is one of my favorite Roswell fics ever. Quite an honor to have you reading this. I'm so glad you actually like this. Wow.


Woah, that was a lot of feedback. Thank you so much guys, you're making me a very happy Kat! Now on to the part...


Part 31

I’m trying to run, but I can’t move my feet. I scream, but no sound leaves my mouth. He’s there again, leering down at me, eyes crazy and glazed over. He’ll hurt me. He’ll kill me. I know. I can see it in his eyes and I just know. Terror cuts through me, robbing me of my ability to breathe, to move, to think. Oh please god no.

The scene shifts and he’s lying in front of me in the dirt, eyes cold and dead. I killed him. Oh my god, I killed him. I shake my head, backing away from his body. No, no, no…

When my eyes snap open I’m disorientated for a moment. Then it all comes back to me and I become aware of my surroundings…Alec’s warmth, his arms wrapped around me, the sound of his heartbeat. I release a shuddering breath, tightening my grip on Alec. I’m so glad he’s here. In the darkness of the night and in the wake of a nightmare, I can admit it. Progress, I guess.

Suddenly Alec shifts and lifts his head. “Hey, you okay?” His voice and movement startles me. I wasn’t expecting him to be awake.

“Um, yeah.” But my voice quivers, giving me away. “I just, um…bad dream, you know.”

“About…?” He trails off, not wanting to say it out loud, and I’m grateful, because thinking the words is bad enough. I don’t need to hear them out loud. Don’t need to hear how I killed someone, even if it was in self defense. Don’t need to hear how that person almost raped me, almost killed me before I could stop him by taking his life instead.

I nod and Alec tightens his grip on me, kissing the top of my head. He just holds me for a few minutes and then he begins to talk. He tells me funny little anecdotes about his boss Normal and his co-worker Sketchy. He goes into the outrageous scams he’s pulled off, his career as a cage fighter, the incident with Mia, the girl from Psy-Ops. He tells me about the things he’s stolen from right under the nose of clueless people who had too much money anyway.

It doesn’t take long before I’m smiling, then laughing ever so softly. Doesn’t take long till his voice lulls me back to sleep either, and when it does, I’m at peace again.

-------

Another morning after. Just not, you know…that kind of morning after. The fact frustrates me only slightly. It is sort of nice though, despite me being horny as hell with no end in sight and all that. But I’m enjoying this new-found closeness a lot more than I thought I would…or could. Okay, so ‘enjoying’ is the wrong word…too positive for little miss cynical here. It doesn’t make me as uncomfortable as I had expected. I’m not totally freaking out because of it. That’s something, for my standards at least.

I guess Alec not pursuing the physical side of our relationship put some of my fears to rest. Up to s certain point, that was all we had. But now, without it, I really know that there’s more to it for him than just sex. Just like there’s more to it for me.

Woah…did I just really think that? More progress. This better not become a habit.

I mean, it’s not like I really thought this was some elaborated scam to keep me in his bed or something, that he was lying when he told me that…you know what I mean. But having some proof…I think I needed that. Actions speak for themselves while words can mean anything or nothing and often, they don’t mean a thing.

Seems like this whole trusting-thing is turning out more difficult than I’d ever expected. Which is saying a lot since I pretty much figured that it would be a bitch.

“You know, if you lift that spoon another inch it might actually reach your mouth.” Alec’s voice interrupts my train of thoughts.

Huh? Then I look down. My spoon is floating in midair, somewhere between my mouth and the bowl of cereal in my hand. It’s been there for a few minutes now. Guess I got a bit caught up in my thoughts there.

“You okay?” he asks me, eyebrow raised, the look in his eyes somewhere between amused and concerned.

“Fine. Just…thinking.” Then I turn my attention back to the cartoons we’re watching.

This is so second grade, eating cereal that consists of 90% sugar while being camped out in front of the TV watching cartoons. Next we’ll start passing notes that read ‘Do you want to go steady?’ with boxes to cross labeled ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘I don’t know’. But since Alec didn’t really have the chance to do this when he was a kid, I figured now was as good a time as any to catch up on that. Besides, Dexter’s Laboratory rocks.

Finally eating that damn spoon of cereal, I set my bowl aside. Any more sugar and I’ll overdose. Then, not even realizing what I’m doing, I settle back against Alec. He presses a quick kiss against the crown of my head and I actually smile.

Then I realize what just happened here. This whole thing is kind of freaking me out. You know, like those Pleasantville-families in car commercials. But, as hard as it is to admit it, at the same time it’s kinda nice.

I almost jump out of my skin when the apartment door is suddenly wrenched open and M corms in. Alec’s body tenses for a brief second, but he relaxes when he sees who it is.

“You know Max, here in the outside world, it’s considered polite to knock before entering someone’s apartment.” Alec’s tone is somewhere between teasing and mocking. Wonder how many lectures Alec had to listen to concerning the proper conduct in the real world.

M doesn’t reply for a second, she just stares at me. I raise my eyebrows in question but she doesn’t react. Blinking a few times, she opens her mouth, closes it again.

Then she finally finds her voice. “Um, do you have those hard drives I wanted you to get yesterday?”

And she’s still staring at me, head tilted, the queerest look on her face. What, no witty come back? Losing your touch, M? Me being here can’t be that surprising, now can it?

“Over there in the corner,” Alec tells her. After another moment or two, M tears her gaze away from me and heads over to one of the corners where a bulky old backpack is lying on the floor. She picks it up like it’s nothing before heading towards the door. After another glance in our direction and a quick ‘thanks’ she’s gone.

Strange. Very strange, even for M.

Transgenics. I’ll never figure them out.

-------

When I get back to Joshua’s, the first thing I do is to take a cold shower. I seriously need to cool off. Alec walking around in his boxers all morning without doing much more than kissing me on the forehead twice is too much to take. I am by God not the kind of person who is generally ruled by their hormones, but seriously, have you seen Alec shirt-less? It took all of my self restrain not to just jump him.

But I can’t do that. I’m not going to be the first to give in. I really want to see how long he’s going to go through with this. Considering that Manticore drilled self-control and discipline into his brain for close to twenty years, I’m afraid that this is going to last a lot longer than I’d like. But hell, if he can stand it then so can I.

Besides, giving in now would sort of go against the purpose of this whole thing. Every guy can go without sex for a week or two, it wouldn’t prove anything.

But damn it, I need something to distract me. Being horny sucks big time.

Hmm, I could redecorate. My room is butt-ugly and it would be a good way to practice my powers. Not like I could ruin much in this dump of a house. The only way of making it worse would be blowing it up and my powers aren’t strong enough for that…I think.

-------

Okay, so I got kind of carried away. I started with my room, fixing all holes, tears, cracks and stains in walls, ceiling and floor. Then I ‘painted’ the walls a bluish gray, leaving two feet at the top as well as the ceiling white. Or rather, making it white. Before, it looks like dirt-covered mustard. Yuck. The carpet is now cream colored instead of the exclusive 99-stains version I had before and the window frames and door are a dirty white. And I only accidentally blasted at things twice. That’s a new record.

Then I started fixing my furniture, re-coloring things as I went. Next I moved on the bathroom, then I fixed up the kitchen. By the time I’m done I’m pretty much drained. That’s when I notice that it’s dark outside. Woah, where did all the time go? I glance at my watch. It’s almost 8pm. And I’m hungry. In more than one way.

Okay, so maybe this whole ‘let’s distract ourselves from our horniness’ thing didn’t quite work out. I sort of didn’t realize that once I was done doing whatever I was doing to distract myself I’d be back at square one. Not even my exhaustion has any kind of impact. Ugh.

I go back to my room, turn on my light, and the light bulb blows through with a pop. I groan. Great, just great. Heading back into the kitchen, I cram around in the cupboards. There should be some light bulbs here, I bought some last week. Finally find them, go back to my room. I get the light bulb out of it’s box and then look around for something to step on to screw it in.

Hmm, I’d rather be screwing something else. Bad Liz, I chastise myself. Really, since when is that all I ever think about? Since you’re not getting any a voice in the back of my mind mutters.

Okay, back to what I wanted to do. Screw. The light bulb! I’m talking about the light bulb, okay? Is the bed high enough?

Hmm, the bed…that’s where Alec and I had sex for the first time. And the second time. And that one time after he stormed into the bathroom while I was soaking in the tub. I remember every little detail about that time…all the times actually, but especially about that time. The way he climbed into the tub with me, teasing me until I thought I would explode…and did. Later on moving it to my room, our battle for dominance when in the end we both lost control.

Suddenly the light bulb in my hand starts to glow and I shriek, dropping it onto the floor.

“What the fuck was that?” a voice asks me from the doorway. Alec’s voice. I turn to him, stare at him, eyes wide in shock. He has a matching look on his face. The only thing that comes to my mind…my thoughts exactly. What the fuck was that?


tbc

[Calinia]

Hey guys, sparkly-new part for you! Sorry for the delay, I was so busy working on my site the last few days, I just didn't come around to updating this. But my site is finally finished (more or less) with a pretty new xtremer layout. Link is in my sig in case you want to check it out.

Thanks for the congrats on the awards. And to answer some questions...

You just revel in the fact that you are one cruel, evil heart-breaking b**ch, dont you?

Yes, yes I do.

How could you just leave it like that?

Well see, I'm a cruel, evil, heart-breaking bitch.

How are Alec, Joshua and Max gonna react to the new decor?

Lol, you really think Joshua and Alec being men would even notice that?

Aren't they gonna wonder how she did it like that?

See answer above.

How is Liz gonna explain?

a) truth b) she won't have to c) someone else will do it for her...more or less. Hehe, guess which person belongs to which answer.

Calinia you are so cruel. Leaving this like that is so CRUEL.

Aww, that's so sweet of you to say.

I vote for him finding out.

Noted...not that readers' wishes normally count.

Oh hell! LOL, I remember that!!! Did you ever get "married"?

Nope, but I got engaged. I was four at that time I think.

As for Max, why was she staring at Liz weird? It can't be that she's just amazed by her and Alec's relationship, right? Did Max investigate her or something?

Max is still adjusting to the fact that Liz and Alec are in a real relationship. The concept is slightly foreign to her. Nope, no investigating.

Where the hell do you get your avatars?!?

Make them myself. I know, I like totally rock.

You bad bad girl! 50 lashes with a noddle!

Give it to me baby.

So I never knew I could go from loving someone so much for posting to hating their evil, manipulative guts for leaving that kind of cliffhanger!

Thank you, that's very sweet of you to say.

You evil little wench!

Stop it, I'm blushing!

It is a nice avatar, isn't it.

Perfectly lovely.

Alec was made for sex.

Amen to that.

I guess Max was surprised to see Alec doing relationship things. She has always assumed that he has lots of sex with women and that's it. It would definitely throw her off to see Liz in his apartment doing something so normal.

See, that's exactly what I thought.

A male character? I'm hoping it'll be Kyle but knowing you it'll probably be Max.

Max...didn't Max leave the planet?

So the light bulb started glowing because Liz was thinking about having sex with Alec?

That's the gist of it.

It makes you wonder if she was shocked to see Alec showing that kind of affection towards anyone, or if she was thinking that maybe, possibly, that should be her sitting there?

Hehe, that's an interesting thought.

Did you say you're getting close to the end of this story?

Fraid so...my baby is coming to an end. *sob*

Liz + horny = pretty lights

Aww, you turned my plot lines into mathematical equations. That's so cute! I just love math.

You'll be happy to know that I'm back from my five-month-computer-havoc hiatus.

I'm thrilled.

I'll be back to my die-hard-XTremer- feedback-giving-self in no time, you'll see.

Can't wait. Only question is, when will you be back to your die-hard-Xtremer-writing-self?

Logan knows about her (or at least, what she lets him know) so could he have told Max?

Could have, but he didn't. The fact that Alec is in sersious relationship is reason enough for Max to freak out.


Anyway, thanks for the lovely feedback and all the bad, bad names you called me!


Part 32

Suddenly the light bulb in my hand starts to glow and I shriek, dropping it onto the floor.

“What the fuck was that?” a voice asks me from the doorway. Alec’s voice. I turn to him, stare at him, eyes wide in shock. He has a matching look on his face. The only thing that comes to my mind…my thoughts exactly. What the fuck was that?


I’m staring at the light bulb. I just can’t look away. Did it really just glow? While I was holding it? How the fuck is that even possible? Great, just great. First I sparkle, now this – I’m a power socket on legs. Just what I needed. Another thing to freak out over.

“Liz?” I jerk my head up, stare at Alec instead of the stupid light bulb. Right, Alec is here. Like this wouldn’t be bad enough as it is, Alec had to witness it. Go figure. “So, wanna explain what just happened here?” His tone suggests that this is no big deal, but his eyes tell a different story.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, and it’s not even a lie. Nothing like this has ever happened before. This isn’t exactly the first time I’ve had a light bulb in my hand and never once did one start glowing, even after I started developing my powers. “It just…started glowing all of a sudden.”

“Yeah, I kind of saw that.” Look who we have here, Mr. Sarcastic. “What I’d like to know is how that’s possible.”

I don’t say anything. I mean, I have a pretty good idea how it’s possible. What I don’t know is what I should tell Alec. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, about honesty and openness. But this…this is something I haven’t decided on.

Alec takes a step towards me, bends down and picks up the light bulb. “Here,” he says, holding it out to me.

I shake my head silently. Is he crazy? I’m not touching that thing again.

“You wanna know what happened here, you’ll have to try again. You know, see if it was a one-time freak-out or if it’s permanent.” He’s watching me carefully and there’s something in his eyes that could almost be mistrust.

I reach for the bulb, hesitate, then I just take it. Nothing happens. I glance up at Alec, our eyes meet and suddenly the stupid thing starts glowing again. My first reflex is to drop it, but Alec closes his hand over mine, preventing that from happening. The moment our skin comes in contact a tingle shoots through my body and the brightness of the light practically explodes before the light bulb blows through with a loud pop.

Okay, is he crazy? Did he seriously just touch me while I was making something glow that’s not supposed to glow without electricity? What will he do next, stick his fingers into a power socket?

“You don’t really hang on to your life, do you?” I ask him exasperatedly.

He shrugs it off, his gaze never leaving my face. “What’s really going on here?” he asks. There’s something in his tone…he sounds so damn serious and…distant almost.

I can’t tear my gaze away from him. I just look at him, but I just can’t get myself to answer. I don’t want to lie to him, I really don’t, but the truth doesn’t seem like an option either from where I’m standing.

Our gazes remain locked for seconds, minutes maybe. Then he takes a step back, his gaze hardening, closing himself off. “Fine Liz. Keep your secrets if it makes you happy.” Then he turns around and leaves.

It takes me exactly two seconds to react. I run after him, catch him just before he reaches the door. Jumping in front of him I hold my hands up, to stop him or to signal my defeat, I’m not quite sure.

“Wait,” I pant. He looks at me and I guess there’s something in my gaze that makes his soften a bit, just a tiny bit. Then I close my eyes, sigh in defeat. “God Alec, I don’t know what’s right here, okay? I mean, this isn’t just about me. Other people are involved, people who have been involved far longer than I have. People who are my friends, who I care about. I once made a promise to protect their secret, to tell nobody about it, no matter what. And I’ve already broken that promise twice.”

I hesitate, step away because I just need to put some distance between me and…everything. I stare at the wall for a minute before making up my mind to be honest about at least one thing. “The last person I told died because of this whole thing. It cost him his life. And I was the person to tell him, to pull him into this whole mess. I just, I…”

Then Alec is suddenly in front of me and he pulls me into his arms. “Shh, it’s okay,” he whispers. And then he just holds me. I don’t even realize that tears are streaming down my face until he wipes them away.

I sniff, wipe at my cheeks, slightly embarrassed that Alec saw me crying…again. Then I sink down onto one of the sofas, suddenly feeling very tired. “I just…I don’t want to drag you into this too. I couldn’t stand-” I break off, not even capable of saying it.

He crouches down in front of me, lifts me chin ever-so gently so that he can look into my eyes. “Liz, whether you tell me or not, I’m going to be a part of this either way if we want to make this work.”

Then he hesitates, eyes becoming indecisive, looking away. “What?” I ask him.

He looks up at me, then sits down beside me with a harsh sigh. “There’s something I haven’t told you yet…about my past.” He pauses for a moment, but he doesn’t look at me, just stares at his hands.

“When I was still at Manticore, I was sent on my first deep-cover mission. I was 18, 19, something like that. Mission objective was close surveillance of the CEO of one of Manticore's subcontractors who’d been asking too many questions he shouldn’t have been asking. I posed as his daughter’s piano teacher. Her name was Rachel. She was seventeen.”

There’s something in his tone…something that tells me that this is bad, and that he’s far from getting over it, whatever it is.

“For weeks I did everything I could to win her trust as well as her father’s. And behind their backs, I snuck around their house, spied on them, stole data, gathering all the information I could. Everything went exactly as planned, except for one small detail. I cared. For Rachel, I mean. I cared more than I should have and I didn’t even know it.”

I just stare at him while he’s still staring at his stupid hands. Did he really just say that? That he cared for another woman? Because his tone leaves no room for doubt what exactly he means with ‘cared’.

I can’t believe this. I can’t believe the off-handed fashion he’s mentioning this in. Okay, so maybe it’s stupid to be jealous of her since this happened years ago and it’s obviously in the past, but I can’t help it. The way Alec always talked about us…he made it sound like I was the only one. And finding out that that’s not true hurts.

I mean, I’ve always known that he’s probably had dozens of women in his bed, but it never mattered to me because by the time it might have, I was convinced that I was the only one who’d ever been in his heart. Looks like I was wrong. And that stings.

I swallow, trying to keep my voice neutral but failing miserably. “What…what happened?”

“She died,” he tells me, voice flat and distant. I suddenly feel horrible for my spout of jealousy, especially since it’s still there. But I just can’t help myself.

“Manticore didn’t like the information I’d gathered and so I was ordered to terminate the target,” he goes on. “Car bomb. Both Rachel and her father were supposed to be in the car. They wanted to send out a warning to everyone doing business with them.” Alec practically spits the words out. He’s never sounded bitterer than now.

“So I-” He swallows hard before continuing. “I built the car bomb, planted it. But I…I couldn’t do it. He was already in the car and so I rushed into the house and caught Rachel before she joined him. And I…I told her everything. I told her that I was there to kill them, that she was my job. She…she ran out to him, trying to save him, and the bomb exploded. Manticore had sent a second team to go through with the plan in case I couldn’t. They pulled the trigger. He survived. She saved his life but it cost her hers. She ended up in a coma for two years. She died this January.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. And I am. I truly am. Jealous or not, I feel utterly devastated that he had to go through something so horrible.

“She died because of me,” he goes on. He sounds guilty, just like I probably do when talking about Alex, I realize. “Because I did what I was ordered to do instead of what I should have known to be right. I didn’t understand…I didn’t understand how much I cared for her and that cost her her life. I cost her her life.”

I shake my head. “No Alec, no. That was Manticore. It’s not your fault. You were brainwashed all your life to follow orders, to not go against authority. You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”

“Like you don’t blame yourself for your friend’s death?”

I don’t answer. Touché.

“When I was back at Manticore, they threw me into solitary. And they made me forget…about everything. The mission, Rachel…my feelings for her. I only started remembering it all a few months ago when I delivered a package to their house.”

He’s silent for a few minutes. “What happened…it’s given me some bad moments. After we met, I mean.” And before, I bet. I know Alec. The guilt must have killed him, must still be killing him.

“I was terrified that history would repeat itself,” he goes on, finally looking at me. “That if I kept seeing you and dragged you into this whole thing, your life would be in danger as well.”

“So why did you? Keep seeing me, I mean?” Because as hurt as I would have been if he’d cut me off, I completely understand where he’s coming from.

“Because I realized that you were a part of this no matter what I did. Because I realized that it wasn’t my choice to make. You knew what you were getting yourself into and if you chose to do so, who was I to override your decision? Besides, I don’t think I could have stayed away even if I’d tried.”

I smile at the sweetness of his statement, despite the bitterness that seems to cling to the air around us. He returns the smile and for a moment we just site there in this tiny little almost perfect moment.

Then I avert my gaze and stare at the floor instead, mulling over Alec’s words. There’s still the factor about it not just being my secret, but somehow I don’t care about that anymore. It’s my secret as much as anybody else’s, no matter how long or short I’ve been involved in it. They can hardly expect me to keep it a secret from my boyfriend, especially since he’s anything but normal himself and kind of knows that something very strange is going on with me.

When I look back up at Alec, the decision seems ridiculously easy all of a sudden.


tbc

[Calinia]

Hey guys, so sorry for the delay. I had this part more or less finished before I left for my vacation but it wasn't quite ready for posting yet. I want to thank WomanofMystery for betaing this part, your ass-kissing was very much appreciated.

I know I've mentioned this before but this story really seems to be coming to an end. The last big plotline starts in this part, things should go rather quickly from now on. I'm kind of sad...this story was my baby. I loved writing it so much. Guess I'll just have to find myself a new baby, lol.

To your feedback (and let me just insert a 'Woah!' for the sheer amount of it)...

Traitor, well, the aliens' powers were always connected to their emotions, so Alec touching her or even just looking at her is more than enough for Liz's emotions (and hormones) to go crazy - hence the powers going ga-ga.

We're not talking something like Loz saying. "Sorry babe, I can't tell you. I have to go now, bu-bye," are we?

Puh-lease...would I ever do that to you?

Gioia, that's very sweet of you to say that I'm a tease. I try. Hehe, will it make you feel any better if I tell you that Ava might already show up in the next part or so? And have I told you lately how much I adore your feedback? You always make me feel like I wrote something really special.

Hope you make it through your computer-less weekend! I know I'd be in withdrawl. I hear a great cure for those tremors is to hand-write out the next 3 chapters of your WIP...

Hehe, nice try...

Erin, yes, Liz is actually going to tell Alec about the aliens. Big step for her, but I think she's matured enough (as you pointed out - my thoughts exactly, btw) so that she's ready to be honest. She's just reached that point...finally. Hehe, not telling you who will show up from Roswell, but Ava will definitely show up soon.

orphyfets, glad you liked it. And I'm glad you like my new layout. I just love those pics of Alec... *sigh*

Elf3748, don't worry, Alec isn't the fainting type. And yes, Liz will finally tell him. And yes, this story is coming to an end. I'm kind of sad myself. No sequel planned though.

alexceasar, I think about 90% of my parts have a cliffhanger so you'd have to wait till I'm done posting the story to avoid them. I don't think you'll like the ending of this one either. Hehe, being evil is so much fun. But I'm glad that you guys love me despite my evil nature.

WomanofMystery, hehe, such a smart cookie. Yes, Max and the others having stayed is definitely a possibility. Not saying if it happened though. The mistrustful look from Alec was due to him expecting her to bullshit her way out of it and somehow avoiding to tell him the truth...again.

Liz is definitely a bit jealous of Rachel, but it won't be a big issue because the rational part of her knows that there is no real reason for her jealousy. Yes, both of them are blaming themselves for things they had no control over. That will be addressed again later on. Yup, Max will show up. Not saying that he's the person coming from Roswell though.

Roswell Slayer, hehe, that electricity could probably supply a whole city. Totally agree, it's high time they got their secrets out into the open. Not that I could have seen that happening much sooner. They're both too damaged. But at the same time, they've been healing each other without even noticing it.

elfangel01, yes, Liz is finally going to reveal the truth. No lying this time. Glad you liked the part, the whole storyline with Rachel was one of my favorite with Alec, I loved the different side of him that that episode showed us.

joshz_girl, I agree, Liz needs someone she can talk to about what's happening with her. Having to hide it from everyone is only making the whole thing more difficult for her, so having at least one person around that she can be open about that will help a great deal.

trueblue, I certainly hope that you're not dead yet.

RavenSprite, "latest chapter of greatness"? Now that has a nice ring to it.

Tuber1089, I always get a real kick out of dreamers liking my fics. Very happy that you're enjoying this!


Guys, I can't say this often enough, thank you so much for your feedback and your patience and for sticking with this story, it really does mean a lot to me. Oh, and don't kill me...


<b>Part 33</b>

Okay, so the decision might have been easy…more or less, but doing this is anything but. I mean, seriously, how do you do this? How do you tell someone this kind of thing?

With Maria and Alex, it was different. It wasn’t <i>my</i> secret back then. It wasn’t necessarily my choice either, seeing how both were threatening to go to the Sheriff if I didn’t tell them the truth.

But now, this is all about me. This is my choice. And I just don’t know how to do it. I have no idea how to break the news gently. Is that even possible? Probably not.

Knowing Alec, he’ll take it comparatively well. He’s not exactly your average male himself and he’s seen things a lot freakier than me. But there’s this part of me that’s still scared to death of his reaction, as unreasonable as that might be. My mind tells me that I’m being stupid, that this won’t change things between us, but my heart just doubts and questions and worries.

As I said, stupid.

Then I look at Alec. And I can’t help myself. I just blurt it out. That I was shot, that I was healed, that I was changed.

He just stares at me. Then he blinks. “Come again?”

I repeat what I just told him, that I was healed by an alien hybrid two years ago after being shot and that it changed me.


I guess this is not what he expected. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t show any kind of reaction, not through his body language, not through changes in his facial expression. And so I just keep talking because he’s making me nervous and I tend to talk too much when I’m nervous.

“It was Max.”

Still no reaction.

“He placed his hand over the bullet wound in my stomach, told me to look at him and then he healed me and apparently passed along his powers in the process.”

Nothing. He’s <i>really</i> starting to make me nervous. And so I start babbling even more.

“For some reason that is completely beyond my grasp, I have the powers of all four of them. The aliens I mean. There are four…in that set at least. Normally every alien…hybrid actually…has a special power plus some general powers, but I have those and all their special powers, plus my own. This.” I lift my hand, sending a spark into the air. Wait a minute, how did I just do that?

“You’re an <i>alien?”</i> Alec asks me, distracting me from my own mini-lightshow. Disbelief doesn’t even begin to describe his tone.

“No. I’m a changed human,” I explain patiently.

“A changed human?” There’s that disbelief again.

I nod.

He gives me a look. “Are you <i>kidding</i> me?”

“No,” I insist, only slightly exasperated. Geez, first he wants to know the truth, then he doesn’t believe me. Typical.

So I start at the beginning, giving him a run-down of the main events. The crash, the pods, the aliens hatching. The shooting, being healed, developing powers. Okay, so I left out a few things, but none of that is really relevant…or so I tell myself. Besides, he already knows the important stuff anyway.

And Alec still doesn’t seem to believe me. So I begin to demonstrate. I change the color of my shirt, change the shape of a lamp shade near by, blast a pillow. He seems impressed. And slowly…slowly he seems to come around.

He asks some questions about my powers, I answer them the best I can. And then silence.

“So you’re an alien?” he asks again, just without the disbelief this time. Or maybe it was a statement. Not sure.

“Changed human,” I correct. It’s a technicality, but one that I insist upon.

“That’s…not what I expected.”

“What <i>did</i> you expect?”

“Don’t know…some crazy story about gypsies or witches or mutants. Not aliens though…definitely not aliens.”

“You’d prefer me to be a crazy gypsy?” I ask, swallowing down the questions I really want to ask…whether he’s freaked out…if he’s scared, disgusted, if this changes things. But I’m afraid of his answer and so I don’t ask, because I can’t.

But somehow…he seems to get what I’m asking just the same.

He smiles. And his smile says it all. I mean, seriously, a smile from Alec…not exactly an every-day occurrence.

“No,” he tells me. And then he kisses me. Just a light, sweet kiss that lasts only a few precious seconds, but it gets the message across. “I kind of like you the way you are.”

And while that is hardly a sappy, heartfelt, romantic speech, it makes me feel better than those ever did or could.

-------

I raise my eyebrows at Alec. “It’s a motorcycle.”

He nods. And smirks. “How very observant of you.”

“Shut up,” I mutter rolling my eyes. “Why’d you have a new bike?”

“It’s not mine.”

“Then who’s is it?”

“Yours.”

“No, seriously.”

“Yours.”

“Mine?”

“And here I was getting worried that you’re not capable of grasping the meaning behind the word ‘yours’.”

I ignore his teasing. “Mine?” I say again, emphasizing the disbelief.

Alec shrugs. “High time you stopped running around Seattle all by yourself in the middle of the night.” Something in his eyes, in his tone tells me that this is the real reason for the bike. He doesn’t want something like the thing with…you know…to happen again. Not that I do.

I definitely haven’t been comfortable running around in Seattle ever since. I am beyond paranoid, looking over my shoulder every few seconds, jumping at every movement, afraid of every shadow. It’s nerve-racking and exhausting and I’m sick of it.

I also haven’t been sleeping well ever since. More often than not I’m ripped out of sleep in the middle of the night by nightmares that leave me shivering and bathed in sweat, not to mention scared to death. And since Alec and I obviously no longer have a physical relationship, he’s not really there that much to comfort me like he did that first night.

I miss him. A lot actually.

I miss touching him and tasting him and I miss the way he feels inside me. But I’ll be damned if I’m the first to change that. He wants to prove something, fine, let him. I’m not going to beg him to sleep with me. If he can live without it, so can I.

Denial is such a beautiful thing.

“You can’t just give me a bike,” I tell him, my voice more aggravated than intended. Not getting any really seems to make me aggressive. I’m normally not the type to spoil for a fight, but if this is the only kind of action I’m getting, I’ll take it.

“Why not?”

“Because! I can’t accept that.”

“Sure you can.”

“It’s stolen, right? Don’t even try to deny it. You expect me to accept a gift that consists of a stolen bike?”

“But it’s good stealing. They were bad guys. Drug dealers I think. We relieved them of their money for TC and I thought ‘What the hell, take the bike as well’.”

“Good stealing? There is no such thing as <i>good stealing!</i> What kind of person comes up with such a twisted justification anyway?”

“Max, actually. Speaking of the devil, she has the same bike,” Alec is telling me.

“If that’s supposed to be a sales pitch you might want to change your strategy.”

“Well, you gotta admit that she has taste…at least when it comes to her transportation of choice.”

I merely raise my eyebrow at that.

“Ah, come on Liz…I know you’re good at pretending to not be tempted…” he lets that hang there for just a second or two “…but I don’t buy it. You want it. Admit it.”

I swallow. What were we talking about again? Right…the bike. “I don’t even know how to ride that thing.”

Another shrug. “I’ll teach you.”

I’m still doubtful and if his next words are any indication, Alec can sense that.

“You know, I once overheard Max saying that there’s nothing more arousing than having so much…power between your legs.” His tone is sultry, his look daring. How can someone who’s not getting any be so comfortable with suggestive come-ons? Not like he’s going to go through with it. Grr…have I mentioned how frustrating that is?

I lick my lips and somehow I can’t help but notice how Alec’s gaze suddenly seems to cling to my mouth. So Mister Stamina isn’t quite as unaffected by the current dry spell as he likes to pretend. I have to suppress a smirk.

Two can play that game.

-------

Oh god, just take me now.

Day number five of my driving lessons. I’m slowly getting a hang of it, it’s actually kind of fun. And…liberating.

I always used to think that people with motorcycles were completely crazy to put up with the extra risks just to have an impractical, non-weather proof vehicle that has to be uncomfortable in the long run. But slowly, I’m getting it. It’s exciting, simple as that.

When riding it, it’s like being taking over by this really strong feeling of delusions of grandeur. And that just feels amazing. Makes you feel powerful because you’re controlling something that is so powerful itself, taming it almost. And as much as I hate to admit it, Max wasn’t completely wrong with the having-so-much-power-between-your-legs thing. There’s something about being in control of a motorcycle that’s definitely hot and with a sexual undertone that’s impossible to ignore.

That’s not the reason I’m yearning for death though. That’s all Alec’s fault, and I bet he’d even be proud if he knew.

He’s driving me crazy and I swear, he’s doing it on purpose. All those little ‘accidental’ touches, the looks, his body brushing against my body in places that he has no business brushing against. Well, not if he’s not going to go through with it, that is.

Okay, so maybe I’m not exactly behaving myself either. But why should I? Driving Alec crazy is much too easy and much to tempting to resist.

Besides, if I just sit there and let him play his games without ever paying him back for all his nasty teasing he’s never going to cave. And I can’t let that happen because God knows I need to get laid soon. Horniness sucks big time.

-------

I’ve never been to Jam Pony before. Not that that’s unusual seeing how Alec and I had a very, very strange relationship so far that consisted mainly of fighting and having sex. But things have changed, obviously, so here I am.

Looking around, I realize that I can really see Alec working here. Despite the rather shabby look of the place, or maybe because of it, it has a laid-back atmosphere that Alec would just thrive in. The people seem to be chilling out more than working, despite Alec’s boss threatening with dismissals and shouting ‘bip-bip-bit’ every five seconds.

Speaking of which, he’s the one who told me that Alec was on a run but that he should be back any minute while giving me very strange looks.

I hope Alec gets here soon, his boss is seriously freaking me out. He keeps giving me these sad looks, shaking his head and mumbling something about another heart being broken by his golden boy. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.

And then I glance up to see Alec finally walking in the door…with Mole behind pointing a shotgun at his head.


tbc

[Calinia]

I'm not even going to try and explain my long absence, it's just been too long, I know. RL sucks sometimes, and Veronica Mars did not help matters at all. I've probably mentioned it before, but if you haven't watched that show, start now, it's amazing!

Anyway, lots has been going on lately. First of all, I won two awards in the Polar Attraction Fanfiction awards, one for DTD and one for WTRBTF as well as one runner-up award for WTRBTF. Which is quite amazing, considering that there are only three categories (I think) where non-polar fics are eligible. I was thrilled of course, and it was just the kick in the butt I needed to get writing again. Here are the banners for the awards I won for WTRBTF:



Best Non-Polar Fiction



runner-up best non-roswell character portrayal (Alec)

I'm especially proud of the runner-up award.

My site is getting a new look soon, maybe even tonight, and I've started working on the xtremer site I've been planning forever. Also, I'm getting ready for my move to Portugal, I'm leaving Vienna on September 13th. I have 7 more days till I'm done working for the summer and I promise on my love for Alec that the next update will not take this long. For now, enjoy!


<b>Part 34</b>

You know those days where you could have predicted every damn thing that happened from the moment you got up in the morning till the minute you went to bed at night? My life used to be full of those days. School, work, Max in his usual booth, Alex’s pitiable attempts to get Isabel’s attention, Maria preaching about how men were the root of all evil, ice creme binge fests, dates with nice but boring guys my parents approved off…

Yeah, today is nothing like those days. Current status: hostage situation.

Been a while. At least in Roswell, even those were small time. One crazy guy with a gun, several aliens, sheriff on our side…ah, the good old days when everything was simple. Nothing is simple about this situation.

We’re surrounded by the police and this time, I’m not on the side they’re trying to save. Because no matter how clear Alec has made it that he wants me to act like I don’t know him, that I’m not a part of this, I do and I am, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise should push come to shove.

And somehow I have the unmistakable feeling that my loyalties will be forced out into the open sooner than either of us would like.

I don’t as much as breath when Alec comes into Jam Pony with Mole pointing a shot gun at his head – can’t breath to be more exact, even more so once I see that Joshua is with them as well. This can’t be good.

Then Alec catches sight of me, horror flickering through his eyes for just a second before he looks away, very obviously ignoring me.

Message received. I don’t know you. Gotcha.

They rush through the building to the other side, throwing open the back door to escape. I hear shouting, and when the shot is fired, my heart stops. I just about die the moment I see the bullet hole in Alec’s jacket, blood staining the frayed edges of it. I practically choke on my own breathe…again.

Alec gives me a pointed look, obviously not happy with my “I don’t know you, you don’t know me” performance. Is he serious? I’m supposed to concentrate on my <i>acting skills</i> two seconds after he was almost killed?

Then, slowly, my ability to breath returns to me along with my senses and I manage to look away. Was this what it felt like when Sean got stabbed? Somehow I don’t believe it was.

So now I concentrate on my breathing, because that's the only thing in this fucked-up situation I seem to be able to control…somewhat. It takes all my willpower to just stay where I am, to refrain from making sure Alec’s okay, especially since I know exactly that he isn’t. Bullets tend to hurt like a bitch. Trust me, I know. Been there, done that.

I don’t even gasp when Alec takes the gun away from Normal, almost smile, despite myself, when I hear the hint of pride in his voice when he tells his boss that he prefers the expression “genetically empowered”.

But what really catches my attention – and finally manages to distract me from Alec’s wound, at least marginally - is how, from one second to the next, Alec goes into soldier mode. He’s giving out orders in a way that makes you think he was born for it.

Well, he was…kind of. Engineered is more like it.

Nobody even as much as blinks before doing what he says. He just kind of oozes authority, daring anybody to go against his orders. Nobody does, of course. In any other situation, I would have been turned on, but these hostage situations tend to be a real mood killer. And I’m not even going to dwell on how Stone Age it is to be turned on by such a primitive form of maleness.

When M comes crashing through the window she just sneers upon seeing me. Oh, I’m sorry, was I not invited to this party?

I sit down somewhere and kill time by watching Normal. Not like there’s anything else I can do. Besides, it’s the only thing I could do that might actually distracts me from other…things. Not that I think it will actually work.

It’s almost amusing, how out of it Alec’s boss is. He keeps staring at Alec, shaking his head and mumbling to himself. I think if his life weren’t already in danger he’d be on his way to flinging himself out one of the top floor windows. Funny, how life-and-death situations suddenly make you value life, no matter how much it sucks.

I remember what it felt like running from the FBI after we’d freed Max. Needless to say I was scared shitless, but at the same time I’d never felt so alive in my whole life. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Does funny things to your body and mind if you overdose on it. Or maybe it was the sudden awareness of how close to death we actually are throughout our lives. One agent who actually manages to hit the target he’s aiming at and it would have all been over.

The phone ringing snaps me out of my thoughts. I hear M demanding a vehicle. <i>As if.</i> I’m half surprised, half suspicious when we actually get it.

We let half of the hostages go, mixing a few transgenics into the lot just for good measure. When we get ready to move out, I step in front of Mole to be his hostage. Mole seems to be quite comfortable pointing a shotgun at my head but Alec glares at me. I ignore him. Really, what did he think I’d do? Join the first group of hostages that’s being released?

The minutes after that are a blur…opening the door, the gunfire, scampering back into the building. It takes me a minute to register that Cece got shot.

Oh hell. No, no, no…this is bad. This is so very, very bad.

My gaze flies to meet Alec’s and he doesn’t have to say anything. I nod and he quickly scoops up her lifeless body and rushes into the back room with me at his heels.

He places Cece on the floor, gentle despite his urgency and despite the fact that she probably wouldn’t feel it if he ran her over with a maxi-bus, seeing how she’s been shot in the chest and doesn’t seem conscious to begin with. I drop to my knees beside her body, not hesitating before placing my hand over her bullet wound, not thinking as I try to open the connection.

Shit.

It’s not working.

I gently slap her cheek, whisper her name, beg her to open her eyes, to just look at me for one tiny little second.

She does none of those things and I feel panic rising up inside of me. I blink back the tears, try to heal her again despite the lack of eye contact, despite the lack of connection between us, despite the fact that I’m shaking so hard that I can’t even keep my hand still. It’s not working. It’s not <i>fucking</i> working.

It takes me a minute to realize that I said that out loud, another to realize that I’m already crying. Oh god. She’s almost gone. She’s slipping away and I can’t stop it. I can’t help her. Why the hell do I have these powers if I can’t do anything when it really matters?

After a minute or two I slowly draw my hand away, not even noticing the blood that now covers it or the blood that has stained my shirt and my jeans. I glance up at Alec, and the look on his face kills me.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he tells me, his voice hoarse and strained. But he’s sincere, and I’m grateful for that.

“Thank you,” he adds after a moment, “For trying.” Then he looks me in the eye and says “It’s not your fault.”

I nod, not knowing what to say. Someday I might be able to believe that, but right now it feels like it’s <i>all</i> my fault.

My gaze lands on Alec’s bloody jacket. Maybe I couldn’t save Cece, but I sure as hell can fix up Alec’s arm. I reach up and ease the worn leather jacket that I’ve come to love so much off his shoulders.

“Liz…”

“Let me.”

After a moment he sighs, nods and so I go on. I let the jacket drop to the floor, push up the sleeve of the shirt he’s wearing underneath. I hardly even notice the blood anymore. There’s so much of Cece’s blood on me already, adding some of Alec’s hardly makes any difference.

I place my hand on his bullet wound as gently as I can before looking up and into his eyes. The connection is there instantly, hot and bright and burning. It soothes my soul, takes the edge of my panic and fear and sadness, despite the fact that his emotional state is not much better than my own.

With a connection so strong, healing him hardly takes any effort at all. It’s a pure flesh wound, the bullet didn’t as much as nick the bone and it didn’t hit any major arteries either. He’s as good as new within seconds.

“Thanks,” he whispers. I manage a small smile in return, nod, look away. I know that he doesn’t see it that way, but I can’t help but feel that I failed him when it comes to healing Cece. He shouldn’t be thanking me for something as insignificant as fixing up a little scratch. It’s the least I could do after not saving Cece. Hell, it’s not enough, not by a long shot.

Alec moves away and when he comes back he’s holding an old blanket. He uses it to cover up Cece’s lifeless body in an almost loving manner. I swallow hard, pick up his jacket and repair most of the damage. I don’t want to do it all in case someone gets suspicious, but I need to do something for him. Then, with a wave of my hand, I get rid of the blood that’s covering me. People will wonder.

Alec comes to stand beside me and for a second, just one second, I let myself lean on him.

-------

People’s attention is drawn to us when we go back out into the main room. They’re looking at us expectedly, but Alec just shakes his head, wiping the hopeful expressions off more than just a few faces. I don’t really know why I’m surprised at the vast number of transgenics obviously working here, but I had no idea that there were so many. Just like Sketchy put it...transgenic central right under Normal’s nose.

Actually, come to think of it, there are hardly any humans left at all. After letting the first round of hostages go, there’s only OC, Sketchy, Normal, and two or three other messengers left. And Logan of course, who seemed to have been thinking that he was missing out on all the fun so he just <i>had</i> to join us here. Smart move. People normally try to get <i>out</i> of these kinds of situations, Logan, not <i>into</i> them.

But when I think about it, all the humans left are on our side. Because despite Normal’s outwardly hatred and disgust and his very obvious dislike for M, I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to step between Alec and a flying bullet. Alec’s still his Golden Boy, even his transgenic status won’t change that. He just needs to get over the shock.

M and Mole are currently arguing about what they should do next. I role my eyes at one of Mole’s suggestions, role them again as Logan - being Logan - of course has to butt in. As unimpressed as I am by Mole’s idea to threaten to kill a few hostages, this isn’t really Logan’s business. He can stand with them if he chooses to do so, but telling Mole of all people what to do? Not so good an idea.

Not that Logan isn’t right about what he’s saying, but can’t he see that he’s not helping the situation? He should let M handle it. She’s probably the only one who can talk some sense into Mole.

Alec leaves my side after giving my hand a quick squeeze and joins them, subtly moving in front of Logan to exclude him from the decision-making circle, at least physically. Well, okay, so M isn’t the only one who might be able to convince Mole.

It’s fascinating to watch Alec. He’s talking to Mole and within seconds, Mole is nodding his agreement. I didn’t hear what he said, but I doubt that Alec likes the idea of killing some hostages any more than Logan does. He seems as good at persuading men to do what he wants as he is with women.

Suddenly the door out to the street flies open with a loud bang. Everyone whirls around, all the guns we have pointing at the opening within a fraction of a second. The person stepping through the opening doesn’t seem impressed though. She strolls into Jam Pony smiling, looking like she’s at a Sunday picnic instead of a hostage situation. The door crashes closed behind her again with a flick of her hand.

“Now this is what I call a welcome.” Then she shakes her head in mock disappointment, sending her long blond hair flying.

“Really,” she goes on. “I leave you alone for two days and look what happens. How do you always manage to get yourself into these situations?” she asks, directing the question at no-one in particular. She sighs heavily but the glint in her eyes betrays her...amusement?

It takes some time before I find my voice again. “Ava?” I whisper.


tbc

[Calinia]

See, if I promise something on my love for Alec, you can bet your ass that I'll keep that promise. New part!

I want to thank you guys very, very much for welcoming me back so enthusiastically. I know that it took me much too long to update this and I half expected you all to abandon this story. In any case, I'm very happy that you didn't.

Regarding future updates, I already have various scenes written and pretty much everything is planned, so things should run smoothly from now on. I'd guess that there will be another 5 to 10 parts, definitely not more than that. It will probably be closer to 5, actually.

To your feedback...

Hotaru, nice to see you so excited about the update that you even left feedback before reading the part. Hope it didn't disappoint. Actually, I hope you're not out to kill me now that you read it. Mommy!

_liz, I'm bad? Who, little ol me? Hehe. I know. It's my biggest goal in life ot torture my readers as much as possible. Glad to hear that I succeeded.

polar vixen, I feel honored that I managed to pull you out of lurkerdom. Yup, Ava mindwarped everyone outside. With two days, she meant that she'd been away from the transgenics for two days. Confused yet?

WomanofMystery, everybody being so surprised by this update shows how badly this story needed to be updated in the first place. Hope your exam went well. I don't have much to do right now, but I'm scared to death of having to look for an apartment all by my self in Lisbon, so I'm not really enjoying my free time. But at least I have time to work on my stories. Writing Max as a bitch is so much fun, glad you liked the part.

Roswell Slayer, oh my, I had no idea what me being away for a few months caused. I really shouldn't do that again, huh? Why yes, I do take twisted pleasure out of torturing you like that. You noticed? Yup, we're getting close to the end. But don't worry, that will only mean more updates of DTD and probably a new X-tremer story.

Ace Roswell, glad you liked it. And I really love your sig banner btw, it's gorgeous, especially the manip on the left.

joshz_girl, thanks for your very enthusiastic feedback, I feel very appreciated, lol. Liz and Ava won't fling anybody around, but they will use their powers to get them out of there. At least that's the plan. Sorry that there are no updates of my other stories (yet) but I'm kind of obsessed with this one right now.

orphyfets, that was a very pretty happy dance. Glad you liked the part, hope this update is quick enough for you.

aussietrueblue, what can I say, I like big entrances. And since you've been waiting for Ava so long, I had to make her appear with a bang. Evil? Me? You bet.

cfitch53, well, you see, moral fiber isn't really anything I have in my being, so I'll just keep up my evil, unethical ways. Alec is kinda cute, isn't he? Writing him is so much fun. And White really is in for a big surprise. He won't know what hit him.

elfangel01, I hope that you haven't moved on to irritation yet, or that if you have, this update will move you back to loving me. I *am* loveable, you know? And I'm so happy that you think I got the show-moments right. I was really worried about that. As for how they'll get out of this mess, it won't really be much like the show, no. You'll just have to read on and see.

bluebear01, I always love it when new readers post, so thanks a bunch. And here's the update you demanded.

Elf3748, I don't know why but your post really made me laugh. And since you told me to come back, I of course did it right away. Aren't I sweet?

Aggie, another new reader, yay! I'm very happy to hear that you like this so much and I promise that I will really try to update more regularly again from now on. Nope, Liz doesn't have a secret guardian angel. The transgenics do. All will be explained in this part, just read on...

Valo, where did all these new readers come from? Not that I'm complaining. Your post cracked me up, especially since I've been in similar situations, lol. Non-ficaholics will never understand the pain of fanfiction, will they?

Emma916, wow, *this* is your favorite story? That's humbling...and very sweet. And aren't Liz and Alec just the best together? I love them to pieces. On a side note, I adore the name Emma, it's so pretty.

Zevrillion, at least one reader who hasn't had to wait for months for this update. Glad you liked it, and glad to have you back as a reader.

lizandzackfan, glad you liked the part. Ava has been watching Liz for some time, but not the whole time. Why is explained in this part. The pod square will make an appearance. One member of the I know/am an alien club will actually show up in Seattle soon...


<b>Part 35</b>

It doesn’t take Ava long to notice me, maybe a minute. Not nearly enough time for me to get over the surprise of seeing her here. Hell, I don’t even have time to close my mouth again.

When her gaze meets my shocked stare she hesitates, then she gives me a small smile, looking a bit like she’s been caught red-handed.

Um, hello? Where’s the surprise? Where’s the shock at seeing me here? What the fuck is going on?

Alec must have noticed that something’s wrong because he comes over to me again, casually brushes his hand down my arm. “You okay?”

I just nod, not capable of uttering even a word as simple as ‘yes’. He follows my gaze, realizes who I’m staring at. “That’s Ava,” he informs me. Well duh, I know that. Question is, how does <i>he</i> know about her?

“She’s Telecoercion,” he goes on. “You know, mental abilities. She can change people’s memories, make them do things, make them see things. And she has the ability of Telekinesis, as you probably noticed,” he added, waving at the door. Now I gap at Alec instead of Ava.

Yeah, I noticed the door flying open and crashing closed with a wave of her hand. Hard to miss. But I already knew that she could do those things. What I want to know is why Alec knows about it, and why he obviously thinks that she’s Manticore.

As if on cue, Ava comes over to us. “Hey Alec, you don’t mind if I steal Liz away from you for a minute, do you?”

It’s Alec’s turn to gap at me. “You two know each other?”

Ava nods. “Yeah, we met when I was on a mission down in Roswell.” Interesting way of putting it. She gives me a look that obviously means that I should play along. Not a hard thing to do since there’s not much playing involved on my part either way.

“I think I have a lot of explaining to do,” she adds with a guilty smile.

“You can say that again,” I mutter under my breath, finally finding my voice again.

Ava starts pulling me towards the back room but I stop her. “Cece...” I begin, and her face falls. Obviously she knows about what happened. They joys of live TV coverage. Guess you don’t have to be a genius to figure out how that one ended, with Cece being shot in the chest and all. We go into the girls’ bathroom instead since it’s the only other room with a door.

“You lost your accent,” I say. Yeah, I know. Pretty silly to dwell on that fact with everything else that’s going on and the two billion <i>other</i> questions I have.

She shrugs. “Would have been kind of suspicious, a Manticore soldier with a New York accent.”

Well, that makes sense. At least one thing that does.

“Okay, so you’re probably asking yourself what I’m doing here.”

“Geez, you think?”

Ignoring my sarcasm, she pulls herself up onto the counter, letting her feet dangle, apparently completely at ease with the situation. I take the time to study her. Her hair looks completely different, and the number of piercings in her face has been reduced and some changed places, but her outfit is pretty much the same. Leather pants, heavy boots, tight top. Basically, the kind of outfit that screams “I dare you to come near me”. Wonder if that’s on purpose.

“When I first came to Seattle, I didn’t plan to stay very long,” she begins. “But I got myself a job, then an apartment...if you can call it that. My former boss actually helped me find it.”

“Joint?” I ask.

She looks surprised for a second, then she smiles. “You’re good. If White had half as much talent as you do when it comes to tracking people down, we’d all be toast.” I think of all the times I was running around the city like a chicken wit its head cut off, not having as much as even a hint of a plan and I suppress a smile.

“Anyway,” Ava goes on, “I got my job, got my apartment and I kind of, I don’t know…settled down I guess. Before that, I was constantly on the move, always looking over my shoulder, always ready to run if I thought that Lonnie and Rath were getting too close. If they were even following me. But then I just realized that, you know, that’s not the kind of life I wanted to live. At least not anymore. So I decided to take the risk and just stay somewhere. And since I was already here in Seattle...”

“Okay, so that explains why you’re in the city. I still don’t know how you got mixed up with the transgenics. Which is kind of the point of this conversation, in case you haven’t noticed.” Ava doesn’t comment on my rudeness and seems neither fazed nor surprised by it. A fact that throws up even more questions, but they can wait till later.

She shrugs. “That was pretty much a coincidence, at least how it started and, well, kind of on purpose later on. I used to hang out at this bar-”

“Crash,” I supply impatiently, and Ava smirks again, nods. Yeah, yeah, I’m Nancy Drew. On with the story.

“Anyway, I was there a lot when the whole thing with Mia went down...did Alec tell you that story yet?” Shake my head. “Well, ask him about it. It’s kind of funny. Anyway, Mia was Manticore, psy-ops to be exact. She had abilities similar to my own. You know, she could make people forget things, make them do what she wanted them to do and so on. She was doing her mojo at Crash and I picked up on it, probably because we have very similar abilities. I can kind of… I don’t know, feel it when someone else uses theirs. So basically, I went into Mia’s head, retrieved her memories, faked a bar code and pretended to be one of them.”

“Why?”

She shrugged, suddenly looking a bit embarrassed. “Don’t know. I guess for once in my life, I wanted to be part of something real. Of something important. The transgenics, they’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family. Ever since I saw you guys down in Roswell, I wanted that. You know, a group of people I could trust. Somewhere to belong. Just...a family I guess.” I suppress a snort. Some family <i>we</i> are. Half the group left the planet, one member killed, the rest estranged. Yeah, really tight-knit.

“I mean, the transgenics don’t necessarily all like each other,” she goes on, “but they stick together. And if Lonnie and Rath really hunt me down, what better protection could I have than a fleet of elite solders? Besides, I can do some real good here. Help them a lot. I can fix things with a wave of my hand that would take them hours. I can mind-warp people into just giving me their money while they have to take risks and steal it...or in Alec’s case, con it.”

I smile a bit at Ava’s statement. But then my smile fades. What Ava is doing...it sounds awfully like compensating guilt to me. Not that that surprises me. If she feels half as bad about Zan as I do about Alex, she has lots and lots of guilty to compensate for.

Then I remember something from earlier and I cross my arms over my chest. “So, how long have you known that I’m in Seattle?” She must have known that I’m in the city before today. She didn’t look nearly as surprised as she should have when she saw me here. It was almost like she was expecting me.

Ava has the grace to look sheepish and just a bit guilty. “Two or three weeks,” she admits. “I saw you in TC once. You were talking to Calvin and-”

“And since we were on such bad terms when you left Roswell, you of course decided that saying ‘hi’ would hardly be the appropriate thing to do in that situation,” I finish for her, my tone harsher than I intended it to be.

She sighs a bit, slides off the counter again. “It’s not that. I was just scared that you weren’t alone. Some of your friends weren’t exactly very nice to me when I was in Roswell. I wasn’t really in the mood to see them again, not when I was finally moving on and getting away from my past.”

“Yeah, well, they were kind of worried about <i>your</i> friends trying to kill their brother,” I say rather snipishly.

Ava stiffens. “Lonnie and Rath were never my friends,” she tells me quietly.

I sigh, take a deep breath to calm down again. “I know. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just frustrating, knowing that I’d practically already found you, just...<i>without</i> finding you.”

She gives me a small smile that seems like an offer of truce to me. “It’s okay. And I’m sorry, you know, for hiding from you. I just wanted to make sure that you were here alone before I approached you. And you looked quite happy chatting with Calvin, so I just assumed that your being in Seattle wasn’t about some huge alien crisis.”

“It isn’t. It’s about my utter lack of control over my powers. In Roswell, I was blowing stuff up left and right.”

Ava winces, looking slightly guilty. “I’m sorry! I had no idea.” Then she frowns. “That’s…kinda unusual. I mean, it’s normal to not have control over your powers at first, and that of course includes using them accidentally sometimes, but not all the time and definitely not with a lot of force behind them. Normally you really have to concentrate to do that, especially when you’re just getting the hang of them. Of course, our abilities are strongly linked to our emotions, so...” She trails off, seeing the look on my face. “Guess that explains it, huh?”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “It sure does.” I just stare at the wall for a few moments, then I shake myself out of it. “Can you help me with them?” I ask, slightly changing the subject. I don’t want to talk about what happened in Roswell, at least not now. “I’ve gotten better, but I’m still far away from really controlling them. I need help...desperately so.”

“Sure, love to,” she tells me. “How about we start right now?”

I stare at her. “Now? Don’t you think there are more pressing issues at hand?” Like, a little hostage situations for example?

“Sure there are, but this way we can hit two birds with on stone.”

“I’m listening,” I say warily. Somehow I have the feeling that I’m not going to like her plan.

“Can you mind-warp?” she asks me.

I nod reluctantly. By far not my favorite power, in case you haven’t noticed. “But I’ve only done it once...and that was accidentally.”

She shrugs that off like it doesn’t matter. “Well, the plan’s pretty simple. Basically, all we have to do is mind-warp the crowd out there, get into the truck and drive off into the sunset.”

I gap at Ava. “Are you crazy? There are dozens of people out there!”

“Hundreds,” she corrects me very matter-of-factly.

“Oh, well that makes it all better,” I reply, heavy on the sarcasm. “We could never mind-warp so many people!”

“Sure we can. Besides, it would just be for a few minutes.”

“But <i>how?</i> Tess couldn’t hold a mind-warp up for longer than a minute or two, and she never used her abilities on more than four or five people at once.”

Ava snorts in disdain. “Please. Her abilities are practically non-existent compared to mine.”

I raise my eyebrows at her as a sign that she may have to elaborate on that one a bit more before I begin to comprehend what she’s actually saying.

Ava sighs, pulling herself back up onto the counter. Looks like this may take some time to explain. “Back on Antar, when they cloned us, they mixed a bit too much human DNA into the first batch. As it turned out, too much human DNA hampers our powers. They’re there, but in a weaker form. So they made us, the second batch. Only problem was, Max already had the seal. It couldn’t be transferred to Zan anymore, at least not without the risk of destroying it. In the end, they decided to send both sets down. If something would have happened to Max, the seal would have automatically gone to Zan, so they at least had some kind of insurance.”

“Wait a minute. I’m confused. I thought that your powers are actually human, only a couple of centuries away, evolution-wise.”

“They are human,” Ava explained, “or at least they come from a part of the brain that is identical to Antarian brains. But human brains still lack something that makes it possible to access those abilities in the first place, Antarians have that something. So basically, the more human DNA you mix into the batch, the harder it is to access them, which makes the abilities weaker.”

“So when Max healed me, he triggered something in my brain that made it possible for me to access these abilities?”

“Exactly. I have a theory why your powers are so strong, but that will have to wait. For now, we should concentrate on getting out of here.”

I nod, swallow hard. The idea of helping to mind-warp the crowed out there makes me feel kind of woozy. The lives of a lot of people will depend on my ability to not only conjure up a mind-warp, but to hold it for several minutes as well. True, Ava will be the main mind-warp source, but I have no idea how to do this. I don’t know how I did it the one time it happened and it’s not like I ever tried to do it again.

Ava hops off the counter and starts walking towards the door. What is she doing? Is she crazy? “Wait!” I yell. “I need to practice first. I <i>suck</i>.”

She turns around, looking a bit surprised, like that thought had never occurred to her. Shrugging, she says, “Fine. Mind-warp me.”

“Um, a little help here? I don’t know <i>how</i>.”

“It’s easy. You just concentrate on me and the thing or person or whatever you want me to see. If it works, you’ll see it as well, even though mind-warps are always see-through for the people who conjure them up. That way, you can see both reality and what the person you’re mind-warping is seeing.”

Well, that sounds easy enough.

I concentrate on Ava, concentrate on what I want her to see and a second later it’s there. Wow. This <i>is</i> easy. It’s faint, and it flickers a bit, but it’s there, exactly the way I wanted it to be.

She raises an eyebrow at me. “What the hell is that supposed to be?”

“It’s Eeyore. From Winnie the pooh?” She gives me a blank look. “You really need to polish up your on pop culture knowledge,” I tell Ava. “Eeyore rocks.”

“Why is he purple?”

“He was drawn that way. Look, it’s just a cartoon character. It doesn’t matter. How good was it?”

“It flickered a bit, but basically it was solid. Two-dimensional, but solid.”

“Yeah, well, most cartoon characters are two-dimensional,” I tell her defensively.

She smirks. “In any case, it’s good enough for what we have planned. Let me conjure up the mind-warp, you just supply energy to hold it up. Oh, and I’ll start off with making all the reporters turn off their cameras, but I can do that alone. Don’t want them to have our escape on camera, now do we?”

Good thinking.

“So, let’s do this,” she says, once again heading for the door. I follow her lead, feeling anything but confident in my ability to be any kind of help at all. Somehow I have the unmistakable feeling that this can only end badly.


tbc

[Calinia]

So, this update took longer than intended. I have a long list of excuses up on my site, so go there if you want to know. But as mentioned before, I am well into the next part so the next update shouldn't take this long. And hey, I moved to another country! My computer started smoking! I couldn't find my passport the day before I was moving and almost had a stroke! Give a girl a break...

Hee.

Before I forget, this part is dedicated to the lovely Sara cause it was her birthday just a few days ago (hope you had a great one!) and because she needs to get her ass in gear and start writing again. We all miss your stories!

To your feedback...

Ace Roswell, behrstars, orphyfets, bluebear01, aussietrueblue, DreamerAZ04, Emma916, burningchaos and Christina2984 thanks for reading and for taking the time to reply, it's very much appreciated!

vampiricheart, I am indeed back. And I love to make my readers look crazy arond family and friends, so go me! High time Ava showed up, eh? And I'm glad that I managed to surprise you. I'm always convinced that my plotlines are extremely obvious, which is of course not what I'm trying to do here. Good to know that I succeed with implanting shocking elements at least sometimes. Lol, I'll try to get to the part where Alec and Liz get busy again quickly. It will come, I promise. Pod Square will take longer, but not much. You'll hate me, I can already tell. Hehe.

Zevrillion, thanks for taking the time to reply not only here but at PA as well. Lol, Alec/Liz luvin will happen sooner as you think, promisel. Just not in this part...

elfangel01, I was getting worried, glad to hear that I'm still on the safe side of things. And while Ava did lie, her heart was in the right spot so I guess it doesn't really count against her. Lol, I really do like your story. Lack of feedback is due to lack of reading is due to lack of time for reading...in other words, I'll try to get caugh up on Consuming Fire soon.

WomanofMystery, I have no idea what you're talking about. You're acting like I just disappeared off the face of the planet for a few months without updating even once. Now, where you got that idea from I do not know.

Yup, everyone thinks Ava is Manticore as well. It's a pretty neat cover because it just fits so perfectly. And considering the few Ava scenes we got, I always had the impression that Ava just wanted to really belong somewhere, to be part of something. She got that. Finally someone who loves Eeyore! My sister is always Piglet this, Piglet that. Eeyore is much cooler!

"There's a whole universe out there" is on my to-read list btw. The problem is, that list is only in my head and my head tends to be a confusing place...anyway, I promise I'll read it and give you an honest opinion. And I haven't forgotten about the part you sent me either, don't worry. I'll get to that too. I really need to write all that down somewhere...

Aggie, well, look at it this way: hiding from the White vs. hiding from the FBI and Khivar with his army of skins - I'd chose option a) if it meant getting an army of transgenics on my side in case b) becomes a threat after all. Hihi...I love Eeyore. My brother doesn't get ff either...maybe it's a guys thing.

Erin, I knew I would score brownie points with Eeyore. I'll need them after this part. Don't worry, my memory is just as bad as yours. I discovered an email from March in my inbox the other day and I could have sworn that I'd replied to it months ago but...not so much. Glad you like Ava. I was wondering how people would react to her and especially to her hiding out with the transgenics, glad that response is so positive. Thanks for the fb, as always it put a smile on my face.

lizandzackfan, well, I'm actually not sure if the transgenics will ever find out that Ava is an alien, but one person...just read on and at least part of your question will be answered. Glad you liked it and thansk for the fb!

Sara, don't worry, there are more parts left to this story than just two. But not that many...just so that you can prepare yourself. But don't worry, this won't be my last x-tremer story. And I'll try and hurry up with the Alec/Liz luvin'. It will come sooner than you expect, just not in this part. Naked Alec won't make an appearance till the Alec/Liz lovin' though...and even then he won't really be naked. I'm a naughty girl, and so is Liz... As for the break-out...something will happen and it will lead to more Alec/Liz closeness, but probably not in the way you think. Hehe, are you confused yet? And I am so jealous! I want a giant Eeyore too! Not fair. I'm gonna cry!

_liz, well you know what they say about great minds thinking alike... You don't like Ava? That's an interesting reaction, I didn't expect it but I see where you're coming from...and I kind of like it. But just so you know, there is more to Ava taking so long to approach Liz, that will be cleared up in the next part. It hasn't been that long though, "only" about two weeks or so. And you're right, she is different. Partly because she changed, but also partly because of slipping into the role of a transgenic. To be believable, she had to act differently. Thanks for your honest feedback it is very, very much appreciated.

Tina N Blair, I loved your feedback. I agree 100% on your take of Ava and especially on the relationship between Ava and Liz. Liz hated Tess more than anyone else so one might think that she would be the first to hate Ava just for looking like Tess, but it's just the opposite. Liz is the one person who can completely look past the physical similarities and see the real Ava.

Valo, actually, I am quite a ficaholic...or at least I was before sucky university took up all my fic-reading time. Um, yeah, about that cliffhanger-less part? Maybe next time. Sorry. Glad you liked the part and the way I wrote Ava, as for whether or not her plan works...read on.

Onarek, I find it really interesting that both you and _liz find Ava strange...and she's definitely different. And liking or disliking a character is always a question of taste. To answer your question, not sure if the transgenics will all find out about Ava's true identity, but someone will...soon.

Hotaru, of course I miss your feedback...and you...and writing...and posting parts...and most of all, Alec. As for the ending I have planned for this story...I don't know if the word "happy" is really fitting, but I'll try to leave my readers in a state that does not inculde loud screaming or attacking their computer with a hammer. As for Alec kicking Max's ass...not sure if that will happen in this story. Lol, Ava sure is a bad girl.

KaT723, high time that Ava showed up, isn't it? And I'm glad you like her. All the other Roswell characters will make an appearance and everything that has been going on with them in the mean time will be explained. Just three or four parts till that happens, come to think of it.

joshz_girl, part of the Pod Square will arive very soon and the rest will make an appearance as well. Alec/Liz luvin is planned as well. As for the transgencis finding out about Ava...not sure if that will actually happen. Haven't decided yet. Thanks for your feedback, I'll try to update my other stories this year.

Ellie, I'm always happy to suck people into the wonderful world of xovers. They tend to rock, lol. Hope my computer troubles go away as well...they kinda suck. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback, it means a lot to me!

It's 2am here btw, so ignore any typos made above. The ones bellow I will blame on...on...um, okay, can't think of anything, but it's totally not my fault.

And that keyboard totally sucked! I had to hit the 'A' and 'E' keys ten times before the damn letters would finally show up on the screen...very annoying. Why couldn't the 'X' and 'Z' key not work?

And woah, that was *a lot* of feedback. Thank you so much guys, it means a lot to me that you haven't all abandoned this story despite my less-than-stellar update record. Hope you like!


<b>Part 36</b>

When we leave the girls’ bathroom Ava heads straight over to M, Mole and Alec, probably to discuss her plan with them, but I hang back. Better to let Ava explain everything. She seems to be good at making half-truths seem plausible.

After a minute or so Alec breaks away from the group and heads over to where I‘m standing. He strolls over to me much too casually, and I definitely don’t like the nonchalant, easy-going expression he’s wearing. I like the smirk on lips even less.

“So, you know Ava.” It’s more a statement than a question. I raise an eyebrow at him. Non-verbal replies are definitely the best in a situation like this.

“Funny coincidence,” he goes on with, a mask of innocence on his face that I don’t trust for even a nanosecond. “You come to Seattle looking for a friend and instead, you find <i>her</i>. Unless of course <i>Ava</i> was the friend you were looking for.”

He pauses for a moment, giving me time to say something, but I remain silent. Somehow I don’t like this conversation.

“But then, if you met her while she was on a mission in Roswell,” he continues, “how would you know where to look for her? Come to think of it, it’s quite a coincidence to begin with that of all the towns in the country, she was sent to Roswell on a mission and it’s an even bigger coincident that you two met there and then run into each other again here - what, a year later? Besides, I don’t remember getting chummy with any ordinaries who were not a target on any mission <i>I</i> was ever sent on, but hey, I’m not psy-ops. Maybe they do things differently.”

He lets his musing hang in the air for a few moments, patiently waiting for a response from my side. I glance over at Ava, look back at Alec, sigh.

“You know, you we can continue this little charade if you want to,” I tell him, “Play clueless and unassuming and ignore the big fat white elephant that’s trampling around the room, but what’s the point? I’m well aware of the fact that there probably aren’t actually any blanks left that need to be filled in. You’re a smart boy. I’m sure you’ve already figured it all out.”

Now his smirk widens into a grin. “Just checking to see how gullible you think I am.”

I snort. “You’re about as gullible as Michael.”

“Who?”

“Never mind. Let’s talk about this later. You know, when there are less people around with eavesdropping abilities that Rona Barrett would kill for.”

He shrugs. “Sure. There <i>are</i> kind of more pressing matters at hand anyway.” He waves his hand around the room to emphasize his point.

Right. Hostage situation.

As if on cue, Ava calls my name to get my attention.

As Alec and I head over to her, M and Mole, I suddenly ask myself what Ava told them and how she explained my involvement in the whole thing. M and Mole throw equally suspicious glances my way, but neither of them says anything to me. Strange.

Oh well. I can always worry about that later on. If they bring it up, I can always ignore them. Life is so simple if you don’t have any manners to worry about.

M then moves away and shoos all the humans – Logan included – over to the other side of the room, telling them that all they have to do is sit around for another thirty minutes or so before they’re free to go – unharmed of course. They comply, probably happy that they’re not forced to play human shields for us a second time.

Logan of course protests. Shocker.

From the look on her face, M is getting kind of fed up with him. She cuts him off, making it very clear that this is not up for discussion. Ooh, are dark clouds drawing up in paradise? Only that it’s not really paradise, with the virus and all that. Yeah.

Meanwhile the transgenics have gathered at the door, looking at Ava and me expectedly.

Here goes nothing…or everything.

------

So far so good. Ava opened the door with a flick of her wrist after whispering to me that she’d turned off all the cameras, and so far there has been no visible reaction of any kind from the crowd or from the police. Then she grabs my hand, taking me into the mind-warp.

It’s a strange feeling. Surreal. I can see the crowd in front of us, but at the same time I see the building behind us, only minus us, and the door is closed. It’s…confusing. I feel kind of like I’m dreaming, floating almost, because reality is a bit off, a bit far away.

Alec is at my other side, playing guide and ready to catch me in case I use up too much energy and faint or something. And before you call me pessimistic, that’s my best-case scenario.

We move out quickly, organized, and I see the transgenics’ training coming through. They move in unison, almost as if they’d practiced this a billion times before. Not surprising, considering that they probably <i>have</i> practiced this a billion times before.

Alec’s arm is around my waist to steady me, just in case. I feel kind of dazed. I try to concentrate on what I’m doing mind-warp wise, but it’s hard. If Ava didn’t have that under control, we’d all be dead by now.

We pile into the bus, Max in the drivers seat, Mole beside her, Ava, Alec and I right behind them. The rest of the transgenics fill into the seats behind us.

At first I don’t notice that something’s wrong. I’m too focused on the mind-warp. Then I hear Alec’s voice, register his tone. He’s as close to panic as he will ever get. “What’s wrong Max?”

“It won’t start. <i>Fuck!</i>” M yells, slamming the steering wheel, startling me so much that I forget all about the mind-warp for a second before quickly diving back into it.

“They gave us a pile of shit! We can forget our transportation.”

Oh crap.

-------

I wake with a start. My eyes snap open, but it’s too dark to make out my surroundings.

Where am I? What happened? How did I get here? What the <i>fuck</i> happened?

I don’t remember. I don’t have even the faintest idea. I remember leaving the building, getting into the bus, said bus not starting, M cursing. That’s it. After that, nothing but a big blank.

This cannot be good.

I move, grown. Everything hurts. I haven’t felt this beaten up since I healed Annie…maybe not even then.

I blink, but it’s too dark to really see much of anything. I’m in a room, that much I can tell. A small windowless room. The door seems heavy and impenetrable. Not that I can really tell, since it’s too dark to really make it out. Somehow I just have the feeling that it won’t budge easily.

This cannot be good.

I have no idea where I am, who brought me here, what happened, but I know that this can’t be good. Being locked in a small, dark room never is.

What happened? Did the police get us after all? But this doesn’t look like a prison. Which leaves only one other possibility.

White.

My thoughts fly to Alec as fear shoots through my body, making breathing very hard all of a sudden. Does White have him too? Is he safe? Hurt? <i>Dead?</i>

No. I shake my head, mumble the word out loud, anything to convince myself. He’s not dead. He can’t be. I’d know. I’d feel it. I mean…I would, right?

I have to get out of here. I have to find him. I roll myself off the cot I’m lying on, barely managing to suppress the groan that’s fighting to break from my dry mouth. I get up, wince, convinced that I’ll topple over any second. I feel so weak.

I slowly make my way to the door. Despite knowing that it’s useless, I place my hand over the lock. Nothing happens. My powers aren’t strong enough. Hell, I think they’re not even there in the first place. Damn mind-warping.

I sink to the floor beside the door, too exhausted to remain on my feet any longer. I try to control my labored breathing, try to control the panic and fear rising up inside of me swallowing me whole, try to control my thoughts that are currently running amok. I need to think. I need a plan. I need to get out of here.

Nothing happens. I’m not capable of forming a coherent thought. Coming up with a plan seems unfathomable, escape impossible. I’m stuck.

After a few minutes I find myself capable of moving again, capable of thinking again. I need to escape. I need to find Alec.

The door is the most obvious choice, but at the same time a very improbably route to success. I need to find out if there’s another way out of here. I start crawling alongside the wall, looking for a trap door in the floor or another door in the wall. I doubt that I’ll find anything, but I have to try. Maybe my captors are really, really stupid and there’s a door in here that they forgot about and that happens to be open. Yeah, right. And pigs can fly.

Not seeing anything hampers my progress, and despite the room being rather small, it takes some time before I’ve searched it completely. My physical condition is not helping matters, I need to stop every few minutes and take a break.

I just want to lie down and sleep and sleep and sleep, but the thought of Alec drives me on.

I can’t sleep. I need to get out of here. I need to find him. I need to make sure he’s okay. Maybe he needs me. He could be hurt, locked up somewhere, they could be interrogating him. I refuse to let the thought that it may be too late already enter my head.

It’s not too late. It can’t be.

Suddenly I hear the sound of footsteps outside my cell. They’re coming closer. Whoever it is stops in front of my door. I can see their shadow through the crack between the door and the floor, they’re blocking out some of the light. Not that there’s much of that to begin with.

Panic shoots through my body again. Instinct tells me to hide, but there’s nowhere to go. There’s just the cot and a chair and some other piece of furniture that I couldn’t quite figure out in the dark.

I’m paralyzed with fear. I can’t move.

I hear the doorknob being turned slowly. Then the door inches open. A second later I can see the person, make out his face and I can’t stop a gasp from escaping my lips.


tbc

[Calinia]

So, computer problems solved. Hehe. It's good to have a brother who knows his computer-geek stuff and who is available for 24-hour support.

Now, I am normally very good about replying to feedback individually - at least I've been good about it lately, but I am going out tonight (exchange student party - rumor has it that you get a free beer tonight every time you kiss someone...too bad I don't like beer ) ...anyway, I need to get ready for that and I want to update tonight, so the individual replies will come again next time. Sorry guys.

It really does mean a lot to me that so many of you take the time to reply, but I figured you'd rather have a new part today even if it means no individual feedback-replies. Right? In any case, here ya go!


<b>Part 37</b>

“Alec?!” I exclaim. What the fuck?!

He scowls at me, crossing his arms over his chest. “What are you doing up?” he asks me, trying very hard to sound strict. “You should be resting.”

I just stare at him. What? Huh?

Now he’s shaking his head. “Don’t even try it, Liz. You are going straight back to bed. There’s nothing you can do right now anyway. Everyone’s settled in and for today, that’s all we have to worry about.”

I’m still staring at him, and I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open. Finally I find my voice again. “Where are we?”

Alec gives me a strange look before answering me. “Terminal City of course.”

I let that sink in for a moment. “So we’re safe? All of us?”

“Yeah…Liz, you’re acting kind of weird, is everything-”

But that’s as far as he gets. It only takes me a second to cross the room and fly into his arms. My mouth crashes into his, so hungry, so eager. He’s response is instantaneous, just as hungry, just as eager, maybe even more so.

My body reacts immediately – I’m trembling, my knees go weak, my heart begins to race and somewhere deep inside me heat erupts, spreading through my body, slow like honey and hot like fire.

<i>Oh God.</i> I missed him so much. The softness of his mouth, the way his teeth scrape over my lips. His hot breath on my cheek, his hands in my hair.

Our lips are still fused together as Alec grabs me and lifts me up. He slams the door shut before pushing me up against it. He’s too urgent to be gentle, too eager to take his time and I couldn’t care less. Something is rushing through my veins and it takes me a second to realize what it is. <i>Life.</i>

For so long now I’ve been numb and cold and unfeeling. I couldn’t let myself feel, couldn’t get past the hurt and the fear and the taintedness of my soul.

But now…all that is just <i>gone.</i> I’d forgotten how wonderful life feels when it’s pulsating through your body. How wonderful it feels to really live and feel and <i>breathe.</i>

I haven’t been capable of that for longer than I care to remember but I’m doing it now, hungrily gulping in breaths of air and Alec’s intoxicating smell. His hands are on my skin making me shiver, his mouth on my neck makes me gasp. Hunger and need and passion are scorching through my body, so overwhelmingly intense that I half expect to burst into flames any second.

I attack his mouth again, needing to taste him, needing to devour him. I fumble with his pants, unbutton them, wrench down the zipper. Then he’s in my hands, hot and smooth and hard, like silk-covered steel, pulsating with life just like I am. It’s not long before he’s shivering and panting and clawing at my pants. Then they’re gone and he’s inside me.

Again, there’s no time for being gentle. Gentle belongs somewhere else. This is all about passion, about living and feeling and celebrating the mere fact that we’re alive and therefore capable of doing all those things. Heat and hunger and urgency take over, overwhelming us, sweeping us away from reality. Our moans mingle with the scent of sex that’s hanging in the air. It’s intoxicating.

And, <i>oh God.</i> He feels so good, so right. He makes me feel complete again for the first time in so long. Everything just falls into place when we’re together. It’s like he’s restoring the balance in my soul a bit more with every kiss and every stroke. And, oh God, does it feel good. <i>He</i> feels good. Alec inside me has to be the most exquisite feeling in the world.

A part of me is convinced that I might just die from the pleasure of it all, it’s so overwhelming. I’ve never felt pure white-hot lust build up so quickly, never felt so consumed by anything in my whole life. Alec is everywhere, inside me, around me, within me. He’s taken over my body and mind in every possible way.

When the explosion comes I almost pass out from its intensity. A scream is wrenched from my mouth, mixing with Alec’s low guttural moans. Molten heat surges through my groin, crashing into my senses, taking over my brain. Electricity pulsates through my body, passion washes through it in waves, each bigger than the last. It literally takes my breath away.

It takes minutes before the feeling starts to fade, even longer until it dims down to a low hum.

When it does we sink to the ground, a tangled heap of sweaty limbs, both trembling from the aftermath of our love-making and the earth-shattering climax it ended with, both too spent to move or think or talk. Finally Alec lifts his head off my shoulder where it’s been resting for the last few minutes or so.

“What the fuck was that?” he asks slowly, almost dazed.

“I have no idea,” I tell him, my voice hardly more than a raspy whisper. And I don’t, not really. I know that sex is different for aliens – or changed humans – but this…this is above and beyond anything I’ve ever experienced before. And things were already pretty damn intense whenever I got down and dirty with Alec before.

“I guess it has something to do with, you know…my not-so-earthly status.”

“But you’ve always been, well...different. And the sex has always been…<i>different.</i>” He draws the last word out, smirking at me, making me smile, making me feel a bit proud, a bit special. “But this…I mean, <i>woah.</i> What changed?”

I’m still smiling. “Not sure,” I say, even though deep down, I know exactly what changed. I’m breathing again. I’m open.

-------

Alec was right of course, I needed rest. It took a while till we were both capable of moving again...okay, so even then I wasn’t really capable of it. Alec had to carry me to the bed. Not that I’m complaining. Neither was he. You know, he wouldn’t admit it to save his life, but sometimes I really get the impression that he actually enjoys the whole chivalry thing. In any case, I can’t get enough of feeling his body close to mine, even in the non-sexual way, so I wouldn’t mind Alec carrying me around on a daily basis.

And while it’s normally the guy’s job to turn around and fall asleep two minutes after getting off, I was out before my head hit the pillow. When I slowly float back into wakefulness again I’m lying on my side, Alec curled into my back. I shift and Alec presses a kiss against my bare shoulder. That’s when I notice that I’m naked. And so is Alec.

The feeling of his warm, smooth skin pressed against mine is enough to make my whole body tingle again. Talk about being insatiable…

I shift again, rubbing myself against Alec’s body. He’s pressed against my naked skin in the most intimate way possible and I can’t help but smirk when I feel his reaction to my teasing pressed against my butt.

His hot breath is suddenly on my neck, his lips follow and later on his tongue and teeth take over. His hand glides upwards over my hip, then my stomach before reaching its final destination. He cups my breast and I gasp as my body reacts to his touch. That’s all it takes, a gentle touch, the brush of a thumb over an already hardened nipple and I’m wet and begging for more. Oh <i>please</i> don’t stop this.

I turn around and our legs entangle automatically, our lips meet in the softest of kisses and I’m swept away in a haze of gentle lust and simmering passion. Everything is too slow and too soft, but perfect all the same. We take the time we didn’t have earlier to explore and caress, lingering on favorite spots, taking advantage of how well we’ve come to know each others bodies.

There’s hot breath on the other’s ear as whispered words of passion slip from lips that are hot and eager. Wet mouths leave behind trails of goose bumps while fervent hands cause shivering and writhing under caresses that are almost too much to bear.

And then our bodies join and this time, the explosion is instantaneous. Not as overwhelmingly intense as before, but there’s a warmth to it that tugs at my heart, making a tear slip from my eye. I’ve never really gotten teary-eyed during sex before, except for that one time, but the events from earlier are starting to catch up with me. We could have lost everything back there, could have lost each other forever. I’m never going to take this for granted again, never going to casually push it away. It’s worth so much more than that.

Alec kisses away the lone tear, kisses my parted lips and soon I’m swept away in a cloud of soft, gentle love-making that seems to go on forever, lifting me up to new heights again and again and again. Finally we’re spent and soon enough we drift off to sleep again, limbs still entangled, bodies exhausted and while I can’t speak for Alec, <i>I</i> am certainly happier than I’ve felt in a long time.

-------

When I wake up alone the next morning I’m hardly even irritated. Alec doesn’t need half as much sleep as I do in a normal night, and considering how exhausted I was the day before, and how often the cycle of sleeping and making love was repeated last night, I’m kind of surprised myself that I’m already awake, not to mention that I feel perfectly rested.

Besides, Alec has duties around here. Only God knows what’s going on in Seattle after the hostage situation yesterday, and with new transgenics pouring into TC on a daily basis, things can only be chaotic.

I stretch languidly, my thoughts drifting back to the events of last night. I smile, groan as my body begins to hum again. Alec was right, I really am a rabbit. I need to get this under control. Being a slave to your hormones is pathetic.

But then I think of Alec, of his clever hands and eager tongue and I come to the conclusion that being pathetic is well worth the unbridled passion and incomparable pleasure Alec bestows on my body. After all, who needs strength and pride when they can have mind-blowing orgasms on an hourly basis?

Speaking of which, I’m starting to get irritated about Alec’s lack of presence in this bed after all. Last night, the love-making was slow and gentle and unhurried except for the first time up against the door, mostly due to the complete exhaustion on my part. But now I’m rested and full of energy and feel like doing some incredibly wicked things to Alec’s body. So where is he, damn it?

I growl as the heat in my groin intensifies. I can’t help it, my thoughts just refuse to stay away from the events of last night. I’ve known that Alec has skilled hands and an even more skilled tongue for quite some time, but it never ceases to amaze me how long Alec can draw pleasure out, letting it build up to a point that’s almost unbearable before allowing it to be released in an earth-shattering explosion.

Okay, bad brain. Stop thinking about that.

I glance up at the ceiling. God, if you’re up there, could you maybe send Alec a memo that his girlfriend is in desperate need of a good-morning fuck? You know, if it’s not too much trouble?

I almost jump out of my skin when the door opens two seconds later. It’s Alec. I send a suspicious glance up at the ceiling before turning my attention towards my boyfriend. All of a sudden it doesn’t feel weird to say that at all, at least not in my head. Out loud…yeah, we’ll try that another day. No need to spoil today with working up past relationship induced traumas.

He sits down on the side of the bed pressing a kiss to my forehead before dropping a box into my lap. “Only breakfast-worth food I could find,” he tells me.

I glance down. Doughnuts. Oh, yum. And they’re the suger-frosted kind. I just love those. I rip open the box and sink my teeth into the soft pastry, moaning in delight. They’re fresh too. Oh, this is heaven alright. I glance at Alec, smirk a bit. The doughnuts may be great, but the dessert looks even better.

Then I halt in mid-movement. Wait, he <i>found</i> these somewhere? Fresh doughnuts, my favorite kind, lying around in Terminal City, which just happens to be filled with half-starved transgenics, each and every one of them equipped with the appetite of a teenage boy? Uh-huh. And pigs are ice-skating in hell.

I continue to eat, sending a smile in Alec’s direction. Someone here just earned himself a very big thank-you which will be expressed in the dirtiest, most physical form my pure, untainted little brain can come up with.

Two minutes later those hopes are shattered. There’s a knock on the door followed by Ava coming into the room. “Scram Alec, Liz and I need to talk.”


tbc

[Calinia]

Hey guys! Here's the new part. Finally, I know. Now, I know that I said that this was the longest part I'd ever written for this story, but then I decided that it was actually too long so I cut it in half. I'll need to add another scene to the next part since it's a bit too short, but it should be up really, really soon...next week I hope. Anyway, no Alec in this part, sorry, but he'll make an appearance in the next part, promise.

To your lovely and plentyfull feedback...

elfangel01, what ava needs to discuss will be answered in this part, what's happening in the real world will be in the next part, or the one after that. and yes, Alec and Liz are doing well....for now.

orphyfets, thanks, I'm glad you like it!

bluebear01, no worries, Liz may have been interrupted, but her plans to ravage Alec won't be put on hold forever. and yes, ava is going to explain what happened after Liz passed out. and I'm very happy that I managed to turn you into an x-tremer...it's such a huge compliment.

Ellie, yup, Alec is a keeper. Only question is, will Liz really keep him? And does he really want to be kept? and I'm glad you liked the part with Liz's prayer, lol. and I'm glad you enjoyed the nookie, it will take a few parts till Liz gets to ravish Alec like she had planned. Lol, and I am definitely trying to make sure that I will not have any regrets regarding not having done enough, lol. Thanks for the lovely long feedback, hun!

WomanofMystery, hehe, yes, you were on the right track thinking it was Alec. Glad you enjoyed the nookie. Liz says she did too. Max isn't going to be a factor that may seperate Alec and Liz but....well, things won't be all sunshine and roses from now on.

binxter, people being angry at Ava for interrupting seems to be the general feeling among my readers, lol. So greedy, really. Didn't you just get a part filled with nookie? HTT is next on my to-do list now that this is updated. Almost done, maybe this weekend...note the maybe!

vampiricheart, complaints, complaints, it's all I get from my readers. here I am, forgoing sleep and food and comfort to get new parts out for you *cough, cough*, offering you the fruit of my sweat and blood and all I get is a 'well, it took you long enough to update!'. btw missy-miss, shouldn't you be updating AoD? hehe.

Yes, the part was different, softer somehow, but I think a hostage situation kind of puts things into perspective and makes even Liz and Alec withdraw their claws, lol. Ava has horrible timing, doesn't she? But don't worry, Liz will eventually come around to thanking Alec. hehe, I managed to scare you? well, that was kind of the point of the cliffhanger. Don't know if Alec will ever find out the whole story behind how Liz and Ava know each other, haven't decided yet. Glad you liked, and thanks for the lovely feedback!

Aggie, yes, you did deserve a quick update after that nasty cliffhanger. besides, I, um, kind of neutralized that with making you wait forever this time around. sorry 'bout that! and who said that Ava's reason for interrupting them is important?

rachelg224, glad you're liking this!

Roswell Slayer, glad you liked the part. But then, I didn't expect anything less from you, lol. Really, Ava needs to be more considerate of other people's need to get laid. Her timing is almost as bad as Maria's... Alec definitely does not buy the story with Ava's mission, he's kind of figured it out, but he of course still lacks the details. Er, sorry, no Alec in this part. *Kat ducks the rotten tomatos being chucked at her*

RavenSprite, thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, it really put a huge smile on my face. I'm glad that this is your favorite of all my fics cause it's my favorite as well. And I'm so glad that you noticed and liked Alec's development in this as well. It's hard making it show since it's all from Liz's POV, but it's good to know that it really does show, lol. He did have a lot to overcome, and I think he really did grow a lot as a person. Of course, how could you not with someone as lovely as Liz by your side?

Onarek, high time that Liz started opening up again, isn't it? And Alec and Liz are doing pretty well...at least for now. And I think Ava was just trying to be evil when she interrupted them.

DMartinez, I think I say this every time when you leave feedback for this fic, but it is such an honor having you reading this. I'm really glad you liked the last part, but I'm afraid Liz and Alec won't be able to spend the next month in bed. Btw, any chance of you updating Crushes anytime soon? I really love that fic.


So, thank you all for the wonderful feedback, I truely appreciate it.


<b>Part 38</b>

Call me childish, but I’m still miffed about Ava sending Alec away. I have needs, damn it! Needs that demand to be fulfilled and Alec looked pretty willing to take care of that for me.

Being miffed brings back the old miffed-ness regarding Ava never letting me know that she knew that I was in Seattle, so I’m double-miffed. And sulking.

Last time we talked about her non-acknowledgement of my being here we got sidetracked by my powers, but not this time. I can hold a grudge with the best of them, damn it.

Ava is smirking at me. “Don’t worry, lover-boy will be back. Trust me. He looked…<i>hungry.</i>” And she smirks again.

I glare at her for a moment. Pause. Then I just blur it out, sounding every bit as accusing as I’d intended. “Why did you hide from me for so long? You know, a quick ‘Hey Liz, what brought you to this lovely shit-hole of a city?’ really wouldn’t have been too much to ask. I thought we were friends.” Low blow, I know, but damn it, I’m angry. And I have every right to be.

Understanding dawns on Ava. “Ah, so that’s what the pout is about.”

“Partly,” I growl.

“I wasn’t <i>hiding</i> from you Liz.”

I raise my brow at her.

“Okay, at first I was, but as I said, I wanted to make sure you were alone here without the alien entourage. So after I saw you in TC, first chance I got I asked Calvin about you. He could only tell me that he thought you were here on your own, but he didn’t know for sure. So I tried to get the information out of Joshua, but he hardly knows me so he clammed up and wouldn’t tell me anything.

“By the time I got around to casually prying some information out of Alec, more than a week had passed. Then I went out of town for a few days to get more supplies and then the hostage situation happened, and here we are. I swear, I had literally no time to get in touch with you, besides the fact that I had no idea where you lived and never saw you in TC again.”

Okay, this sounds too reasonable to stay mad. “So you <i>were</i> trying to get in touch with me?”

She nods, rolls her eyes at me. “Of course I was, cornball.”

I snort. Then sigh, relent. “Okay, but I’m still mad about you interrupting my…<i>breakfast</i>.”

Ava smirks. “Can’t blame you for that, girl.”

****

“I have the powers of all four of them. Blasting, healing, dream-walking and mind-warping.”

Ava looks impressed and not half as shocked as she should be if you ask me. She just keeps on munching on one of my doughnuts.

I’ve spent the past ten minutes filling her in about everything that happened since she left Roswell in regards to my powers and so far, nothing seemed to surprise her. Until now, that is.

“That’s strange,” she says. "I only expected you to have our general powers and one or two unique powers of your own. But, wow, four uniques? Tight.”

“You know, a little warning would have been nice. The phrase ‘Max healed you and now you’re different’ isn’t really a sufficient preparation for this kind of life-changing event. And I <i>have</i> a unique power of my own,” I add, sending a spark into the air. I’m getting really good at that.

Now she really looks impressed. She almost chokes on her doughnut.

“Woah. Is that electricity? That is <i>so</i> neat. You know, it’s really rare for women to have strong physical powers on Antar, and it’s even rarer to have so many unique powers. That’s really special. You’d be high society if we were on Antar. The average person there only has two or maybe three unique powers, having more than four is definitely not ordinary. Unless you’re royalty. King Zan for example – not Max, his father…he was a great king by the way – he had nine unique powers if memory serves me right.”

Somehow I don’t see any reason to be happy about my unique status even among Antarians. “Yeah, well, I’d kind of prefer being ordinary right now. Having powers you have no control over <i>sucks</i>.” After a moment, “Why do I have so many unique powers? I mean, it doesn’t make much sense. I’m human...mostly.”

“I have a theory on that. As I said before, your ability to access your powers is one of the factors that influence their strength. The more energy you have to use to access them, the less you have left to use them.”

I nod. That makes sense.

“But there’s another factor. Brain capacity, or as you would call it, intelligence. The smarter you are, the stronger your powers are. And since you’re pretty smart- oh, don’t even try to deny it,” she tells me as I open my mouth to say something. “No need to fake modesty with me.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I protest. And what does she mean with ‘fake’ anyway?

“Anyway,” she goes on. “The smarter you are, the stronger your powers are, and the more unique powers you usually have. Now, blasting and dreamwalking are fairly common powers. Most women can dream-walk to some extent and most men can blast. In rare cases, it’s the other way around. Having both of those powers is kind of unusual, but not that rare. The electricity thing you can do is rarer than normal blasting abilities, but not quite as rare as healing and mind-warping. Mind-warping is actually pretty rare, even rarer than healing.”

Is this supposed to make me feel better? If so, <i>not</i> working.

“How’d you know all this?” I ask her.

“Mostly from Kal…our protector. He gave us endless lectures about the glory days of Antar. Before he abandoned us, that is. Some of it comes from my memories of Antar.”

Now that spikes my curiosity. “Do you remember a lot of your life on Antar?”

Ava stiffens ever so slightly, I almost miss it. “Not much. Just bits and pieces. Don’t really want to remember. What’s the point? It’s in the past.”

I hold back the questions that are rapidly piling up in my mind. Somehow I have the distinct feeling that Ava doesn’t want to talk about this. So I change the subject. “So if human DNA doesn’t necessarily hamper the strength of your powers, how come the Pod-Squad has so much weaker powers than your set?”

“I think it has to do with the DNA that our original DNA was mixed with. The human donors that were picked...well, they weren’t exactly the Einsteins of your race. The operation was supposed to remain top secret – on both planets – and so they picked people who either lived rather isolated, or who nobody would believe anyway, the dense kind.”

“But they’re not stupid,” I protest. “I mean, Isabel always had good grades, Max’s were even better. Michael reads <i>James Joyce</i>. You have to be more than just smart to understand that. Trust me, I know. I tried, and failed miserably.”

“Chill,” Ava tells me, practically laughing at me. “I didn’t say they were stupid or anything. Just saying that the human essence that was mixed with their DNA affected the part of the brain that is used for our powers, and not in the good way. The original Royal Four, the ones on Antar, were pretty smart from what I heard, and from what I remember, and the human DNA added to their own didn’t affect their general intelligence in any significant way.

“But, well, it did affect some part of their brain. I know my powers are weaker than they were in my last life, even though the difference isn’t that noticeable. The difference should be more prominent within the other group though, since they received more human DNA and from what you told me, it is. Besides, they never had anybody train them. I’m surprised they got where they are all on their own. I also think that they all have powers they have yet to tap into.”

“Really? How come?”

“Well, back on Antar, they all had the powers they’ve discovered so far, but they had other powers as well. Of course, the human DNA that was mixed with their original DNA might prevent some of them from ever manifesting themselves in this life, but they should develop at least one or two more powers each.”

“What kind of powers?”

“Oh, all sorts of stuff…telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance, empathy, dream-manipulation…the list is endless. But actually, I kind of came here for a completely different reason.”

“Oh?” Ava almost looks flustered.

“Yeah, just wanted to, you know, make sure that you’re okay. I mean, after what happened yesterday. You were really drained. Thought you might need a little power boost.”

Aww, isn’t she cute, worrying about me like that. Now who’s the cornball? “I’m fine. But…to be honest, I don’t really remember much of what happened yesterday. Last thing I know, we’re in the bus and it won’t start. Then, poof, I wake up in TC.”

Ava looks confused. “I thought Alec would have filled you in by now.”

I fight the blush that’s threatening to shoot into my cheeks. “Um, yeah, we didn’t really do much talking last night.”

Ava raises an eyebrow at me.

“We slept!” I insist.

Ava smirks. “I’m sure you did.”

I narrow my eyes at her. Someone here needs to get her mind out of the gutter. Even if that someone technically has a point.

“So, what happened?” I ask, very effectively changing the subject.

“Well, we got onto the bus – you remember that, right? – but when Max tried to start it, it didn’t work. So she was up there in the driver’s seat cursing and beating the steering-wheel and we were ready to move out again and come up with a new plan when you leaned forward and started the car with your powers. Guess that was the electricity thing, huh? I was wondering.

“Anyway, the bus started and so we drove off. Oh, and you fainted. Used up too much energy I guess. Man, Alec freaked out. He was yelling at me the whole time about what I had done to you, really made it hard to concentrate on my mind-warp.”

She must have seen the worried look on my face. “Oh, no biggie. We were already kinda far away. Max was driving like a lunatic. Besides, I just had to hold up the mind-warp of the bus still being there, not conceal any people like before…that’s not that hard. A minute later I dropped it altogether. Would have loved the see the faces of those people when the bus just disappeared right in front of their eyes though, ‘specially White.”

She turns her attention back to me. “So, you okay cornball? No need for an energy boost?”

I shake my head.

Ava smirks at me. “Didn’t think so. You sure looked like you were up for some morning sport when I came into the room.”

I just glare at her.


tbc

[Calinia]

Soo...new part. Can you believe it? I know I can't. It's been much too long and this hiatus is really unforgivable, seeing how there is no real reason for it except for my lack of inspiration. Will you forgive me if I promise you some Alec/Liz nookie soon?

Anyway, my muse seems to be back...probably because I am currently buried under school work. I have a seminar paper to write, my graduation paper to work on, exams, case studies and, and and... But I'm sure I'll manage to carve out some writing time every now and then. In other words, I'm sure that I will be more than willing to neglect my school work to write.

Oh, and in case some of you are wondering, my site is currently down. I had some serious problems with my host (they tried to screw me over in a very non-nice fashion) and so I cancelled my acount there. Now I need to pick a new host, but after my bad experiences with the first one, no hosting company seems to have enough positiv reviews for my taste. So if anybody has a suggestion, let me know. It should be up again sometime this month though.

So, here's the part. Hope you like.

Hmm....come to think of it, hope I still have some readers.


<b>Part 39</b>

Despite having every intention of tracking Alec down and picking up where we left off earlier, I’m kinda getting the impression that Alec and I won’t be having hot, sweaty sex in the immediate future after all. TC is a zoo.

There are more transgenics here than ever before, with more pouring in by the minute. And I swear to god, I have never seen so many pregnant woman…or girls actually…on the brink of giving birth before in my whole life. There are only two or three that already went into labor, but despite their comparatively small number, TC seems to be filled with moans and groans and screams of agony, not to mention curses thrown in the direction of Manticore and all men walking this earth.

Note to self – never get pregnant. It’s obviously so not worth it.

So basically, everyone with even a hint of medical training is assisting with the births of the babies or monitoring the pregnant women who are still in the pre-labor phase, just in case.

That wouldn’t be me by the way.

I’m just cooking water – despite not having any clue what exact purpose that supposedly serves – and making sure that there are enough clean sheets and blankets around – helping things along with a bit of alien mojo since we are most definitely not even close to having enough of anything that’s actually clean.

Alec however is helping, and I swear to god he’s enjoying being cursed at, happily letting one of the X5’s call him names that even the devil himself would blush at, crushing his hands in a death grip while she’s trying to survive the obviously intense agony of the contractions.

Biggs is doing the actual work – well, actually the <i>girl</i> is doing the actual work, but he’s giving her instructions, telling her to breathe and when she should push, informing her that he can already see the head, reassuring her that it’s almost over…

I’m watching them from a distance, torn between fascination, sympathy and the urge to get sterilized.

Don’t get me wrong, I always wanted children, but if an X5, who is so much more resistant to pain than a normal human, can barely stand it, how are we lowly humans ever supposed to bear it?

Suddenly Biggs glances in my direction, spotting me. “Hey Liz, be a doll and grab a clean towel, will ya? I’ll need one once this little sucker pops out.”

I roll my eyes at Biggs’ choice of words, but I get a towel anyway. As soon as I’m back the baby does ‘pop out’ and promptly starts wailing. But instead of taking the towel from me, Biggs simply dumps the baby into my arms. After cutting the umbilical cord, he says, “Clean it up, will ya? We still have work here.”

I just stare at him. Is he crazy? I mean, sure, I’ve held babies before, but I’ve never been responsible for a newborn. It’s covered in blood and slime, its skin is all red and horribly wrinkly and it has a strange-looking patch of black hair covering its head.

I take a peek. It’s a boy. Figures. That’s probably why he’s so ugly.

I sigh. Oh well. This can’t be that hard. Not like I haven’t given a bath to a baby before. But then, this is a newborn. What do I know about newborns?

I try to remember something from the magazines I’ve leafed through at my gynecologist. Wasn’t there something about not bathing babies until their umbilical cord stump fell off? Well, that’s hardly the case here. Sponge bath it is.

Now I just need a sponge. And water. And towels. So I head over to the nursery…if you can even call it that. Last time I saw it, it was dirty and dusty and generally looked like a dump.

When I walk into the room I stop in my tracks.

Woah. Did I take a wrong turn somewhere? This looks totally different. Gone is the dirt and the dust and the junk scattered around the room. It’s clean, and there are actually real cribs. Wonder where they got them from. Then again, I don’t want to know. I know exactly what the chances are that they got them through means that would earn them a year or two in prison if they ever got caught.

There’s also a shelf that is empty except for a rather ragged looking stuffed animal and two old books – children’s books I assume – and a dresser. Someone really seemed to put a lot of work into this.

Suddenly M comes into the room followed by Joshua, both carrying boxes that seem to be filled with baby stuff – clothes and bottles and diapers and god knows what else. Joshua smiles when he sees me, M looks like she’s been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Guess I know who’s behind all this. Kinda figures.

M drops the box she’s carrying onto the dresser. “Who’s that?”

“Baby of an X5 who just gave birth. Think her name is Lea. It’s a boy.”

M comes closer. She wrinkles her nose. “Kinda ugly.”

I smile. “Yup. But he should look better once the blood and slime is removed. You got a bathroom around here for the babies?”

She nods at one of the doors. “Through there.”

“Thanks.” I go into the bathroom and look around. There seem to be enough supplies to take care of all the newborns of Settle.

I fill a basin with water that’s warm but not anywhere near hot before placing the baby on one of two makeshift changing tables.

Grabbing some cotton balls, I moisten them and start cleaning the baby’s face. Still ugly if you ask me. And still crying. I know babies need to cry to strengthen their lungs or something, but Jesus, can’t he do that while I’m not there?

When I grab a washcloth to take care of the rest of the blood, I realize that it’s not anywhere near soft, so I wave my hand over it, taking care of that. Then I dip it into the water and gently clean the rest of his head, mindful of the soft spot on top of his head, before drying it.

The washcloth is already kind of yucky so I wave my hand over it again to clean it before starting with the rest of his body. That’s when I notice M. She’s standing in the doorway watching me, and there’s something in her eyes…

“Wanna take over?” I ask her, ignoring that she must have just witnessed me using my powers. I don’t think she even noticed.

Judging by the look on her face, I might as well have asked her if she feels like jumping off the Space Needle. Her eyes are as wide as saucers and she looks like her flight instincts are about to kick in.

“You’re not scared, are you?”

Her eyes narrow as she straightens her shoulders. Somehow I just knew that that would do the trick.

“Of course not,” she sneers.

I smile. “Well, then…”

I move a step away from the baby and M takes over the spot I had just occupied, but then she hesitates. “I’ve never touched a baby before,” she confesses after a moment.

I shrug. “They’re tough little critters. Besides, he’s a transgenic. Just don’t drop him and you’ll be fine.”

I wet the washcloth once again before pressing it into her hand. “Just wipe down his body with this.”

She does as she is told, twice as gently as the situation demands. Guess she really is scared of breaking him.

When it comes to cleaning his back, she seems to be at a loss. So I spread a towel over my shoulder and pick the still wailing baby up. Holding him to my chest, M has access to his back and she goes about cleaning it as well.

Once she’s satisfied that he’s clean we put some diapers on him before wrapping him into a towel. He finally stops wailing and I have to admit, while he’s not exactly cute, he looks much better than before.

Before she can protest, I hand the baby over to her. “Here. You take him back to Lea.”

She looks up at me and for the first time since we met, I see something other than hostility and suspicion in her eyes. She nods, not quite smiling at me, before she turns and leaves.

-------

I don’t know what Alec’s problem is. I was only on my feet for a couple of hours before he gets this strict Alec-knows-best look on his face and sends me back to bed.

Not that I listened. I mean, who am I to be ordered around by a <i>guy</i>?

Needless to say, he didn’t like it. So what does he do? Caveman that he is, he just plucks me up, throws me over his shoulder and hauls me off to bed.

Bastard.

And he doesn’t even have the decency to try and ravish me. Not that I would let him touch me after what I just witnessed. Dad was right after all. Sex is bad. Sex is very bad. Sex leads to pregnancies, thus to unbearable pain, which is never ever worth the few moments of pleasure it can bestow on you.

Anyway, after dumping me onto his bed, he just walks out again.

So what do I do? Right. I get up again.

And what does he do when he sees me? Right. He hauls me off to bed again.

Deciding that repeating the whole thing a third time is more than my pride can take, I stay in bed. And just to spite him, I wear myself out practicing my powers. Setting his bed on fire would be the perfect punishment for his unacceptable behavior.

But to my slight dismay and big surprise, nothing bad happens. Not once during the whole three-hour period do I unintentionally blow something up, set something on fire or damage something in any other way possible. Unless it’s on purpose, of course. Small and petty, but very satisfying I can tell you. Alec won’t like the bedsprings poking him into his back…and other body parts.

But still, it’s all very strange. I did count on at least one small explosion.

So I get up again and search for Ava, careful to avoid any places where Alec might be.

Back in Alec’s room, we go through all my powers together. And while they don’t always work quite the way I want them to, they never backfire.

Strange. Hell must have frozen over. I’ve actually mastered my powers.


tbc

[Calinia]

So, here it finally is. I want to thank you all for your endless patience with me and for not forgetting this story even though it hasn't been updated in such a long time. It's close to being finished, but I have no idea when I'll have the time to work on it since I need to finish my graduation paper in a month and that is a lot of work. For now, enjoy!


<b>Part 40</b>

Saying that the past week was crazy would be the understatement of the year. Calling it pure chaos would be more fitting, but somehow the expression still seems too mild. It’s like the world has been turned upside down.

The whole transgenic hate-thing was already pretty intense before the hostage thing at Jam Pony, but afterwards things started to get really extreme. The hate groups became more vocal with every passing day, picketing outside the fences of Terminal City practically twenty-four/seven. There were incidents of civilians being attacked because they were mistaken for transgenics and more and more public figures joined the ranks of the Haters.

We needed to do something, and fast, before the situation got completely out of control. And while we were still trying to agree on a course of action, Joshua went public with who he was.

His paintings have been selling like crazy in the past few weeks. The spark came back into his work after the whole thing with Annie went down and somehow he turned into everyone’s darling in the art scene.

And so he gave a press conference, letting the world know exactly who he was and what he looked like.

M. was furious. Joshua hadn’t told anyone about what he was going to do and M. just erupted when she found out. I swear, she even scared me standing there cursing and practically spitting with rage, but Joshua just told her that he did what he had to do and let her curse.

Logan of course took advantage of the situation and started a series of pro-transgenic Eyes-Only broadcasts. He also “leaked” some information about the breeding cult to the press and so things got even crazier.

Strangely enough, a pro-transgenic movement emerged from all that chaos. And…you won’t believe this…transgenic groupies.

I mean, sure, transgenics are generally pretty hot. Real alpha-males…and females, come to think of it. I of all people understand their motivation. But still, sauntering up and down outside the gates of TC in your slut attire? Don’t these women have any pride?

Not that I care. Alec knows that I’d blast him to hell and back if he ever went near those girls. I made it a point to be very explicit when explaining the results of such a scenario to him.

I was hoping to scare him. Instead he was turned on.

We ended up in a broom closet ravaging each other. And then we were interrupted…again.

By Ava. Again.

I swear, that girl? Worst. Timing. Ever.

It’s been two days, and we still haven’t found the time or the opportunity to pick up where we’d left off. Realizing that that wouldn’t happen anytime soon if we stayed in TC, we decided to head back to Joshua’s to spend the night there. Alone at last.

Or so we thought.

-------

The drive to Joshua’s is pure torture. Being so close to Alec, pressed up behind him like that, with a constant reminder of how perfectly our bodies fit together? It’s agony. Well, agony mixed with pleasure and lust, but still agony.

Alec is driving as if the devil himself were chasing after us, but the ride is still much too long. When we finally reach our destination, he practically snatches me off his bike. With my legs wrapped around his hips and my mouth ravaging his, he somehow manages to stumble up the porch steps and crash through the front door.

Spinning us around, I suddenly find myself pushed up against the wall, Alec’s mouth wrecking havoc on my senses. My hands burry themselves in his hair, my legs tighten their grip around his hips, but I hardly even notice what I’m doing.

I’m captivated by his touch, by the way he’s making me feel, quickly sinking into a haze of lust, forgetting the world around us. His touch, his smell, his taste…it’s just too much. He’s clouding my senses. I want him so much, it almost hurts.

I’m about to nudge him in the direction of my bedroom when someone clearing their throat makes us jump apart.

-------

When the dark figure finally steps out of the shadows, I gasp. At first I can only stare. My thoughts are too jumbled to form a comprehensive sentence, and even if they weren’t, I’m too shocked to speak anyway.

Alec doesn’t seem to be having the same problem. “What the fuck are you doing in this house?!”

But he just continues to stare at me, ignoring Alec altogether. “Hello Liz.”

“You know this guy?” Alec asks me, but I hardly even hear him.

“What are you <i>doing</i> here?” I whisper. I’m still in shock, but at least I’m capable of speaking again.

“Came to see you.” He shrugs nonchalantly, like tracking me down only to break into my house is the most normal thing in the world.

I glare at him. “I didn’t mean the city. I meant that more in a…<i>global</i> sense.”

“Mind if we have this conversation alone?” he asks with a pointed glance at Alec.

Alec snorts. “You think I’m leaving, buddy, you’ve got another thing coming.” Then he turns to me, trying again. “Who is this guy?”

I look at Alec. This is so surreal. Him and Alec together in the same room…my two worlds suddenly crashed together, and I couldn’t have expected it less.

“Um, Michael. You know, a…friend. From back home.”

That information seems to put Alec at ease, at least marginally. “I’m not leaving,” he tells me. I’m not even going to bother arguing with him.

“That’s fine. I’ll just, um, talk to Michael in my room. Okay?”

He nods. We both know that he can listen to the whole conversation anyway, so whether or not he’s in the same room hardly matters. At least that’s the way I see it.

Then I lead Michael back towards my bedroom. Oh boy.

-------

“You move fast,” Michael says with a nod at the door.

“Not as fast as Max. You didn’t answer my question. I thought you’d left the planet. Last thing I heard, that was the plan.”

“It was. We did. Came back though.”

My gaze softens a bit. “Home not all it was chalked up to be?”

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Well, if your mortal enemy is in charge of the planet and you were brought there to be killed…nah, not so comfy.”

My eyes narrow. “What do you mean, brought there to be killed?”

He sighs, sits down on his bed. “I forgot that you don’t know any of that yet.” He stares at the floor for a minute or two before looking me straight in the face. “Tess was working with our enemies the whole time. She got pregnant on purpose to lure us back to Antar so that Khivar could kill us.” He pauses, and I can already tell that what he’s going to say next is going to be bad. “She was behind Alex translating the destiny book in Las Crucas. She’s responsible for his death. You were right all along. Tess killed Alex.”

I just stare at him. Minutes pass, but that piece of information just refuses to sink in.

Tess killed Alex? Guilt rushes through me, stabbing at my heart. It was me who made her stay. I was me who kept her close to Alex. It was me who gave her the opportunity to hurt Alex, to kill him. It’s all my fault. All my fault…

Those words echo through my head, and I can hardly bear it. Sweet, innocent Alex. He’s gone, robbed of his life, his dreams, his future. And it’s all my fault.

Finally, I look up at Michael. He’s standing close to the door, watching me carefully. Suddenly I realize that I’m sitting on my bed. When did I sit down again?

“What happened?” I ask, not quite able to meet Michael’s eyes. “On Antar, I mean?”

Michael starts talking, but I have problems listening to him.

<i>All my fault…all my fault…</i>

I only snatch up bits and pieces of what Michael’s telling me. Khivar taking Max, Isabel and Michael as prisoners, waiting for Tess to give birth, Isabel dreamwalking Larek, Larek mobilizing the people still loyal to Zan, them storming the castle right after Tess gave birth to a baby boy.

The thought of Max and Tess having a baby together still makes my heart ache, but not the way it used to be.

Then Michael goes on about the revolution, Tess and Khivar dying in the battle, Max taking over the planet. His decision of turning the planet into a democracy, Larek becoming president, Max, Isabel and Michael returning home.

Then I realize that Michael stopped talking.

I finally look up at him. “How did you find me?”

“Isabel.”

Ah. Why am I not surprised?

“Why did you come?”

He shrugs. “Maria’s been driving me up the wall. Keeps going on and on ‘bout how worried she is. Figured checking on you would be the quickest way to shut her up.”

A ghost of a smile dances around my lips. Leave it Michael to make him looking out for his friends sound like pure egoism. He never liked to admit that he cared about anybody apart from Max and Isabel. The fact that that hasn’t changed is almost comforting.

“So you’re still together?” I ask, referring to him and Maria. I feel farther apart from Maria than ever before, but a small part of me still cares, still misses her.

Michael barely nods in response. Then he surprises me by sitting down beside me. “She misses you. I know that a lot of stuff went wrong between you two. But she wants to work on that. Wants to fix it. She asked me to tell you to come home.”

He stands up, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “There are a lot of people in Roswell waiting for you to come home, Liz.” And then he leaves, telling me that he’ll be in the city for a few more days and that I can reach him on his cell phone.

I remain sitting on my bed, staring at the door, mulling over what he just said.


tbc