Rock My World (AU,CC,MATURE) COMPLETE - 11/14/13

[mary mary]

Eve: I believe you may just br right.
Carolyn: i'm certainly hoping it's a good plan!

*!*!*!*!*!*

Chapter: 31

“Order up Michael” Liz smiled as she placed the meatloaf special order on the wheel and headed to the milk shake machine to make an alien smoothie for the lone diner in the front booth.

“Hey Liz, isn’t that the new deputy?” Jeff Parker asked as he pushed the swinging door open with his shoulder and made his way through the back door with a load of napkins in his hands.

“That’s him dad…have anything back there to make him sick?” Liz asked, causing her father to laugh at her attempt at being funny.

“Liz, even if I did I couldn’t do that, he could shut us down.”

“Well then, do a good enough job on him so that he won’t be able to shut us down. Besides dad, if no one else got sick where’s the proof?” And Liz giggled…

“Liz, you scare me sometime.” Jeff said as he stocked the supplies behind the counter with napkins.

“Don’t let her fool you Mr. P, she’s got a mean streak a mile wide.” Maria clipped as she put an order up on the wheel for Miss Topolsky who was also in the dining room.

“Looks like Roswell’s entire FBI force is out there for dinner tonight…”Michael added as he picked up the order slip from the wheel.

“Yep, think we should introduce them…that way they won’t have to eat alone.” Liz suggested.

“Why don’t you leave well enough alone Liz Parker?” Maria asked with a grin…

“Nope, it’s just too good to pass up.” And with that she headed over to Miss Topolsky and picked up her coffee and looked the new “guidance counselor” in the face and said…

“Come with me Miss Topolsky, our two new residents shouldn’t have to eat alone.” And with that Liz placed the coffee cup on the other side of Deputy Fisher’s booth and said.

“Hi… Deputy Fisher I believe? Allow me to introduce you to west Roswell High’s new guidance counselor, Miss Topolsky. Miss Topolsky, meet Deputy Fisher. Since the two of you are new in town and don’t know anybody I don’t think you should have to eat alone. I’ll be back with your orders shortly; enjoy your meal and each other. I’m sure you can find SOMETHING to talk about.” And with that Liz turned on her heel and headed to the pickup window for another table’s order.

“You are bad girlfriend.” Maria crowded her way into the window with Liz as they both smiled at Michael who just stood there shaking his head, a toothpick hanging loose from the left side of his mouth.

“Hey, why should they have to eat alone and then get together later to talk, saves time, trouble and aggravation…do it right here and now and get it over with; works for me.” Liz was on a roll as she nonchalantly threw her hands in the air while the others watched and were actually getting a kick out of it.

About that time Max and Kyle came in through the front door to take their half hour lunch break, well at least Max’s break, although Max did put Kyle to work re-stuffing the innerds of an alien mannequin for him and Jeff watched as Liz got this twinkle in her eye and Maria just rolled hers, she knew the girl was up to something.

“Max, sweetie, what a nice surprise…” She yelled across the dining room as she made her way over to him and Max stood there in shock…’what the hell’?

Liz all but scared the poor boy senseless as she wrapped her arms around his neck, stood up on her tiptoes and planted a great big kiss on his lips. For a second, and just a second it was, before it took Max to get into that great big juicy kiss Liz was planting on him and he about lost his equilibrium but he caught on quickly. His first real kiss and WOW!@#$!

Maria and Jeff stood there laughing while Michael, Kyle and the two FBI agents looked on in shock…Max just seemed to be getting into this nice surprise more and more as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer to him with the other arm… and suddenly Liz was right there with him and ‘OH.MY.GOD’. The stars were flashing royal for our young girl as Max opened their connection wider and wider and really got into it.

Finally, when they broke away the place was in a frenzy. Patrons were clapping all over the place and a happy Liz took a bow as she led a very confused, very happy Max to the back booth. Two FBI agents sat and watched in wonder. Whatever the hell these two had going for them they surely weren’t embarrassed to share it.

“Liz, what the hell’s wrong with you?” Kyle whispered in shock.

“Not a thing Kyle…those FBI agents are in booth one…DON’T look!” and she hit his shoulder. “Anyway they came in separately and I ‘introduced’ them to each other, stuck them together and now I’m giving them something to talk about. Nice touch… don’t you think?” And Liz winked at Kyle and then looked at Max…he was still a little stunned as he smiled up at her sort of in a stupor for lack of a better term, but what a stupor it was!

“Great touch Liz, we have to say goodbye to each other too. Right?” Max grinned…

Liz took out her order pad and wrote as she spoke aloud…

“Dessert: one kiss, ‘check’, good bye, one kiss, ‘check’…

“and one now for an appetizer” she leaned over into the booth, giving the people behind her quite a show in that uniform, and planted one smack on Max’s lips and said: “check!”

“And now what would you like to eat Max?”

Max almost said “you” but cleaned up his act slightly and ordered some fries and a cherry coke as he sat there in semi shock with a stupid grin on his face and Kyle just sat and shook his head.

Jeff Parker was watching the two agents as his daughter acted out her little scene for them and they seemed like the cat had both their tongues as they sat and watched the show…only problem was, for Jeff anyway, Liz was really enjoying her performance tremendously.

“Hmmmm, that didn’t look like an act to me.” Michael said through the window.

Maria grinned at her new friend… “Well, I don’t think it ended in an act Michael. I think we just witnessed the start of something really big here.” And then they both laughed. Yes, the start of something really big…little did they know!

*

“Deputy Fisher, did your “source” have anything to say about that?”

Dan Pierce watched the teenagers interacting with each other and shook his head…

“Not a word. It seems like they know each other pretty well there doesn’t it? Hardly looks like a kid that keeps secrets, he’s pretty straight forward when it comes to that girl” Dan remarked to his fellow agent.

“It certainly seems so and the rest of the kids in their group don’t seem too surprised at their actions either…they’re all pretty resigned to the fact that those two seem to be an item.”

Dan Pierce looked on, thinking out loud…

“It could be an act.”

“Well, that’s some act there don’t you think? No one’s surprised by this act so I would say that it must be an ongoing play; what do you say?”

“Hmmmm, you could be right. We’ll find out where it all leads eventually. I’m sure you’ll be able to find out something from the kids at school.”

“Well, I’ll check the gossip ring but that’s going to be a little dangerous asking things like that right off the bat. Give me time to plant myself before I go weeding out the “love life” of W. Roswell’s star students.”

“Okay, but don’t take too long. I want out of this hayseed town as fast as I can get out.”

“It’s not that bad…come on, lighten up.” Kathleen urged. She sort of liked the quiet for a change.

“Not my cup of tea Miss Topolsky.”

“Hmmmm, too bad.” And about that time Liz showed up with their meals and they suddenly grew quiet.
*
Back in the office of a very amiable, very intelligent, General the conversation was anything but light and full of fun.

“Director, it has been brought to my attention that you have a rogue agent out there using the government to oversee something personal. It has been an awfully lot of years since that crash in 1947 and we are not going to find any more information than we already have on the item stored in that silo. It has been years since we heard anything from the escaped alien, who is most likely dead from the experiments you put the poor creature through. So can you tell me why the government is wasting money and man power investigating a dead subject?” The director of the FBI was shocked that anyone knew of this ongoing search for truth.

“Eddie, what in the hell are you talking about?”

“Director, let me tell you a little secret. This ‘secret section’ you’ve got that you think nobody knows about isn’t such a secret.

“And when the Sheriff of a small town in Roswell, New Mexico gets a new Deputy that he hasn’t requested, nor has no need for… don’t you think this man will start to ask questions? Not only that, two more agents registered into a local motel and the high school suddenly got a new guidance counselor.


“Director, sometimes I think these people know more about us than we hope to ever know about them. And this agent of yours, Agent Dan Pierce, Jr., is investigating teenagers for God’s sake. Teenagers who are in high school no less and have been going to school all of their young lives; just how old do you think these youngsters are? MAYBE 60?

“This whole thing is ludicrous and I’m telling you right now if this becomes public it’s going to be very embarrassing to our entire government as a whole.

“Let’s get real here and do what we’re hired to do, protect these people and investigate dangerous people not high school students. You need to get rid of this man.”

The General was on a roll and the Director of the FBI was in shock. No one had been overseeing Pierce for a very long time and it was brought to his attention many years ago that the man was becoming obsessed beyond sanity with the unanswered alien questions.

It was a well-known fact that no one actually tried to communicate with these beings, no one actually tried to find out what they wanted they only wanted to find out what made them tick and the entire experiment program had been the act of a mad man, one Dan Pierce, Sr. who had been killed by one of the aliens they were experimenting on. Yes, the director decided to find out more about what Pierce was up to and to see about getting rid of the special unit and using the regular FBI network to investigate all questions regarding the safety of the nation instead of having secret “societies” out there. If the general public found out about this and the press started investigating it could mean a lot of jobs.

*

The adults in the know all met up at the Harding’s that evening as Cal had suggested and when the kids closed up the Crash they met up with Kyle and Max and all drove over to join the rest of the group for a catch up before school tomorrow.

When they arrived everyone there was waiting to hear about the scene in the Crashdown between Max and Liz and Jeff Parker just stood there laughing at the two main characters of the play. Max’s ears were turning beet red and Liz was laughing along with everyone else.

“Well, I’ll bet they have some questions to add to their file now.” Liz giggled out loud and then she grabbed Max’s hand and smiled.

“Come on Max, I’m not that bad of a kisser am I?” And Max blushed more as he answered,

“Not bad at all Liz.” And the place was in hysterics…Max wasn’t laughing.

And soon everyone was settled down and listening to Cal bring them up to date on the actions of the FBI and then waited for input from all others. Then Cal looked at Max and Isabel,

“Okay guys, I can understand why you’ve never shared your ‘heritage’ with your parents but I think it’s time you do, don’t you. They are in danger too and as far as I can see no one that you have shared this with has recoiled, so let’s bring them in. Alex, that includes your father. I’ve spoken with a friend of mine in the military today and I think your dad will be of great help in this situation.”

“Yeah, that sounds great to me; I know we can trust him.” Alex replied and Max and Isabel just sat there quietly. They still weren’t sure about all of this “sharing” that Cal wanted.

Cal smiled at his charges,

“Trust me…if they aren’t in tune with it all we’ll wipe the memory from them.”

“I don’t want you messing with their minds.” Max answered…Isabel nodded.

“Maxwell, they’re going to be fine with it. Look at everyone else…they don’t mind.”

“Max, you don’t seem to understand, you aren’t any different than any of the rest of us. Yeah you can do things we can’t but would you feel this way if you were from, say, Peru?” Liz asked, then she continued….

“Max, there’s no difference; Peru or Antar so what? We’re still the same as we always were.”

Max looked at Isabel and she still looked skeptical but nodded her assent.

“Fine, tomorrow we’ll all meet again. How many of you kids have to work tomorrow night?” Cal asked.

The same four raised their hands that had worked today and Jeff said the three Crash employees could get off at 8:00 and he would talk to Milton about closing the UFO center early because there’s not that much to do on a week-day in Roswell anyway. They all nodded…8:30 tomorrow night at the Harding’s, Jim would invite the Evanses since it wouldn’t be any problem visiting Philip in his office; people were used to seeing the sheriff visit attorneys in the area.
*

[mary mary]

Carolyn: I am so glad you are enjoying this...I've been up since 5 trying to keep quiet, Judy has got to be worn out because i feel like I've been used for football practice...We are almost finished cleaning everything, only one more room to go, They can't touch the hardwood floors for two more months due to the water, but we buffed them all up and scrubbed them really well, they look pretty good. As for "our gang" they're looking petty good.

Eve: I'm so happy you're enjoying this little fic.

Chapter: 32

The next day the sheriff went into the Crashdown for lunch and ran into John, who was sitting in the back booth with Nancy, having a burger while Nancy was having a chef’s salad made especially for her by her husband. Jim smiled,

“Hey you two, I see things have seemed to settle a bit; mind if I join you?”

Nancy smiled up at the sheriff and scooted over to make room for him since John was a fairly large man with not an ounce of fat on him most likely they both would have been uncomfortable on the same bench.

“Jeff tells me you are going to invite the Evanses over to Tess’s for a meeting.”

“Yeah, we thought we’d do that at 8:30 p.m., are you going to join us?” Jim answered.

“No, I’ve been thinking about that Jim. You know your new deputy has been keeping pretty close tabs on us. If he isn’t in here getting coffee then quite a few new “suits” have been. I wouldn’t have thought too much about it if they only came in once or twice, but they seem to be hovering if you know what I mean.

“So here’s what I thought we might do. Why not have another party for the kids or something. Say here, at the Crashdown, just like the one after the carnival?” About that time Agnes showed up with the coffee pot and a cup for the sheriff and Nancy smiled, holding her thoughts for a minute until Agnes did her job…

“Would you like your usual sheriff?” Jim nodded and Agnes took off to place her order on the wheel, one alien special.

“You know Nancy I think that’s a swell idea. People know about the last party Liz had so it won’t seem like such a big deal if we do it again, but this time with the parents. We can call it a get acquainted party or something like that.” And John thought about that for a minute and put his two cents in.

“Don’t give it a title; just let them all get together. I know when my kids have things like this and my wife and I attend sometime just to catch up and make sure everything is what it’s supposed to be. Nobody questions it, we all do it. Most of the parents make a point of calling the other to let them know when they’re going to show up and the kids seem to be alright with it.”

Nancy and Jim were surprised that John was a family man and John smiled before he gave them any more information…

“I do have a personal life you know…and when this is all over and the “royals” are safe my wife and I are thinking of relocating here to Roswell and taking over the guardianship of Tess until she is settled in as an adult and ready to make a life for herself. I’ll still be on Cal’s payroll of course but Tess needs adult supervision and Cal and I have talked about it and my wife is very receptive to the idea. I think, if we decide to have this party, I should fly her out here to meet everyone.”

Jim and Nancy sat there very quietly and let all of this information sink in and then it made perfectly good sense to them. This was an excellent idea and they nodded in agreement at the same time. A great idea actually and then Jim asked…

“Will you tell Cal of this new plan when you get back to the house?”

“I certainly will. Jim will be relieving me at 3:00 and then I’ll head on over. In the meantime Chuck and his crew are still watching out over the kids at the school. We want to make absolutely certain that they are all protected from the new invaders.”

Nancy smiled…the Antarian word for protector still very foreign to her but the man took his job very seriously.
*
Back in New York there were four very pierced, very tattooed, and very talented derelicts leaving a not too shabby, not too overly expensive apartment. They seemed to be making their way to the subway while reading each other’s thoughts.

‘We’re going to be fine. I don’t know what happened to Nicholas but we have to keep it together. We have to find the other four before we do anything else.’ And the one with the spiked hair walked with the over confidence of an illiterate numbskull while the leader of the pack tried to convince him to calm down. You couldn’t really blame him when you thought about it seriously, he didn’t know any better.

*
Cal Langley listened to John present his idea on the party to introduce his wife to Tess and to introduce Diane and Philip Evans to the new friends of their children and to bring them up to date on the status of said children.

“That sounds like a great idea John. We’ll do it. I’ll get together with Nancy and we’ll have the thing catered and that way the Parker’s won’t have themselves worn out with all of this. We’ll have to do something for the rest of the men too.”

“Cal, these men are your soldiers. They don’t expect any preferential treatment. They are here to do a job and when that job is finished they will go on their way until you call them again for another job. We have to keep the special unit away from these kids and I think it’s going to take all of us to keep an eye on them.

“The poor kids feel like prisoners in their own homes and we need to do something about that too. Give them some freedom to have a little fun, even if it is supervised. It seems Liz doesn’t have any trouble throwing her kind of fun around. That girl is a real character.”

Cal laughed…”I don’t think it’s an act John. I think her and Max are going to be a very serious item one of these days.”


“Oh I believe that’s a given Cal.” And both men laughed, “Poor Max, he’s going to have his hands full”.

So Cal got the phone book out and checked the yellow pages for caterers in the area and damned if the Crashdown wasn’t there with a full page ad. He laughed and thought to himself, the irony of it all and then he called Jeff’s competition and began to place his order for a full blown buffet with all the trimmings; cooks, waiters and the whole nine yards. And the whole time this was taking place four displaced aliens were on their way to Roswell.

*

That evening, when Tess got home from school Cal asked her if she knew where the cave was that held the pods and she smiled.

“Of course I know where it is Cal, why do you ask? It’s just a big rock.”

“That may be so Tess but I would like to look at this big rock.”

“Great, then let’s go.”


“Let’s take the other three with us Tess. They haven’t been there since they were ‘born’ and I think they should join us.”

“Okay, I’ll call Isabel and she’ll get Max and Michael. But I think they’re working.”

“We’ll square it up with Jeff, I know he’ll be fine with Michael not working and we’ll get Kyle to take Max’s place at the UFO Center; do a little mind game with Milton so to speak.”

Tess smiled, she didn’t like playing these games with people’s minds but I guess it was necessary sometime so she went and made her call to Isabel.

“Isabel, its Tess. Cal wants to go out to the cave and take a look at it and he wants the three of you to go along. Will you tell Max and have him call Kyle to take his shift at the UFO center. Cal is getting an okay from Jeff to relieve Michael and we’ll pick you up shortly.”

“Of course Tess, but do you know where it is because we don’t.”

“I know where it is Isabel…wear jeans and we’ll be by shortly. Cal’s men will deal with any possible tails so we’ll see you soon.”

“Alright Tess, we’ll be ready.”

And the girls ended their call just as Cal came into the kitchen once again.

“Is it all set Tess?”

“They’ll be ready Cal. I guess we can leave any time you’re ready.”

“Okay, let’s go then. Jeff is going to work the grill for Michael and he’s waiting too.”

And with that the two aliens headed on out to the SUV parked in the garage and Cal got behind the wheel and opened the garage door with the automatic door opener and Tess sat in the back seat with the blackened windows.

One non-descript vehicle sat parked down the street and watched the SUV pull out and as it did Jim pulled out of his garage next door to the Harding’s and blocked the road as he fumbled for his automatic garage door opener that had conveniently dropped to the floor board. Two very frustrated FBI agents waited and waited and then it was too late. The SUV was out of sight and they had no idea which direction the vehicle had taken.

Jim smiled and hit the button on his dash board that rang his speaker phone and said four little words…

“It’s all clear boss.” And Cal Langley smiled as he pulled up in front of Michael’s apartment. Another non-descript was parked down the way from Michael’s and when Cal pulled up another SUV, this time Chuck, pulled in behind Cal and when Michael got in Chuck proceeded to make a U-turn in front of the car trying to follow Cal and they were successfully blocked from following as well.

Cal thought to himself, ‘two down one to go’ as he made his way to the Evanses and picked up Isabel and Max and had the same success as he had with other agents and now they were headed out toward the desert with no one following and life was good.

The New York four continued on their way and had no idea what they were headed into but it didn’t seem to bother them at all…Maybe they would be quick learners…and up on Antar a self-imposed king was getting very close to being deposed.

*

[mary mary]

Eve: This one is a little different, I hope, uin the fact that the New York "four" show up and are surprised.
Carolyn: The whirlwind from Tx., LOL, managed to repaint my family room twice, I didn't like my first choice. She threatened to kill me only too many people knew she was here. Then she said I'd probably like to kill her and I said I would have done it when she was 16, not now.

We had a great three weeks, accomplished a whole lot and my house is back together and I'm in my own bed once again. Thank God for great kids, I'm not so sure I deserve them but I have them.

As for the story, well, I've enjoyed rereading it if that's any indication of some surprises. I don't to angst very well as you know, live and lived enough of it, but here goes 33.

****
Chapter: 33

It was about 4:30 in the afternoon when the black SUV pulled up to the large outcropping of rocks quite a few miles off the highway when Tess told Cal to stop.

“This is it Cal. Right up the incline on that little rise over there.” The five passengers exited the vehicle and headed up the side of the small rocky slope.

When they reached the point where the face of the rock flattened out Max suddenly had a vision, actually it was from Liz, and he made his way over to the flat surface and placed his hand, palm flat, and rested it there. The rock moved and Max entered followed by the rest.

“Max, how did you know to do that?” Michael asked, feeling just a little put out by the fact that Max could do something he couldn’t. Of course Michael’s healing powers were minimal at best but that was nothing compared to what just happened.

“I don’t know…it was something I got from the flash off Liz. I can’t explain it.”

“You got this vision from Liz?” Now Cal was confused…the girl should not be getting her powers this quickly. Cal was positively certain that a bond had not been formed between Max and Liz as yet but this connection of theirs was overwhelming to say the least.

“Yeah, when she kissed me in the Crash the other night. I saw all kinds of things running through her brain.” And Cal could only stand there and shake his head…then Isabel, being Isabel, was really bent out of shape…

“You got a flash when you kissed Liz?” She all but shouted and Michael laughed.

“Yeah.” Max answered nonchalantly.

“When?” And now Tess was grinning, she hadn’t heard about it either but Isabel was really acting like a “royal” bitch and it was funny.

“The other night when Liz introduced Pierce to Topolksy and sat them at the same table and when she kissed me in front of them I got this flash.”

“Hmph!!! Why wasn’t I told about it?” Still being bitchy here…

“Because it was none of your business.” It’s too bad Tess and Isabel were too busy upstairs when this news had been shared with the others, it would have saved a little time here…

In the meantime Cal was exploring the cave and the four teenagers finally focused on what was in front of them…there they were, the pods, and it got very quiet all of a sudden.

“Do any of you remember this?”

The four teenagers looked at each other and then Tess walked over to the lower right and got down on her knees and crawled through. Cal raised his hand and removed the barrier to make a passageway so to speak and they all followed the young girl into the backside of the cave. There it was in all of its glory and all five occupants of the cave stood in awe; well Cal did anyway. The kids could have cared less.

“Max, this is the Granolith, it has been entrusted to you by your mother the Queen of Antar and the Royal Priest: guardian of the Holy Granolith. You have the key to this puzzle now all you have to do is figure out where it is.” Cal looked at Max and Max looked sick.

“I don’t know anything about this Cal, honest.” And Max was as serious as he had ever been in his young life.
Then Cal looked at Tess…

“I don’t know where this key is Cal. Nasedo never said anything about it to me and there isn’t anything in that book about it either.” Tess replied, a little shocked that Cal thought she was keeping secrets.

“Tess, I wasn’t implying that you knew where it was I was merely asking.” Cal was almost sorry he had even hinted at the idea…

“Tess, Nasedo has a secret room in the garage with a satellite setup to correspond with Antar, do you know of any other secret places the man had?” Tess’s eyes got huge, what secret room? And then she remembered something in the basement behind the media wall…

“Cal, behind the media wall, I would swear that I’ve heard that thing move so many times. Maybe there’s a room behind it.” And Cal nodded…it would be just like Ed to do something like that.

“We’ll look when we return home. Max is the only one that can start this thing and we need the key. It’s a long crystal looking type rod and it will fit into the Granolith and get it ready for takeoff once Max sets it off. We need to know where this is.”

“Why? I’m not going anywhere.” Max announced and Cal laughed.

“Probably not Max, but we still have to know all of these things.”

“I guess…let’s get out of here.” And Max led the way out of the cave and the rest followed. None of them really sure about what they had just seen. Even Cal had somewhat puzzled feelings about it all.

He had to keep the Granolith safe from Kivar but the people of Antar really should have it back. He wasn’t sure just how he should go about this but one thing he knew for certain was that Max wasn’t going to be the one to deliver the thing.

He would deal with that problem in due time but right now he had other problems to think about and Agent Pierce and his band of merry men were uppermost on his mind.

And so they made their way back to town and spent the evening catching up once again.

All of the kids showed up for their regular shifts at their jobs the next day and Cal had the not so good news to share with Jeff about the party and the caterers, he smiled, if all of his problems were so simple.

In the meantime John had made plans for his wife’s arrival and Cal smiled again. He had the cleaning people show up and do a thorough job of housecleaning and made certain that Ed’s suite of rooms were absolutely perfect for Eileen. Cal had always had a special place in his heart for the woman. She was the only wife who knew the truth about his identity and would be the perfect choice for Tess’s guardian.

She and John had wonderful kids; he only hoped she liked Roswell enough to make the move. He would see to it that everything was as perfect as he could make it for her and that she wouldn’t need to be there until everything was safe. And then he smiled; he hadn’t smiled from the heart so much in his life. Tess made him want to smile.

He had no idea just when it was going to be safe and in the meantime his work in Hollywood was rapidly deteriorating which caused another smile of a different nature this time. He had some serious maintenance to do when he returned home but his first duty was to these kids and he would see it completed to perfection before he took his leave.

In the meantime the four New Yorkers were just outside the city limits and stopped at one of the roadside inns for the night. They were all road weary and a spikey haired young scruff of a kid sashayed his way up to the front desk and started to question the night clerk who was about to bring up a Saturday night special when Valondra grabbed him by the sleeve and steered him to a couch while Zan made his way through the entrance with a purple haired little girl following behind him.

Zan looked over at the other two and shook his head in bewilderment; would Rath ever get over that attitude.

“Good evening, we need two connecting rooms; it’ll be cash.” The scruffy bearded, dark haired man mumbled.

“Yes sir.” The clerk was ready to give them the keys without taking their money just to get them out of his office. He didn’t want anybody seeing these “people?” it just wasn’t good for business; he produced a key to two rooms on the ground floor around the back of the building and breathed a huge sigh of relief when they all disappeared.

“Rath, the next time you act like a New York reject I’m going to blast your ass into the next county. Now cool it!” Zan was so pissed he couldn’t see straight.

“Youse is gonna’ blast me? Youse and who else?”

That did it…Zan grabbed Rath’s shirt and looked him square in the face…

“I’m the man, and don’t you forget it.”

“You da’ man? When da hell did’ja pick up on da’language?”

“Did you get a look at your surroundings when we arrived? I suggest you pull yourself together and clean up your act because we want answers and we sure as hell aren’t going to get any looking like this.”

Rath got this stupid look on his face and then thought for a minute. Zan was probably right…maybe he should be a little different with the natives.

“That’s right Zan, you’re the man.” Rath answered in perfect English and Zan nodded.

“Now, let’s get some sleep and tomorrow we’ll check out the place and see what’s happening. Ava, lose the purple and we all get rid of the piercings and hide the tats. Is that understood? We don’t know what happened to Nicholas but the last contact was from this town…now rest.”

And with that Zan opened the connecting door and pointed to the connecting room. Two beds in each, how convenient he thought to himself and he suddenly felt very strange…there goes that yearning again and it was even more pronounced since they got off the main highway. Just what was this feeling anyway? And he sprawled himself across one of the beds and proceeded to go to sleep while a confused Ava stood and watched.

*

The next morning, Friday, Liz was making her way to her first class with Tess and Maria hot on her heels when she passed Miss Topolsky coming the other way. Liz smiled her best and biggest smile she had and it wasn’t a put on…she thought about the other night at the Crash and could only smile, for many reasons; the main one being that kiss, WOW!…

“Good morning Miss Topolsky, how was your dinner? Did you and Deputy Fisher enjoy your meal?”

Miss Topolsky didn’t know what to make of the teenage girl but she was getting a kick out of the memory too…

“Good morning Liz, as a matter of fact I did enjoy the meal and the show I might add.”

Liz smiled bigger yet and answered without the slightest bit of embarrassment…

“Oh I really enjoyed that too.” And she kept on going. Miss Topolsky just shook her head and kept on walking to her office.

She passed Max as he was headed to another class and nodded to him and this was a different story all together. The boy turned 15 shades of red as he nodded in return and kept on moving without the hint of even opening his mouth to say anything.

Miss Topolsky really grinned now, ‘you’ve got your hands full there Max’ she thought as she unlocked her door and made her way to her desk.

*

The travelers made it out of their motel rooms about 10:30 a.m. and headed to the heart of Roswell to find a place to eat when they spied this space ship sticking out of a café and they all laughed.

“This must be the place.” Valondra said from the back seat of their vehicle and Zan grinned.

“It must be.” And Zan parked the car and the four visitors got out and started to make their way into the restaurant just as Jim Valenti was coming out with a fresh thermos of coffee and he did a double take.

“Good morning sheriff.” Zan offered and Jim tipped his hat as he passed the four on their way in.

Jim turned and headed to the back of the restaurant and met Chuck right on the other side of the back door.

“Chuck call Cal and tell him to get over here right now. I’m pretty sure the other four podsters are out there in the dining room.”

Chuck looked at Jim as he reached for his cell phone and made his way over to the swinging door and talked as he looked.

“Cal, Chuck here, the New York four are in the dining room of the Crashdown, there’s no mistaking who they are. They look identical, well except for the clothes and Hair. Get over here now. You know if they decide to use their powers we are no match.”

“I’m on my way.” And Cal Langley was out the door quicker than superman’s exits and was on his way. This was a good thing in a way… What a nice surprise and then he got serious; they were also his charges. He was sure the Roswell four wouldn’t have a problem with them, but would they accept the Roswell four. Big question he thought…
*

[mary mary]

Eve: In this fic. the N Y four are together and Zan leads fairly well I think...they are still a neglected bunch though but have managed.
Carolyn: I always did think Isabel was a little on the bitchy side when she didn't know everything...as for the house, well, it's been renovated and cleaned up and I am truly glad to be back to normal!!!

*

Chapter: 34

When Cal arrived at the Crashdown he had no trouble at all identifying the four ‘podsters’ Chuck had phoned him about. They were clean, that was about all Cal could say on the positive side and then he noticed; they seemed to be older than the Roswell four…probably gestated quicker, possibly because they weren’t as protected.

They hardly looked like teens, but then there was the tiny little blond. She looked absolutely helpless among the other three. Cal looked them all over very closely before pulling a chair up to the end of the table and joining them.

“Hello. My name is Cal and I’ve been looking for you four for years. Just how long have you been roaming around this planet unprotected.”

“We don’t need protection!” Rath barked and Zan held up a hand to quiet the rowdy
.
Cal smiled; at least they had their pecking order established.

“When you four have eaten your breakfast you will all leave with me and we will have a talk. I will take you to one of my homes here in Roswell where you will be housed and fed and we can come to some decisions about what you would like to do with your lives.

“The other four are here under my protection and do not wish to leave this planet. So when you are ready Zan, let’s get together and have a serious discussion. I’m only laying the groundwork now because I don’t want you fleeing and I don’t want you fighting me, you will lose if you try. There’s no need for offensive actions…everything will be out in the open. Now enjoy your meal and I will be in the back room waiting to talk to you.

“Zan, just come on back and find me. There’s an office back there and I will be talking to the owner of this establishment.”

Rath got this stupid look on his face once again, it was his trademark after all, and quite befitting; he didn’t understand. Lonnie hung her head low and looked up through her long bangs and smiled as she played with a lock of hair, Ava sat and chewed on her cheek while Zan eyed the bald man with skepticism but nodded in agreement.

“Zan, we don’t need protection. We’ve never had protection why do we need it now?” Lonnie spoke as she watched Cal closely.

“Lonnie, don’t over think this. This man knows more about us and our home than we could ever imagine and we will take this meeting. I don’t know how I know this but I do know this is important. So eat up and we’ll go with him when we’re finished. And Rath, I think you should keep your mouth shut and listen really hard to what the man has to say.”

Zan had mixed emotions about this new chain of events but deep down he was looking forward to talking to this Cal. He felt very safe around this man for some reason.

After the New York four had finished their meal Zan waved to the waitress in the cute little uniform and she approached with a pot of fresh coffee prepared to refill their cups when Zan shook his head no…

“I’d like the check please and then I’m going to go back to the office.”

“Yes Mr. Zan but your bill has been paid by Mr. Langley and he is waiting for you. Would you like some more coffee?”

The four patrons looked at the waitress and Zan got this sexy grin on his face as he answered the young waitress, noting the name on her tag,

“Cathy, we are fine. I’ll just go back to the office now and get Mr. Langley. Thank you.”

On that note Cathy moved to the next table and Zan made his way through the swinging doors.

“In here Zan.” Cal motioned from Jeff’s office door and Zan walked toward the man with a slow swagger. Not the sashaying walk of Rath but definitely a self-assured swagger. Jeff Parker gasped.

“Jeff, this is Zan of Antar. He’s the twin of Max, they were separated during the crash and now it seems we are all going to be reunited at the party this evening. The Evanses among others are going to be shocked I’m sure.”

Zan just stood and nodded to Jeff skeptically as Cal talked…

“Well, I’m definitely in shock. The resemblance is uncanny. Do the others look the same as well?”

“Yes they do. They have led different lifestyles as I’ve explained but they are all identical in appearance. We will discuss this more this evening. I want to take Zan and the other three over to the houses and get them all set up in rooms and make them comfortable and explain a few things to them. I am sure Zan has many questions to ask just as the other four will have. We’ll be here for the party around 7:00 if that’s alright with you.”

“That’s fine Cal. I have a sign on the door announcing a private party tonight so that should take care of the business end of it. Do the caterers have an accurate body count?”

“I ordered a buffet for 50 and of course another 30 at the main house. I’m sure there will be plenty. Is your walk-in big enough to put the leftovers? If not we’ll get another freezer delivered today.”

“I have plenty of room Cal, if there’s that much leftover we’ll just give it an alien name and run some specials ‘til it’s gone.”

Cal laughed and led a puzzled Zan from the back of the Crashdown and out the front door.

“Zan, I’m going to follow you to your motel and wait while you get your belongings and then you can follow me back to the house. Can Ava mindwarp?”

Zan looked confused….

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, you see that gray vehicle parked three spaces down with the two suited up gentlemen in the front seat?”

“Yeah.”

“They don’t see us at all, understood? I’ll explain it all as soon as we get to the house. And Zan, when we get to the house there may be another vehicle parked at about the same distance as that one…the people in that vehicle don’t see us either.”

“Fair enough…let’s go.”

And with that Zan told Ava to mind warp the men in the sedan parked three spaces down, which she did, and then they headed toward the motel to check out.

While they were driving over to the motel Cal reached down and hit his speaker phone dial and called Max…it was lunch hour at school so there shouldn’t be any problem getting hold of the young man.

“Hello.” Max frowned, what was wrong now?

“Max baby, I need you kids to come to Tess’s after school. There’re some people you need to meet before the party tonight.”

“Cal, stop it with the Hollywood crap would you. Now who are we meeting, good people or bad people?”

“You can be the judge of that after you meet them and if the others can make it bring them too. I’ll also have the sheriff there.”

“Fair enough Cal, we’ll be there. Bye.”

“What does Cal want now?” Isabel asked.

“We’re all to go over to Tess’s after school and meet some people.”

“All of us?” Liz wanted to know.

“Yeah, that’s what he said. He said we could be the judge of whether it’s good or bad people; whatever that means.”

“Okay, I can go how about the rest of you?” Liz asked with a wave of her hand indicating the entire table…

“Yeah, sure.” Maria chimed in and then the rest all nodded. What the hell was up now?

All eight of them were getting fairly used to the strange goings on in their lives and didn’t put much thought to Cal’s strange requests; it just seemed to be a way of life lately.

About that time Miss Topolsky came by with a stack of folders in her hand and Liz smiled sweetly at the woman and asked…

“Need any help Miss Topolsky?” And Kathleen Topolsky suddenly had an epiphany, this girl knew who she was and she almost shivered.

“No thanks Liz I think I can handle it.”

“Fair enough, have a good afternoon.” And Liz grinned at the new guidance counselor as though she had just raided the woman’s mind.

Kathleen Topolsky didn’t know if she should bring this incident up to agent Pierce or not, when you spoke it out loud it sounded positively stupid and she continued on to her office.

“Liz, quit baiting her like that.” Max whispered loud enough for the table to hear…

“Oh lighten up Max, what’s she gonna’ do…tell Pierce I offered to carry her books?” Liz offered.

“Well it’s just not right.” Isabel added.

“Sure it is, she is part of the faculty is she not? And kids are always sucking up to the faculty, are they not? In that light it all seems perfectly normal to me.” And Liz put her napkin in her lunch bag, crumpled it up, held up her right arm, placed her left hand under the bag and let it fly…she made a perfect three pointer into the trash can. Alex pumped air and Maria laughed as Michael sat with a raised eyebrow.

“Next time we play basketball Max, she’s on my team.” And Max grinned…then he noticed Topolsky watching out the side window of the hallway leading to the lockers.

“Pucker up Liz, we have an audience.” And Max leaned in and gave Liz a sweet lingering kiss on the lips. Liz smiled when Max broke away and whispered into his mouth, “Is she still there?” Max grinned and without looking he answered…”Yeah.” And he leaned in for more. Isabel watched in disgust…

“Do you have to do that?”

Max grinned as he answered his sister without even looking at her…

“Yep”

And everyone laughed.
*

[mary mary]

Eve: Hey, I'm! glad you're enjoying this, and this is the chapter when they all meet each other...enjoy
Natalie: Thank you...
Carolyn: I probably shouldn't write this but my husband used to say..."he'd overthink a wet dream" Should probably have kept that to myself but your fb made me think of it...sorry, he was one ornery critter for sure...As for normal!!! THANK GOD!

****
*
Chapter: 35

When the four New Yorkers arrived at the Harding’s home behind Cal Ava looked for the vehicle that Zan had mentioned and sure enough it was sitting there just as Cal had said it would be. She closed her eyes and concentrated and then the four young people exited the vehicle, took their meager belongings with them and followed Cal into the house.

John was just coming in from the kitchen with his wife when Cal came through the front door and smiled. Eileen approached Cal and gave him a big hug and thanked him for the beautiful accommodations and Cal smiled in return and nodded his greeting instead of speaking.

“John and Eileen, we have some new arrivals to our party. Let me introduce you to Zan, Valondra, Rath and Ava. They are from New York and will be staying with us permanently I hope. It will be their choice but I want all of you to be comfortable with each other. I think we will have them stay in one of the other houses until we can come up with a permanent place; in the meantime you kids can just put your stuff over there if you’d like and I’ll show you around.

“Ava, this is where your twin lives. Her protector was killed by a skin intruder. There is a lot to get caught up on but before you go asking questions you should know that the skins have been eliminated.

“I am from Antar and was with the original ship that crashed in 1947. I was one of the protectors also but was thrown so far from the debris that I got overlooked and have spent many years looking for all of you.”

The four visitors just stood there looking at each other not knowing what to think…just where the hell have they landed and what were they in for?

“Now come with me and I’ll show you the lower levels of the house, I think you will probably be spending a lot of time here and you should know your way around; especially the kitchen and the pantry. I own the houses on each side of this one and my men are temporarily housed in them while we fight our/your enemies, come.”

And with that Cal led the four alien hybrids to the kitchen and opened the pantry and showed them the cases of Tobasco as they looked around flabbergasted for lack of a better term…

“You will probably want to take one of these cases with you to the other house when we go over there. You will choose how you wish to room but you must know that all the rooms have twin beds. I will send four of my men home and I will let them draw straws to choose which four since they are all family men and I’m sure they would all like to leave as soon as possible.

“John’s wife is here for a visit to see how she likes the place because young Tess needs a guardian and I am hoping that Eileen likes it here well enough to want to move here and oversee young Tess’s care.”

Cal rambled on while the new arrivals followed in a somewhat confused state,

“Wait, you mean she wants to stay here?” Valondra asked, meaning Tess.

“Yes she does. They all do, well maybe not Michael but I think he may be on the brink of changing his mind about leaving. A cute young thing called Maria might have something to do with that.”

“They aren’t paired up?” Ava asked.

“No Ava, not in the sense of the destiny book. They are sort of paired but they are paired with Earthlings.”

“Do you know where the Granolith is?” Rath asked.

“Yes, we know where it is but we don’t have the key. I’m sure you know that the Granolith has been entrusted to the heir of the Antarian throne and Zan that heir is Max not you but Max wants no part of it.

“Therefore, he most likely can pass the seal to you should you want it but you are going to have to undergo some serious training before that can happen. Your ‘education’ so to speak has been sorely neglected in this area as has Max’s but I will oversee that. In the meantime the others will be here to meet you as soon as school is out. Have any of you ever attended school?”

The four young people looked at each other and then Zan spoke…

“We have no formal education at all. We have kept to ourselves all of our lives out of necessity but we did go to the library and watch instruction videos when we got older and we learned to read and write and I even studied astronomy and a lot of math. I love math.” Zan offered.

Cal smiled…the boy was intelligent, this was good and with a mathematical background that meant he had a good grasp at deduction. A good quality for all leaders if this was going to work and he just knew it would. By this time they were all seated around the dining room table having various drinks and just conversing.

John and Eileen were included in the conversations as well, it was quite a learning experience for both of them and Eileen’s heart went out to these poor kids who had made a life for themselves as best they could among the sewers of New York. What a life it must have been, it was absolutely remarkable.

About that time the front door opened and 8 young high school students came barreling through the hallway and came to an abrupt stop. Four New York hybrids stood and stared right back at the kids staring at them and then Cal Langley smiled.

“Let me introduce you to your “twins”. Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess I would like you to meet Zan, Valondra, Rath and Ava of Antar. The others are Liz,” she waved as she stared at Zan in disbelief, “Maria,” who in turn waved and looked at Rath finding it hard to believe that anyone could be scruffier than Michael. “Alex” Alex gave a nod of his head and a grin and “Kyle”. Kyle gave a single wave of his wrist as he acknowledged the others and then Cal pointed to Eileen.

“You guys, this is John’s wife Eileen. She is visiting us from California for the week-end and I would like all of you to make her feel very comfortable here.”

Tess went over and gave the woman a hug and smiled as she welcomed her to her home and then the others came forward and shook Eileen’s hand and then did the same with the New Yorkers.

Zan couldn’t take his eyes off Liz and it didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the group, especially Max who stared the man down as he put his arm around Liz’s waist and made no bones about who she belonged to…He actually bent over and kissed her cheek as he nodded to his “twin”.

If Zan had any hidden agenda regarding Liz Max made sure the man knew who she belonged to whether it had been announced publicly to everyone or not, brother or not, this would be war. This did not go unnoticed by Cal either who only got a kick out of it.

Go right ahead and mark your territory Max, this is a good sign, very subtle but very clear. Now we must teach Zan this tactic if we go in the direction I think we should. Cal thought to himself.

And so the afternoon went on with questions asked and answered, especially by the New York four who had never really had any formal education into the actual history of Antar any more than Max, Isabel or Michael had. Tess was the most versed on the subject but much of her education was warped by Nasedo’s version of things. So Cal answered everything the kids wanted to know and then about 6:00 he said it was time for them to start getting ready for the party at the Crashdown so 7 teenagers made their way to the door, bidding everybody good bye and telling them they would see all of them later at the party.

“Just what is this party about Cal?” Zan wanted to know.

“Well, the Evanses have no idea just who their adopted children are and we are all going to a private party so to speak to make the announcement. Then John decided it would be an excellent time to introduce Eileen to the IKAAC and give her a chance to see who all of these people are.” Cal answered…and then he added,

“And Zan, I am so glad you four are here also. This is wonderful. We chose to have a party to keep the FBI from nosing in on things. If the Evanses don’t like what they hear then Tess will just erase the memory from them but it has been my experience that, when someone actually loves another, their origins don’t seem to matter.”

“Okay, so just what is “IKAAC” Zan asked…

“IKAAC means “I know an alien club”, simple huh?” And Zan laughed, “Yeah I guess.”

About that time Valondra and Ava showed up in the kitchen where Zan and Cal were talking…

“Where’s Tess’s room, we need to know what to wear to this party.” Zan looked shocked, they never gave a shit before and Cal laughed.

“Right at the top of the stairs and two doors down on the left. Just knock.” And both girls headed in the direction of the stair case.

“What’s got into them, they never worry about stuff like that?” Zan asked and Cal smiled.

“It’s a girl thing Zan and it’s a good thing…it means they care, now why don’t we see about getting you and Rath into a nice suit as well.”

“A suit? I don’t think so.”

“Zan think of it as part of your education, the future king of Antar is going to dress accordingly … now if you don’t want a suit then at least dress pants, a shirt and maybe a nice jacket. And do something with that hair.”

Zan laughed, the man was probably right. The look fit the streets of New York just fine but maybe not the rest of the world, any world for that matter.

“And do something with Rath too. Can you get him to lose the geeky frown when he doesn’t get something?” Zan laughed, “I’ll try”.

“And comb his hair!” And Zan roared, he had never laughed like that in his life but then he thought, I have never felt safe in my life either and now I do, I like it.

*

“Max, I can’t get over how much you guys look alike. God, if it wasn’t for the hair and the clothes it would be impossible to tell you apart.”

“Liz, just remember, he’s not me okay.” Liz looked at Max for a minute and then noticed, he wasn’t kidding…

“Max, I will always know which one is you. Please don’t ever think that I won’t. This isn’t the time nor the place Max, but it’s you I want…it always has been.” And with that Liz crawled into her car and took off while Max just stood there and stared after her.

“Max, let’s go, I have to get ready.” And Max smiled broad as he got into the jeep and took off.
*

[mary mary]

Lizza: Hey, I'm here. A day late but I didn't forget. Enjoy
Natalie: Well, I think they have fun...
Eve: I think Liz has her priorities straight, she does know which one is Max. At least she said she did!
Carolyn: I hope it's interesting...

*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter: 36
The FBI agents covering the Harding’s house didn’t know whether they should call for backup and follow all of the kids or just sit tight and watch the house as Pierce had instructed…they were beginning to doubt the sanity of the man just like everyone else that came into contact with him. The only thing going on here was a bunch of kids acting like kids but they sat just the same. They decided to just ignore the vehicles that took off and keep up their vigil.

They noticed the bald man and four other young people exit the Harding’s and go next door to the right and wondered what they were up to. Three of those people were practically duplicates of a couple of the kids that just left. Hmmm, what were the chances of that happening? All of those kids can’t be twins can they? Oh well, they were told to watch the blond girl and that’s exactly what they would do…no sense in adding fuel to the man’s insanity and they kept watching.

Soon Cal made his way back to the Harding house and headed to his newly appointed bedroom. He had the men draw straws to see who would leave and arranged for his plane to pick up the four “soldiers” at the airport in 45 minutes. It would take that long to lay out a travel plan and refuel before they could take off.

The pilots were still finalizing the paperwork from their trip with Eileen so waiting for the four new passengers was no problem at all. They advised the Albuquerque airport of their flight plan and then the larger corporate jet that belonged to Cal would pick up the four men and take them to California.

The four new guests were very impressed with their accommodations, the men decided to share and the girls had their own room. They had never had privacy before and it was going to be different but nice they decided. Cal told them to make themselves totally at home and he would have credit cards for them the first thing in the morning. He was sure the other girls would be more than happy to take them to the mall where they would be able to get themselves new wardrobes. This impressed them more than anything and they could hardly believe what they had landed into.

“Ava, this is just too much.” Lonnie remarked as she made herself comfortable on the extra-large twin sized bed in their room; two dressers, double closets and their own bathroom with a tub and a shower. They have died and gone to heaven…

“No Lonnie, it’s not too much. Like Cal said, it’s like it was always supposed to be but it wasn’t. We weren’t supposed to grow up like we did and we always knew it, we just didn’t know what to do about it. Even if Zan is not the king, we weren’t supposed to be forgotten. Nicholas was wrong when he found us. Now all we have to do is learn to live like this and I don’t think it’s going to be that hard to do.” Ava was awe struck.

“Ava, do you really believe this man?” Lonnie was being skeptical about all of this, it just didn’t seem right.

“Yes, I do. And I think Zan does too.”

“Well, you know he’s easy to convince of anything.”

“Lonnie, don’t screw this up. It’s too good.”

“That’s just it; it’s too good to be true. Now let’s get to this party and see what that’s all about.”

“Yeah, I think it’s going to be fun. I’ve never been to a party. How are we supposed to act?”

“I don’t know but I’m sure Cal will guide us. So far he’s managed to steer us where he wants to. I’m just going to be damned sure that I trust him completely before I buy into all of this. We know they know where the Granolith is, but what’s this key business all about?”

“Lonnie, I’m sure, if he knew how to use the thing he would. Now what are we going to do about this party. Tess is wearing that cute little skirt and wrap around top. She offered to lend me something but I figured I’ll just change whatever I have into whatever I want. I don’t understand the need for all of those clothes in a closet when you can just wave your hand over what you have on and make it into anything you want to.”

“Yeah, that’s a little confusing to me too. Maybe it’s a shopping thing. Cal said we could go to the mall. Maybe we can see what everyone is wearing by going to the mall.”

“Lonnie, why we would we want to go to a mall when we have the biggest department stores in the world right in New York City. We know exactly what people are wearing and what they are going to wear before they know what they’re going to wear.”

“Yeah…want to make a New York hit at this party?” And Ava giggled,

“Yeah, lets!” And so Lonnie started waving her hand over Ava’s torn fishnets and leather skirt and soon had the girl in one of the sexiest looking silk dresses Ava had ever seen on any New York mannequin.

Then Lonnie went to work on her cammies and was dressed in a calf’s length chiffon number over a silk crepe lining with a cowl collar and fitted skirt. She looked stunning with her streaked short hair and silver dangling earrings. Her boots were now four inch stilettos that matched the dress she wore and she now stood over six feet tall. Ava had on open toed three inch strapped sandals in the color of her dress.

Ava’s purple short hair was now done in a cute little brush up and the only piercing was in her ears which now sported half carat diamond studs. All done with the wave of a hand…and both girls smiled. They looked elegantly sexy, just like those New York models and they were happier than they had ever been in their lives, though Lonnie would not admit it. They were actually going to a party that they had been invited to and were going with other people like themselves and it felt good.

When Zan and Rath showed up in the foyer to meet the girls they were all shocked at the visions before them. Zan had on a pair of gray dress slacks and a light gray button down shirt. He wore black penny loafers with black socks and Michael wore a pair of pressed jeans and a nice white button down shirt tucked in at the waist with a very nice looking leather belt, he also wore a pair of black shoes only they laced instead of slipped on. Both men had their hair combed and parted neatly and neither had any visible piercings on their face or body. Lonnie and Ava both smiled at the men as they made their way to the front door. Cal was waiting for them outside, just to make sure that Zan had followed his instructions and when the man looked at the four young people he smiled from one end of the driveway to the other as he walked over and greeted them.

“You four are absolutely the handsomest group of people I have seen in a very long time and should you decide to stay on earth I have just the jobs for you.” John and Eileen were just as happy to see the four young people looking so beautiful and then Tess walked out and took a look at her new neighbors and smiled as broadly as Cal.

“Don’t you four look absolutely wonderful? You are regal, positively regal. I am so happy you came looking for us. Wait until the other’s get a load of you, they are going to be so proud. Where did you find those outfits?”

And Valondra wiggled her fingers and Tess giggled the whole way to the limousine that was waiting for all of them. They really didn’t have to go to the mall, they could just change the molecular structure of things and wear anything they wanted…what a novel idea. The idea was almost as much fun as shopping and then Tess stifled more giggles. Well, maybe; she’d have to think about that for a while, shopping was just too much fun to give up.

Tess closed her eyes for a couple of minutes and the other four watched and wondered until Cal pointed to the car parked down the street with the two men in it. “They’re FBI Zan; right now they are your worst enemy on earth. The other enemy is light years away but we will take care of him in due time. That is up to you.” And Chuck continued on their way to the Crashdown café where an entirely different group of people waited. Alex and his parents were arriving in a separate vehicle as well and Alex couldn’t wait to see Isabel and have his parents meet everyone. This was going to be great.

Diane, Philip, Max and Isabel all showed up together and Maria drove in with Michael at her side. Jim and Kyle Valenti were both in Kyle’s Mustang and the Parker’s were all waiting for their guests as the caterer’s laid out a scrumptious buffet along the back wall. A very long table had been placed down the center of the restaurant with chairs lined up on both sides with place settings for approximately 30 people although there were only 26 or so at the last count but there would always be room for more.

When Diane and Isabel walked in before Philip and Max the first thing Diane noticed were the four young people standing with a bald headed man who was talking to Jeff Parker and she stopped cold in her tracks and gasped. Philip grabbed hold of her arm and then followed her line of vision and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Max and Isabel had doubles and so did Michael and that new girl Tess…what the hell was going on here. Max bumped into his dad and got his attention as he pointed the way to the 'dupes' as Michael now called them and started to make introductions.

“Mom, Dad…let me introduce you to our twins. This is Valondra, Ava, Zan and Rath. Valondra is called Lonnie for obvious reasons and you will be told the whole story later. Right now just know that they showed up yesterday and we are having this dinner party to get acquainted. These other two people are John and Eileen. Tess just lost her guardian and Cal, her uncle, is making arrangements for someone to step in and act as her guardian in the meantime. We hope that it will be John and Eileen but this decision is up to Eileen. Be nice to her, it might help.” And shy Max Evans acted like the perfect host which both shocked and pleased his parents.

Zan, Rath, Lonnie and Ava all smiled at the Evanses and acted very much like the civilized group of people Cal was hoping for. ‘Maybe they won’t be so hard to train after all’ Cal thought to himself as he waited his turn to shake hands with the Evanses who looked as though they may just drop dead of shock at any time now.

At least Max and Zan would be able to revive them if that did occur. As Philip shook hands with Cal Langley you could see the lights come on in the man’s mind the minute he realized who he was and he was suddenly on the defensive. What the hell was going on here he wondered.

Diane had not registered any of this yet since she was still in shock over the appearance of the “twins”. She could only stand there and smile as Nancy Parker placed a glass of wine in her hand and told her to “drink up”; Diane did, just as fast as she could.

Nancy had to smile, Liz had prepared them for the new arrivals but when she looked at the four she was in a state of shock as well. The resemblance was uncanny. They couldn’t have been more identical if they had been blow up photographs of their own little group of aliens and then stood up to resemble people.

Zan, Lonnie, Rath and Ava all stood around smiling and talking to everyone and then Liz Parker came through the swinging door carrying a large arrangement of flowers, almost as big as she was, for the center of the table Zan stopped mid-sentence and watched. Max immediately went to Liz and took the flat arrangement of fall flowers and Liz pointed to the table in the center of the room; Max leaned in and kissed her cheek before he went in the direction that Liz had indicated.

Suddenly Liz felt very uncomfortable; someone was looking at her and she knew immediately who it was. The only thing on her mind at the time was “Oh my, this isn’t good.” But she kept her cool and went over to greet all of her guests just as her mother had done not ten minutes before. She started with the Evanses and worked her way around what appeared to be a receiving line and ended up with Cal. Liz smiled …

“Mr. Langley, you need to talk to him. He keeps staring at me like I’m his next meal and you know this can’t be good. He and Max need to be friends and this could get ugly.”

Cal Langley smiled at the young girl,

“He knows this Liz; don’t give it a second thought. You resemble someone back on Antar from a very long time ago and that is what has both of them so enthralled with you. You are safe with both of them, trust me.”

“No, Cal, I don’t trust you on this. What aren’t you telling us?”

“Zan was in love with Serena, your double. You are an earthling and therein lies the difference.

“Zan was betrothed to Ava but he was in love with Serena. The marriage was arranged and when the queen’s scientists mixed the essences for the queen they used Ava’s essence because they did not know about Serena. You have nothing to worry about. You will end up with Max, I have no doubt about it at all and Zan will end up with Ava on Antar.

“Zan feels a connection because of his essence not because he knows you. Max has known you most of his young life and has always wanted you. Please relax and enjoy the party.”

“Huh-uh, I’m not buying it; if I look like this Serena then both of them have the same feelings. You have to fix this Cal. This isn’t good, look at poor Ava over there; she’s not sure about any of this either. Come on Cal, work some magic here and fix this.”

Cal followed Liz’s line of vision and could see exactly what she was talking about. He would definitely have to talk to Zan before this got out of hand…what a dilemma this could turn out to be and then Jeff suggested that they all take a plate and make their way through the buffet line.

“I hope there is something there that you will all enjoy.” Jeff said, “Please just help yourselves; you may sit anywhere you want to. Nothing formal is going on here just a get acquainted dinner. Later we’ll move the table and make room for dancing and some fun. Enjoy.”

And with that Liz grabbed Ava by the arm and led her to the beginning of the buffet line and told the young girl to relax and have fun.

“Ava, I would never try to take him from you.” And Ava smiled…”You don’t have to try Liz, he has been waiting for someone all his life and I think it’s you.”

“No Ava, it’s not me. Cal said that I look like a girl from Antar. That’s who he is yearning for. I’m not going to lie to you…it isn’t me it’s a look alike. You need to talk to him about this and the sooner the better Ava because Max is mine.”

And Liz smiled as the two of them made their way through the line with Lonnie, Isabel and Tess hot on their heels. Maria and Michael were close behind and Max, Zan, Rath and Kyle followed suit with Alex preceding his parents. All of the teenagers and young aliens took the far end of the long table where they could sit across from each other and get acquainted.

“Ava, you and Lonnie look absolutely gorgeous. Did Cal take you shopping?” Ava giggled at her new friend and wiggled her fingers and Liz giggled right along with her.

“When I get all of my powers I hope I can do that.”

“What do you mean Liz, when you get your powers?” Ava was confused.

“Oh, I was shot a couple of weeks ago and Max brought me back from the dead, practically. It happened right over there. I’ve been having dreams of the future since and when I told Cal he said it was awfully soon to be developing powers but I would get them and not to worry about it. He also wants me to tell him about all of my dreams. I thought he might have told you about it.”

“No, we talked about the Granolith, the skins and how the FBI is out to get us but we didn’t hit on that subject just yet. He did inform us that we had to act civilized. I hope we’re doing okay.” And Ava laughed as did Liz.

“You’re doing great Ava.” And with that the two girls started talking to the rest of their group as the adults all sat down and then Cal asked Jeff if he would lead them in prayers of thanks for good friends, good food and fond memories. They all smiled and bowed their heads and soon the most noise was flatware clanking against plates as bottles of Tobasco sauce was passed around.

And Philip and Diane Evans’ still wondered about these “twins” they met.

[mary mary]

Lizza: Here you go, one more for you.
Carolyn: Sometime it's the only way to deal!!!

*~*~*~*~*

Chapter: 36 a

The evening progressed quite nicely and by 9:00 p.m. the plates had all been cleared, a beverage bar and dessert cart had been set up, tables removed and booths made available for seating as a small combo set themselves up in the corner by the entrance to the café. The kids all gathered around the counter conversing and yelling back and forth to each other and the girls all watched as Lonnie changed her shoes into a pair of flats and grabbed Rath to have a spin around the dance floor to a particular song she liked and then Isabel asked Alex if he was going to be part of the entertainment this evening.

Alex stood up and bowed to Isabel as those in the know sat and laughed hysterically. Zan looked at Max and Max explained that Alex had put on quite a show for them the last time they were here and Zan asked Alex if he would do it for them. Alex smiled, “Maybe when my mom goes to the ladies room” And the kids all laughed hysterically.

“Alex, don’t you think your mom would enjoy the show as well as the rest of us?” Isabel asked…

“I don’t want to find out.” Alex replied and Maria and Liz grabbed each other and pointed to the band as Isabel made her way over to request a particular song.

The men looked at her and raised an eyebrow and she nodded and they smiled and agreed.

“After this song okay, I think Lonnie and Rath are enjoying this one.”

The men smiled and agreed once more and Isabel took her seat next to Alex and winked at Liz. Liz giggled and whispered to Max…”Tell Zan to get ready.” And Max smiled and leaned over to whisper to his brother; then it started and Alex couldn’t resist.

Jeff and Nancy Parker both raised an eyebrow and started to laugh before the band got through the first refrain. No one was the wiser and then Alex took over.

Jeff got up and grabbed the flashlight from under the counter and lowered the lights with the rheostat and used the flashlight as a spot and Alex was center stage.

He brought the house down and the next thing Alex knew his dad was out there joining him and his mother was holding her sides she was laughing so hard. Alex stepped aside and watched his dad, who looked like his legs were made of rubber, and then he started to laugh as loudly as his mom. This was great, just great, and it seemed as though the ice had been broken. Philip and Diane Evans were laughing so hard they were crying and Isabel and Max just sat there watching in awe as their parents joined in the raucous laughter. They were so happy they could fly…well almost. They really were capable of a lot things but flying would have to be left to Superman.

It was time for Cal to make some announcements to the Evanses and Whitmans and he only hoped they were receptive. Philip seemed to be a little uptight but Cal was sure it was the lawyer in the man and had nothing to do with mistrust. Well there was always a mind warp which he hoped they wouldn’t have to resort to.

Here goes nothing and Cal Langley approached the two couples who were enjoying the party as much as anyone, he only hoped they continued to do so.

Cal nodded to Jeff, indicating that it was time to talk to the adults and as a couple of FBI agents were outside watching the joviality going on inside none was the wiser.

Jeff approached Philip and Diane Evans as Alex asked his mom and dad if they would mind joining Sheriff Valenti, the Parkers and the Evanses at the larger table in the back of the room; they all nodded and followed the adults as the kids started to form a line for line dancing. They all figured this would make more sense to any onlookers from outside if all the parents left the kids to the center of the floor and the band started a little country western music for the kids to carry on to.

The New York four had never joined in any of this type of entertainment in New York so the Roswell eight took them under their wings and proceeded to teach them a few easy steps to get them started and soon the twelve of them were having a high old time, even Zan and Rath, while the conversation in the back of the dining room started to take on a serious note.

“Philip and Diane, this dinner tonight was planned for your benefit and at Alex’s request his parents be brought into the secret as well.” Cal started, and Jeff nodded in agreement.

“Diane and Philip, your children are in great danger right now. They are alien hybrids from another planet and a special unit of the FBI is looking for them in order to study them and I don’t mean in a good way. They want to dissect them and use their parts for experimentation.

“Everyone in this room knows about their other worldly nature but you four. The reason this has become such an immediate problem is because Tess’s uncle has been under the radar of another group of aliens for quite some time and they tracked him to Roswell…”

And Cal Langley continued on with his story while four shocked parents sat in awe of what they were being told as twelve kids danced their hearts out.

Philip watched the reaction of the rest of the people at the table and nodded occasionally, realizing that he and his wife knew that their kids were different but they had no idea it was this big. Finally he looked at Jeff Parker as he watched his son swing Liz around and give her a hug.

“And you’re okay with this Jeff?” Jeff Parker smiled before answering…

“Philip, if it wasn’t for your son my daughter would be dead and as far as I’m concerned there is no choice but to be okay. He’s a wonderful young man and you can be proud of him as well as Isabel. Both of them are swell kids and we think the world of them.”

“Jim, how do you feel about this?” Philip wanted to know.

“Philip, I have read the FBI reports on the 47 crash and about what our government did to those beings from that ship. I am ashamed to be part of the human race; you have no idea what they did to them. Those reports of what was done to those beings are beyond criminal, they are insane.

“As for the kids, I don’t have a problem with any of them. Kyle is really taken with Tess and I think the little blond is pretty enthralled with him as well. I don’t have any problems with them at all; I do have a problem with the FBI infiltrating my office under the guise of a Deputy.

“That order didn’t come from the Capital it came from someplace higher up in our government and I don’t like that at all. That’s where you come in Charly; I think we could use your influence in this matter as well as Cal’s friend. We won’t be giving out any more information than that on this friend’s status; that’s Cal’s business.”

Charles Whitman sat and thought for a minute.

“Sheriff, do you have a copy of those reports that I might read them.”

“I certainly do Charly, they are at my house. Since we’ve had this infiltration I’ve moved a lot of stuff away from the Sheriff’s office to my home. Anybody searching would never think to check out where they are so I’ll just leave it at that and drop the stuff off for you. How’s that?” Jim offered.

“That’s great and I definitely will look into this problem you’ve got going over at your office. We might be able to take care of this before it gets entirely out of hand. Hey, do you think the kids would mind if we joined them on the dance floor for a little go at what they’re doing?”

Philip looked over at Charly Whitman and wondered if the man had lost it all together and then he took a look at his son and daughter and thought, “They’re still my kids!” And he held his hand out to Diane who looked up at her husband and smiled; they had a lot to think about…then Jeff and Nancy joined the other two couples and soon John and Eileen were out there also.

“Well Jim how about you, want to give it a try?”

“I don’t think so Cal but I do think I’m going to grab a guitar and start playing along with the group.”

“Do you play?” Cal was amazed…

“Well, let’s say I try.”

And with that Jim Valenti got up and grabbed the guitar sitting alongside one of the musicians and Cal Langley got up and joined the line dancers for some fun and he found that he really enjoyed this

Zan and his fellow hybrids were having as much fun as the Roswell eight and Max sort of relaxed as his double danced alongside him. As long as he kept his hands off Liz they would get along just fine and Ava watched out of the corner of her eye as Liz paid no attention to any of them. She was having too much fun being silly to notice and it was at this time that Ava decided that earth was her home too.
*

[mary mary]

Lizza: So sorry for the delay, I just got my computer back from the "hospital" so I will give you last weeks update and another later on this week, I hope...barring acts of God and no more viruses! Enjoy.
Natalie; Thank you.
Carolyn: I thought Ava needed some joy in her life...the other New Yorkers didn't seem to be giving her any!!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter: 37

When the party was over and the guests started to leave Charly Whitman took the time to seek Cal out and told him that he would definitely look into the problem Cal was having with the special unit. The government was supposed to be “Of the people, by the people and for the people” and it seemed to Charly that somewhere along the way Daniel Pierce, Jr. seemed to have lost this concept.

Granted, the crash of 47 raised a lot of questions but the investigators of that incident certainly went about it in the wrong way. A lot could have been gained with a more rational approach, but then again most have progressed beyond that mentality since 1947. Unfortunately some have not and Charly wasn’t among that group thank God.

Alex was right, his dad was an open minded soul and Cal smiled at his newly acquired friend, and he knew they would be friends. Cal liked this man as much as he liked his son Alex.

When Cal got back to the residences with his charges he had the New York four join Tess at the Harding house for a midnight snack and then asked the kids to join him in the basement rec room on a searching mission.
They were all very eager to comply and so it was, when they figured out how to manipulate the controls on a certain speaker that shouldn’t have controls the wall moved revealing a very large room that contained numerous antiques and artifacts.

Sitting there on a shelf along with a very large metal type book that Cal recognized as the original book of instructions from Antar was the crystal rod to the Granolith along with the whirlwind communicators that Cal thought had been lost in the original crash so many years ago.

“Cal, what is this stuff?” Zan asked as he stood and held the crystal in his hand.

“That Zan is your way home and the rest of these items are the things you need to know about your home. Tomorrow we will have a meeting with the other three and make some decisions about life as you know it. I’m sure we will be able to have some interesting discussions that will help all of you to decide your futures and how we intend to accomplish all of those decisions.”

“I think we should just go out there to the Granolith and leave now.” Rath barked…

Cal Langley laughed at the surly looking teenager before him and that is exactly what Rath was now that he was cleaned up, and cleaned up he was.

“Rath you have been told, and I will never lie about these things because they are just too important to lie about, Max carries the seal of the king. He is the only one that can activate the Granolith. You have to believe this, otherwise this is all for naught.

“Now, we have to have the other three for this teaching and learning experience. They need to know everything that you do and I will translate this book and explain these communicators to you. We do not want to activate them at all…they will be sent back to Antar when the Granolith is returned.

“There are UFO freaks all over the world that have access to the radio waves required to receive the location of these and we don’t need a bunch of inquisitive UFO nuts hounding your every move. So the communicators stay where they are.

“The book and the key are the only things we are interested in right now. Lessons are to be taught and decisions need to be made. Now all of you go to bed, it’s been a long day. Michael and Max are both working tomorrow morning so we will set up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call Max tomorrow and make the arrangements.

“In the meantime we have a couple of people working on the FBI problem for us and then we need to concentrate on the possible problem upstairs.” And Cal pointed up toward the moon with his index finger, his eyes following and the kids understood.

Rath left the rec room feeling like he’d been chastised by an angry father, wanting to blast the man to hell and Cal knew what the young man was feeling and frankly he didn’t give a damn one way or the other as long as the young hot head did as he was told. This was too important for him not to and then he called out…

“Rath, stay for a minute.”

Rath turned and looked at the balding man and sauntered his way back over to that area of the room while the rest took their leave…

“Rath, you are too important to this to go screwing it up with any uncalled for immature actions so act like an adult, forget your private agenda, and listen for a change.

“You’re not the chosen few here but I think that will change. I’m never going to lie to you and I can guarantee that you will never sleep in a sewer or want for a decent meal again in your life regardless of what planet you live on.

“Now trust someone besides yourself for a change and go get some rest. If you don’t like your room and you want your own it’s yours, just say so. If you don’t like the food in the pantry just say so. Anything you want is yours for the asking Rath, but you have to promise not to act irrationally. That will not be tolerated and there will be consequences.

“You have an important position to fulfill and you will learn what that is in short order but you have to learn to act responsibly first. You can’t take on responsibility if you don’t know how to act responsibly. Do you understand? And don’t act like you don’t because I know you do.”

Rath looked at the man and nodded…and then he started to raise his hand to a position that Cal was very familiar with…

“Don’t even think of it kid, you’ll lose.” And Rath nodded once again and headed up the stairs…for once in his life he believed someone and he wasn’t too sure he liked what he had just been told. He had never had to take on responsibility before and suddenly the lights came on…he was expected to be somebody and he felt good about himself. He didn’t know he was the second in command yet but he would know soon enough.

*

Up on Antar a very anxious self-appointed king was pacing his quarters when his chief advisor strolled in and ordered him to the council chambers.

“Kivar, are you going to share the news? We know you heard from Earth.

“Nasedo is dead, that Caleon sent you a message. We have intercepted all of your correspondence with the shape-shifter and we have advised you to let it rest. Now, we are ordering you to let it rest Kivar. Seriously, do you think that, after all these years, we haven’t made a few friends of our own? You will get rid of this obsession of yours regarding this Granolith and Valondra and you will do it now.”

Kivar looked at his council of advisors and couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He would have them all hung for treason, then he would get Valondra.

His chief advisor looked at him and shook his head…”Don’t even think of it Kivar. They are serious and you don’t have enough individual power to get retribution. It just isn’t there anymore. You have no individual followers.”

Kivar did not believe what he was hearing…this was definitely not what he had planned. He had to see about this. And he left the council chamber on a mission.

*

Back on Earth there was a lot of phone calls and secret meetings taking place behind closed doors within the FBI. The General, who wasn’t getting any input from the FBI director, finally called the Attorney General who in turn talked to the president himself.

“Mr. President, if news of this latest development in Roswell, New Mexico leaks to the press we are going to be in one embarrassing position.

“We managed to write this “space ship” incident off as a crashed weather balloon when there were only newspapers and radios as major news carriers but now with television, the internet and every other form of communication you can imagine we are going to be in some serious trouble with the people of this country.

“We aren’t dealing with immigrants anymore, we are dealing with a very educated population; even if the majority hasn’t attended college or a university they have some degree of intelligence and education. What they haven’t been taught the media can fill them in on. They can fill them full of anything they want to as a matter of fact and the majority will believe what they hear. We have to stop this man and do away with this “special” unit. This agent, agent Pierce, has been brought to our attention before and we have ignored the reports hoping they would disappear. Well they aren’t going to disappear this time. We need to pull a plug on his actions immediately.”

The president looked at the attorney general and nodded….

“Take care of it.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh, do I want to know how you are going to do this?”

“No sir, it’s best you remain ignorant of our methods.”

“I see, keep it quiet then.”

“That you can count on.” And the attorney general walked out of the oval office and made his way out of the building and headed to FBI headquarters.

When the attorney general arrived at the director’s office he was immediately allowed in and took a seat across from him.

“Okay, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to recall that man and his team. You’re going to put him in a facility where they will put him through some serious psychological testing and you will find him insane. Is that understood? And if any of this ever comes to light and the media gets wind of this it will all be an embarrassment that we will apologize for without giving any explanation for his actions. This problem is going to disappear once and for all.

“I have read the reports of the testing done on the beings from this other planet and I feel shame for what we have done. We could have learned so much from a planet that had conquered space and instead we made a shambles of an investigation that was totally uncalled for.

“Suppose we would have found life on Mars and our astronauts had been butchered. Would we have started an intergalactic war? I’m absolutely certain that we would have lost; we are still novices at space travel. Yes, we have satellite dishes and we send rockets out there but we are babies in this field. And if these beings ever decide to come looking for their lost travelers I think we’re going to be in a world of hurt. So, you have to stop this now. Disband that unit and commit that insane fool before we become the laughing stock of the world.”

The director of the FBI sat and listened to the attorney general and told him he would look into it.

“No, you won’t look into it you will get rid of it. I’ll wait while you make the call.”

“But you don’t understand, Pierce heads up the special unit.”

“I understand perfectly, get him back here in Washington and then do what I said. He’s been out of control for a long time and we’ve ignored it but not this time. As I said, I’ll wait.”

And on that note the director of the FBI called an agent Stevens and told him to contact Pierce and have him report to headquarters immediately. Stevens knew something was up and he had a really bad feeling about this…

“Yes sir, I’ll take care of it immediately.”

And when he and the director hung up Stevens got on the phone and called Pierce’s private cell and told him he was needed at headquarters as soon as he could make it and Pierce smiled…Stevens must have found some new information that would help them identify these alien beings and he immediately called Jim Valenti and told him he had a family emergency and needed a couple of days off; he just knew he was getting close.
Valenti smiled, Cal was a magician.
*

[mary mary]

Carolyn and Eve: Thank you, I've been having trouble updating so I'm going to make my remarks brief...trying to make up for last week, I hope you enjoy.

*~*~*~*~*


Chapter: 38

The next morning, Saturday, about 9:00 a.m. Cal called Max and asked him what time he got off work…

“3:00, why?” Max wanted to know what the hell was so urgent so early in the morning.

“We’re going to have some instructions at Tess’s. We found the secret room Tess told us about and there are many items in there that you eight should know about. It will be a teaching session Max and I think it will be very enlightening. Have you had a chance to talk to your folks about anything?

“Yeah, we were up half the night trying to explain why we didn’t tell them sooner. I think they finally resigned themselves to the fact that we are human after all, with some very strange talents.”
Cal laughed…

“Good Max. You can bring them along if you want to. I’m going to use the Antarian book of instructions to educate all of you as to why you were sent here and what is expected of you. As you already know, you carry the seal of the king Max so any major decisions that are made from here on out are for you and only you to make. You can bring your parents along if you want to because I think it will help them understand exactly what this is all about.”

“Alright Cal, I’ll ask you what your opinion is on the subject since I’m new at this. What do you think?”

“Max, I can’t really tell you what to do but, I think it would be advisable for you to bring your folks. Just in case you should decide to leave the planet maybe they would be able to understand it.”

“It’s not gonna’ happen Cal, get that out of your head.”

“I know what you’re saying Max…hear me out okay. Come this afternoon and bring your parents.”

“Okay. I’ll get Michael and Isabel to come with me and we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Great Max, I’ll have dinner ready for all of us when you arrive. I’m sure Eileen and John will be glad to have the evening to themselves. I’ll see you later.”

And with that Cal made a call to Senor Chou’s and ordered enough food for the entire entourage for 4:00 p.m. He would have Chuck pick it up in the SUV. Things were moving right along.

It was about noon when the New York four showed up at Tess’s and John opened the door just as they were about to knock…

“Hey guys, come on in. Cal’s in the kitchen drinking Tobasco sauce laced with iced tea.” Ava laughed, it was so true, and that caused the other three to chuckle along with her. It was unusual for them to laugh at anything and the experience felt good.

“Hey Cal, John said you were in here. Are the others coming?” Zan asked.

Cal frowned at the attire Lonnie had chosen but kept his mouth shut about the cammies and t-shirt. The girl was going to have to start acting a little classier if she intended to live in the Royal House of Antar anytime soon.

Lonnie noticed and ignored the man, it was an intentional ploy to get his attention; it worked.

“Yes they are. Max is bringing his parents, they need to know these things too if they are to understand their children and their responsibilities. Did you sleep well?” Cal asked as he watched Rath.

“I can’t speak for the rest but I slept like a log, as the saying goes.” Ava answered and Lonnie smiled, she had too.

“Yeah, I did too…” Zan added and Rath just nodded as he grabbed an apple from the table and proceeded to take a big bite out of it with great flair; Cal just sat and smiled. He’ll learn how important he is in good time. He just hoped the young man’s mind wasn’t as dull as he acted. Cal was truly beginning to have his doubts about him.

And so the afternoon went as the four visitors and Tess got to know more about each other and then realization set in with the New York four that Tess didn’t know the other three Roswellians any better than they did. How strange because they all seemed so close. Zan was truly puzzled by this, but he wasn’t completely aware of just how much the Roswell four had been through together in the short time they’d known each other either.

Soon enough 4:00 p.m. rolled around and the Evans’ SUV pulled into the driveway of the Harding’s and the five passengers got out and headed to the porch. The same two agents that had watched the party last night at the crash watched these people enter just as Chuck pulled up with a car load of food containers. Michael, Max and his dad all stopped and watched as Chuck started to unload the food and pitched in immediately to help with the trip to the house. Isabel and Diane had both gone up to the front door and rang the bell as John came to open up for them and then he noticed the three men and their armloads of food and smiled wide. One thing about Cal, he may not taste it but nobody went hungry…and then he headed on out to grab some more containers.

Max and Philip followed Chuck into the kitchen as Cal came in from the living room and shouted to Rath and Zan to get outside and help. Tess and Eileen started to get serving platters down from the cupboard and then Isabel and Diane pitched in as well. Soon the women were filling bowls and platters as the men put extensions in the dining room table. Lonnie and Ava stood in amazement…they had never seen anything like this but they would soon learn and Tess smiled at the two young girls as the work continued and then spoke,

“You can get the drinks out of the refrigerator if you want to and set them on the island with the food.” Ava smiled and headed to the refrigerator and then she handed Lonnie a large pitcher of iced tea while she removed the lemonade. Michael went to the pantry and retrieved a Snapple and Rath was right behind him…

“Are there any peach ones in there?” He asked Michael and Michael reached into the case and pulled out another. The two look alikes stood there and grinned at each other…then Michael remarked…

“Great minds think alike.” And Rath snorted at the remark and Michael just grinned at the man, yep just alike he thought.

About 5:00 the kitchen island was loaded with food and drink, plates had been set out in readiness for a line to fill up and John and Eileen informed Cal that they would just as soon eat here with the family and then take in a movie. Cal smiled, Eileen loved family…she loved John and she loved family gatherings and if she decided that Roswell would be her home she would like to get to know these people better. So far she was very impressed with all of them and she was sure that she and Diane would become fast friends.

After everyone had eaten their fill and the dining room and kitchen had been put back to pristine order Cal had Chuck take the rest of the men next door, John and Eileen took their leave and Cal led the eight hybrids and the Evanses to the rec room.

After everyone made themselves comfortable Cal went to the special speaker and hit the button to open the wall. Max and his group sat there in silence as Cal moved toward a metal looking book, it looked awfully familiar to Max, and Cal removed it as he began to speak.

“I’m going to read you what this book has to say and then when I’m finished doing that I’m going to let each and every one of you ask me questions. I will answer all of you to the best of my ability and we will not leave until you have all had your questions answered. I hope we can all learn something here but please, save your questions until I am finished. It has been a very long time since I read this language so I may have to concentrate just a little harder than I would normally have to do. As the saying goes, use it or lose it and let’s just hope I haven’t lost it. Here goes.”

“My children, if you are reading this then you are safe and that was our intention when we sent you to earth, to keep you safe.

My son, you are the surviving heir to the Royal family. You have the seal of the King implanted in your brain.

There are two sets of you for safety reasons but only one of you will bear the seal.

My son, your betrothed has been sent with you but this does not mean you are obliged to wed her; it was a gesture of the scientists.

My daughter, your betrothed, the second in command to the king, has been sent as well. This is also a gesture of the scientists.

They felt you should not be destined to be alone if you were rejected on this planet.

The future of Antar is not known at this time. The traitor who is responsible for your deaths sits on the throne. He has followers in the kingdom but it is felt that these people will soon see this man for what he truly is and they will rebel along with our loyal followers.

Should you decide to return to us the throne is yours and will be waiting for you. You will find that the loyal followers of the king will see to it. We will welcome you home to us and know that you are loved.

You have been given the Sacred Granolith for safe keeping. It will bring you back to us should you decide to come. The Granolith is our guarantee that you are the rightful heir. If you choose not to come please destroy the only key to this sacred object, it cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of our enemies.

I love you and I want you to be safe and happy. If I never see you again, please live a long and happy life.”

Cal finished reading the book and set it aside and then looked at the group of young people sitting there looking at him.

“Which one is the king?” Philip asked.

Cal looked at Max and then at Philip…

“Max is the king Philip. Max carries the seal of Antar.”

“Max, did you know this?” Philip was stunned as was Dianne.

“Not until a couple of weeks ago dad, that trouble at the carnival was a set up by some aliens who were sent to find us. They are the ones who killed Ed Harding,”

Max didn’t see the need to call Ed Nasedo for his dad.

“They wanted to find this Granolith and take it back to Antar but they didn’t know which one of us had the key so they decided to capture all of us.”

“Max, what are you saying; they wanted all eight of you?” Diane was shocked.

“Not us Mrs. Evans, Liz, Kyle, Alex and Maria with those four.” Ava offered.

“Dear God, how did you find out?”

“Ed Harding told us and then he called Cal for help. Then these aliens killed Ed and Cal called in his men and we have been under their protection since then. They are even protecting you, mom and dad.” Max answered as Cal watched the Evanses faces and noted the various expressions of shock as the seriousness of all of this registered.

“Where are these aliens now? Are they still looking for you?” Diane was near hysteria.

“No, they’re gone.” Max answered nonchalantly, he really didn’t want to elaborate but it looked like it was leading up to that…Zan was truly enthralled with all of this as well as the Evanses and couldn’t wait to hear the rest of the story.

Cal just waited, he knew it was coming he just wondered how the kid would handle it.

“What do you mean gone…by gone you mean they left?”

Tess giggled and Michael snorted, Isabel had to stifle laughter when thinking about Alex… Philip now raised an eyebrow…

“Not exactly the way you’re thinking…they’re dead I guess.”

“YOU GUESS!!! Don’t you know?” Philip couldn’t believe his ears…

“Well, they just sort of blew up.”

“BLEW UP??? As in BOMBED?” Philip was losing patience…

“No…as in “POOF”!” Max made a gesture with his hands; Diane could only look on in horror…

“Son, explain POOF for us.” Philip demanded.

“Well dad, it’s like this. They had to wear these protective skins over their true forms in order to survive earth’s atmosphere. If you hit these protective skins across their back then they just turned to ashes and blew away…or... you could burn them up.”

“How many of these “skins” were there?” Philip wanted to know.

“I don’t know; a couple hundred I guess, maybe more.”

“And you hit all of them across the back.”

“Not exactly”

“Hmmm, by not exactly then just how did they go ‘poof’?” Diane wanted to know, she was getting intrigued with the whole idea and Cal was just sitting back enjoying the whole story and Zan and his crew were fascinated.

Max looked over to his friends for some help and Michael dipped a chip into a bowl of spicy hot salsa and gave Max a thumbs up with one thumb as he popped a chip in his mouth with his other hand…
Tess giggled again and Isabel had a twinkle in her eye too, she couldn’t wait and Max suddenly figured what the hell and proceeded to tell the whole story and then he wound it up with the big finish…just what his partners in crime were waiting for…

“And when the leader tried to escape Alex pissed on him and I whacked him in the back with a bat.”

And the three Roswell aliens started to laugh hysterically; Cal Langley watched in amusement at the fact that Max would describe it like that, the New York four choked on their own laughter as they howled and pointed at Max and Diane Evans looked at Max and yelled…

“Maxwell Evans you watch your mouth!” And then Philip Evans burst out laughing just as loudly as everyone else in the room.

“Does anyone else have any questions?” Cal asked with a huge grin on his face.

“Yes, what about this rebel on Antar and we have an immediate problem here on earth as well with the FBI.”

“I think the FBI is going to be handled shortly by the inner workings of our government, I have it on pretty good authority. Now, as for Antar, I have also been in contact with the rebel in question and I don’t think we’re going to have much trouble from him after he gets my message. There is a satellite system set up in the garage with a direct link to this Antarian rebel and I’m sure he knows by now that the Granolith will not be returned to him. We can communicate with the Royal Priest via the Granolith and advise him of our intentions, whatever they are. That decision is up to Max.”
Max looked around the room and then back to Cal.

“I’m a kid, I don’t know anything about ruling a planet and I definitely do not want to leave this one. So someone else has to make this decision, I won’t.”

“No Max, you will. The decision is yours and only yours to make.”

“Let me talk this over with Zan. I know we are the same age but he seems better suited to this decision than I do.”

Zan looked shocked, this was the last thing he expected from his “twin” and he wasn’t prepared for this revelation.

“Max, I’m not so sure that’s what we should do. This seems like a very hasty decision on your part.” Zan wasn’t sure his twin realized the seriousness of all of this.

“No it isn’t. Cal told me I can pass this seal on and I definitely do not want to leave earth.

“I’ve had a good life here, I’m happy here and you have not had it so nice. You have also been told that you are the king by other aliens and I never even knew about it. You have been preparing for it and I’ve been going to school and studying history about earth not Antar.

“I never even heard of Antar until a couple of weeks ago. I’ve lived in fear of who I was all my life and now that the people I love know about me and still love me I want to stay.

“You can have the seal and then you can make the decisions about Antar and what to do with this sacred ‘thing’ they’re talking about. It’s yours; I don’t need to think about it.”

Zan looked over to Lonnie, Rath and Ava and then to the other three.

“What do you want?” Zan asked all of them.

“I’m staying.” Tess said with a nod…”Me too,” added Isabel and Michael nodded, “I’m staying.”

Ava looked at the Roswell four and smiled…

“If Tess wants a sister I’m staying too.”

“WHAT!” Zan all but shouted…

“Yes Zan, I’m staying. I was your betrothed but I wasn’t your love. Maybe you’ll find your Serena when you go back…you didn’t know about her but Cal did. He told Liz all about the girl you really loved. Our betrothal was arranged by our families but you loved someone else. Go find her Zan, I’m staying.”

Zan looked at Cal and he nodded… Liz took care of her problem right proper.

“Well Max, if you’re serious I guess we can make plans to exit the planet then.”

“I’m serious, now it’s up to Cal to make it happen.”

Cal nodded and then informed the eight of them that there was much more they needed to know before any of this could happen and the only thing Max wanted to know was, “were they compatible with humans?” Cal smiled, “Max, I told you that you were human and I didn’t lie, you are.” And Max smiled, that was all he needed to know. Life was going to be great as soon as they got rid of the rest of their problems.

[mary mary]

Carolyn: I think that staying is a great choice, I'm with you.
Eve: I think I cover all their choices soon...I hope so.
Lizza: I'm so glad you're enjoying this, stick with me here and I think you'll really like it.
*~*~*~*~*~*


Chapter: 39

Agent Daniel Pierce, Jr. arrived in Washington D C just in time to meet agent Stevens as he was exiting FBI headquarters and motioned for the man to follow him back in to meet with the Director. Agent Stevens really didn’t want to be included in this meeting, NOT AT ALL!!!

“Dan, I’m sorry but I have a prior commitment. If I would have been aware of your arrival I would have canceled but it’s too late to do that now.” Stevens was hoping his boss was buying this because he knew in his bones that trouble was on the horizon and he wanted to be as far as he could get from it.

“Well is the director in?” Pierce didn’t want to go in if the director was out.

“He’s there Dan…go right on in.” Dan slapped Stevens across the back and bid him good evening and made his way to the elevator that would take him to the basement level and the main offices.

When Dan Pierce disappeared into the building Stevens felt it his duty to give the director a heads up and made the call immediately.

“Director, Agent Pierce is on his way to your office right now. He must have caught the first flight out.”

“Thank you Stevens, I’ll wait for him.”

And with that the director placed a call to the attorney general’s office and spoke with the man himself.

“Agent Pierce is in our building and on his to my office now. Do you want to handle this or should I call in security?”

“Call security and have them wait for my arrival, I’ll be there in 20 minutes and I’ll take it from there. I have the papers ready and it will be done as quietly as possible. I’ll have a car ready to pick us up and we will take him to Bethesda for admittance. From there you don’t have the need to know.” And with that the Attorney General called for several secret service agents and headed to FBI headquarters to deal with the man who could become one of the nation’s greatest embarrassments. While enroute he called the General who brought all of this to light.

“Eddie, it’s taken care of. You can relax now.” Eddie smiled, and then called Cal.

Cal Langley made his way to the garage of the Harding’s and made himself comfortable as he composed a message for the Antarian government. He knew that they would be intercepting these messages from Earth just as he knew the U.S. Government had their hands in just about everything that went on in their country and everyone else’s for that matter. And so it was that he informed them that the Granolith would be on its way with the young heir to the throne and to prepare the Queen to receive her children and the young king’s second in command.

The young Ava, betrothed to Zan, would not be returning with the heir and then he went on to explain that the queen should find Serena. Serena was the one true love of Zan’s and it would be only fitting if the woman had been cloned or had an offspring that might please the young king.

Cal was very pleased with himself.

In the meantime, Kivar had teleported himself to Earth via the worm hole and was seeking out Isabel. He showed up at a very opportune time actually, Cal was just leaving the garage when he had this fierce feeling cross his mind and when he turned there he was…

“Kivar, this is the biggest mistake of your miserable life.” And Cal Langley raised his hand and blasted the unwanted alien into oblivion. Cal stood and smiled, life just didn’t get any better than this.

Up on Antar a group of advisors and counselors suddenly felt the loss of the self-appointed king and then the communications department sent a messenger to them with a message they had just intercepted addressed to Kivar but was actually meant for the exiled queen. The head advisor read it and then nodded to the messenger…

“Take this to the rebel camp; they will know how to reach the queen. Tell her to come “home” the king is going to be returning soon.”

The messenger got this strange look on his face…they weren’t supposed to know about the rebel camp.

“Go, we’ve always known about it. Tell her it is safe to come home, the tyrant is dead.”

The messenger could not believe what he was hearing but he took his leave and then ran, actually ran, as fast as he could to the rebel camp to bring them the good news. Kivar was dead, the heir to the throne was returning with the Granolith.

The cheering could be heard for miles and the counselors and advisors were elated. They had been displeased with the self-appointed king since the beginning and now things would return to normal and they could start building a thriving planet once again.

Cal made his way back into the house and informed Zan and his fellow travelers that as soon as they were familiar with Antarian protocol and the language they would be on their way. Zan suddenly got a knot in his stomach and Rath and Lonnie were feeling slightly empty as well.

“Cal, will we be able to return sometime?”

Cal Langley smiled,

“Zan, I think if you wish to return you will be able to use a much more modern method than the Granolith for the trip, it has a failsafe switch anyway and it’s only good for a single trip back to Antar.

“I don’t know how Kivar managed to get here but I’m sure, when you get back to Antar, that you will be amazed at what you find among his personal papers. Be sure to read all of them, they have to be filled with a mountain of information that you will need and that you will want. The most important thing to remember is the population. Without their support you are nothing. They are what this is all about.

“You will learn to trust your advisors and Rath will learn how to lead an army but this will all take time.

Anytime you want to come back you will have a place with me. Whether it’s for a visit or to stay; I believe you will discover a new method of travel and it will make it much easier for more frequent trips. You may even want to take your twin back with you someday and introduce him to your planet.”

“I don’t think he’ll go.” And Cal laughed.

“You could be right Zan. Max is perfectly content right where he is and I think it’s only going to get better for him.”

“Cal, who is this Serena?”

“Serena was your one true love Zan, but your father and the leader of a sister planet arranged your marriage before you were ever born. Your mother knew of Serena vaguely but never mentioned her to your father. She figured you would learn to love Ava.”

“Cal I do love Ava but I’m not in love with Ava. Does this Serena look like Liz?”

“Yes she does Zan and I only hope you find your Liz on Antar. I’m sure your mother will be much more receptive to the idea of you choosing your own queen after all of these years.

“You have good instincts Zan, use them wisely and study hard. Learn everything from every source available and never stop studying. It will mean a much happier population and with happy people you will lead a happy life. You must decide what is best for all the people not just the noise makers. Be wise and know the difference.”

Zan nodded as Rath and Lonnie listened. Tess had already made her way upstairs with Ava under her wing.

*
“Ava, we have to get you enrolled in school…do you have any idea what you would like to study.”
Ava giggled,

“Tess, I’ve never been to a formal school, I don’t know anything.” Tess smiled at her twin…

“Of course you do, you just aren’t aware of it yet. Here, take a look at this biology book I have here and read the first chapter then tell me what you think?

“If you have any questions we’ll have Liz help us. She’s my lab partner at school, it’s how we met actually and you’ll love her. She will help both of us. I just know you’ll be fine.

“We’ll tell the school that we were separated as babies when our parents died and since Uncle Ed passed away Uncle Cal felt we should be together. People will take one look at us and believe every word of it.”

“You’re really good at this lying aren’t you?” Ava asked…

“Well, I’ve had a good teacher. But the lying stops now. We’re going to be sisters and we’re going to have a chance at being teen-agers and we’re going to have some fun Ava. It’s about time. Then we’re going to go to college and we are going to make something of ourselves and when the time comes we will meet someone we want to share the rest of our lives with and we will share our secret once again. Now read the book and tell me what you think it means.”

And Tess sat on the edge of her bed and proceeded to take her shoes and socks off as her ‘sister’ began to read.

Across town a very tired Liz Parker made her way to her room and couldn’t wait to get into a warm shower and then her pj’s. She hadn’t written in her journal in what seemed like weeks and she was starting to feel very excited about that. She had so much to record and she only hoped she could remember all of it.

She stepped out of her dirty clothes and managed to hit the hamper, almost, on her way to the bathroom and by the time she reached the tub and turned the water on she was as naked as the day that she was born. She adjusted the water to suit her frame of mind, mildly hot, and stepped in and drew the curtain. She smiled, this felt wonderful.

Her thoughts were running wild for a few seconds and then she managed to take some control and soon the thought of Max took over. She was absolutely enthralled with the young man and could hardly wait for school on Monday and then she had to giggle at the thought of their first kiss…that was wonderful and the one at school was so sweet; she stood under the shower of water and thought about it over and over, experiencing the feelings as though they were happening all over again.

And the stars! God the shower of stars, millions of stars; life was wonderful and then she came down from her high with a thud…he’s a king!

“HE. IS. A. KING. LIZ! A. FRIGGIN’ KING!”

And suddenly she felt like crying. God, this can’t be happening, no, it can’t be happening. And she did cry, almost uncontrollable sobs wracked her body until she couldn’t cry anymore. NO, it can’t be…we won’t let it be and she turned the water off, got out of the tub, wrapped herself in her robe and made her way back to her room where she found a note pinned to her pillow.

“Meet me on the roof, Max”

She picked the note up and smiled as she went to her dresser and retrieved some pj’s, for modesty reasons, and went back into her bathroom to put the clothes on. Then she went and crawled through the open window where she found Max sitting with his elbows resting on his knees, hands folded in front of him. He stood when he saw her and noticed the red rimmed eyes and immediately went to her.

“Liz, what’s wrong?” She stifled a sob and said…

“You’re a king.” And Max smiled.
*