Teacher's Pet (DA,XO,UC,Mature) Note 2/26/17

[Jezebel Jinx]

Banner by Little Red Riding Hood

Title: Teacher’s Pet
Author: Dez/Jezebel Jinx/VampireQueen21
Rating: Mature
Category:XO/Dark Angel/Roswell
Pairings: Liz/Alec, Alex/Isabel, possible Maxie/Biggs, and Alex/? (know who but not telling yet)
Summary: Alec is sent on a mission to apprehend X5-711. The way he gets close is to impersonate a teacher, unfortunately for him he encounters X5-711’s very protective older sister.
Note: This is the first X-tremer fic I thought about writing. So it holds a special place in my heart, as do all my first fics.
Note 2: Liz will be OoC at times, not so much in front of the other Roswell people but in front of Alex and a few others. Also Max isn’t really an asshole in this—sometimes he’ll have his moments of course, as will the others. As for Alex he will have his own story line that while intertwined with Liz’s will be completely separate as well—did that make sense? Trying a little something new putting a bunch of Alex in the mix, I'm normally 90% all Liz story line-all the time.
Disclaimer: I own nothing I swear, although I wish I could own Alec.

Prologue

August 30, 2020; 5 miles from Crashdown Café, 2:37 p.m.

It was a gorgeous sunny day in post-pulse Roswell, New Mexico. Although their town was only ‘tickled’ by the blast compared to the big cities where everything sputtered and died on them. Here a computer flickered and lights flashed and everything electronic went tits up as well. However within a year the town got back on its feet.

Since then they’ve had a few people come to the town from the worse-off cities but not as many as one would expect. It’s so difficult to get a pass to leave the cities on anything other than business or vacation; so it goes without saying that it is nearly impossible to get a pass to move out of a city and into a new one.

Alex Whitman sat silently next to Liz Parker as she drove the Jeep Cherokee faster down the main highway. He picked at the dirt caked on his jeans, it took an act of God to raise his leg up, how the hell was he going to get out of the Jeep when Liz stopped. They’ve been on the road non-stop for twelve hours, Liz didn’t even want to stop for pee-breaks and she hadn’t spoken a word to him since they left, he’s worried about her.

“We had no choice Liz, we had to leave Zack behind. It wouldn’t have done him any good if we got ourselves captured too.” Alex spoke up. He wished Maxie was still alive, but she couldn’t be not after he saw her get shot by her younger clone. Nobody, even a transgenic, could survive those point blank hits to the chest.

“I know.” As much as she hated to admit it Alex was right. “We could have stayed in Seattle though. Besides Maria what’s really holding us here?”

“You don’t mean that. We have plenty holding us here. Our parents are here. Our friends. This is our life now, not traipsing from town to town.” With difficulty he turned, the caked on dirt giving him problems. “Are you thinking about--you’re not going to leave are you?” Worried he’s going to be alone for the first time in his life.

Liz vehemently shook her head. “No, the only way I’d leave is if you came with me. You’re my brother Alex, we’re family. If you stay, so do I.” She assured him; her grip on the steering wheel tightened the tiniest bit. Just because she’s staying didn’t mean she liked it.

As vicious and unfeeling as Lydecker was he was right about one thing. Attachments made them weak. The only solid attachment she allowed herself was Alex. Everyone else she could drop as easily as yesterday’s paper and not feel the least bit guilty. She turned the Jeep into the Crashdown parking lot and cut the engine.

Neither sibling left the car, with their enhanced hearing they could pick up the sounds from the backroom. Their group of friends were in there watching or at least listening to a news report. A news anchor was sharing the top story of the month, the explosion at a hospital in Seattle. A month, it’d been a month since she and her brothers and sisters planned an attack on a Manticore base.

However the news and radio reports all said it was a hospital. Only a few select people knew different. Instead of heading home like Alex wanted to a week after the planned mission Liz managed to convince him to stay a few more weeks. She was desperate to find Zack and break him out. Hopefully she could get Max’s body as well but that, although it pained her to admit, wasn’t necessary.

Eventually Alex convinced her that there was nothing else they could do and it was time to go home before their friends began to question their absence. “At some point we’re going to have to go inside Liz.” Alex teased.

“We’ll go up the fire escape and change upstairs. There should be some of your clothes in my bottom dresser drawer.” She told him. “If we walk in looking like Dirt Boy and Mud Girl they’re going to have questions.”

“And they won’t have questions when we show up with all these cuts and bruises?” Before they left Logan Cale, Max’s friend, talked them into doing one last favor. They helped out the S1W, a group Logan hooked up with to help with their cause. To make a long story unbelievably short their favor involved getting them into a warehouse that kept a lot of private files. Alex and Liz waited outside taking care of the ten or so guards, since it rained the night before dirt became mud and the transgenics while dealing with guards rolled around in it.

Alex sighed and opened his passenger door; Liz followed suit and the two cautiously but as quickly as they could with the dried dirt hindering their movements climb up her ladder to her balcony. He went to the guestroom after grabbing some of his clothes and took a shower while Liz did the same in her bathroom. Soon they would have to face their friends and she was not looking forward to that.

Manticore

Renfro rewound the tape and pushed play. She’s viewed the security tape ten times and each time her anger receded. X5-711 had been missing since the escape of 09’ along with the others but he seemed to have an exceptional ability to not be found. Not once had another X-series come across a trace of him or his older sister X5-931. After the great escape they disappeared off the face of the Earth, until a month ago.

711’s face was clearly seen in the footage, unfortunately it cut off before it caught his accomplice. Although if she were the betting type she’d put money on it being 931. The knock she had been waiting for finally came. “Enter.” Her voice cold and sharp.

X5-494 opened the door; he’s accompanied by two guards on either side of him. He stood at attention and waited for his orders. From what the guards told him last week, he’s going to be paired with the newbie and ex-escapee 452. Didn’t quite know how to feel about that, she’s easy on the eyes but she’d been on the outside for years, he had no clue what kind of diseases she may have.

“494, I have an assignment for you. It’s undercover, which you seem to excel at. Quite recently we managed to get a visual on X5-711. He is a high school student at West Roswell High in New Mexico. It is likely that his sister 931 will be there as well but that is not a guarantee. You are to go to Roswell, New Mexico and become a high school teacher there. This is a capture mission; we want him and if 931 is there, alive. You’re assignments name is Alexander Whitman.”

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

Queen Fee
Jensen Lover 37
Taniapretender
polar vixen
aussietrueblue
jamy21
Ellie
orphyfets
KiaraAlexisKlay
Sternbetrachter
Roswellgurlygirl16
alizaleven
Luna_Seer
bip

Thank you for all the feedback, it was wonderful to read.

A.N. I made a oops on the date in the prologue, it's actually 2020 and I put 2021.

Chapter 1

30 Minutes Later

Showered and clean from the pounds of mud she scraped off her body Liz entered her bedroom with a towel around her mid-section. Alex was lounging on her bed waiting for her. “Don’t start with me Alex.” What he wanted to talk about was clearly displayed on his face. For someone who got high marks in deception he’s either losing some his training or she’s been around Alex so often she could read him as well as he could read her.

From below she could clearly hear the reports continuing; the genetics lab they destroyed was turned into a children’s hospital, the lives lost were turned from scientists and soldiers to children and parents. Manticore always found a way to cover up their bases.

“I don’t understand why you’re pulling the plug on your and Max’s relationship. When you left him in that cave he called Maria—who called me. He said he wants to be with you not Tess.” They hadn’t spoken of anything Roswell related from the second that they got the call from Zack ordering their help.

“You know why Alex.” She slipped on a pair of underwear and blue jeans. “Max deserves to be with someone that can be with him without worrying that they will leave him in a instant to storm a military base to rescue fellow transgenics.”

“That’s not good enough.” He shook his head not rising from the bed. “I'm with Isabel and that worry is still hanging over my head.” Alex verbally cornered her; he wanted to hear Liz say it.

“How about when I go into heat I practically try to rape him…” Alex opened his mouth to argue but Liz beat him to it. “I know-I know, he’s willing so technically it wouldn’t be rape. But I have no control, I could crush his bones.” They hadn’t done anything yet but not for her lack of trying. Dreaded heat kicked in and she was a slave to the animal lust. The only male safe around her was Alex, she sensed he was blood, family and instantly rejected him as a possible mate.

He still stared at her—that’s not the true reason. Yes, it was a small portion of it but not all of it. Liz sighed, “Is ‘I don’t love him’ a good enough reason?” Now that’s what he wanted to hear. He’s suspected for months that her love for Max wasn’t the soulmate love Maria always spoke of. “I do love him as a friend, I confused friendship for I-wanna-be-together-forever love. Tess can love him like that.” She shed the towel and put her bra and shirt on.

As if she suddenly got that he knew all along the amount of emotion she felt for Max she lifted her gaze to the ceiling and chuckled without feeling. “And you knew all along.” Liz sighed shaking her head.

“Guilty. Now I can tell Isabel with the utmost honesty that you don’t love him like you should and are breaking the relationship off before either of you get to much more invested and end up hurting each other to a larger degree.” Alex grinned. He hated lying to Isabel and now that Liz had spoken his suspicions out loud it’ll be easier for her to say it to the others and to Max.

Liz rolled her eyes, sat on the bed and slipped on her shoes. “You’re Isabel whipped you know that right?” She teased.

Alex stood from the bed, “Damn proud of it too. Not only does it ensure I live for another day it also gets me a hot make out session with the blond bombshell.”

“Ok, way too much information.” She lifted her wet hair into a ponytail and stood joining Alex by her bedroom door. “Friendly note—don’t tell me about kissing Isabel. Don’t need to hear about where your tongues been hanging out.”

Alex copied her eye-roll perfectly. “Come on, we got friends still down there watching TV when they should be welcoming us home.” He wrapped his lanky yet muscular arm around her shoulder guiding her toward the front door that would lead them to the Crashdown backroom.

Although they were biologically brother and sister they had different adoptive parents. They were found together but the Parker’s only wanted one child. When it was discovered they were brother and sister the Parker’s went to their friends the Whitman’s who had also been looking for a child to make their own. They fell in love with Alex and adopted him, while the Parker’s adopted her.

At first it was difficult to be apart from Alex but as they grew up and threats became practically non-existent it got easier. When the Parker’s and Whitman’s enrolled them in school they put the brother and sister in the same grade. The adoption agency didn’t know who was older or younger so they wrote on their files that they were twins.

No one in school understood why the two new kids gravitated towards each other immediately. For some odd reason neither the Whitman’s nor the Parker’s mentioned Alex and Liz true relationship. They only spent time with each other that first year; it wasn’t until the next year that Maria joined their little circle.

Alex opened the front door and they descend the stairs into the Crashdown’s backroom. Isabel, Max, and Maria were reclining on the couch enraptured by the TV, Michael was leaning against the lockers, and Jim and Nasedo were standing close to the back door. Tess was no where to be found, and Kyle probably wasn’t back yet from football camp. Maria glanced up and saw her two best friends.

“Oh my God you’re back.” She leapt up from her spot and hugged the siblings. Liz grimaced at Maria’s squeeze; it was so quick Max wondered if it was his imagination.

“Liz? Are you all right?”

“Yeah Max I'm fine why?” She shrugged her shoulders. Maria touched a sore rib, one that had been constantly kicked by the guard that surprised her while she was busy with two others. It’s healing fast but was still unbelievably tender.

“Nothing.” He shook his head; maybe it was his imagination.

“How was Florida and Camp Dork?” Maria knew exactly where the two have been this summer but none of the others did nor would they ever. Transgenics had managed to stay out of the media and away from the public eye.

Alex rose an eyebrow at her ‘Camp Dork’ comment, interesting name. “Camp was fun.” He started to tell them more but Isabel embracing him cut off anything he was going to say. “Oh now this I missed.” He refrained from reaching down to grab her shapely behind.

While Alex and Isabel caught up on lost weeks Max used the opportunity to move close to Liz. “I missed you Liz.” He whispered.

“Oh, umm—I missed you too Max.” All it took was a brief brush of his hand in comfort to make her wince. The touch, if his expression was a clue, meant far more to him than it did to her. She needed to let him know nothing could ever be between them again.

“Liz—what is it?” Why was she cringing at his touch? Did he disgust her now? No, that couldn’t be it, Liz wasn’t like that.

Alex spared Liz a glance. There’s no mistaking the look, ‘tell him, let him know once and for all’. He nodded only slightly before turning back to Isabel. Hopefully Max wouldn’t say something that Liz couldn’t resist. She may have her mind set on breaking up with him for good but to avoid a scene she’d bend to his words. He hoped that she took him upstairs that way she’d be less likely to give in.

“Max. We need to talk. But not here. Upstairs?” Alex visibly sighed; Liz was on the same wavelength as him. Max barely nodded his agreement when she turned and hurried back up the stairs that two minutes ago she came down. Max ran to catch up, she’s moving awfully fast and he’s out of breath by the time he reached the top.

“What did you want to tell me?”

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

A.N. Alec is in the chapter. Yay! He wasn’t originally in fact at first he wouldn’t make an appearance till chapter 4 and even that was looking to be a small part. However this chapter was really skimpy, a little over a page, and seemed like something was missing and than it hit me. Alec! So hope everyone enjoys.

Chapter 2

“Liz?” Max stared at her with worry when she didn’t answer him. “What did you have to tell me?” He placed his hands on her shoulders massaging the tense muscles.

His firm hands and nibble fingers dug into her sore muscles causing some pain, but mostly relief. Even when he wasn’t using his gifts he’s able to heal. Reluctantly she backed away from the soothing touch and steeled her nerves; she had to do this. “Umm, this isn’t easy Max.”

“Whatever it is just tell me. We’ll work it out.” He swore.

Why did he have to be so understanding? Couldn’t he have one of his moments when he’s selfish and negative? Of course not, he had to be sweet and sensitive to her needs. “Ok, I'm going to just say it.” It’s like ripping off a band-aid quick and relatively painless. “I don’t love you Max, and we’re not getting back together—ever.” Oh she’s such a bitch. It’s said that finding flaws in one’s self can be difficult but in this case even she knew how bitchy and cold she was toward him.

Max lost his boyish grin. The pain in his eyes ripped at her heart. Emotions played out on his face like a slideshow. She’d see a brief glimpse and then it’d be gone as if it’d never been there.

“I'm sorry Max, you deserve someone that can love you the way you love them.” Liz tried to tell him but he turned away putting his back to her.

That seemed to be a common blunder people made when it came to her. They thought she wouldn’t pose a threat but were sadly mistaken when she either killed them or escaped without making a sound. Alex’s special ability was blending in, staying out of sight, while hers was escaping from any situation. Of course that didn’t extend to matters of the heart, her transgenic training abandoned her on that front.

“But I love you Liz.” He turned back around. “I want you to be the girl that loves me back.” Max argued. He couldn’t accept that she didn’t love him. They were soulmates, he felt her.

“I can’t be that girl. I'm not that girl.” If she didn’t care about him she’d have vanished by now or worse case scenario snapped his neck. She wasn’t good at dealing with these personal feelings. Disappearing and killing didn’t involve these irritating affections, at least than she could blame her transgenic side for her ruthlessness but this—this was all Liz.

“Yes you can be. We’re good together, great even. Why are you saying these things?”

Sighing she leaned against the wall. “Because they’re true Max I can’t stay in a relationship with you because I don’t love you. This isn’t something that’s going to change…” Max shook his head violently, abruptly leaving from the apartment.

Alex rose his head from Isabel’s and saw Max hurry down the stairs. He heard the conversation, Liz was being cold and Max wasn’t listening. He could hear the moment Jondy, Liz’s transgenic side, began to show herself. When Max turned his back on her to sort out his jumbled thoughts

How did he know he turned away from Liz? He heard the footsteps; his special hearing certainly came in handy. Jondy hated and loved when people turned their back to her. Hated because she didn’t like it when anyone thought she was harmless and loved it because it gave her a way to escape or kill.

Jondy and Jax, his transgenic side, were the perfect team. He’d be the best at keeping them out of sight, but if by the slightest chance they were caught she could get them out.

“Max?” Isabel stopped him from leaving. At the top of the stairs Liz slowly descended the stairs one at a time.

“Let me go Isabel, there are some things I have to deal with. I can’t do it here.” He broke out of his sister’s grip; he couldn’t leave the Crashdown fast enough.

Isabel turned a hateful gaze to Liz. “What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything that didn’t have to be done.” Her voice was weary but cold.

“What does that mean?” She advanced on Liz; she’d get to the bottom of why Max looked like he was hit by a Mac-Truck not once but twice.

“That would be none of your business. I'm sorry. It’s between Max and me. If he wants to tell you fine but you’re not getting the reason out of me.” She left the backroom, went to the front, poured herself a coke than went back upstairs.

Maria immediately followed, not only did she want to know what happened but she wanted to catch up with her friend. They’d been gone for two months; there was a lot the two friends needed to fill the other in on.

Isabel whirled toward Alex. “Can you believe that? She obviously breaks my brother’s heart and than says it’s none of my business?”

“Technically it’s not. What happened between them is their business, we should respect that.” Oh, that would not get him make out points, if anything that were likely to take them away.

Frustrated with her boyfriend she huffed from the Crashdown. Alex winced, why didn’t he tell Iz the truth about why Liz split from Max. He told Liz he’d tell her, so why did it feel like he was betraying his sister’s trust by spilling the beans? It could be because it’s still fresh for her, or call him crazy but the whole she’s his sister thing could be it also.

“Women.” Michael smirked. “They’re nuts.”

Alex nodded. “Exactly.”

~*~*~*~

He wasn’t due to arrive in Roswell for another day, the teacher he was supposed to replace wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow afternoon. Even now Manticore had a tracking device on him and his car so he would be up to date on any changes.

When he got his assignment from Renfro he couldn’t have been happier, not only was he able to get out of the base for a while he didn’t have to be paired with 452. She was hot, no doubt about that and if she weren’t so hostile he wouldn’t mind being her breeding partner but the fact was she’s hostile. His treasured manhood thanked the platinum blond bitch for the reprieve.

Unfortunately for one of his unit’s male’s they got paired with her. 494 relished going to back to the base after he captured 711 and find out how he handled the escapee.

Tossing the burger wrapper from one of the many fast food joints that survived the pulse out of his car window he wiped the grease on his dark green cargo pants and took one of the three files he carried. Because time was of the essence Renfro only gave him an overview of his mission she expected him to read up on the rest.

The teacher he was disposing of was Alec Spencer, English teacher and Physical Education teacher. According to the schedule he would work English in the mornings and PE in the afternoons. The reason for him taking the two jobs wasn’t given but the reason those two jobs were open were. The last English teacher was pregnant and on maternity leave for the entire school year, while the PE teacher showed too much interest in the teenage male students he was teaching.

Manticore earlier that day set up a home situation for him when he arrived. Everything he had now had the teacher’s name on it, birthday, social security, anything and everything he would need to make people believe he was who he said. It didn’t take much to fool people.

He turned on the tracking device and saw that Alec Spencer was right on schedule. As soon as it gave him the location of his first target it went out, damn satellite. While it was out he started his car again and continued on his journey toward Roswell.

From the file he had been reading Alexander Whitman was the second top student in his class. The person in front of him was an Elizabeth Parker. If she weren’t in the same grade as Whitman she’d be a good candidate for his sister. Ninety-nine percent of the documents had been erased after the pulse hit even in barely touched Roswell; he tried to find information about Whitman’s adoption but couldn’t find anything or if any other children had been adopted around that time.

Although Parker didn’t seem a likely candidate he’d keep an eye on her. The adoption agency could have simply placed them around the same age and assumed everything else from there. He’d be crossing the border from Washington into Oregon in ten minutes; he’d get to Roswell by tomorrow afternoon no problem.

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

Jensen Lover 37
orphyfets
alizaleven
Sternbetrachter
Ellie
Queen Fee
aussietrueblue
jamy21

A.N. Love the feedback, it helps light a fire under my butt to finish (or start) a chapter. Sorry no Alec in this chapter, but I promise he will be in the next one.

Chapter 3

“Liz?” Maria knocked on her bedroom door, she contemplated not answering or telling her long time friend to leave her alone but she couldn’t. Who better to help her deal with this than Maria?

“Come on in.” She replied. When she came back upstairs she started to unpack her single suitcase, all she brought were three “outfits” the rest of the space was taken up by weapons. Sector and Border Police hardly if ever searched bags manually; they had too many people passing through hourly to do that. And to do it by computer—in this day and age was wishful thinking.

Maria opened the door, plopped onto the bed and waited. Liz knew what she wanted, what she’s waiting for, explanations, stories, secrets only she would be privy too. It always became an inner struggle for her to figure out what to tell Maria and what to keep private.

The blond already knew about transgenics, Lydecker, the basics of what she and Alex could do. But she didn’t know about all their siblings, didn’t know about the murders she’s committed, about the lives Alex had saved by stopping her from killing them. Maria knew the least amount of information possible. It was the best thing, she protected Maria by keeping her out of ninety-nine percent of their dangerous lives and Maria was happy because she knew things no one else in their group did.

“What do you want to know about first? Max or Alex and my trip?” Liz finally spoke, might as well give her an option.

“Max first, the other stuff I'm curious about but I can wait.” Maria got comfortable as she watched Liz take out the various weapons placing them behind the wall where she kept her weapons safe.

The brunette shrugged. “We broke up.” That wasn’t nearly enough information to satisfy the curiosity of the quiet gossiper. Maria was one of those gossip people, that admittedly irritated her to a certain extent, but she’s not an obvious one. Not like Pam Troy, instead she’s subtle when she dropped a name or tidbit. Could be why she got all the best gossip first.

“And? You two technically were broken up. How’d you become more broken? Last Max told me he was jonzing to get back with you.”

“I came up here to tell him we’d never be together again. While he wanted to get back together. Unfortunately he and I don’t—we don’t gel. He’s an alien; I'm a transgenic. What happens the next time he’s captured, or if I have to go save a sister or brother?” Her friend thought she had one more brother, Zack, and a sister, Maxie, but no more than that.

“This might be stupid bringing it up but why not tell Max about your past? Tell him who you are, who Alex is, you accepted the fact that Max is an alien after he told you.” She pointed out.

Liz closed her eyes; Maria and even Alex to a degree had been hounding her to tell the others about their specialties. Alex wanted Isabel to know so she wouldn’t hate him if he suddenly disappeared and didn’t come back. While Maria thought if Max and the others trusted them with their secret it’d only be fair to share their secret.

She on the other hand hated the thought of telling them let alone actually doing it. One secret revealed didn’t mean they got a small peek into who she was. What good would it do anyway? Would they really sneak into a heavily guarded base to rescue her or Alex? Liz didn’t see that happening.

“I'm not telling them Maria. And they didn’t tell us, I was shot and Max opened the door to be questioned.” The soft click of her weapons safe closing added an extra finality to her statement.

She heard footsteps on the stairs. The conversation stopped with a single raise of her hand. Ears perked up evaluating the almost silent fall of shoes on the hardwood floor. Immediately she recognized the rhythm, Alex was coming up the stairs. She listened closer; the others were leaving the Crashdown, some she assumed to follow Max, others who knew where.

“Hope you know I gave up quality make out points to protect your reason for breaking his heart.” He announced his presence. “Isabel is quite likely to never let my tongue in the vicinity of anything that is on her body.” He enjoyed the disgusted expressions on their faces. They hated hearing about intimate details going on in his love life. Revenge for all the times he had to hear about the way so-and-so kissed.

“Why didn’t you tell her? You said you would?” Guilt stabbed at her, she hated when Alex protected her like that. He's not supposed to protect her, she’s the older sister, it’s her job to protect him, not the other way around.

He shrugged. “You had a reason for not telling her, figured I’d respect that. Family is more important than a girl I'm currently seeing.”

“You’re more than seeing her, Isabel is the only girl you’ve dated for more than a week.” Liz reminded him.

His sister’s right. Longest relationship he had was a week and that was simply because of fantastic sex. That week they hadn’t left her motel room, plus she was an older woman. That week could have gotten him tons of reputation points at school—if anybody knew who he really was—and if he were the type to blab about sexual encounters.

“Ok she’s more important to me than any other woman I’ve been with.” Alex admitted to them. “Bottom line though, family is more important.”

“Besides it’s not like Max won’t tell Isabel when she gets him to crack.” She pushed her now empty suitcase under the bed. “Anyway wouldn’t she hate me less if she knew that I broke up with him now when I realize I don’t love him as opposed to years down the line? By then we’d probably have a life, be far more connected, maybe have kids.”

“Doubtful, you broke up with her brother—she’s going to hate you regardless. If she broke up with me for that reason would that make you less likely to want to kill her?” He questioned. Might as well put it into context for her. Eyes sank to the floor, nope it wouldn’t.

“For someone who’s told us that she doesn’t love the man from outer space you sure have thought about a future with him.”

Liz leaned against her bedroom window and thought about what Maria said, of course she thought about a future with Max. That’s what happened when you loved someone. As laughable a notion as that was she believed it at the time. Lydecker would be so disappointed in her.

Transgenics don’t fall in love, they squash it, leave it bruised and broken beneath their combat boots. Heaven forbid if they dared to test the heart in a love challenge. As a young child she heard stories of a transgenic teen falling in love with a scientist at Manticore. Oh Deck tried to keep it quiet but it managed to reach their ears. Being the caring, loving, and heartwarming man he was he killed them.

“I thought about it yes but it doesn’t mean anything.” Sighing she picked up her dusty leather jacket. I'm going to go, I’ll be back later tonight.” She slipped out the window, climbed over the wall, and jumped when she reached the middle of the ladder. Next stop—the desert.

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

Sternbetrachter: Nope Isabel doesn't know about the one-week-stand, it's highly doubtful she'll ever know. That'll probably be a secret he never tells her.

Jensen Lover 37: Nope no Alec in the desert...yet. He will be arriving in Roswell soon though.

Roswellgurlygirl16: There was Alec in Ch 2 and a little bit of Alec in this chapter.

Queen Fee: Yep, Liz is goin' to the desert...but no Alec there. I was thinking about that but I really didn't want her out in the desert for ten hours.

aussietrueblue: I'll keep em' comin'. Alec does make a small appearance in this part though.

orphyfets: Be ready to feel even worse for Alex in this chapter...at least at the beginning.

jamy21: In a future chapter you'll find out how Maria found out about transgenics but not yet.

Ellie: As of now I have no idea how their friendship is going to come out I have a couple different scenerio's in my file and none are jumping out at me saying 'Pick Me'.

demonyte: *hands you drool bucket* Don't want anyone to slip and fall. Teacher Alec is going to be so fun to write.

alizaleven: Thank you, so happy you're loving it.

bip: Two words: Thank you.

tiredmuse: That brother/sister bond is going to be put through a lot of issues. Got a whole lot in store for those two separately and together.

A.N. So no one gets confused I sometimes refer to Liz as Jondy. Once again thank you so much for the feedback. It certainly got my muse handing me ideas left and right and even gave me the motivation to write two chapters last week (this one and Ch 5) along with starting Ch 6.

Also I'm not completely sure about the story line I've chosen for Liz. While I love it and have truck loads of ideas for it I wasn't sure if this was the direction I wanted to take her. Because it will take her in a darker direction, not evil just has more shadows hidden away. But I think it'll make her character more interesting. So I hope the path I've put Liz on won't push people away.

Chapter 4

Alex watched as she hurried from the room, instinct always won out. When she was pressured she took off, when she was scared she took off, when she broke a nail she took off—okay that last one was an exaggeration but bottom line, Jondy took off. So far she’d always come back, but there’d be a point when she wouldn’t. Her favorite place to go was the top of the rock formation out in the desert. Liz went to one of the three tallest rocks and did whatever she did up there. Even he wasn’t privy to that secret.

“Why does she do that?” Maria asked. “I hate it when she does that, I can never get the final word.” Sitting up she crossed her legs, “So what happened in Seattle?”

He didn’t take his gaze from the window, would this be the time Jondy didn’t come back? “Umm, Maxie was killed and Zack captured, Liz wanted to go in after them but I stopped her.” Did she hate him for keeping her from saving their two siblings? Thankfully Syl and Krit made it through the mission fine but that didn’t cease the hurt of losing two others.

Horror choked in Maria’s throat. “Oh God Alex.” She got off the bed and held her shaking friend. “I'm so sorry.” The soft stroking hand comforted Alex. “Do you want to talk about it? I make a great listener.”

He shook his head, he couldn’t talk about it, the images were still fresh in his mind. Plus he wasn’t keen on lying to Maria. If he told the events than he’d have to mention Syl and Krit, his other brother and sister. Although not blood they’re still family. Than he’d have to tell her about the rest of his eight brothers and sisters. Maria would be hurt and Liz would be made at him for telling her.

Reluctantly he moved out of her arms. “I’ll be ok. Lydecker—he umm actually tried to help us up there. He didn’t want anyone messing with his kids. It was strangely paternal.” He chuckled painfully.

“Paternal my ass, he just didn’t want anyone to get their hands on you and make you something that he didn’t want. He didn’t want someone else taking credit for you four.” Maria argued.

“Preachin’ to the choir here Maria. He’s not any kind of a father figure but for the first ten years our lives he was it. The one we looked to for orders.” There was so much that Maria didn’t know, out of the entire puzzle that was there lives she knew a piece and the four thousand nine hundred ninety-nine pieces were still in the box.

She didn’t even know how old they really were. The adoption agency got it wrong, made their ages to be seven but in actuality he was nine, Liz was ten. Jondy the youngest of the eldest four, and he the youngest of the middle four kids had the same base DNA, they had the same parents. Manticore wanted to see how two biological siblings would act. They got a lot of surprises those first ten years.

Alex saw the clock. “Crap, I gotta go. My parents are going to be worried about me. Wanna come? Mom’s making one of her famous dishes.”

“Oo, you mean the chicken with mozzarella and tomato sauce?” Maria grinned, there’s a reason why it’s famous, it’s fantastic.

“Yep and my favorite spud’s.” Mom made him mashed potatoes and added cream cheese, sour cream, some various herbs and spices, and paprika sprinkled on the top. Didn’t sound too appetizing but your mind changed once it hit the tongue.

“I'm so there.” She locked Liz’s bedroom window and followed Alex out.

Rock Formation; 6:45 p.m.

She’d been out there for almost three hours. When she came out there she lost all track of time. Nothing penetrated her calmed mind. Dust flew around on the desert floor as if searching for someone to play with.

In forty-eight hours she’d be twenty-one years old. But then why on her adoption papers did it say she’s seventeen and would be until July of next year? The adoption agency got it wrong, way wrong. Alex suggested they not correct them and keep quiet about their actual ages, it would all work into his plan of blending in.

When her entire unit was formed Lydecker split them up into three small groups; they were still a whole unit of twelve but also a smaller unit of fours, the eldest, middles, and youngest. Oddly enough she didn’t remember much of their lives in Manticore…she knew she had been there, she remembered her siblings but not most of the happy memories; they're in there she just couldn't get to them. She remembered training—no, that wasn’t entirely true. She didn’t remember one special kind of training at all, she knew what it was, what she had to have done while in there but what actually happened she couldn’t remember.

She and her three older brothers and sister, Zack who was fourteen, Tinga who was twelve, Zane who was eleven, and then her at ten were the guinea pigs for the special training. Liz shivered at the memory, thankfully from what little she recalled she got the least of it, Zack and Tinga got the most of that training.

Manticore had been testing that training with them and once completed Lydecker would make the decision if any of his other kids would partake in those exercises. It was no secret that ‘Deck hated the program, when he’d check up on her and the others he’d apologize for not being able to protect them.

Because they were designed to excel at everything they excelled at their special training too. She vaguely recalled them bringing in two male Commanding Officers and two female scientists of the base as their assignments. Fortunately that was all she could recall, over the years the memories of acts forced upon them hid behind a wall that she couldn’t penetrate. But she did remember one thing with blinding clarity; the smell of the one Tinga was assigned to. A spicy aftershave and an undercurrent of blood.

To this day she couldn’t stand those smells combined or separate. Probably why her main method of killing was snapping necks. No blood that way. She’d never smelled those two together since and had no desire too. After the training sessions though, Alex would crawl from his cot, sneak into hers and hold her while she cried. Outside that moment she couldn’t and wouldn’t cry but when it was the two of them she allowed her walls to crumble. But in the light of day the walls would be up, ready to receive the beating of emotions till night fell again.

Despite everything, no matter how screwed up Manticore was—being in there made life easier. Sure there were missions, training, assigned eating times, assigned everything but she knew her purpose. Aliens weren’t threatening to take over the world…they still weren’t now but with the Royals here it was only a matter of time.

Michael, Max, Isabel, and Tess were the Royal Four of some distant planet. Blew her mind when she heard it, gave her an out though, now if she wasn’t at a group meeting she could say it was awkward to be around Max. She’d be saving them both unwanted heartache. It beat telling the group that her Dad had sent her on an errand, there were only so many errands before people began to question.

Back in Manticore none of the alien stuff was brought into their reality. Who knows it might have been at some point but at that moment it was simply transgenics. Her cell phone vibrated against her hip, hard to believe that the phone still worked with all the abuse it had to put up with. “Hello?”

“Ms. Parker, this is Congress Woman Whittaker would you be available to come in for an interview tomorrow afternoon.” She’d completely forgotten about the application, once Zack came to get her and Alex the life she built there locked itself away in a corner of her mind.

“I’d definitely be available, what time?” Only finding it a little odd that the Congress Woman was calling her personally. The secretary could be out or fired.

“How about after lunch, say around 1:30?”

“Perfect, I’ll be there. Thank you very much.” They said their good-byes and hung up. Staring up at the sinking sun Liz stood up from her perch on the rocks. Mom and Dad should be home by now, she better go before they sent a search party.

Highway; 7:15 p.m.

In another hour he’d be crossing through Sector 8 of Oregon and passing into Sector 9. The route he went was fairly deserted. Only the occasional small towns down a dirt road. He heard from an X5 that had a mission in Portland that the city was alive, clubs, hotels, and underground fighting. If he had the time he’d have checked it out but he had a schedule to keep.

Alec, he decided two hours again to start calling himself by the teacher’s name, wondered if this Alex Whitman was an X5. Renfro never saw his barcode and according to his high school records he’s only seventeen. She only assumed it was 711, she knew the culprit was a transgenic but which one she wasn’t certain. X5-711 should be turning twenty this year. Didn’t mean much though, the adoption agency could have screwed up.

For all he knew Renfro was sending him on a wild goose chase. If nothing else maybe he’d hook up with one of the chicks at the high school. Although it would be difficult to pick just one—why limit himself? Any girl that wanted an up close and personal study session would get their wish. There was plenty of him to go around.

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

demonyte
Ellie
jamy21
Sternbetrachter
Jensen Lover 37: Zack is still alive and they will see him again, but it will probably be awhile yet.
bip
aussietrueblue
KiaraAlexisKlay: Alex and Liz will be having a few heated arguments. Already know what two are going to be about but I can't say anymore than that...well I can I just don't want to ruin the surprise. Iz isn't my fav character either and if it'll make you feel better there will be an Alex/other pairing. However it might still end up Alex/Isabel at the end.
orphyfets
alizaleven
Queen Fee
Luna_Seer
carter13

A.N. Thank you so much for the great feedback. Love reading it. Hope you enjoy this all Alex chapter.

Chapter 5

Whitman Household; 8:30 p.m.

After dinner Maria went home and he locked himself up in his room. He had to call Isabel, smooth things over so she’d talk to him tomorrow. Alex understood why she was pissed, but that didn’t mean he’d sit back and let her stew in her anger. No, he’d charm, joke, and grovel his way back into her good graces.

It amazed him that he hadn’t tried to sleep with her yet. Maybe ‘tried’ was the wrong word, he’s certainly tried, he wouldn’t be a male of any species if he didn’t shoot for it. But he refused to push her, Isabel was too special to be one of his “normal” encounters.

Being a transgenic male came with its own baggage, where Liz went into heat and wanted to bang the nearest alpha male she found, he just wanted to screw. Okay, that sounded remarkably crass but it’s the truth. He’s programmed, for lack of a better word, to plant his seed into available fertile women. The exception being Liz, even if he wanted to he couldn’t. Physically impossible, he wouldn’t be able to perform. Manticore at least got that right.

Liz was the only female he was safe around, which helped when they locked themselves in a room together to ride out the storm. However sometimes the heat couldn’t be caught in time and nothing mattered except mating. Neither he nor Liz were virgins, contrary to popular belief. She never said anything to him but she smelled different sometimes like there were other men’s scent on her.

Their private lives remained that, private. They were kept quiet because of the partners they chose. None went to their high school or had any connections to their lives. Bed partners might come to the Crashdown once or twice but that was the extent of it.

Steeling his nerves Alex picked up the phone, time to be read the riot act. He couldn’t help shaking his head at how ridiculous he felt. He’d been trained to handle the hairiest of situations and he couldn’t even keep his heart from racing when calling Isabel.

Two rings passed before she finally picked up. “I don’t really feel like talking to you.” Ice froze the line between them. Max must not have told her yet. Definitely a bad time to call.

“I know that. But you’ve gotta look at this whole thing from my perspective. She’s like my sister, she told me about the situation in confidence and I can’t break that. If Max told you a secret would you go and shout it from the rooftops?” Alex asked.

“Of course not, but if you told me it wouldn’t be from the rooftops it’d be to me and me alone.” Isabel argued.

This would get them no where; he’d have to dig into the dreaded secret arsenal. No man ever wanted to admit use of this technique but sometimes it had to be done. “I’ll make a compromise. How bout I tell you what happened but I keep the reasons to myself?”

There was a pause at the other end while she thought it over. “How come you can’t tell me why?”

Okay, so she’s going to be that way today. “Liz has her reasons for what she did. She told me but it’d feel like betrayal if I told anybody…even you.” He hoped she’d understand. Thankfully a sigh came from her, did that mean she gave in?

“All right. I’ll just have to squeeze that part outta Max.” She let him off the hook.

“That’s my girl.” Even he, who’d been trained by the best to withstand interrogation came close to cracking, Max didn’t stand a chance against her.

Alex quickly told her that Liz broke up with Max for good. There’s no chance she’d ever go back to him and while to some extent that made Iz happy it also ticked her off. Mainly on her brother’s behalf than for any other reason. She felt that Max should be the one to break it off, Liz should have stayed till Max was done with her. While he believed the opposite, Liz finished with Max and took care of it.

No matter what, they’d take the siblings side, didn’t care who was right or wrong or if one had more right to dump the other. He and Isabel would forever be divided on that issue. “Let’s put the Max/Liz soap opera on the back burner. Would you like to accompany me to the movies tomorrow?”

“Depends, what’s showing?” She teased coyly. He knew she was kidding, she’d watch paint dry as long as she could spend quality time with him.

He went through the movie selections on his computer, they decided on the Fantastic Four. With the movie industry in a major slump since the pulse, only a few new movies were made a year. The movie theatres were forced to show films from the pre-pulse era. Which wasn’t all bad they got to view classics that were around before he was made.

“So I’ll see your radiant smile tomorrow?” He charmed. Never hurt to get another compliment into the conversation.

“You certainly will.” He could hear the grin in her tone, he loved seeing her smile. Isabel Evans’ could light up a city when that special curve of her lips appeared.

“Who’s my beautiful sunshine?” That’d get her to laugh, a sound he’d kill for.

And there it was, the ‘you’re so silly but don’t stop’ giggle. It’s music to his ears. “You’re such a goofball.” He could almost see her with a finger close to her mouth willing the smile off her face but it wasn’t working.

“See you tomorrow.” He whispered.

“Bye.” Isabel spoke breathlessly before hanging up.

Alex stayed up for another three hours working on hacking into government files. He had to try and find Zack and Maxie. Zack needed to be rescued and hopefully they’d be able to find Maxie’s body to bury her properly and not desecrate it like Manticore must have.

It’d take much longer than he hoped to find Manticore and it’s files. There wasn’t exactly a big banner saying ‘This way to Manticore website’. Didn’t quite work like that but thankfully he had tons of computer skills all thanks to his transgenic prison.

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

Jensen Lover 37
alizaleven
Ellie
orphyfets
KiaraAlexisKlay: Same here, I can call my little brother a dork but if anyone else does they have to answer to me. Doesn't matter if we fought only a minute ago I'll take his side even if he's in the wrong.
Sternbetrachter: Yes, there will be an Alex/other pairing. Doesn't mean it won't end up being Stargazer but there will be someone else paired w/ Alex for a little bit.
Queen Fee: Isabel won't be a bitch...most of the time. She will of course have her moments (as will others) but I'm not going to make her out to be vengeful (sp?) and mean.
jamy21

Thank you everyone for the fabulous feedback. Merry X-Mas and Happy Holidays, hope everyone has a safe holiday. Posting this now cuz I won't be posting next week.

A.N. A lot of Alec in this; sorry but no Liz/Alec interaction yet it will be in the next few chapters though. I’ve been writing and rewriting this part for a couple weeks and finally I'm satisfied with it. Hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 6

Next Morning; 3:40 a.m.

Staked out in the hotel parking lot behind some tall bushes, next to Alec Spencer’s car, 494 crouched scanning the property and inside the small room. Late last night Spencer decided he didn’t want to stop at a motel instead he hurried straight to Roswell. Forced him to hurry and get there before the teacher did. He barely made it.

Shouldn’t a non-transgenic be tired by now, this Spencer guy still hadn’t gone to bed. He’d been milling around for an hour fiddling with things. 494 hoped to wait till the teacher slept before he snuck in to kill him. The man who’d never done anything wrong deserved to go peacefully but if he didn’t conk out soon 494 would be forced to deal with it now.

Couldn’t allow him to contact anybody in this town. It’d be difficult to impersonate a man if they’d already met the actual man. For a brief moment he allowed himself to think about the man’s family and who’d miss him after he died.

He only got as far as thinking about his six other brothers and sisters before he shut his mind off to that kind of thinking. Those little insights into his life would only make killing the man that much harder. It could still be done but then pictures of his family would flash in his head, images he didn’t want or need.

To do this mission well he had to know everything about his life. Undercover Operatives studied Spencer for three weeks writing down his habits, his movements, any little thing that may be relevant, even his tone of voice for when he called siblings. Nothing was left out.

Most of the mannerisms he could ignore, no one in the city knew him. Manticore checked he was completely alone, no friends or family to speak of in the alien capital of the world. Spencer grabbed a set of car keys off the standard table in every hotel room. Shit, he was going out, he had to do this now.

Silently 494 went to the door, hid in the shadows and waited. It didn’t take long for Spencer to open the door, the second his back was turned 494 went for it. Pushing the teacher inside he made the kill. There was no ‘I'm sorry’ sentiments just a quick snap of the neck and a soft thud when the body fell.

Alec turned toward the front and shut it all the while searching the surrounding area making damn sure no one saw his murder. Time to get this cleaned up and cleared out.

5:10 a.m.

Impatiently he waited against the car, where the hell were they? He called them ten minutes ago, informed them of his whereabouts, what he had for them and how long it would take him to get to the destination and what happened they’re late. Typical.

A car engine sped a mile down the road. Vehicle going that fast could be one of three things, first the people he had to meet, two a cop chasing a perpetrator, or a teenage boy running from an angry father who caught him with his hand down his daughter’s pants. As the headlights came closer he was able to make out two men in suits; yep they were his guests.

If he had waited a minute longer he would have written a strongly worded letter to his superiors-superiors. Yea right and it would have gone something like this ‘This is X5-494, I'm apart of the experiments that you deny any knowledge of. And my superiors who you say you don’t know and who have no affiliation with your organization sent out men on an assignment you’ve never authorized or heard of, were five minutes late to a scheduled meeting time. It’s completely unprofessional and they are in need of a stern talking to. Thanks’.

That wouldn’t go over to well. The car slowed to a stop and the two late jerk-wads left the cool air-conditioned car. “Little late aren’t ya boys?” He couldn’t help if his irritation leaked out all over the place. That was a lie, he could help it but he didn’t really want to, he was going to show his frustration at them.

“You didn’t exactly give us a whole lot of time to get out here.” The blond haired lackey spoke in a deep Australian accent. Any question about why this guy got pick up duty was answered right then, if he couldn’t disguise his homeland from his voice on a simple stop and grab he wouldn’t get out in the field.

“You’re supposed to be on your toes. Ready to jump into action at any time…or in this case taking my trash back to Manticore.” He pushed the teacher’s glasses a little higher on his nose flipping the lackey off. “He’s in the trunk, clothes, information, everything he brought with him minus a few things I’ll need is in there, and here are his car keys.”

Alec tossed the keys to the second pick-up guy, an Asian man who he remembered seeing around the base on occasion. He quickly moved through his inner file cabinet, he was an Agent, injured on duty and sent in for light duty till he full recovered.

“Now if you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I have some preparing to do.” With a wave he ran toward the house Manticore set up for him while he was there. In a week school would start, he couldn’t wait that long for a 711 sighting. He’d have to go on a tour, find out the in’s and out’s of the town, he’d find 711 before school started.

6:30 a.m.

He stared up at the UFO crash landing through the building in front of him. With it’s blinking lights and neon strobes he came to the conclusion that this was a themed restaurant. Where on Earth would he get that idea? Who in their right mind would own this place? Alec adjusted the glasses, now with simple clear non-prescription lenses, on his nose.

Show time, he pulled open the door, a cheery bell greeted him and let a waitress know there was a customer. “Good morning sir. Table or booth?” A happy smiling girl of no more than fifteen waited for his answer.

“Booth please.” His presence didn’t cause anyone to raise an eyebrow or quirk a questioning gaze his way. Being a tourist trap the residence must see new people coming in and out of their town on an hourly basis. His arrival would just be one of the many in their minds.

Once he’s seated he looked over the menu, what was a Blood of Alien Smoothie? Alec decided to stick with the simple items on the menu, eggs, toast, and a cup of fake coffee. He wasn’t hopeful enough to believe that this place had honest to god coffee.

A few short moments later the same girl that seated him came to take his order. He ordered and waited for her to leave before he pulled out his cell phone. Renfro called while he made his way here, he’d hold off on calling her. No reason to call her out in the open.

Instead he listened to the message. According to reports Alex Whitman hung out here regularly. Here and the school would be the most likely areas he’d be seen. The cheery automated woman told him he had one new message, what the number was, and when it came in.

‘Alec Spencer, the appointment we set up for tomorrow has been cancelled. We will call to reschedule at a later date.’ Click.

That was short and sweet. Wonder what happened to make Renfro cancel a meeting. She wanted all the information on Alex Whitman as soon as possible, no waiting. The woman who took over Lydecker’s position wasn’t even the one supposed to meet with him.

Ten minutes later his breakfast came, he finished eating twenty minutes after he received his meal and was out the door by 7:10.

7:15 a.m.

The Crashdown door dinged with the next customer entering the busy restaurant. In a month the place would mostly be filled with locals but now it was mostly tourists. Alex could hardly wait for the town to be quiet again or as quiet as an alien infested town could be.

Maria spotting her friend sit up at the bar greeted him with a genuine smile, took his order, put it with Jose and sat next to him for a few minutes. “Thank your Mom again for dinner last night. The buttons on my jeans aren’t very thankful but my stomach wants to bow to her.”

“I’ll tell her.” In a couple hours he was to pick Isabel up. After fiddling around with his computer for four hours he decided it was time to pack up the ‘Look For Manticore’ mission and go to sleep. It wouldn’t do his relationship with his girlfriend any good if he fell asleep while at the movies with her.

TBC

Coming Up:

Chapter 7: Liz gets a visitor who doesn’t take ‘leave’ for an answer.

[Jezebel Jinx]

Well, I'm early. Sure nobody minds, love having a snow day. Of course it would have been nice if the college announced their two hour delay, or in my case no school because all my classes started before 10, before I left for school. So without further ado, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 7

7:40 a.m.

She’d been laying on her bed for the past three hours, not getting up, and trying not to think. No matter how hard she worked at blanking her thoughts she couldn’t. Unlike some of her other siblings she needed more sleep and had yet to get much of any, lack of sleep always made blanking out harder.

Images of Maxie, moments both in Manticore and that short day a month ago, flashed in her head. She failed her younger sister. Max was six months younger than Alex and the eldest in the youngest group of four from their unit.

Maxie’s eyes were always so expressive, she could never get the cold hard steel stare down, there was always some emotion that peeked through. It was her greatest weakness and greatest strength. A double-edged sword that warmed her siblings but irritated her superiors.

Tired of staring at the ceiling she turned over and curled up in the fetal position. Her sweet little sister--if Alex hadn’t stopped her she’d have raced after the younger version of Maxie and killed the little bitch, grabbed Max’s body, grabbed Alex and high-tailed it out of there. All that depended on if she would had been captured or not, but she wouldn’t have left Maxie behind.

In a way she was both angry and thankful to Alex for keeping her back. If she had killed Maxie’s clone then she’d be haunted by that face for years to come. The men and women she’d…disposed of already weigh heavy on her mind, she could only imagine how the spitting image of her younger…

“So how bout you tell me what the hell is going on?” A hard defensive voice broke through mazes of concerns and worries like sharp steel.

Quickly, but not inhumanly quick, she sat up on her bed. “What makes you think something is going on Michael?” Was he being delusional today? Michael stood there in black baggy jeans and his arms crossed over a black buttoned down shirt.

He stared at Liz; she looked at him with the perfect amount of confusion on her face. She wore a cream colored top that hugged the subtle curves of her waist that only added to her act of innocence and dark blue jeans that seemed custom made to tempt any man straight or gay. “Don’t play with me.”

“Not playing. Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She crossed her legs waiting for him to explain further. Maybe he hadn’t been laid in awhile, that could make anyone cranky.

“You were at the rock formations last night.” He confronted her. Liz didn’t bat an eyelash, he never thought she’d be such a great actress.

“Again not really seeing how this is such a big deal to you. Lots of people go out there to think for a little while. I just broke up with Max for good, wanted to make sure I made the right decision.” Hopefully he’d believe that and leave her alone.

“Yea right. You don’t go through with anything unless you know for sure that is what you want. We may not hang out that often but I know that much about you.”

She stretched her legs out wiggling her toes, hmm, she never realized how petite her feet were. “Listen, what business is it of yours what I was doing there. You don’t own the rock formation.” Michael’s species probably saw the funky looking form and picked it for it’s odd shape. If they lost the directions all they had to do was look for that shape and they’d be in business.

“Tell me what is going on.” He knew he sounded like a broken record but he had to make sure Liz didn’t pose a threat to his family.

“’Fraid you’re going to have to be a little more specific.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Lots of things are going on.” Liz ticked off the ‘events’ with her fingers. “I'm relaxing, Alex is taking Isabel to the movies today, Hollywood’s coming out with Terminator 5 tomorrow. Am I getting warm?” A new Terminator she couldn’t believe it, she’d have loved to see the deal Arnold Schwarzenegger made to be cloned for future action movies.

“How about how you got onto the formation?” Still she didn’t flinch.

Shit, if Michael saw how she got up there he knew she wasn’t normal, not in the human sense. No wonder he sought her out. She couldn’t show her fear, she couldn’t show her worry, she had to stay calm, no good ever came from panicking. “Climbed, like everyone else has to.”

“Yea you climbed. You climbed that formation like it was a speed bump.” He hated to use this phrase but in that case it’d fit. “What are you?”

Anger flared in her eyes. “Leave Michael.” She rose from her spot on the bed and leaned against her closed window. Being close to the outside gave a bit of calmness that would be put to good use here.

“No, not until you tell me.” He stepped further into the room, his Doc’s sound heavy on her off white carpet.

“It is none of your business.” Pain lanced her heart; this could be the end of any contact she had with the others. Should she leave? If she left what would happen to Alex? Her sweet innocent brother, she couldn’t leave him. He’d never killed anybody before, she always took care of that, if she left it'd be on him and she couldn’t do that to him. She had to stay, ride this out, and protect Alex.

“Try me.” He wasn’t giving up.

“What difference would it make if I told you? All you’d do is run to Max, Isabel, and Tess to tell them what was up with Liz.” That was not going to happen, not if she could help it.

“No, I’d help you and do my best to protect you.” Liz was apart of his family. He’d never admit it out loud but since she’s known about aliens she had proven her loyalty. Now it’s time he returned the favor.

For a few moments she didn’t speak, couldn’t really anyway with all this shock blocking her voice. “You don’t want to get involved with this. All it will do is bring trouble to you and everyone else that we know. Walk away from this, please.”

Michael grunted in frustration. “I am not leaving you to deal with this by yourself. If you don’t tell me I’ll figure things out on my own.”

Liz snorted in agreement, “Can’t argue with that.” Could she bring Michael into the fold? Didn’t look like she had much choice but she could knock him out and run…she hated that instant reaction to people finding out.

“Let me help you.”

Michael must really be worried if he offered help. That wasn’t fair, he helped a lot, but why did he have to be where she was last night. She was mad at herself for not sensing him, Lydecker would be disappointed. “If I tell you…and that’s a big if. You can’t breathe a word of this to anybody. When I say anybody I mean anybody, including your family. They have no business knowing what I am and what I do. Understood.”

He was silent for a long while, so long that she thought he’d say he didn’t agree to it. But Michael surprised her. “Deal.”

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

Queen Fee
orphyfets
aussietrueblue
Ellie
flyawayraven
jamy21
Luna_Seer
carter13
Jensen Lover 37

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I love reading it.

Chapter 8

“Excuse me? Did you say ‘deal’?” Liz didn’t expect him to go along with her conditions. “You heard the part where I mentioned not telling the others?”

“Yes, and I said ‘deal’.”

Let’s put it to the test. “Even if I'm handling a life or death situation? You’ll still keep your mouth shut around the others?” No way in hell he’d agree to that…

Michael shrugged. “Not a problem.” He spoke with such certainty and conviction that she actually believed him. She couldn’t have been so wrong about him, right? He was the type of guy that most of the could keep the others in the dark if need be but for a life and death scenario he would break from orders.

It took a few more minutes of staring at him before she made decision. The whole time he didn’t avert his gaze from hers. As if he knew she’d back out if he turned away first. “Ok. Have a seat.”

Liz waited for him to get comfortable before she began her story. “Have you ever heard of Manticore?”

“No, what is it?”

“Where I was made.” There she started, now all she had to do was finish. Unfortunately the finish line was so far away it couldn’t be seen yet.

“Made?”

“Yep. But unlike you I wasn’t made on another planet and sent here. I'm home-grown right here on planet Earth.” She smirked. “I'm a Genetically Engineered Soldier, made by the government to be sent out on missions. Various missions but mainly assassinations.”

“Holy shit.”

“You asked. Can’t back out now.” She leaned back awaiting his reaction.

“If I do you’ll kill me.” Michael didn’t even have to question it.

Without hesitating Liz confirmed his statement. “Yes I will. But you obviously knew that.” She laced her finger together keeping a watchful eye on him. Any sudden movement toward the window or door and he’s dropped. It be painful to live with, after all she’d known and was friends with Michael for a year, they’d been through a lot mostly Alien Abyss related, but she has killed to keep her secret…she could do it again.

“Don’t stop now, I'm already riveted.” He did the opposite of the way her thoughts headed. Instead he leaned back against the chair plopping his feet on the edge of her bed.

“Shoes off the covers.”

A thump of the two heavy shoes hitting the ground vibrated the bed a little. “Did Manticore now like having shoes on the bed.” He meant it as a joke but it backfired when Liz didn’t laugh.

“Manticore didn’t let us do a lot of things.” She smiled sadly. “It was a military base, as we grew up we were told how to stand, how to eat, how to kill, and most importantly to take orders and follow them precisely.” A stray thread from her quilt kept her attention. She hated talking about Manticore; it never failed to remind her what she was made for.

“You keep saying ‘we’. How many more like you are there?” Michael wondered.

“Hundreds.” Maybe she should start at the beginning it’d be easier. “Scientists, not sure who really came up with the idea, got to thinking ‘what if’-what if the military could send top of the line, elite soldiers that were small in numbers into battle and have none of them die. Instead of sending a hundred, they’d send ten, instead of losing some, they’d lose none.”

“Good idea.” He admitted. Michael could see the value of that, see the logic. It made sense.

“Very good idea…in theory. But now it comes down to how do they accomplish that? This is where they start experimenting.” She stared at her audience of one. “They needed these special soldiers to be superhuman, to do everything they hoped for.”

“How would they do that?” He was really getting into this.

“How indeed. The scientist mixed human and animal DNA and implanted an embryo inside a human woman. The first series were X1’s, they weren’t what Manticore was looking for so they were destroyed. It continued till they finally achieved their goal in the X5 series. That’s where I fit in.”

Michael leaned forward clasping his hands together. “What kind of animals did they use?”

“Various types. Shark, dog, chameleon, lizard, bat, but most of the X5 received feline DNA with a bit of other animals. The human DNA we have are all famous people in some fashion. Whether it be military strategists, geniuses, a person known for incredible beauty.”

“So let me guess you got some Einstein in you?”

“Not that I know of, although Manticore isn’t known for filling the puppets in on much. We were expected to be the best, smartest, excel at everything and fail at nothing. Lot of pressure to put on kids no older than fourteen. Adults hardly expect that from themselves.”

“Are there any other X5’s around here?”

The moment of truth, would she tell him about Alex? If she did then if something happened to her he could go to Alex for help it might be a good idea to tell Michael. “No, or at least I don’t think so.” Really she meant to tell him, in fact when she opened her mouth she intended to speak the truth. Could it be that she got so comfortable lying she did it without thinking? That was a thought she didn’t like.

The tall broody alien nodded believing her, after all she was telling him about whom she really was. Why would she lie about that now? “Okay, what else?”

TBC

[Jezebel Jinx]

Jensen Lover 37
jamy21
Ellie
Queen Fee
alizaleven
orphyfets
carter13
aussietrueblue

A.N. Thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback. As for the answer for when Liz and Alec will meet...it'll be next chapter. It was going to be this chapter but I almost forgot to write Alex's part. Hope you enjoy this part.

Chapter 9

Mall; 12:30 p.m.

“Alex look!” Isabel’s cheerful exclamation turned his attention away from scanning the crowd of potential threats, a habit he couldn’t break. A perfectly manicured and colored nail pointed to the happily barking puppies in the window.

He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end. Was it manly to hiss? He hoped so because he could feel the displeasure at the back of his throat. Enough of him was aware, thank the Blue Lady, that Isabel might question him on his strong non-human reaction to the innocent creatures bouncing back and forth.

“Lets go inside and pet them.” Recalling a childhood tradition Isabel told him about he agreed. Since she had been adopted by the Evans’ her mother would take her to the pet store every time they stopped by the mall.

“Dander, fur, allergies floating through the air—Manticore did a few things right, making them immune to various types of germ war-fare all the way to the common allergy. Upon entering the pet shop Isabel immediately dragged him over to the leaping, harmless, puppies.

“I’ll just hang by the cats if you don’t mind.” Alex swallowed hard, was it irrational to be scared by a puppy? Maybe. But the feline prowling inside him refused to calm.

She looped her arm through his keeping him next to her. “Does your fear of dogs extend to puppies too?” She hadn’t realized his fear ran that deep.

“A little yea.” Admitting it aloud confirmed his wimp status. Why couldn’t he tell his inner cat to settle the hell down and pet the puppies?

“Would it help if I were right there with you? I could hold the dog and you could pet it?”

Alex had told Isabel before he left for the summer, that dogs weren’t his favorite animal. When she inquired as to why he told her that he’d been bitten by one when he was a kid. The fear had been with him ever since. It wasn’t entirely a lie. Really it hadn’t been, a dog had bitten him, when he was six but it didn’t cause mind-numbing fear.

“Might help.” After all if she held the baby dog she’d be holding it to her chest. And there may be a chance to cop a feel with a completely different set of puppies. Who was he to pass up a golden opportunity?

Sure enough she held the little critter up against her soft pillowy breasts, cuddling and talking sweet to it. What he wouldn’t give to be that puppy at that instant. It took a moment for him to leave his fantasy and realize she was talking to him.

“It’s okay Alex.” She whispered not unaware of his predicament. There was a reason she wore a low-cut top today.

“Promise it won’t bite?” Who cared if the puppy bit him? He’d pet a pit-bull if it were that close to her chest. There were some things that were worth a mangled arm.

“I can guarantee it.” Isabel ruffled the soft coat, its tail wagged against her ribs and arm. The puppy stretched to reach Alex, begging to be petted and cuddled. “Oh look Alex he likes you.”

Gently he scratched the area behind its ear. Okay he was kind of good. Even his inner feline purred in his chest as if soothing the smaller creature. While massaging the puppy’s head his finger “accidentally” strayed brushing against the creamy swell of her breast. All right maybe it was a little on purpose but Isabel certainly didn’t mind. She even inched closer to his wandering finger.

For a moment the puppy and the sounds of the pet shop drifted into the back ground till they were the only ones left in the world. He couldn’t stop looking at her, admiring her. There’s so much more to her than her physical beauty, which she had plenty of.

He’d seen her handle fundraisers, made sure everyone gave at least some money. Isabel’s power of persuasion was legendary. If she wanted it bad enough she could talk a spoiled child into handing over their candy with a smile.

She’d greet new students warmly, charming and genuine, to the teachers and school faculty from the principal to the janitors. Everyone called her the Ice Princess; even he did before he became a part of them Alien Abyss. But nobody except certain people noticed the sweet warmth that showed in her every action.

“There are children present you two perverts.” Maria teased. She saw the couple through the pet store window groping in full view of mall-goers.

Isabel tensed slightly, enough to convey to Maria that the tall blonde still was uncomfortable around her. There were times when Maria got the sense that Isabel only tolerated her to appease Alex. She knew that assessment wasn’t completely accurate, Alex had been gone that summer and she had been friendly.

“Sorry didn’t mean to intrude or anything but you two were getting awfully close to nature channel material. And I don’t think the parents want their kids to get that kind of education.” Isabel smirked and loosened her tight muscles. She’d probably read too much into Iz’s body language. She was sure it came as a shock that she overreacted.

“Thanks.” She put the now whimpering puppy back in the pen. “Alex and I were going to have lunch would you like to join us?”

“Nah, gotta drop some packages off for Mom.” She shrugged.

“Thought you weren’t working today? Weren’t Liz and you hanging out doing whatever two girls by themselves do?”

“Yea but she called and cancelled. Said something came up about the interview scheduled today with Congress Woman Whittaker. But she didn’t stay on the line long enough for me to question her on it.” With a wave and an air kiss to Alex she’s off to deliver the last of the merchandise.

While the couple continued their walk through of the pet shop Isabel’s phone rang. It was her mother requesting her presence back home. Alex waited during the small argument between mother and daughter. A few moments later Iz came back and apologized saying she had to go home, Diane was waiting for her in the parking lot.

A hug and a peck later she was gone hurrying to the parking lot. Well, that date certainly took a turn toward frustrated. It had been the first time in a long time they were alone together and what happened, her mom called her home.

He left the pet shop making a sharp right toward the music store; maybe he could find a couple CD’s to add a couple more songs to the band. So far they knew one song well, if they wanted to play for the school they’d need some more tunes in their arsenal. He never made it to the record store though because a body slammed right into him.

Alex caught the distracted woman before she fell into a heap at his feet. “Tess?”

“Oh hey Alex.” She smiled politely. “Sorry for bumping into you but I'm in a hurry.” Tess left his grip and walked backward. “Later.”

“Hmm.” Alex shrugged his shoulders watching as she ran toward a computer store. What could be she be in such a hurry for? Deciding it wasn’t his business he left the mall to go home. Maybe he’d have time to look for more Manticore information.

TBC

Next Chapter: Liz goes out and meets a certain handsome someone.