Roswell Fanatics

Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17

The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.


From Sexual Healing:

“What are you doing here, Max?”

“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”


AN: The two main themes in the feedback for the last part were:

1. Where’s Tess and
2. Not another cliffhanger!

Well, about Tess. Poor Tess. Damn, that girl can’t get a break. You’ll find out what Zan did to her in this part.

And about the cliffies. Well, I have no apologies. That’s just the kind of fic this is. When the cliffies stop, it means the end is near. I suppose if I had to classify this fic, I’d call it an action/thriller, meant to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Now, does everyone remember where we left off last week? Zan dragged Tess through the desert in his quest to find Liz. Tess tried to get through to his human side, but he thought she was talking too much.

Zan found Liz outside of the pod chamber, and his look, his demeanor, had her fooled until she touched him. Then she knew it was him, but it was too late.

Max felt Liz scream in his head. He brought the jeep to a screeching stop, knowing something was horribly wrong.

Now on to the story . . .


Aftermath
Part 60


“Whadda ya mean, Liz is in trouble?” Michael shouted over the roar of the engine. He grabbed the edge of his seat, holding on for dear life as Max whipped the jeep into a 180 and floored it, heading back in the direction of the Vasquez Rocks. Isabel and Ava were jostled from one side of the backseat to the other, shoulders and elbows and legs colliding, grunts of surprise squeaking out of their throats as the wind ripped through their hair. Neither one of them knew what the hell was going on.

“Max!” Isabel grabbed the headrest of the passenger seat in front of her and pulled herself forward. “What are you doing?!”

“Something’s wrong,” Max gripped the steering wheel with white knuckled hands. His voice came out tight, controlled, but with a desperate edge. He’d felt Liz’s panic; heard her silent scream in his head. He had to get back to her. Now!

“Is it Rath? Lonnie?” Michael demanded, fighting his own panic at the thought of what might be happening to Maria. “Did Kyle’s power fail? Did they get fuckin’ loose?” When Max just kept staring straight ahead without answering, Michael shouted over the roar of the wind and the straining engine. “MAX!”

“I don’t know!” Max cried out. “I don’t know!”

Isabel touched her brother’s shoulder to try to calm him. The speed of the jeep rose above 90, heading toward 100. “Max, slow down. It’s not going to help anyone if you get us all killed!”

Max blinked. He forced himself to ease back to 90 on the gas, but he wasn’t going to go any slower than that. Liz needed him. That brief moment when she’d screamed inside his head still had him shaking, but the silence he heard now was even worse.

“Is it your connection to Liz?” Ava brushed back her hair, trying to keep the blowing strands from flying in her face. “Can you feel her?”

“No,” Max answered grimly. The tension ratcheted higher when he added, “Not anymore.”

* * * * *

“Do you think they can feel anything?” Maria asked, poking her finger into Rath’s cheek. His skin felt pliable, warm, the stubble prickly to her touch.

“Maria!” Kyle pulled her hand away, but Maria wasn’t put off. Her curiosity was too great. She eyed Rath from head to toe.

“Their facial expressions haven’t changed since you froze them in place, but they’re still warm, they’re still alive. What d’ya think is happening to ‘em?”

“They’re out of phase,” Kyle said matter-of-factly, and then his eyes shot wide open. Where the hell did that come from?

“They’re what?” Maria blurted out.

“Out of phase?” Alex scrambled to his feet. He walked around the two dupes, grinning and nodding in agreement. “That’s so cool!”

“What’s ‘out of phase’ mean?” Maria demanded.

“They’re not in our same time anymore,” Kyle said, surprising himself as much as her. “They look like they’re frozen, but they’re really not. It’s a phase shift, where their time is different from ours.”

“So in their ‘time’,” Alex joined in, “they’re living and breathing and ready to pounce on Michael and Maria, but for us a whole day has passed.”

“Exactly,” Kyle nodded.

Maria planted her hands on her hips. “Since when did you grow a brain?”

“Maria!” Alex scolded.

“Well, we shared the same remedial math class for 3 years!” Maria pointed in Kyle’s direction. “Einstein he’s not! Where’d he come up with something like that?”

Kyle let her comments roll off his back. He knew it was just her nerves talking. It was freaky, feeling these changes happening to him, but he was starting to accept that they weren’t necessarily a bad thing. It wasn’t that he felt any smarter, but rather he was developing an understanding of his power, its cause and effect, and with that knowledge came a sense of confidence and self-assurance.

“I’m sorry,” Maria sighed. “I didn’t mean –”

“It’s okay,” Kyle shrugged. “You might grow a brain, too.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Alright, I deserved that.”

Kyle snorted a laugh. He glanced at his watch and announced, “I’m gonna go see what’s taking Liz so long.”

He wandered out to the mouth of the cavern knowing he shouldn’t go too far, but he needed a breath of fresh air almost as badly as he needed to piss. He stood on the rock shelf for a moment, just taking in the quiet of the desert, then made his way down the incline. He found a nice cactus to pee against, and when he was done he turned to walk toward the Jetta. When he did, he stopped dead in his tracks. A bag of groceries lay torn and scattered on the ground.

“Liz?” Kyle’s heart began to pound in his chest.

He knelt down to touch a box of donuts, but he didn’t get a flash of what happened here. He hadn’t developed that power yet. He spun around when a sound came from behind him, like a whimper or a sob.

“Liz?” he rose to his feet, walking cautiously, trying not to crunch the rocks under his shoes. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up.

Something moved beyond the scrub grass and the tumbleweed. He touched the butt of the gun tucked in his waistband; it might be a coyote, or a jack rabbit, or even a prairie dog, but then again it could be a blood sucking alien out to take over the world. He bit at his lip nervously and moved forward.

A shoe came into view, small, feminine, covered in desert dust. One glance told him it didn’t belong to Liz. He’d seen the Indian moccasins she’d been wearing earlier, the ones Riverdog gave her, and they didn’t look like this. A jean covered leg came into view stretching out across the ground, dirty, dusty, and familiar. A step closer revealed a pair of hands crossed at the wrists and bound together, tied to a stake in the ground. Shoulders slumped, head hung forward, dirty blonde hair hid her face, but Kyle would recognize her anywhere.

“Tess?” he voiced in near disbelief. He knew it couldn’t be Ava, he’d watched her drive away with Max and the others. Besides, his senses told him it was Tess. He could feel it. He crouched down beside her.

She whimpered again when Kyle touched her shoulder. He felt tremors wrack her body, but other than her dirty and worn appearance, and the fact that she was tied up to a stake, he couldn’t see any injuries. No blood on her clothes. No bruises he could see.

“Tess,” he said her name gently. “It’s me. Kyle. What happened?” He had a hundred other questions. Who brought her here? Who tied her up like this? Where was the bastard now? A surge of fierce protectiveness coursed through him. “Who did this to you, Tess?”

He lifted his hand to brush back her hair but she shied away from him. She drew up her legs into a fetal like position. Her whimpers sounded muffled.

“Tess, I won’t hurt you. Talk to me.”

Kyle’s concern turned to horror as she lifted her head. He gasped and fell back away from her. Her blue eyes shimmered with tears, wet tracks streaked through the dirt on her cheeks, clear snot dribbled from her nose, but that wasn’t what horrified him.

“Fuck!” Kyle cried out at the sight before him. He couldn’t feel the rocks digging into his palms as he braced his arms behind him. He couldn’t feel the warmth of the morning sun, or the soft breeze drifting across the desert. All he could see was the smooth skin on the lower half of Tess’s face, unblemished and unbroken.

Tess didn’t have a mouth anymore.

* * * * *

“Maybe I should try looking through Zan’s mission book again,” Alex pulled it out of the bag it was stored in. “If I can decipher it, maybe it’ll give us some insights into –”

Alex’s voice was cut off as Kyle raced into the pod chamber carrying Tess in his arms. Her head leaned against his shoulder, hiding her face from Alex and Maria.

“Does anyone know how to close that fuckin’ door?” Kyle blurted out.

“What’s going on?!” Maria panicked. “What happened to – where’s Michael!”

“It’s not Michael we have to worry about!” Kyle growled. He swept a wild gaze around the chamber, and then moved to gently set Tess on the floor. He tried not to jostle her; he still didn’t know the extent of her injuries, besides the obvious. Her breathing sounded strained; her sinuses were swollen from crying, and she didn’t have a mouth to breathe through.

“Tess,” he knelt beside her, brushing his thumbs across the tears on her cheeks. “Try to relax. Here, let me help you.” He lifted the corner of his shirt to wipe her nose to try to make her breathing easier.

“Ewww! Gross!” Maria scrunched up her face, but then Kyle moved and that’s when she saw it. She stumbled back against Alex.

“Oh my god! What happened to her?” Alex cringed.

“It’s Zan. He’s here,” Kyle spit the words over his shoulder. Turning back to Tess, his tone gentled. “Isn’t he?” When Tess nodded, he continued. “He did this to you, didn’t he?” With renewed tears, Tess nodded again.

Kyle’s face blazed with anger. His jaw tightened, his teeth clenched. “That fucker’s going down!”

Tess grabbed for him as he bolted to his feet. Garbled sounds stayed trapped inside her throat. She shook her head wildly; taking on Zan would only get him killed.

“Liz!” Maria cried out. “Where’s Liz?!” She made a run for the mouth of the cave but Alex held her back.

“WAIT! We can’t just go running out there!”

While they argued, Tess scurried over to the entrance of the cave and waved her hand over the wall before they could stop her. She collapsed onto the floor in a heap when the rock wall slid closed, sealing them inside. It wouldn’t keep Zan out, but it would keep Kyle and the others locked inside. They couldn’t help Liz now. Zan had her, and they were no match for him.

* * * * *

Max came to a screeching stop beside the Jetta, sending rocks and dirt and dust flying. He bolted over the door of the jeep without even bothering to open it. When his feet hit the ground he took off running.

“Max!” Michael struggled with the door handle while Isabel shoved at his shoulder.

“Hurry UP!”

Ava pushed by them both and climbed out the driver’s door. She raced around the front of the jeep, shouting, “Max, WAIT!”

The tone of her voice made Max skitter to a stop. When he turned to look at her he saw the reason why. Food lay strung out all over the ground at the back of the Jetta. He took a step in that direction, feeling his stomach twist and tighten. Something had happened here. Something bad.

“Maria,” Michael shot his eyes up toward the top of the rock face towering above them. In a flash he was racing up the incline, with Isabel hot on his heels. Max stayed back, staring at the food on the ground. An apple. Bananas. Half a dozen croissants in a zip lock bag. He knelt down and touched a box of donuts.

“Is it really over?”

“Let’s go away, Liz. You and me. Someplace where no one knows us.”

The flash slammed into Max in vivid detail. Liz talking to Zan, thinking it was him. Zan uttering a string of lies, luring her away from safety. Adrenaline flooded through him. He rose to his feet consumed with deadly rage.

“Zan,” Max growled out the name.

* * * * *

Liz fought against the body pinning her down, hitting her fists against his head and his shoulders and his back. She’d run for her life when she realized he wasn’t Max, but her flight had been short lived. She wasn’t a match for Zan. They both knew it. He tackled her to the ground on the far side of the Rocks, knocking her off her feet before she could get too far away.

“Stop!” Zan growled, grabbing her wrists to keep her from bashing him about the head. Her knee came up to groin him, but he blocked the blow. “I’m not gonna hurt you!”

“Let me go! Let me go!”

To her surprise, Zan did just that. He released his grip and rolled off of her. Liz scrambled to sit up, scooting back away from him.

“Liz,” his voice broke, seeing the look of fear in her eyes.

Liz struggled to catch her breath, surprised she wasn’t dead already. But there was something about his face, some familiar emotion that drew her to him. The same way she’d always been drawn to Max. She was scared to death of him, yet oddly attracted to him at the same time.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Zan blurted out in unfamiliar fashion. He wasn’t a man used to showing any emotion. “I’m fine when you’re not around, but when I see you, you make me want things I’m not supposed to have, and I can’t – my mission – everything feels so wrong. What are you doing to me?”

“I – I’m not –”

“Everything gets so crazy when I’m around you,” Zan raked a trembling hand back through his short hair. “If I let you live, my life is over, but you – I can’t – fuck!”

Liz watched him climb to his feet. He turned away from her, like the sight of her was too much for him to take. She rose to her feet but she didn’t try to run.

“Zan –”

“Don’t!” his voice came out gruffly. “Don’t say my name!”

Zan was a name used to signify his unit, his rank, his placement. Nothing more. It wasn’t a name to be sung, or sighed over, or whispered in a loving tone. She didn’t say his name the way he wanted her to, the way he ached for, the way she said Max’s name.

Liz took a deep breath to fortify herself, then reached out to touch Zan’s shoulder. The need to touch him was too great, like a driving force she couldn’t resist. Some sixth sense guided her as her fingers touched his skin – and then she got the flash . . .


Explosions lit the night sky, rivaling the brightness of the dual moons. Smoke swirled in the dense air.

A dark figure emerged from the shadows, tall, bold, fearless. A tangle of dark hair hung down to his leather clad shoulders, wild and untamed. He lifted a muscular arm, scarred from countless battles. Smaller creatures heeded his command.

Another explosion lit the sky revealing his features. A man among aliens. Amber eyes surveyed the battlefield; he wouldn’t rest until the enemy was destroyed, every last one of them.


When the vision faded, Liz stared up into Zan’s face, no longer frightened or intimidated. Her hand moved from his shoulder to touch his cheek.

“It was you,” she marveled.

“What?” Zan swallowed hard. Her touch felt so soft, so full of promise.

“In my vision –”

She didn’t get a chance to say more; that she’d seen him in her vision, that the same ruthlessness and cunning he’d used on Earth as a murderer would lead to his redemption. That his leadership would conquer the enemy, and free an enslaved planet. That the Skins’ instrument of destruction would become their own destroyer.

A ferocious growl tore through the air cutting Liz off in mid sentence. She and Zan looked up just as Max launched himself off a ledge high above them. He slammed into Zan, knocking him backwards into the dirt. They grappled across the ground, one man bent on destruction, possessive and protective, driven by rage, and the other acting on instinct, his skills honed to deadly perfection, aggression his way of life.

“NO!” Liz screamed, watching the two men locked in mortal combat.

“STOP! You don’t understand!”



TBC . . .


And here are the links to a few of my other stories:
Repost in progress:
A Special Kind of Love
Completed fics:
Maxeo and Lizziet
Captive Hearts
A Walk in the Park
Downfall
Pieces of the Past
Echoes of Tomorrow

Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17

The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.


From Sexual Healing:

“What are you doing here, Max?”

“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”



Aftermath
Part 61


The desert air hung hot and dry, heavy with the crackle of alien energy. Explosions made the ground tremble, transforming the normally tranquil setting in to a battlefield. Displaced rocks flew through the air, pinging the dirt near Liz’s feet and zinging past her ear. She watched in horrified stupefaction as Max used his shield to deflect a blast from Zan, then answered with a blast of his own. Zan diverted the energy, but it distracted him long enough for Max to launch himself through the air, hitting Zan in the chest and taking him down again. They grappled across the ground; Max going for Zan’s throat, Zan pushing on Max’s face to shove him off.

Five sets of thundering footsteps raced down from the pod chamber. Michael led the way, with Isabel, Maria, Alex, and Ava following behind him. Kyle stayed near the mouth of the cavern. He wasn’t going to leave Tess, and she wasn’t in any condition to join the battle raging on the rocks down below.

Michael reached Liz’s side, lifting his hand to hurl a blast, but unable to find a clear target. One minute Max was on top, then Zan, then Max again as they fought, rolling across the ground in hand to hand combat.

“Don’t!” Liz grabbed Michael’s arm to prevent him from joining the fight. Michael didn’t argue with her; he couldn’t tell which was which anyway.

“Do something!” Isabel shouted to no one in particular. “We have to help him!”

Zan felt the ground at his back again. Sharp rocks poked into his shoulder blades and his spine while Max tried to cover his nose and mouth in an attempt to smother him. Zan turned his head, which only succeeded in getting his cheek ground into the dirt and rocks.

“Die you motherfucker,” Max growled through gritted teeth. His hand began to glow with malevolent energy, scorching a palm print into Zan’s cheek. The air filled with the smell of burning flesh.

Zan’s hand clamped around Max’s wrist and forced it back. He turned his head to make eye contact, attempting to exert his will, to mentally command Max into submission, but to his surprise he couldn’t get through. It was his strength, his power, to get inside the mind of his adversary and force him into submission, but somewhere along the line things had changed.

Max was stronger now, apparently able to block the kind of mental violation Zan was skilled at. For the first time in his life, Zan found himself in a battle he might not be able to win. The thought spurred an unfamiliar reaction in him. He’d never been a man given to panic, but he couldn’t stand the thought of dying now, at Max’s hand, while Liz stood by and watched.

A burst of adrenalin rushed through Zan. He used his powers to throw Max off of him and surged to his feet before the angry hybrid could do any more damage. Max stumbled to the edge of the rocks, trying to regain his balance. Zan lowered his shoulder and charged him. The impact sent them both flying over the edge.

“Max!” Liz cried out, rushing to the precipice. She skittered to a stop at the edge, looking down at the two combatants once more locked in a deadly battle on a rock shelf twenty feet below. From this vantage point, she couldn’t tell which one was Max and which was Zan. They were both dressed the same; dark jeans, black t-shirt, black and white striped tennis shoes.

“Jesus,” Michael exclaimed, looking over the edge with Liz. “They’re gonna kill each other.”

On the rocks below, Max pinned Zan to the ground. In a battle for his life, there could be no hesitation. He placed his hand against Zan’s chest to send his power through his glowing palm, to burn through his opponent’s skin and incinerate his heart, to kill his adversary before his adversary could kill him.

Flame rose from Zan’s black shirt, burning Max’s palm and Zan’s chest. With a cry of pain, Zan heaved upwards and knocked Max off. Max scrambled to regain his footing, but Zan was up first, handprint burned into his face, t-shirt still smoking. He raised his hand and sent Max flying backwards.

Max hit his shoulder hard but he couldn’t give into the pain. He rolled over and pushed himself up to his hands and his knees while Zan advanced on him.

“Stay down, and I’ll let you live.”

Max lifted his head, snorting a derisive laugh. “You’re not in charge here.” He used his powers to shift the dirt under Zan’s feet, sending the dupe to the ground. Max was on him in a flash, pounding his fist into Zan’s face, bloodying his knuckles with each violent impact.

Zan grabbed Max’s fist, squeezing hard enough to snap bone. Their heated gazes locked together, amber eyes on amber eyes, both men dueling for mental dominance. Zan tried to push his way inside, past the defensive shield cloaking Max’s mind. Max pushed right back, stronger than ever before.

“Stop. Please, you have to stop.”

They both heard the plaintive cry at the same time; Liz, begging them to stop. They turned to see her standing just a few feet away, looking at them with tears in her eyes.

‘Liz?” Max pushed off Zan and climbed shakily to his feet.

Zan slowly rose to a standing position a few feet away, no steadier than Max. He’d never been bested before. No man, or alien for that matter, had ever taken him down. And technically, neither had Max, their battle hadn’t gone to the death. He could end it all right now, he could use his powers to wipe them all off the face of the earth, but strangely, he didn’t want to.

“Are you alright?” Liz whispered to Max, sliding her arms around him. She had no trouble telling them apart now. Max’s aura called to her in a way Zan’s never could. They might be similar, made from identical DNA, but they would never be the same.

Max answered with a shaky nod, locking eyes with her briefly, but intensely. He tucked her behind him to shield her from danger while the others raced down the rocks to join them, keeping a wary distance from Zan.

“What are we gonna do with him?” Isabel looked her brother’s double up and down. How could someone with that face be guilty of so many crimes?

“Kill him,” Michael raised his hand.

“No,” Liz stepped out from behind Max. She felt him tense, ready to grab her back, but she wasn’t afraid of Zan anymore. The others shouldn’t be either. She faced Zan, certain of her convictions. “We can’t kill him. We need him.”

* * * * *

Zan walked ahead of the group, like a prisoner, only without shackles or restraints. He could feel Liz’s eyes on his back, Max’s too, and the rest of them, probably all wanting to see him dead. Except Liz. For some reason, she wanted him alive, and her word carried weight. It was a small consolation though; he sensed it wasn’t because she felt anything for him; that was painfully obvious just by looking at her with Max.

He crossed through the entrance into the pod chamber, looking around at the place where the others were born. It wasn’t overly large, but it was dry, and warm, and safe. He felt a pang of envy.

“So that’s him?” Kyle glared at Zan belligerently.

“Kyle,” Liz tried to head off a confrontation. Hadn’t there been enough of those already?

Zan surveyed the interior of the chamber, taking in the withered pods on the wall before finally settling on the angry human. He noticed movement behind the boy, blonde hair, red rimmed eyes, Tess hiding her face. Looking at Kyle’s protective stance, it only took a moment for Zan to realize why this human boy was angry. When he did, he took a step toward Tess, saying, “I can fix –”

“Don’t you fucking come near her!” Kyle snarled a warning.

“Kyle, please,” Liz played peacemaker.

“What kind of animal does that to a person?” Kyle hurled the accusation at Zan. No way was he going to let that fucker get close enough to hurt Tess again.

“Jesus,” Max got his first good look at Tess. He heard Liz’s sharp intake of breath, she’d seen it too.

Zan stared at Kyle and the girl behind him. He didn’t really have any remorse for what he’d done to Tess, his moral compass was still in its infancy, he’d never been taught right from wrong, good from bad. He’d never had a conscience before; it wasn’t part of his programming.

Zan took a step toward Tess intent on fixing her. It was easy enough to do, just a matter of rearranging the molecules, but he didn’t get the chance. As he lifted his hand, Tess stepped out from behind Kyle and raised a gun. She fired four times, hitting him square in the chest.

“No. NO!” Liz shouted as Zan was flung backwards by the impact. He landed on the floor on his back in a spray of blood. She covered her mouth to hold in her screams; this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Zan wasn’t supposed to die here, like this.

Tess dropped the gun on the floor and collapsed against Kyle. Her muffled sobs were the only audible sounds; everyone else was too stunned to speak.

Liz recovered first. She grabbed Max’s arm, pleading, “You have to help him. You have to heal him!”

Max looked down at his double lying on the floor. Zan’s bullet riddled shirt revealed a bloody chest; his eyes fluttered closed on the verge of unconsciousness.

“Max,” Liz urged. Her vision was clear. Zan had to live.

Max’s dark eyes moved from Zan to Liz, smoldering with hatred, all the torture in the White Room flooding back at him. “What if I don’t want to? What if I want him to die, right here, right now, right on the floor? What if I want to make him suffer, just like,” he choked on the emotion, “just like –”

“But you’re not like him, Max,” Liz soothed. “That’s not who you are.”

“But he’s a monster, Liz,” Max’s face looked tortured. “Why do you want me to heal him?”

“I can’t - there’s no time to explain. Do you trust me, Max?”

Max waged an internal battle, wanting to see Zan dead, wanting to see him suffer, but in the end he couldn’t deny Liz. He trusted her with his life. If she thought Zan needed to live, there had to be a good reason for it. Despite his reservations, he knelt beside his double, hoping this was the last time today he’d be called on to heal someone. He placed his hand on Zan’s chest and looked into his hooded eyes, forging a connection neither man was prepared for.


Small hands tore at the pod membrane, forcing a finger through, and then another, until his whole hand poked through to the other side. The opening widened enough to squeeze his head through, and then his shoulders, and then he stepped out into the atmosphere, breathing his first breaths of Earth air.

He stood on the hard ground confused and uncertain, but not alone. His brother and sister were there. His family. They left the chamber together, walking hand in hand to face the unknown.

***

In the dark and dank sewers below the streets of New York City, a glowing pod shuddered as something inside fought for a way out. A seam split across the bottom and it spewed its contents to the ground below. He impacted hard, hitting his head and his shoulder and jarring his back from the fall. Naked and wet, cold and alone, he gasped a breath of foul air.

He pushed himself to his feet, scanning his new environment with his amber eyes, surrounded by darkness, the only illumination coming from the three remaining pods high up on the wall. Two of them pulsed as their occupants struggled for birth. The third looked smaller than the others, its occupant not yet fully formed.

He crouched in a corner, shivering from the cold, skin covered with afterbirth, watching and waiting. Contaminated water trickled somewhere in the darkness. Garbage littered the ground. A rat scurried by, the first of many.

***

“So I guess we had an argument.”

“Yeah,” his sister nodded.

“It was interesting.” He tried to make it sound light, but there was still a current of underlying tension in the air. “I’m sorry, Iz.”

“Did you talk to mom?”

“Yeah. It’s gonna be okay.”

A light sparked in her eyes, her face radiated with joyful expectation. “You told her?”

He hated to shatter her dreams, but he couldn’t lie to her. “No.” His heart clenched when her eyes began to fill with tears.

“I’m sorry,” her voice broke. “I just . . . I just wanted her to know. I wanted it so bad.”

“I know. I know you did,” he took her into his arms and tried to comfort her. She hugged him back, their sibling bond as strong as ever. “We have each other. We’re gonna be okay, Iz. We’re gonna be okay.”

***

He walked along the dark alley leading the way, ever watchful of his back. Rath had been testing the limits lately. Lonnie, too. He suspected they might be plotting to take him out. He had to watch each and every move they made.

Would they try to stab him in his sleep? Cut his heart out and feed it to the rats?

Would they poison his food, and watch him die an agonizing death while they laughed about it?

Would they push him in front of a subway car and watch his body get mangled under the train or fried on the tracks?

There was only one way for him to survive. He had to become stronger than the others. More powerful. To keep them in check by the sheer force of his mind, and the strength of his powers. He couldn’t let down his defenses for a second. Weakness would only get him killed.

***

He laid on his back on the old threadbare couch in the abandoned van, feeling Liz’s naked body pressed up against his, her head nestled on his shoulder, her hand lightly resting on his stomach. Her leg intimately covered his thigh. Her soft breaths puffed rhythmically against his chest as she slept, peaceful and relaxed. He felt that way too in the afterglow of their loving, their first time together. But perhaps even more than their physical joining, he basked in the glory of their heartfelt declarations, the words still echoing in his head.

“Whether I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny is the same. It’s you. I wanna be with you, Liz. I love you.”

Her eyes softened, her lips kissed his palm. His heart soared as she said the words he’d always dreamt of hearing.

“I love you.”

He lovingly touched her hair while she slept, letting his fingers stroke through the silken strands. No matter what happened in the future, they were together now, and nothing could come between them.

***

He stared up at the stained ceiling with one hand behind his head and the other on his bare stomach. He couldn’t sleep. The sounds of her crying didn’t help.

Ava lay on the far side of the pallet, rigid and tense, as far away from him as she could get. He felt the trembling of her body, heard the muffled sobs trapped in her throat. He wanted her to shut up so he could think, to try to reason out why their bond hadn’t formed, but her crying wouldn’t let him.

He rose from his makeshift bed feeling the sweat drying on his naked body. He wandered into the tunnels that constituted his home, alone, just like he’d always been. No bond. No brotherhood. No connection to the world he lived in.

Only the Mission gave him purpose. A commitment to his duty.

It was all he had.

***

He sat in the booth across from Michael, hearing him gripe but not really listening. Liz was standing at the back of the restaurant and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Except, of course, when she looked in his direction, and then he’d have to look away quickly.

“Well?” Michael huffed.

“Well, what?” he picked at the fries on his plate.

“Can we get out of here now?”

“I’m not done.”

A commotion broke out on the other side of the restaurant. A gunshot rang out. Maria screamed. He looked up to see Liz on the floor. He went to her; no one could stop him.

He knelt over her, shielding her blood splattered body from the rest of the café. He knew he didn’t have much time. He reached for the front of her uniform, what he was about to do would change everything, but he didn’t have a choice. He loved her too much to let her die. He tore her dress open and cringed at all the blood.

“Liz. LIZ. You have to look at me. You have to look at me.”

He covered her bleeding wound with his hand. He stared into her eyes, forging the connection he would need to heal her. Images flashed through his mind, bits and pieces from their lives, watching her on the playground, in the hallways at school, always too afraid to let her know how he felt.

He let out a groan, somewhere between ecstasy and agony, as the healing completed and the flashes came to an end. He removed his hand, saying, “You’re all right now. You’re all right.”

He pleaded with her not to tell, then ran for the front doors of the café. He paused before he left, though, to look at her one more time. He’d given away his secret today, but he had no regrets. He would have done anything, even sacrificed his own life, to save Liz Parker.

***

He moved restlessly around the control room trying to avoid the monitors until the deed was done. His body thrummed with pent up energy, unable to relax, unable to fight the growing dread deep inside of him. It should be easier than this. It always was before. He’d never had a problem completing his assignments.

But his target had never been Liz Parker before. He’d never felt connected to anyone, not even his own unit, until he came to Roswell. Until he saw her. His mind told him she had to die, but his heart told him to let her live.

Unable to resist, his eyes stole to the monitors again. She was falling into his trap, headed right where he wanted her, right toward Max. After the brainwashing he’d given him, there was no way Max could resist the programming. His ‘problem’ would be over soon.

But as he watched Liz wind her way through the labs on a collision course with Max, the tension in him spiraled higher. Something unknown burned inside him, making him sick at just the thought of her being injured, or worse. But that’s what he was here for. To complete his mission. It was his only reason for being. Except, when he thought of her, thoughts of something – more – filled him too. A life that might have been his.

He watched her on the monitor, how she walked through the labs with no idea what was waiting for her. But as he saw the inevitable play out, he knew he couldn’t let it. He had to stop it. He couldn’t live with her death on his hands.

“No,” he leaned into the desk, talking to the monitor. “Go the other way, Liz. Go the other way!” He toggled a switch, shouting with sudden panic. “RUN, LIZ! RUN!”

He fumbled with another switch, panicking inside. “Jesus! Why won’t you fucking work!” His fist pounded on the control panel, growling out in frustration. “Liz! LIZ!”

He nearly cried in relief when she heard him, but his attempts to guide her to safety only got her more confused. She turned the wrong way.

“No! Not that way!” he shouted at the monitor. “Go back! GO BACK! FUCK!”

He turned on his heels and ran; he had to get to her before it was too late. He would do anything, anything, to make sure Liz Parker lived.


When the healing ended, Max lifted his hand from Zan’s chest, but their eyes remained locked together. They’d both seen things, private things, experienced thoughts and emotions neither one had ever shared. Zan saw what the world was like through Max’s eyes, felt what it was like to be human, to be loved, to be wanted, as a son, and a sibling, and lover. Max saw what it’d been like for Zan, abandoned and alone, programmed not to feel, taking what he wanted but never experiencing any joy. Would he have turned out like Zan if their positions had been reversed? Zan was only now experiencing his human side; could a man be guilty of acting inhuman if he’d never known what it was?

Max reached back for Liz, needing to touch her. Her hand slid into his, comforting and soothing. Zan sat up covering his face with his hands. The connection burned through him, forcing him to see all the things he’d never had to face before. All the people he had hurt. All the lives he had ruined. All the deaths he was responsible for.

For the first time, Zan was forced to face the awful truth. During his connection to Max he’d seen a monster, and the monster was him.


TBC . . .





And here are the links to a few of my other stories:
Repost in progress:
A Special Kind of Love
Completed fics:
Maxeo and Lizziet
Captive Hearts
A Walk in the Park
Downfall
Pieces of the Past
Echoes of Tomorrow

Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17

The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.


From Sexual Healing:

“What are you doing here, Max?”

“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”

Deejonaise wrote: Debbi. If you made me love Tess enough to root for her in this fic when she was such a skank in the beginning, I think you'll be able to convince me to forgive Zan.

Based on the fervor of your feedback, Dee, I’m not going to hold my breath! I’m sure I’d die of lack of oxygen before you turn a sympathetic eye toward Zan.

SarahWhitman, your perception about the cliffie wasn’t wrong.

nitpick23 wrote: And as for Tess? She walked into her situation with her eyes open, she went to Zan to betray Max and got exactly what she deserved, the life she thought she wanted with someone that played the roll of strong, adult king.

I was quite surprised to see your name in the feedback, nitpick23. As for Tess, I don’t mind that you hate her, she did plenty of bad things in the first half of this story, but to be fair, she didn’t go to Zan willingly. When Zan took her away from the dance club, it was against her will. And btw, there are no kings in this story. No royal 4. No previous lives.

Realistic Dreamer wrote:I generally have a thing for Zan, but in this case, I can't feel much for him. The lack of nurturing can only go so far to explain away behavior. At some point, Zan has to be responsible for his actions. If I remember right, he is an older version, in his 20's I believe. That is well within the range of accepting responsibility.

I was quite surprised to see you too, Realistic Dreamer. I didn’t think my brand of storytelling was your cup of tea! Anyway, you’re right in that Zan is older. He was “born” as a teenager, so he’s physically the equivalent of a 27 or 28 year old. You say at some point Zan should be responsible for his actions. However, from his point of view, he was always responsible. He completed every mission he was assigned, exactly as he was programmed to do. The authority figures in his life (the Skins) praised him for the work he did. His only “interaction” with humans was to complete his missions. He didn’t have parents or friends. He never went to school. He never went to church. He never had any concept of human emotions, or our view of right or wrong, until his connection opened with Max and he began to experience Max’s emotions.

Here’s a macabre correlation. I think most of us would agree that eating human flesh is wrong. But, if you grow up in a cannibalistic society, eating human flesh is normal, isn’t it? At what point should a cannibal “realize” eating people is wrong? I’d say only an outside influence (perhaps missionaries or the like) would be able to convince a cannibal that eating people was bad. For Zan, it was his connection to Max and his contact with Liz after arriving in Roswell that opened him to human emotions.

BelieveInTrueLove wrote: Zan was a monster before Roswell but that was what he was designed to do. There was no way he could go against his programming. Then he also had the added threat of his sister and friend . . .After Max heals Tess and everyone settles down will Liz explain what now needs to happen. Will Ava choose to go with Zan back to Antar? What will they do with the warmsicles? Will Zan be more than willing to help dispose of that little problem?

Jane, have you been reading over my shoulder??!! You always ask the best questions! Most of what you asked will be answered in this part. As for Zan going against his programming, you are absolutely right. There was no reason for him to go against his programming until Max’s connection and meeting Liz woke up his human side.

YonkersMe wrote:I have never forgotten this way Deb described Zan's thoughts about the new feelings that were being awakened: "emotions Zan had no name for."

Yes, that’s it in a nutshell. He’s only now beginning to learn what human emotions are. He had no one to teach him until his connection opened with Max and he met Liz.


On a personal note, thanks for all your concern about my son. They put him on a heavy dose of antibiotics, and he’s feeling better already.


So, enough chit chat! On with the story.


Aftermath
Part 62


Max sat facing Tess on the hard floor of the pod chamber surveying the damage Zan had inflicted on her. Below her nose the skin on her face was smooth and taut, but he could feel her teeth and her tongue poking against the place where her lips used to be. She still had a mouth in there, just no external access to it.

“Do you think you can fix it?” Kyle asked, kneeling beside Max. He held Tess’s hand in his, offering her comfort and support.

“I think so,” Max answered with his fingers on her skin. He’d seen a lot of things in Zan when they connected earlier, powers he’d never known about. They were a part of him now, but the tricky part was learning how to use them.

Max took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he prepared himself. He’d expended a lot of power today, enough to normally drain him completely, but he still felt energized, more powerful than before. He placed his palm against Tess’s lower face and closed his eyes. He pictured her face in his mind, the curve of her lips, the natural color, the size and shape and texture. It lasted only a few seconds, and when he pulled his hand away her face looked normal once again. Tess touched her mouth, crying again, this time her cries clearly audible. She threw her arms around Max in gratitude, crying against his chest.

Max hugged her back, taking her reaction in stride. It was an emotional reaction, human in nature, something to be encouraged. His gaze swung over to the far side of the chamber where Liz was talking to Zan. He wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but from their body language, it was easily as emotional as this.

“You want me to what?” Zan hissed at Liz, his voice low and barely controlled. He stood with his back rigid and tense, a man under a great deal of stress.

“You have to go back,” Liz said softly, feeling a tug of empathy for him. His eyes looked tormented, not cold and distant like they were before.

“To Antar,” he said, raking his hand back through his hair.

“Yes,” Liz watched him begin to pace again. The way he moved, the set of his shoulders, the way his fingers tapped against his pursed lips, all of it reminded her so much of Max.

“Why?” he asked, his eyes avoiding hers.

“You have to eliminate the threat there,” she told him.

Zan stopped his pacing to face her. “You mean the Skins.” When she nodded he let out a derisive laugh, the irony was classic. “You want me to kill.”

“Yes,” she confirmed it.

“Fuck,” Zan turned away, shaking his head. “Do you know what you’re asking?”

“This isn’t about you, Zan,” Liz saw the conflict in his aura. What he once found so easy to do was now starting to eat at his soul. “You have to go back and free your people.”

“I don’t have any “people,” Zan jeered, whirling around to face her. His eyes held a haunted look, of a man who’d always been alone, and always would be. “I’m not like them. I’m not like you either.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he turned away, unable to face her. Liz took a step closer, touching him gently on the shoulder. The contact made his eyes flutter closed.

“They gave you life,” Liz said softly. “They created you to do good things, but the Skins took that away from you. They changed you into . . .”

A monster. The word hung in the air between them, his sins egregious and many.

“So you want me to atone, by killing again? And how exactly is that different?” His conscience was alive and in full force, smothering him with his sins. Would he never escape the blood on his hands?

“There’s a right side, and a wrong side to this,” Liz said, coming around to face him. “And the Skins are on the wrong side. Going back to help Antar, it’s not about death, or killing; it’s about life, and freedom. You’re the only one who can give that to them. They need you.”

“What good will freeing Antar do you?” Zan asked. “There’s still an invasion force heading this way.” He wanted to stay here with her. If he had to fight, let it be to protect her.

Liz lifted her hand to touch his cheek. Her eyes lost focus for a moment, going somewhere Zan couldn’t see, and then she was back, looking at him with an expression he couldn’t read. She pulled her hand away, saying, “Your destiny is on Antar. You’ll find what you need there.”

“And you?” he asked, feeling the loss of her touch.

“My destiny is here. With Max.”

“You!” Tess’s rage filled voice sounded behind Liz. In a flash she raced by Liz, straight toward Zan. She slapped him about the face, then pummeled him with her fists, crying, “You monster! You monster!”

Zan backed against the wall but he didn’t try to defend himself. What defense was there? He’d raped her, and tortured her, and used her in the vilest ways. His cheeks stung from her assault, her fists pounded against his chest, his pathetic apology couldn’t begin to make amends.

“I’m sorry,” he let her expend her wrath without raising a hand against her.

“Sorry?” she stepped back, eyes full of tears, lower lip trembling. “I hate you. I hate you so much!”

Liz wrapped her arms around a crying Tess and led her back to Kyle. Zan slid down the wall and crouched there, reliving each and every torturous thing he’d done to her. At the time it hadn’t fazed him, but now the weight of it was nearly crushing.

* * * * *

“How can we just let him go?” Michael hissed at Liz in anger while glaring at Zan. “What makes you think he’ll switch sides and fight for Antar? How do you know he won’t go right back to fighting for the Skins?”

“He won’t,” Liz said with conviction. There was nothing else she could say. She’d seen the vision clearly. Zan had to go back.

“He needs to pay for what he’s done,” Kyle shot a scathing look over to where Zan sat alone, with his back against the wall on the far side of the chamber. Kyle tightened his arm around Tess, growling, “Living is too good for him.”

Max spoke up, unconsciously assuming his role of leader. “I’d like nothing more than to see him dead, but personal feelings aside, we have to look at the bigger picture here. There’s a whole planet up there that needs help, and like it or not, Zan’s the one who can give it to them. Liz says he has to go back, and I trust her completely.”

“But can we trust him?” Michael folded his arms defiantly over his chest.

Ava’s soft voice came from behind them. “I’ll make sure you can.”

Eight faces spun around to look at her, each showing varying degrees of surprise. Liz stepped forward, reaching out her hand. “What do you mean?”

Ava’s answer came without hesitation, reconciled to her fate. “I’ll go back with him.”

“But you belong with us,” Max’s voice gentled, losing its earlier edge. “We felt it,” he slid a glance toward Liz, seeing her agreement. The night Ava joined them they’d both sensed it right away.

“No,” Ava shook her head sadly. “I don’t belong here any more than Zan does. Maybe I was meant to be with you in the beginning, but it didn’t turn out that way. I can’t stay here, knowing the things I’ve been a part of. My hands are just as dirty as his.”

“But we don’t hold you to blame for that,” Liz said.

“I do,” Ava fought to keep the quiver out of her voice. She sensed she would be welcome here, that they would accept her as family, but her past sins weighted too heavily on her. “I need to correct the wrongs I’ve been a part of. I can’t do that here.”

“We’ll miss you,” Liz circled her arms around Ava. She didn’t want her to go, but she understood the reasons why she felt she had to. Liz had no sense of what Ava’s future would be, only that Ava’s decision felt right, for her.

“I’ll miss you too,” Ava whispered. She’d found a sense of home for a few days, she’d carry that feeling with her, and hope to someday feel it again.

“What are we gonna do about frick and frack?” Kyle asked. No one noticed the movement behind them until it was too late.

“It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature,” Lonnie jeered from the doorway of the Granilith Chamber. Rath stood at her side appearing confident and cruel. He grabbed the closest person he could reach, wrapping his hand around Ava’s throat and yanking her to him while Lonnie grabbed Liz, using the girls as human shields.

“Fuck!” Michael raised his hand in an aggressive stance.

“Ut, ut, ut,” Rath tisked, warning Michael to stand down. His hand tightened around Ava’s throat.

“Jesus,” Max felt like he’d just been kicked in the gut. He hadn’t anticipated Rath and Lonnie breaking out of the time shift. No one had. So much had been happening, he’d forgotten about the other dupes. His eyes focused on Liz, seeing the scared look on her face, but something else as well. She looked over his shoulder at something behind him. When he heard Zan’s voice it send a chill right through him.

“Well it’s about fuckin’ time,” Zan rose to his feet and crossed the chamber to join Lonnie and Rath, once more in control and in charge. “I sent ya inta town over 2 fuckin’ days ago. What the fuck ya been doin’?”

“Waitin’ for orders,” Rath scowled in Kyle’s direction, “until pipsqueak over there messed with us. Can I fuck him up?”

“If you want,” Zan came to a stop between his pod mates, facing Max and the rest of the stunned observers. Max’s jaw clenched in murderous agitation, breaths sharp and labored, powerless to stop them.

“Maybe I wanna play with that one first,” Rath leered in Maria’s direction. “Finish what I started.”

Zan’s eyes locked onto Max’s in silent communication, opening the latent connection between them. When Rath pushed Ava away and grabbed for Maria, both men sprang into action. With inhuman speed, Max raced forward, sweeping Liz and Ava out of harms way while Zan raised his hands, one to the back of Lonnie’s head and the other to Rath’s. His palms glowed with a blinding light sending Rath and Lonnie to their knees, clutching their heads in agonizing pain. From the safety of Max’s arms, Liz watched Zan’s display of merciless power.

“Don’t look,” Zan warned. His gaze swept over the group, falling lastly on Liz. “You don’t wanna see this.” Lonnie and Rath were his responsibility. They had to die, they had no humanity in them, but he didn’t want Liz to witness his murderous ways.

Liz turned her head into Max’s chest; Maria did the same with Michael. Alex tried to shield Isabel. Tess, Kyle and Ava cringed away from the horrifying sight. Only Michael and Max bore witness.

Lonnie’s and Rath’s groans turned to agonized screams, piercing, torture laden cries. The smell of smoke drifted on the air, along with the pungent scent of burning flesh. The smell became nearly overpowering before the ear piercing shrieks ended, and silence once more filled the chamber. When it was over, Michael appeared visibly shaken and Max pale and sick. Zan closed his eyes and dropped his head forward, the only emotion he’d allow the others to see.

No trace of Lonnie or Rath remained, only dust floating in the air, and the echo of their screams.

* * * * *

Liz circled around the Granilith, trailing her fingers over the cool black surface. She felt nine sets of eyes watching her, Max, and Zan, and everyone, all silent in the wake of what transpired in the outer chamber. No one wanted to talk about it.

“Now what?” Zan finally asked when no one else spoke up. As expected, Liz gave him his answer.

“Now we send you home.”

“How exactly do we do that?” Alex asked the obvious question. “I mean, we don’t have a spaceship, or the knowledge of how to fly one.”

“We use the Granilith,” Liz told them.

“The – Granilith?” Isabel stuttered. “It’s a spaceship?”

“No, it’s so much more than that,” Liz smiled at her shocked expression. It wasn’t just Isabel, though, everyone was staring at her like she was crazy. Everyone but Max. He believed in her explicitly. On second look, Zan was looking at her that way too. He knew things the others didn’t.

“The Granilith bends time and space,” Liz told them, using words Max had used when the Granilith was first discovered. “It makes travel across space possible in the blink of an eye.”

“Like warp speed?” Alex asked, using the closest correlation he could think of; Star Trek.

“Yeah,” Liz let out a small laugh. “Something like that.”

“So how do they get in there?” Maria asked. By rights she should be freaking out here, but her curiosity was greater than her fear. “Don’t tell me it’s ‘Beam me up, Scotty’.”

“Well, actually,” Liz hedged.

“When you touch it,” Zan spoke, “it disassembles your molecules, then reassembles them on the inside. It does the same thing transporting you across space; just the distance is greater. How did you get possession of it?” he asked what he’d been wondering since he first laid eyes on it. “The Skins had it. They used it to determine their targets. When it’s active, it shows glimpses of the future. It’s how they targeted Liz.”

“They still have the Granilith,” Max told him. “This is a prototype.”

“Then how do you know it will work?” Zan asked.

“It’ll work,” Liz assured them. “As soon as we can find the key to activate it.”

“I know where it is,” Michael spoke up.

* * * * *

“I can’t believe it,” Maria stood with her hands on her hips staring at the coin operated kiddie ride on the sidewalk in front of the UFO Center. The cheesy looking spaceship had been there for as long as she could remember. “I used to ride on that all the time when I was a kid. Are you telling me part of it came from a real spaceship?”

“This part did,” Michael tugged on the crystal gear shift. He never would have known its significance if Lonnie hadn’t shown it to him. It came away easily in his hand, like it recognized him.

“Kids used to always try to steal it,” Maria remembered. “But nobody could ever pry it loose. It was so sparkly, everybody wanted it. Milton was always chasing kids away.”

“Let’s get this back to the others,” Michael pocketed the crystal.

“Wait,” Maria stopped him with a hand to his arm. Her eyes darted back and forth between his, trying to see inside him. “Before, at the cave, when you couldn’t . . .”

“Yeah,” Michael shrugged. “Sorry about that. I know you wanted me to be the one, but . . . I just . . . couldn’t.”

“You have no idea what that means to me, Michael.”

“What? That I couldn’t kill you?” he stared at her in amazement. If he lived to be a thousand years old, he doubted he’d ever be able to understand her.

“No, you big lunk head,” Maria punched him on the shoulder. “The reason why you couldn’t kill me!”

“And what would that reason be?” Michael goaded her.

“C’mon, Michael, you can say it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he turned and headed for the Jetta.

“C’mon, Michael,” she chased after him. “Say it! Say it, say it, say it!”

“Get in the car, Maria,” he opened the driver’s side door and climbed behind the wheel.

“Michael,” she settled on the passenger seat beside him, bouncing like a little girl. “You know you want to say it!”

“Say what?” he put the key in the ignition. “That you’re irritating? Okay, you’re irritating. Can we go now?”

“No!” she grabbed the key away from him. “Not until you say it!”

“You make me crazy!” he howled.

“That’s not it,” she teased.

“You make me insane!”

“Nope, that’s not it either.”

“Give me the key.”

“No.”

“Do you want me to take you over my knee and spank you?!”

“That comes later.”

“MARIA!” his mouth fell open in shock.

“Just say it, Michael,” she wheedled.

Another protest hung on the tip of his tongue, but he knew it was futile to resist. She was an unstoppable force, what was the point of denying it? With a deep sigh he said, “I love you, Maria.”

“Say it again,” she grinned from ear to ear.

“I love you, Maria.”

“Again!”

“I LOVE YOU!”

“I LOVE YOU, TOO!” Maria squealed and threw her arms around his neck.

“Aw, what the hell,” Michael gave in completely. In for a penny, in for a pound. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

* * * * *

“So this is it,” Zan stood on the rocks just outside of the entrance to the pod chamber. The sun was getting lower in the sky now, the last sunset he would ever see here. The last time he would ever see her face.

“Yes,” Liz said from behind him. She knew Max didn’t want her out here with Zan, just the two of them alone, but she understood something that Max didn’t. Zan would never hurt her. He wasn’t a threat to them anymore.

“I wonder what it will be like there,” Zan breathed in the dry desert air.

“Different,” Liz moved closer to stand beside him.

“I won’t be coming back, will I?” Zan looked at her profile. The sun bathed her skin in a golden glow, caressing her cheeks the way he wanted to, but couldn’t. She turned her head to face him, blunt honesty in her dark eyes.

“No, you won’t.”

Zan lowered his gaze, nodding his head in acceptance. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly; forcing it past the unfamiliar lump in his throat.

“Can you answer me something?” he finally managed to ask. He saw her nod her head in his peripheral vision, silently waiting for him to continue. He was a fearless man, calm and cool in battle, but it took a minute for him screw up the courage to ask her a simple question. His gaze swept over the tranquil desert, squinting into the setting sun. When he finally spoke, his voice came out soft and gentle.

“Could you have loved me?”

He saw her head dip forward, but she didn’t turn away from him. At least he had some consolation in that. He waited silently, not sure why he was torturing himself like this, he already knew her answer.

“The man you were? No,” she said, seeing the heartbreak spread across his face. “But the man that you’re becoming? I’m sorry, I can’t answer that, Zan. I can see good things in you now, but my heart was already taken before you ever got here. Nothing will ever change that.”

Despite her grim pronouncement, Zan gave in to the need to touch her, skimming his fingertips along her cheek and then brushing her hair back from her face, grateful that she didn’t shy away from him. “Does Max know how lucky he is?” he asked.

“I do,” Max said from behind them.

Zan pulled his hand away from Liz, clutching a strand of her hair between his fingers. It was the only thing he would have of her when he left this place. He held on to it like a treasure.

“It’s almost time,” Max told them. He wasn’t worried about the scene he’d just interrupted; he knew Liz’s heart through and through.

“We should go back inside,” Max held his hand out to Liz. She took it without hesitation.

Zan followed, walking a few steps behind them. He tucked the strand of her hair into his pocket, a part of her no one could ever take away from him.

* * * * *

The walls of the Granilith chamber came alive in a rainbow of swirling colors as soon as Max inserted the crystal key. He stepped back, in awe as images flashed by too fast for him to see. His minds eye absorbed it all, though; a sun going supernova, a black hole in space, a child giggling in her father’s face. In time he would learn to control it, to slow the images down and interpret what they meant, but for now that wasn’t needed. Liz knew what to do, and that was all that mattered.

Across the room, Liz pressed an object into Ava’s hand.

“What’s this for?” her blue eyes widened at the sight of the silver orb.

“So we can stay in contact,” Liz gave Ava’s hand a squeeze.

“So you can follow our progress against the Skins?” she asked.

“Well, that too,” Liz acknowledged. “But mainly, to know how you’re doing. When this is over, I hope you can come back to us.”

“I hope so, too,” Ava smiled a sad smile. She doubted it would happen, good things never seemed to come her way, but this was one dream she would cling to, to get her through the long days ahead.

The others came to join Liz; Isabel, Maria, and the rest, each of them saying their goodbyes to Ava. They embraced her, offering her words of heartfelt compassion and empathy while Zan stood alone, a solitary man, no one would miss him when he was gone.

Watching her, Zan understood why Ava had chosen to come with him. They shared the same sense of guilt for their transgressions, though her culpability wasn’t nearly as deep as his. Ava had only done what he ordered her to, by coercion and force. She never had the stomach for the life he made her live, it was only fear and his suffocating control that kept her with him all those years. Perhaps, with a fresh start on Antar, he could make it up to her.

“It’s time,” Max announced after glancing at the timer on the wall. Only a few minutes remained.

Max moved in Zan’s direction, ambivalent in his feelings toward him. He hated Zan for the monstrous things he’d done, but he’d also seen inside the man, seen how the monster was made. And who was he to throw stones? Hadn’t he stalked Liz through Eagle Rock, intent on completing the mission Zan had assigned him? Hadn’t he held a knife above Liz, ready to plunge it into her heart, after only a few hours of Zan’s programming? Would he have been any different from Zan if he too had been programmed to be a killer from the start? Shuddering at the thought, Max crossed the chamber to stand before his mirror image for one last time.

Silence stretched between them, neither man speaking, though there were many things to be said. Max was the first one to break it.

“It’s against my better judgment to let you go,” Max said warily, “but I learned a long time ago to trust Liz. She says this is the right thing to do, so I believe her. I hope you don’t prove her wrong.”

“I won’t,” Zan answered.

“Will you answer something for me honestly?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why Liz?” Max asked. “I mean, you don’t even know her. How could you feel what you feel for her?”

“Is it really that hard to understand?” Zan replied. “When did you know you loved her?”

An image flashed in Max’s mind, of a scared little boy climbing off a yellow school bus. It’d only taken one look across the school yard, one little look to steal his heart.

“Point taken,” Max said with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“I can help you,” Zan offered, his expression completely sober.

“Help me?” Max cocked his head.

“Your dreams. Your nightmares. They keep you awake at night. Things I did to you,” Zan admitted. “Things Pierce did to you. I can make them go away.”

“Make it so I don’t remember?” Max asked for clarification.

“If you want.”

Max thought about it for a moment, but even if he trusted Zan, his answer would still be the same. “We’re shaped by the things we live through. You can’t just wish it away. I might be plagued by nightmares for the rest of my life, but they’re my nightmares to deal with.”

Zan nodded, as if he expected as much. When he spoke next, his words held a warning. “There’s one thing you should know. You and I, we aren’t the only ones.”

“Excuse me?” Max felt a chill go down his spine.

“Your unit,” Zan answered. “Mine. We weren’t the only ones sent here.”

“You mean there’s more? Like . . . me?”

“Not like you,” Zan’s warning turned ominous. “Like me. Only, they don’t share a connection to you the way I do. Their quest to complete the mission will be unwavering.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know,” Zan told him. “I never cared about the others. I only focused on my part, on being the best. But the mission book, it goes all the way back to the late 40’s. My kills only started ten years ago.”

“Why did you tell me this?” Max asked.

Zan shrugged. “You can’t protect her if you don’t know what’s out there. I’m not your enemy, Max. Not anymore.”

Max wanted to believe that was true, but he couldn’t help still being skeptical, not after all the things Zan had done to them.

“I understand,” Zan acknowledged his reservations. But he also knew Max had total faith in Liz. It was the only reason Max allowed him to live. “When the Skins come –”

“They won’t,” Liz appeared at Max’s side. She slipped her hand into his while she focused on Zan. “They’re never going to reach Earth.”

“How can you say that?” Zan scowled. The others circled around them wanting to hear her explanation.

“We’re going to destroy their ships before they ever reach our solar system.”

“How?” Max asked, just as perplexed as the others.

“We have the power,” Liz looked up at him. “The Granilith will provide the means.”

“But,” Zan wanted to argue. If they were going into battle, she would need him. He had the background, the skill, the expertise the others didn’t have. He should stay here.

“We each have our destiny to fulfill, Zan,” Liz stopped his protest. “Your strengths are needed on Antar. We can’t go there,” she indicated her fellow humans. “Our bodies can’t survive there. But you’re a hybrid. You were made to adapt to both environments. Winning the war on Antar will be long and hard and physically demanding. It can’t be done from a distance.”

“And how are you going to stop a fleet of ships deep in space?” Zan countered.

Liz looked up at Max, seeing his confused look turn to understanding.

“You mean?” he said

Liz nodded. “We’ll beat them with the power of our minds.”

* * * * *

Zan felt the vibration deep in his gut, the Granilith gearing up to take him from this place to a new world. Externally he appeared aloof, unfazed by the journey before him, but inside he was shaking. Antar was nothing more than a name to him, a distant place he had no connection to, a planet that wouldn’t have the only thing he wanted.

His gaze stole over to Liz. She stood beside Max, the two sharing some conversation he wasn’t privy to. The way she smiled at Max, the way she leaned into his chest, the way she gave herself completely to him made Zan ache inside. It was what he wanted, to have her look at him that way, just once, though he knew it would never happen. She wasn’t meant for him.

Colors from the Granilith flickered over his face, obscuring the longing in his eyes. A part of him wanted to go, to just get it over with, to stop torturing himself with what he couldn’t have. But another part of him wanted to delay the moment forever, because once he boarded the Granilith, in his soul he knew he’d never see her again.

Her gaze slid in his direction, forcing Zan to look away. She looked at him differently than she looked at Max. Without love. Without affection. Which was only to be expected, even though it was like a dagger in his heart.

“Are you ready?”

Zan startled at the sound of Ava’s voice beside him. He turned to see her blue eyes looking up at him. Her face held an expression he couldn’t place at first, and then it dawned on him what it was. She wasn’t afraid of him now. Fear didn’t color her features.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Zan lied.

“Then let’s do it.”

Zan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. No sense in delaying the inevitable. Ava had said her goodbyes; she was ready to face the next stage of her life. Zan had no one to say goodbye to. They were all anxious to see him gone. He wanted nothing more than to beg Liz to let him stay, but it wasn’t meant to be. He kept a stoic face as he touched Ava’s shoulder with one hand and the bell of the Granilith with the other. A tingling sensation shot through his arm and within seconds they were transported inside the structure, only moments away from a life altering journey across the stars.

Ava’s outward façade began to crumble when she reappeared inside the Granilith. The emotions she’d been holding back couldn’t be contained. Tears began to flow freely down her face, but she’d made her choice, there was no turning back now. In a display of compassion rarely shown before, Zan reached for her hand to comfort her, making a silent vow to protect her, and watch over her, she’d never have to be afraid of him again.

He focused on Liz through the transparent shell of the Granilith. She was lost to him now; in truth she’d never been his. His connection to Max had forged a connection with her, and through her he’d become a better man. He wouldn’t let her down. His future path was set now, a future that didn’t include her, but he was ready to face it.

The air inside the Granilith began to change; unseen currents ebbed and flowed, causing tingling sensations across their skin. Zan and Ava lost all sense of dimension; no floor below them, no ceiling above, no walls surrounding them. Stars sparkled in front of their eyes, brilliant points of light, some with dazzling coronas. Planets spun in their orbits, moons reflected dazzling sunlight, nebulas crackled with energy.

The two shapes inside the Granilith flickered between solid and transparent. Light swelled inside the bell, growing brighter and brighter until it was too bright to look at. Liz shielded her eyes as the light flared and blinked out, returning the device to its pre-active state, dormant and empty.

Only Zan’s voice remained, a faint echo in Liz’s mind, the look in his eyes something she would always remember, his words something she would never forget.

‘I’ll always love you.’

Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17

The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.


From Sexual Healing:

“What are you doing here, Max?”

“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”



Aftermath
Part 63


Max sat on the floor of the pod chamber with his back to the wall, on the verge of sleep but not quite there yet. Liz sat beside him tucked close to his side with her head resting comfortably against his chest. Her breathing felt soft and rhythmic, but he sensed she wasn’t asleep either.

“Liz?” he stroked his fingers slowly down the length of her hair. It was too dark to see much, they were trying to rest after the ordeal they’d been through, but it was hard to stop thinking about what still lay ahead.

“Hmmm?” Liz snuggled a little closer.

“Tomorrow” his words came out slowly. “When we . . .”

Liz lifted her head to look at him. Shadows covered most of his face, but there was enough light for her to see the trepidation in his troubled eyes. His words came out haltingly.

“I’ve never . . . . killed before.”

Liz felt a rush of compassion for him. She knew what he was talking about; in the morning they would have to deal with the Skins, and the invasion force headed their way. But Max was a healer, not a killer, no matter how justified. What they had to do was weighing heavily on him.

“It’s self defense, Max. I know it’s going to be hard, for all of us, but we can’t let them make it to Earth.”

“I know,” Max drew her close to him, tucking her head under his chin. The Skins had been cutting a murderous trail across the universe for millennia, they had to be stopped. His hand threaded into her hair again, seeking comfort in her presence, feeling her love surrounding him.

A few minutes later, Isabel’s voice drifted to him from somewhere in the darkness.

“Max?”

“Yeah?” he answered, eyes closed, head leaning back against the rock wall.

Isabel sat up on one elbow, feeling Alex shift beside her. An Indian blanket was their only cushion from the hard floor, a jacket served as a pillow.

“What are we going to tell mom and dad?” her voice came out tense, strained. “We’ve been gone for days.”

Max let out a long sigh and slowly opened his eyes. He focused on her shadowed shape across the chamber. Over the years this had become a very sore subject between them, one of the few things they ever openly argued about. But for the first time in his life, Max was ready to give Isabel the answer she’d waited years to hear.

“We tell them the truth, Iz.”

“What?” she sat up, her voice filled with hope and barely controlled excitement.

“When we’re done here,” Max continued, “we’ll go home and tell mom and dad everything. I don’t want to hide it anymore. Besides, if we were originally created to be ambassadors from Antar, I guess the best place to start is at home.”

“Max?” Tess spoke from another corner of the room.

Max shifted his gaze to her shadowy figure.

“Yeah?”

“I – there’s something – about . . .”

“What is it?” Max sat forward, displacing Liz. She sat up, rubbing the back of her hand over her eyes. A few feet away, Michael and Maria sat up, too. It seemed no one was sleeping tonight.

“About your parents,” Tess’s voice sounded small, hesitant, as if she was afraid to let the words out.

“What about them?” Max felt his stomach clench. A light switched on from somewhere, Isabel using her powers to make the rocks glow.

“Zan –” Tess reached for Kyle’s hand, took a deep breath. “Zan went to your house –”

“What?!” Isabel cut Tess off. She shot to her feet crying, “Did he do something to our parents?”

“He made me go with him,” Tess’s voice shook. “He – he wanted them to tell him where you were. He – I don’t think he hurt them.”

“You don’t think he hurt them?” Isabel cried. Max sat silently listening to Tess, only the clenching of his jaw giving away the level of his stress.

“Your mother thought he was Max,” Tess struggled to explain. As Max slowly rose to his feet, she rushed to get the rest of it out. “She hugged him, I think it kind of freaked him out, and that’s when she realized he wasn’t you. He smashed a bunch of things in your living room.”

“Shit,” Max swept his eyes over the floor, panic setting in. “Phone. Has anybody got a phone? There’s gotta be a phone here!”

“Max, here,” Maria dug for her purse and pulled out her yellow daisy decorated cell.

Max took it from her with a trembling hand. He punched in the numbers of his home phone, then cursed when the call didn’t go through.

“Shit! No signal.”

Max ran to the mouth of the cave and out into the night. He wasn’t concerned about how late it was, he was more worried about whether his parents were still alive. Liz hovered by his side, watching him punch the numbers into the keypad and then slam the phone against his ear to listen to it ring.

“Come on, come on,” he muttered, praying someone on the other end would answer. His eyes widened when he heard a click, and then narrowed when an unexpected voice reached his ear. It took him a moment to place it, but when he did, his stomach turned over in dread.

“Jim?”

Why was Jim Valenti at his house? In the middle of the night? What did that mean?

“Is that my dad?” Kyle asked, but Max was too preoccupied to answer.

Everyone crowded around, muttering questions, making it hard for Max to hear. He shushed them all with a wave of his hand, frowning deeply.

“Jim, is that you?”

“Max?” the Sheriff’s voice came back to him, fading in and out with static. “Where are you, son? Are the others with you?”

Max ignored Jim’s questions in favor of asking his own. “Are my mom and dad okay? Did anything –” he paused to swallow hard. “Did anything happen to them?”

“Your parents are fine, Max. They’re asking the same question about you.”

“Thank God,” Max visibly relaxed. Isabel sighed in relief.

“Kyle? Is he . . .?”

“Yeah, he’s here,” Max smiled at Kyle. “We’re all here.”

“And where is that?” Jim pressed.

“The pod chamber. In the desert.”

“Max,” Jim’s voice took on an ominous tone. “You’re parents had a visitor tonight. You know,” his voice lowered, “a “visitor”.”

“I know,” Max answered.

“Apparently, he looked like, well, he looked like – you. After he left, your parents called me.”

Max let out a deep breath, switching the phone from one ear to the other. “We have a lot to explain.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Are you coming home?”

“Not yet,” Max shook his head. He looked at Liz, saying, “There’s something we have to do first.”

“Okay, I’ll tell – hold on – you mom wants to talk to you.”

Max heard the rustle of the phone changing hands, and then his mother’s anxious voice.

“Max? Is that you?”

“Mom,” Max sighed at the comforting sound.

“Oh, honey, are you okay? Is your sister with you? Are you coming home?”

“Tomorrow, Mom. We’re coming home tomorrow.”

“Max, where have you been?”

“Mom,” Max’s voice came out tired and stressed. It wasn’t something he could tell her on the phone. He heard her defeated sigh, the sad tone she always got when she knew he was keeping things from her.

“Max, there was someone here, someone that –”

“That wasn’t me, Mom. I’ll explain everything to you tomorrow. Everything. About the bird in the park, and the secrets I couldn’t tell you before. I want you to know it all.”

“Max, the man that was here, he was so angry. He wanted to know where you were. When we couldn’t tell him, he smashed your toy house on the floor, and then he did something awful to that friend of yours, the blonde girl, Tess. But then the strangest thing happened. Before he left . . . Max, he fixed the toy house. He made it whole again.”

Max heard the unasked question in her voice; how did Zan fix a smashed toy house? But for Max, the question wasn’t how he did it, but why? The Zan that did those terrible things to him at Eagle Rock, who murdered all those innocent people, who tortured and terrorized both Ava and Tess, he wasn’t the kind of man to fix a broken keepsake. Only a man with a conscience would do that. It only served to reinforce Liz’s decision about sending him back to Antar as being the right choice.

“Mom, we’ll be home tomorrow. And, Isabel and I,” the words came easily to him now, no longer trying to hide his human emotions. “I just want you to know how much we love you.”

“Oh, honey,” Diane’s voice broke, the sound clearly evident even through the static of a bad cell phone connection.

“Max?” Isabel’s voice cracked.

He lifted his eyes to his sister, seeing the raw need on her face. “Hold on, Mom. Isabel wants to talk to you.”

He held out the phone, seeing how her hand trembled as Isabel reached for it. At heart, she was her mother’s little girl, and the thought of being totally honest with her left Isabel in tears. She took the phone and lifted it to her ear.

“Mom?” Isabel choked, taking a few steps away from the others. She sat on an outcropping of rocks, unmindful of how hard it was. A tear dripped onto her lap as she spoke to her mother; tomorrow her deepest dream was coming true.

Max wrapped his arms around Liz, drawing her to him, seeking the stabilizing comfort she offered. Moonlight cloaked them in its silvery glow, the cool night air swirled around them, but it couldn’t dampen the sudden surge of confidence flooding through him. Tomorrow would be a new day, a better day, the start of a life without secrets to keep from the people he loved.

For the first time, Max found himself looking forward to the future, willing to look beyond tomorrow, to make plans he could never make before. This was his home, on Earth, with Liz; he’d never have to leave it.

“Let’s go get some rest,” he whispered into Liz’s ear.

He felt a sense of calm about him as he led Liz into the pod chamber; he knew he could sleep now with a clear conscience. Destroying the Skins was the only way to keep Earth safe, and all the other worlds they threatened. He felt at peace now, certain they were doing the right thing.

* * * * *

“Liz.”

She felt his lips, warm and soft on her brow. The whispers of a dream drifted away, replaced by the reality of his rich scent filling her nostrils, his strong chest underneath her cheek, his heartbeat loud in her ear.

“Liz, honey,” Max brushed the fall of her hair back from her face. “It’s time to wake up.”

Liz cracked open an eye, lifting her head slightly to look up into his penetrating gaze. He’d seen better days; his hair was messy and needed a good washing, his scruffy cheeks hadn’t seen a razor in days, his clothes were dirty and starting to smell bad, but he also looked more beautiful than she’d ever seen him before. Something in his eyes that hadn’t been there before, at peace inside his own skin.

“Honey?” she arched an eyebrow at him. “You’ve never called me honey before.”

His cheeks colored a pale shade of pink; his lips curved upward in a sheepish grin. “Blame it on my mother’s influence. She always says that to people she, you know . . . loves. I guessed I learned it from her.”

Liz sat up, cupping his face between her hands, shifting her focus between his eyes and his mouth. “I should thank your mother for teaching you such a beautiful language.”

“Why don’t you just thank me instead?” He lowered his head slowly, gently touching her lips with his. The contact was unrushed, unhurried, the first time in what seemed like ages they could just relax and enjoy the moment.

When their lips parted, Liz bit back a grin and dipped her head, saying, “I think we both need a toothbrush.”

The pink in Max’s cheeks deepened. He picked up a rock on the ground beside him and closed his fist around it. His hand glowed for a moment, then opened to reveal a blue and white handled toothbrush, with a compact bristle head. Liz let out a soft laugh.

“Do you have any toothpaste to go with that?”

Max let out a feigned sigh of deep lament. “I’m not God, Liz.”

Liz’s well placed elbow in his side made him laugh, a sound that had been lacking in them all lately. He pulled her close and kissed her soundly, despite their mutual bad breath.

“Get a room,” Kyle grumbled from the far side of the pod chamber.

“What’s there to eat?” Michael sat up on his makeshift bed, scratching his hand through his disheveled hair.

Morning light spilled in from the entrance of the cavern, awakening all its slumbering visitors. Max rose to his feet, holding his hand out to Liz. Time to save the world.

* * * * *

Liz entered the Granilith chamber first, leading the way as they faced their greatest challenge. Max followed on her heels, with the other six members of their elite group right behind him. The alien device waited in the center of the room, as black and dormant as the first time they’d seen it, but none of them were fooled by its quiet slumber. They’d all witnessed how much power it possessed.

“So . . .” Isabel circled around the Granilith, eyeing the massive structure.

“Liz, you’ve been pretty tight lipped about what we’re supposed to do here,” Michael pointed out. He touched his fingers to the obsidian like surface, then pulled them back quickly.

“What?!” Maria freaked, ready to bolt.

“It’s . . . vibrating,” Michael flexed his fingers.

“It’s not going to bite,” Liz breezed by him, trying valiantly not to laugh at him. Her smile faded when she stopped in front of the Granilith, though. Their mission here wasn’t a laughing matter. She turned her gaze toward Max and said, “You’ll need to activate it.”

Max stood beside Liz, appraising the structure for a moment before bending down in front of it. He waved his hand over the base panel, showing no surprise when a glowing handprint appeared. He hesitated for just a moment, then pressed his hand against it. The room immediately began to hum with unbridled energy, the machine giving off a steady thump like a vibrating heartbeat, or maybe it was just the cosmic ticking of time. Max pushed back to his feet, awed by the sight of the alien device becoming active once again.

“Now what?” Kyle asked the question they were all wondering.

Liz stared up into the glass like bell as images began to play on the surface. A volcano erupted inside the Granilith spewing red hot lava into the air, replaced seconds later by the image of a small child laughing on a swing with a blue sky above her, then changing seconds later to a desolate alien landscape, barren and devoid of life.

“What is all that?” Maria asked. The scenes flashed by so quickly, it was almost impossible to assess what they were seeing.

“Time,” Liz said, entranced by the visions. “The past. The present. The future. The Granilith sees it all.”

“How can that be?” Isabel asked.

“It just . . .is,” Max said in wonderment.

Liz touched the surface of the bell, sliding her eyes closed so she could feel what she was searching for.

“Liz!” Max cried out. The memory of Zan and Ava being sucked inside was still frighteningly vivid. He tried to grab her arm but an energy field zapped him before he could touch her. It shimmered around her protectively.

“Jesus!” Michael exclaimed. “She’s got a shield, just like when you guys were sleeping in the cave out on the reservation.”

“Liz?” Max tried to get her attention. He lifted his hand to touch her again and got zapped for the effort. Shaking out the pain, he asked to no one in particular, “Why is she keeping me out?”

“Maybe she doesn’t want you to stop her,” Alex suggested. Next to Liz, he had the most logical mind here. When it came to science, nerds definitely had the advantage.

“There,” Liz opened her eyes and removed her hand from the Granilith. Inside the machine an image stabilized of a strange narrow hallway, with a dim bluish light reflecting off the metal walls.

“What did you do?” Max asked, his scold tempered by his concern.

“That’s the lead ship,” Liz told them. “The Granilith opened a portal to it.”

“Huh?” Maria’s mouth dropped open. “Liz, you’re freaking me out here. How do you know how to do this stuff?”

“I had a dream. Vision. Whatever,” Liz said, flustered, not knowing how to explain. “I knew what to do.”

“Okay, Nostradamus,” Maria planted her hands firmly on her hips. “What happens next?”

“We find their Granilith, they have it somewhere on the ship. We overload the power source, and when it explodes, it’ll go off like a supernova. None of the ships will survive it.”

“Holy Shit,” Kyle exclaimed. “How the hell are we gonna do that?”

Instead of answering Kyle, Liz pointed at a bag on the floor, saying, “Michael, give me the healing stones.”

Michael dutifully handed it to her, watching her pass out a stone to everyone present. He took his without comment.

“Okay,” Liz set the bag down after taking the last stone. She faced the group, explaining, “We need to stand in a circle around the Granilith.”

“What are the stones for?” Michael asked.

“They connect us,” Liz told him. “Remember when you were sick? When we held the stones, with you in the middle of the circle, we were pulled into your mind. The same thing is going to happen here. The stones will link us all together just like before, only this time the Granilith is in the middle. The portal will allow us to board that ship, even though our bodies will stay here. We search the ship, find their Granilith, and destroy them with it.”

“And how are we gonna do that when we’re still physically here?” Michael objected.

Max looked from the amber colored stone in his hand to Liz, before settling on Michael. “I can do it.”

“Max?” Isabel questioned.

Max wasn’t sure if he knew how to explain it. Before, when he healed Zan, he’d also absorbed a lot of Zan’s knowledge. And some of that knowledge was about powers Max never knew he had, mental powers, the ability to do things with just his mind. He could feel those powers in him now, no longer lying dormant. Zan could use his mind to burst blood vessels in someone’s head, or liquefy a brain, or stop a heart from beating. Max could use that same skill to cause an overload inside the Skin’s Granilith, to make it explode in a firestorm so big the invaders would be wiped out of existence.

“If we can get inside that ship and find the Granilith,” Max told them with brimming self-confidence, “I can do the rest.”




TBC . . .





And here are the links to a few of my other stories:
Repost in progress:
A Special Kind of Love
Completed fics:
Maxeo and Lizziet
Captive Hearts
A Walk in the Park
Downfall
Pieces of the Past
Echoes of Tomorrow

Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17

The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.


From Sexual Healing:

“What are you doing here, Max?”

“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”


Note:I’m so happy the board is back up! Yea!



Aftermath
Part 64


Eight figures stood in a circle around the Granilith, unmoving, eyes closed, as silent as statues. Each held a glowing stone cupped in his or her hand, its color pulsing along with the rhythm of the Granilith. A deep hum filled the chamber, the echo of an engine on a distant ship.

Behind her shuttered eyes, Liz’s mind was alive and active. The dizzying sensation of flying through space made her stomach queasy, like a plummeting ride on a rollercoaster. Planets whizzed by; the red of Mars, the rings of Saturn, hurtling through space faster and faster, past nebulas and comets, on into deepest space.

‘It’s so beautiful.’

Liz wasn’t sure if it was her voice floating around her, or Max’s, or one of the others. It was more a sensation of thought than actual spoken words. More thought voices joined the first.

‘My God . . .’

‘Was that Jupiter?’

‘Are we flying through space? Jesus, we’re flying through space!’

‘This is so cool!’

‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God –’

Stars raced by, some close enough to sear mortal flesh, others like distant diamonds glittering in the black velvet of space.

‘We’re slowing down. I think we’re slowing down.’

‘Why are we slowing down? Oh my God, are we gonna get dumped in the middle of space?’

‘Don’t panic –’

‘Don’t panic? I think I’ve earned the right to panic! I’m flying through space!’

‘Look . . .’

A ship came into view, gleaming from the reflected light of a nearby star. One turned into five, then ten, then twenty, then too many to count. The space travelers hurtled toward the fleet at breakneck speed, swooping downward with the intensity of that afore mentioned amusement ride on a collision course with the outer hull of the largest ship.

‘WE’RE GONNA CRASH!’

And then they were inside, standing motionless in the same hallway they’d seen displayed inside their Granilith, metal floors stretching deep into the ship, a blue illumination seeping from the walls.

“What a rush,” Alex’s childlike gaze swept over his new surroundings.

“Oh God,” Maria clutched her stomach. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Maybe you should have taken a Dramamine,” Kyle said offhandedly as he reached out to touch the interior wall of the ship. His hand went right through it. “What the hell!”

“Kyle!” Tess pulled his hand back in a panic.

Max hesitantly put his hand out, touching the seamless wall. Like Kyle, his hand disappeared right through it, all the way up to his elbow, then reappeared when he pulled it out.

“We’re not really here,” he flexed his fingers in front of his face. “Physically we’re still on Earth.”

“Then why can we see each other?” Isabel asked. Her face held a mixture of fear and wonder.

“We’re only electrical impulses here, thought patterns,” Liz answered, “but our essence still reflects our image. Our souls are here with us.”

“This is so cool!” Alex poked his head through the bulkhead into outer space. Isabel grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

“Don’t do that again!”

“Which way?” Michael asked Liz. There was a time when he wouldn’t have asked her for advice or direction, but those days were behind him now.

Liz looked down the hallway to the right, then to the left. Another corridor bisected this one just a few feet away; four crossroads going in different directions. “We have to find the Granilith, but I don’t know where it is. It could be . . . anywhere.”

“We all know what it looks like,” Max unconsciously assumed his role of leader. “This ship is huge. We’ll break into 4 groups; we can cover ground faster that way. We’ll meet back here in half an hour. Hopefully one of us will have found it by then. We have to do this quick, before they find out we’re here.”

Kyle turned his wrist and frowned. “I don’t have a watch.”

“You don’t need one,” Max took a look down the right corridor, then the left, then back at Kyle. He slipped his hand into Liz’s, claiming his partner for the mission. “We have an innate sense of time. We don’t need watches.”

“Kyle, you can stay with me,” Tess offered.

“I’ve got Spaceboy,” Maria sauntered over to Michael.

“You don’t need a watch?” Alex beamed at Isabel.

“Okay, let’s go,” Max moved to the left with Liz right beside him. “Keep your voices down; we don’t know if they can hear us. Stay out of sight.”

Michael and Maria moved to the right, Maria holding onto his arm, Michael trying to keep her safely behind him. Alex and Isabel took one intersecting hallway, Tess and Kyle the other. Each group moved silently through the ship, searching for the Skins’ Holy Grail.

* * * * *

Kyle walked cautiously along the dimly lit corridor, listening for any sounds of an approaching enemy. Every few minutes he thought he could hear scurrying noises, like rat claws on cement, which sent a shiver up his spine. He really – really – didn’t want to come face to face with an alien.

“This place is really creepy,” Kyle whispered. The dimly lit corridors had his imagination working overtime. “Why’s it so dark? Are they conserving energy or something?”

“I think that’s how they see,” Tess’s hand slid along the wall, feeling her way. She came to a stop at another intersection and faced Kyle. “Remember in the cave, when we saw the original message? That alien had huge eyes. Black eyes. Do you remember what it looked like?”

“Of course,” Kyle shuddered. “I’ll never forget.”

“Maybe they don’t like the light. Maybe their eyes are all pupil, so they can see in the dark.”

“Agh,” Kyle visibly shuddered again. “Let’s find this thing and get the hell out of here.” He moved forward, then stopped when he realized Tess wasn’t following. He turned around to see her standing there, for a moment looking like a lost little girl. “Tess? What’s wrong?”

“You hate this, don’t you?” her voice came out small. “All this,” she waved her hand through the air, “alien stuff.”

“Well, yeah,” Kyle groused. “We’re standing on an alien spaceship – in space. We might have one of those things jump out at us at any time. What’s not to hate?”

“I won’t let them hurt you,” Tess promised.

“I won’t let them hurt you either,” Kyle frowned slightly. Something in her tone bothered him. “Tess? What’s wrong?”

She drew in a breath to say something, then shook her head. “Nothing.” She moved beyond him, choosing the corridor on the right to continue their quest.

“Hey,” Kyle grabbed her arm to stop her. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing,” she denied, but Kyle couldn’t be fooled. He wasn’t as insensitive as everyone thought.

“Tess . . .”

She looked up at him then, with her blue eyes full of despair. “When we’re done here, when we beat the Skins, I think – I think I should go back.”

“Go back?” Kyle didn’t grasp her meaning. “Go back where?”

“To Antar,” Tess dropped her eyes, unable to meet his intense gaze.

Her announcement hit him like a fist in the gut. “Why?”

“I don’t belong here, Kyle. I’ve done terrible things. To Max. To Liz. To – to Alex,” her voice broke.

“To Alex? What about Alex?”

Her face crumpled as the words tumbled out of her mouth. “I – I caused his accident. I killed him. I didn’t want to.”

“That was you?” Kyle asked, stunned by her admission. When she nodded her head he put two and two together. “Did Zan make you do it?”

“I tried to fight him, but . . .”

“Hey,” Kyle said softly, taking a step toward her.

“When this is over,” she straightened up, covering her emotional outburst with a calm façade. “I’ll leave. I – I shouldn’t stay.”

Kyle might be a guy, a jock, a permanent resident of the remedial Math class, but he saw right through her. It wasn’t that she shouldn’t stay, but rather she didn’t think she deserved to stay. He touched her face with his hand, then surrounded her with his arms.

“I want you to stay.”

“No,” she muffled a sob into his shoulder.

“Hey,” he lifted her chin. “It’s not just me. Everyone wants you to stay. You know, Liz runs the show around here, and I saw her with you before. She doesn’t want you going anywhere either. Nobody blames you for anything that happened when you were with Zan.”

“But what about before?” she raised her tear filled eyes. “The things I did to Max, to Liz.”

“It’s all in the past,” Kyle said soothingly. “What matters is now. I know they’re not holding anything against you. You shouldn’t either.”

* * * * *

“Let’s look in here,” Maria whispered.

Michael paused to stare at the door she was pointing at. He couldn’t read the symbol that adorned it, but something about it gave him the creeps. This whole place did.

“I don’t think –”

His objection died on his lips as she opened the door.

“Maria!”

“Let’s just see,” she pushed the door open. Her mouth dropped open when she entered the room and saw what was inside. “Holy shit, Michael!”

“This can’t be real,” Michael followed her into the room. Glass tubes filled the cavernous space, each tube housing a familiar countenance. Rows and rows of identical figures; Max and Isabel and Tess, and himself, hundreds of them, eyes closed in apparent slumber, their naked bodies standing upright, visible from the shoulders up inside the tubes.

“They made an army of you guys,” Maria gaped at them.

“Jesus,” Michael let out a low hiss. He came to a stop in front of one of the glass stasis tubes, assessing his mirror image.

“It looks just like you.”

“Not exactly,” Michael muttered. The hair was different, short, almost a buzz cut, a regular G.I. Joe. It looked older too, early 20’s maybe, definitely not a teenager. And buff, the muscular build of a man trained in combat. Maria was right. They made an army of soldiers using the same DNA that created him and the others.

Michael stood staring at a clone wearing his own face, when the dupe in front of him suddenly opened its eyes.

“JESUS!” Michael stumbled backwards. He grabbed at Maria, pushing her toward the door.

“Oh my God! You woke him up!” Maria screamed. She tripped in her haste to flee; only Michael’s strong arms kept her from going down.

A noise sounded behind them, like the whoosh of a vacuum sealed can opening. The blood drained from Michael’s face when he glanced back and saw the tube sliding open, and the soldier inside stepping out.

“Go, Maria!” Michael pushed her. “GO!”

They raced toward the door spurred on by the sound of bare feet slapping on the floor behind them. Michael turned around to hurl a blast at their pursuer, but the soldier was on him with alien speed. It swung its arm to knock Michael down, but it went right through him instead.

The dupe stopped and looked at his hand in apparent surprise, but it was long enough to give Michael an opening. He raised his hand and hurled a blast of energy at him. It hit the soldier right in the chest, knocking him off his feet. Smoke rose up from the hole in his left pectoral muscle.

Maria stood shaking, clutching at Michael. “Did you kill him?”

“I think so,” Michael ventured a step toward him.

“Don’t!” Maria grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“Stay here,” Michael planted her firmly by the door. He cautiously neared the body, holding his hand out just in case it moved. Its sightless eyes stared up at the ceiling.

“Is it . . .?” Maria asked.

“Yeah,” Michael knelt down near its head. He scooped his hands under its arms and dragged it across the floor, back to the tube it had emerged from.

“What are you doing?”

Michael looked up to see Maria standing over him. “I thought I told you to stay by the door.”

“But he’s dead.”

“Well the rest of ‘em aren’t!”

Maria looked down the rows and rows of dormant hybrid soldiers. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Help me get him back inside,” Michael struggled to lift the inert body into the stasis tube.

“Why?” Maria hesitated to touch it.

“So no one will find him,” Michael grunted. He gritted his teeth lifting the dead weight.

“Michael,” Maria said his name slowly. “He’s . . . naked.”

Michael’s cheeks colored. He never figured this would be the way he’d show her his stuff. “He’s also dead, Maria! Now will you help me?”

Maria forced back her repugnance to give him a hand. The two of them manhandled the body back into the stasis tube. “How come when he hit you his arm when right through you, but we can lift him and move him around?”

“Don’t ask me,” Michael sealed the tube closed with the dead dupe soldier inside. “You’ll have to have Liz explain it, because I haven’t got a clue. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

* * * * *

“Alex!” Isabel grabbed his hand and pulled him into a dark alcove.

“Isabel,” he grinned, feeling her body pressing up against his in the tight quarters.

“Shhh!” she clamped her hand over his mouth. She hissed in a whisper, “Something’s coming!”

The smile faded from Alex’s lips when he heard it too, like the sound of claws tapping on glass. Instinctually he knew what it was. He’d seen what Antarians looked like. Small bodied, oversized head, grey toned skin, four long thin fingers with sharp claw like nails. He hadn’t actually seen their feet, but he pictured them the same, four toes with sharp claws, clicking on the floor when they walked.

The sound grew closer. Alex felt Isabel tremble, the only overt evidence of just how scared she was. She avoided looking at him, her face a mask. When the sound faded, he was the first to break the strained silence.

“I think they’re gone.”

“Yeah,” Isabel sighed in relief.

“It’s funny . . .”

“Funny?” Isabel focused on Alex’s mouth. She had to look up to see him. She liked that.

“We’ve heard them walking, but never talking. You’d think they’d say . . . something.”

“Maybe they don’t have anything to say.”

“Maybe,” Alex agreed. It was about all he could say at the moment, what with Isabel’s breasts pressing into his chest and all.

“Um, Isabel?” he said.

“Yes, Alex?”

As much as he wanted to, it didn’t seem quite the time or the place to kiss her. “Maybe we should go now.”

“Go?” she questioned. “Oh,” she cleared her throat. “Right. Go.”

“Right.” Alex mentally kicked himself in the butt when he felt her back away. Stupid, stupid, stupid. “Hey,” he cocked his head, looking at the wall behind her. “Is that . . . that’s a schematic of the ship!”

“What?” Isabel whirled around. All she saw was a vaguely familiar symbol, squiggly lines that intersected at odd angles. She’d seen it carved into the wall of Riverdog’s cave back on Earth.

“Look,” Alex touched the symbol. It morphed into a deck by deck display of the ship, right before their eyes.

“Oh my God, Alex,” Isabel stared at it. “How did you know?”

“Well it said – oh look, that’s where the Granilith is!”

“Alex?” she openly gaped at him.

“It says so right there,” Alex pointed at a symbol Isabel couldn’t read.

“That’s right where Liz and Max are headed.”

Just as she said it, the symbol began to pulsate in a deep shade of red.

“Alex, what does that mean?”

“I think Max and Liz found the Granilith. And if that symbol is any indication, I think everyone knows it. We better hurry. I don’t think we have much time.”

* * * * *

“It looks just like ours,” Max said with awe in his voice. He stared up at the Granilith, unable to interpret all that he was seeing. It pulsed with activity, one scene changing into another right before his eyes, flashing by too fast for him to see.

“Can you . . . do you think . . . can you destroy it?” Liz asked.

“But it’s so beautiful,” Max stared, entranced by it.

“Max,” Liz grabbed his arm. She saw his eyes swim back into focus. “We have to stop this. Now.”

“I know,” Max shook himself. Maybe this was why the Skins had become addicted to the Granilith. Its swirling patterns were compelling, demanding. It was easy to fall under its spell. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Should we go back for the others?”

“I don’t think so,” Liz shook her head. “I think we have to end it now.”

Max looked around the empty room. The Granilith sat in the center, imposing in its grandeur. The power of it pulsed in the air, but something seemed out of place. “Why isn’t there anyone here guarding it?”

“Max,” Liz suddenly got a bad feeling.

“You’d think they’d have guards or sentries or something,” Max continued.

“I think they do,” Liz pointed at a red symbol flashing by the door. “I think we triggered an alarm when we came through the door.”

Max’s eyes grew large. “Shit!”

An image filled the Granilith, of small alien soldiers racing through the corridors of the ship.

“They’re coming!” Liz cried out. “Hurry! You have to destroy it now, Max!”

“But I can’t explode it yet!” Max rushed out. “What about the others? They’re spread throughout the ship.”

“How much time until we’re supposed to meet at the portal?”

“Twelve minutes,” he answered without hesitation.

“We won’t get a second chance, Max. We have to do this now.”

Max looked down into her intense dark eyes. He could see the conviction of her beliefs. The future of Earth depended on what they did in the next few minutes. There was no time for indecision. No time for hesitation.

“The others won’t be expecting this so soon. What if they don’t make it to the portal in time? You know Michael. He never follows orders. What if . . .?”

“We have to have faith that they’ll be there,” Liz said more calmly than she felt.

Max looked up at the imposing alien structure. The ever changing images flashed in front of his eyes; of a snow capped mountain, pristine in its beauty, then a war torn countryside, with torn bodies bleeding into the ground, then a small girl chasing a balloon through a meadow, then a fleet of ships going into orbit high above a blue world. The last image was nearly blinding in its intensity, an image from the darkness of deep space, of a brilliant explosion erupting across the heavens.

“It’s showing us two different futures,” Liz’s voice came out filled with awe. “One where we stop the Skins now, one where we don’t.” She turned her face up to Max, eyes full of wonder. “It knows.”

“It can see its own death,” he marveled.

“Max, you have to do this.”

“What if I can’t?” sudden doubt plagued him.

“You have to try,” she slipped her hand into his and brought it to her breast, pressing it against her heart. “It’s our only way to stop them.”

Max faced the Granilith head on with determination stamped on his face. He closed his eyes, and when they reopened seconds later, the natural honey color of his irises darkened to near black. His jaw clenched with effort, his body stood rigidly erect. His mind connected to the Granilith, tracing the path of its coils and gears and conduits. He found its central core, the fusion chamber that supplied its endless power. He became one with the Granilith, feeling it inside him, all around him, vibrating with energy. He used the power of his mind to disrupt the flow, to set up the chain reaction that would cause the machine to self-destruct.

Max gasped and bent forward when he broke the connection. Phantom sweat dripped from his face to the floor. When he looked at Liz, his eyes returned to normal.

“It’s done. We’ve got about 20 minutes to get the hell out of here.”


TBC . . .


Author note: It is my intension (board permitting) to post the final two parts of this story this weekend. Part 65 on Saturday night, and part 66 on Sunday.




Behr’s Bitch

Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17

The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.


From Sexual Healing:

“What are you doing here, Max?”

“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”



Aftermath
Part 65


Max and Liz raced along the dark corridors headed back to the portal. The minutes counted down in his mind; they didn’t have much time left. They had to be off the ship before the Granilith exploded, or they’d die with it.

“This way,” Liz ran with Max at her side. Their hands remained tightly clasped together; neither one willing to let go. They turned a corner, both relieved to see Alex and Isabel up ahead.

“Max!” Isabel cried out. “Alex found a map. We know where the –”

“We already found it,” Max cut her off. He came to a stop beside his sister, out of breath from running. He bent forward with his hands on his knees, with Liz leaning against his side for support. He lifted his head, showing Isabel and Alex a desperate face. “We have to get out of here. Have you seen the others?”

“No,” Isabel shook her head. “But they should be here any minute. Then we can –”

Max straightened to his full height. “This place is gonna blow sky high in about 8 minutes. We have to be out of here before it happens.”

* * * * *

“Michael,” Maria tugged on his arm. “Let’s go back.”

“Not yet,” he grumbled. “Let’s check up this way.”

“We’re supposed to meet the others,” she protested.

“So we get back a little late,” Michael dismissed it. “They’ll wait for us. I want to find that damn thing.”

Maria watched him walk away, fuming inside. It was so typical of him to do the opposite of what he was told, as if his agenda was all that mattered. Anger exploded inside her; he wasn’t getting away with it this time.

“Michael Guerin!” Maria planted her hands on her hips. “You stop right this minute!”

Michael stopped in his tracks.

“We’re going back right now!” she shook her finger at his back. He turned around, glowering at her, but she wasn’t done. “Don’t you dare argue with me!”

His mouth opened, but instead of coming back with his usual bullheaded obstinate remark, he meekly said, “Okay.”

Maria blinked. “Okay?”

Michael looked as surprised as she did.

“Did you just say ‘Okay’?”

“How did you do that?” Michael glared at her.

“Do what?”

“Make me listen to you!” Michael growled. His eyes suddenly grew as big as saucers. “Holy Shit! Is that your power?!”

“My power?” she squeaked.

Michael crossed over and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Is that it?” he shook her like a rag doll. “You can order me around and I have to comply?”

“Michael, stop!”

Michael stopped.

“Oh God!” he cried as the reality of it sank in. Maria, with the ability to boss him around? No. No, no. No no no. What a nightmare! He circled his hand around her arm and marched her back toward the portal.

* * * * *

Kyle flattened his back into the wall trying to hide. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Tess while an army of little grey men swarmed by them. The sound of their claws clicking on the floor sent a chill down Kyle’s back. He waited until they faded away before he dared to take a breath.

“That was a close one,” his shoulders slumped in relief. It was the third time in the last five minutes they’d run into a group of aliens. He was way beyond creeped out, bordering on hysteria. He wondered if the others were running into the same problem, or was it just he and Tess with incredibly bad luck?

“They didn’t see us,” Tess relaxed a little.

“Where are they all going?” Kyle asked. “And why don’t they say anything? All you can hear is that damn clicking!”

“Something’s wrong,” Tess moved back into the corridor. “Let’s get back to the others.”

Kyle wasn’t about to argue. He wanted to get the hell off this ship. He grabbed Tess’s hand and raced back in the direction of the portal.

“How much time?” Kyle panted.

“We’re late,” Tess struggled to keep pace with him. Hiding from the Skins had delayed their return. She hoped everyone would be waiting for them when they got there, but she had a bad feeling.

* * * * *

“Where are they?” Max paced in the corridor near the portal. Time was running out, and only half of them were here. Their mission was only minutes away from success, but would any of them survive to celebrate it? Would Earth ever know about the sacrifice they made to keep it safe?

“Someone’s coming,” Liz perked up. They all heard it then, the deep familiar grumbling, and then Michael came into view looking pissed as hell, toting Maria along beside him.

“Maxwell!” he barked.

“Thank God,” Isabel sighed. Two down, two to go.

“You have to fix this!” Michael shoved Maria toward Max. “You have to take it back!”

“Take what back?” Max steadied Maria.

Maria whirled around and hit Michael on the chest. “You’re such a jerk!”

“Where’re Kyle and Tess?” Alex asked.

The ship suddenly lurched; the floor beneath them shuddered. The sound of an explosion reached them seconds later.

“What was that?” the color drained out of Maria’s face, her anger toward Michael forgotten.

“The Granilith?” Isabel looked at her brother with growing fear.

“No, that was too close,” Max listened. A chill ran down his spine, an impending sense of doom.

“That was an energy pulse,” Michael said. He knew the sound. Another blast rocked the ship, followed by two more.

“Tess and Kyle,” Max said, looking in the direction of the explosions. “They’re in trouble.”

“Let’s go help ‘em.” Michael took two long steps before Max put his hand out to stop him.

“There’s no time.”

“Whadda mean there’s no time?” Michael looked confused. “We can’t just –”

“It’s the Granilith, Michael,” Isabel stopped his protest.

“You found it?” Michael focused on Max.

Max nodded. “I activated it. We only have a few minutes before . . .”

“Shit,” the implication sank in. “But Kyle, Tess, how are we – how can – what are we gonna do?”

* * * * *

“Run! RUN!” Tess shouted, pushing Kyle in front of her. Another blast of energy whizzed past her ear.

“Jesus, they’re coming outta the woodwork.”

They ducked behind a bulkhead, just as another energy blast hit the floor where they’d been standing. They both panted heavily, from stress and exertion.

“We’re not getting out of here, are we?” Kyle looked into her blue eyes. She couldn’t hide it from him; they were outnumbered, surrounded by aliens out for blood. Kyle swallowed hard, scared shitless in the face of impending death.

“Well,” he used his trademark humor to keep from crying. “You know the old saying, ‘Only the good die young’.” He pushed himself upwards on shaky legs. “I’m not going down without a fight.”

“Wait,” Tess stopped him. He didn’t deserve to die on an alien spaceship, light years from home. He hadn’t asked for any of this. She couldn’t let him sacrifice his life. She faced her own impending demise with a sense of detachment. It was for the greater good, an atonement for her past sins. “Go meet up with the others at the portal. I’ll use my mindwarp so they won’t be able to see you.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Kyle objected.

“No, I’ll be alright,” Tess held back the quiver in her voice. “You need to tell Max that they know we’re here. I’ll join you just as soon as I can.”

“Are you gonna to be okay here by yourself?” he worried.

“I’ll be fine,” Tess lied. She didn’t know how long she could hold a warp, or even if it would work on the Skins, but she could distract them long enough to let Kyle get away. It was the best she could do. All she had left to offer.

Kyle struggled with the thought of leaving her behind. It went against all his male instincts, but she was part alien, and capable of kicking butt. He forced his male pride to take a back seat.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Kyle affectionately tweaked her chin between his finger and thumb. It made her smile, the kind of look reserved solely for him, but there was something sad in it, too. “Are you sure about this?”

Tess nodded. She couldn’t verbally answer him; she didn’t think she’d be able to speak without breaking down. She looked into his face one last time, then leaned forward for one last kiss. It wasn’t earth shattering, or filled with passion, but rather a bittersweet goodbye. Her destiny here was almost over.

When their lips parted she whispered, “Go.”

* * * * *

Kyle raced around another corner hoping he wasn’t lost. All the corridors looked the same; grey walls, grey floors, strange symbols here and there he couldn’t read. His heart leapt when he heard voices up ahead, human voices, the sounds of his friends. One more corner and he was there, home free.

“Max!”

“Kyle!” the group called out in unison. They raced to meet him.

“Where’s Tess?” Max demanded.

“Back – there,” Kyle pressed his hand into his side trying to catch his breath. For being non-corporeal, he sure had a lot of physical aches and pains. “The Skins know we’re here. Tess is holding them back. We have to go help her.”

On instinct Max stepped forward. Isabel grabbed his arm to hold him back. “You can’t, Max. There’s no time left.”

They could all feel it. The air was thick with it. Energy building to explosive proportions. Their skin tingled, the hair stood straight up on the back of their necks.

“What are you talking about?” Kyle demanded.

“The Granilith is set to explode,” Isabel’s voice sounded desperate. “We have to go!”

“We can’t leave Tess!” Kyle cried.

“If we stay we’ll all die!” Isabel shouted in a panic.

Max looked at Liz. He couldn’t stand the thought of leaving anyone behind. Not even Tess. He was responsible for the safety of all the members of his unit. “Is there enough time?”

Liz felt the weight of six sets of eyes staring at her, but the visions weren’t hers to control. She had no answer for them. “I don’t know.”

Max absorbed that with a nod, silently chewing on his lower lip. There wasn’t time to make an informed decision; he had to rely on gut instinct. He lifted his gaze to Liz again, speaking directly to her.

“Get everyone to the portal. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but,” his eyes bore into hers. “Don’t wait for me.”

“Max,” her voice broke.

“Promise me,” Max didn’t relent. He saw the struggle on her face, and the moment she acquiesced. Her chin trembled as she nodded her head.

“I’m going with you,” Kyle announced.

“No,” Max shifted his focus to him. “You go with them.”

“I’m not your soldier!” Kyle argued. “You can’t order me around!”

“I can, and I did,” Max stepped apart from the others and threw up his shield so no one could follow. Better six safe, than eight lost.

Liz stepped up to the shield, pressing her hand against the green shimmering surface. Max touched the shield on his side, feeling the energy of her essence.

“You understand, don’t you? Why I have to do this? I can’t leave anyone behind.”

“I know,” Liz tried not to cry.

“I love you,” he whispered, only for her to hear. “Be safe.”

And then he was gone, disappearing into the bowels of the ship.

* * * * *

Tess sank to the floor in the empty hallway. Her mindwarp had worked, but her energy felt depleted, her spirit empty. She’d held off the Skins until Kyle was safely away, and now she had nothing left. She waited for the end to come. So lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even feel his hands on her shoulders when he found her.

“Tess. Are you alright? Can you hear me? Tess.”

His voice slowly penetrated her musings. She knew that voice. Soft and gentle. As gentle as his eyes. It’d taken her a long time to see that. She was glad they could be friends at the end. She would die knowing he didn’t hate her.

“Tess, look at me. We have to get out of here.”

She wondered what it would have been like to really live. To wake up every morning happy to be alive. To have a family and friends. She’d only gotten just a taste of it, a few precious moments. She would have liked to go to the prom with Kyle. To actually finish high school. To someday be a wife and mother.

“Tess, can you stand?”

“I held the warp until they left,” Tess said softly, eyes glazed. “I made them think he went the other way. So everyone could get away safely.”

“You did good, Tess. Now it’s time for us to go.”

“Go?” her eyes swam into focus, seeing the worried look on Max’s face. “I can’t go. I have to stay.”

“No. No, you don’t. Everyone is waiting for us. We have to hurry.”

“Go without me.”

Max looked around the corridor. The energy in the air was like a living thing, crawling on his skin. It wouldn’t be long now. In fact, it might already be too late. He rose to his feet, pulling Tess up with him.

“We’re not leaving without you.”

“You want me to come?” she looked up into his face.

“Of course,” Max cupped the side of her head with his hand. “We all do.” His capacity to love far out weighed his ability to hate. They’d made Tess a part of them. He couldn’t abandon her now.

“Really?” hope sparked inside her.

“Come on,” he urged her to stand. He half carried her until she found her feet, and when she steadied, he grabbed her by the hand and urged her to run. The seconds were ticking away in his head, the countdown to oblivion.

They ran until their legs hurt, and still they ran some more. He didn’t need to remember the way, he felt Liz guiding him. His heart jumped with excitement when he rounded the final turn and saw the others up ahead. They urged him on with shouts and frantic motions, the tension in the air thick, the time almost out.

He stretched out his hand, he thought he was going to make it, his fingertips just inches away from Liz –

And then the universe exploded.




Come back tomorrow for the conclusion.




Behr’s Bitch

Author: Debbi aka Breathless
Category: Max and Liz, CC/UC
Rating: PG 13 to NC 17

The mythology of this story is different than the show. Max and company (Zan and his cohorts too) did NOT live previous lives. Max was never a KING. Tess was never his WIFE. Isabel wasn’t a PRINCESS.


From Sexual Healing:

“What are you doing here, Max?”

“Well, I have orders from my planet. To take over the Earth.”



Author Note: It’s hard to believe I’ve been posting this story for nearly a year and a half, but all things come to an end. There have been a lot of questions asked along the way, and lot of them won’t be answered. You’ll have to use your own imaginations. Many of you have asked what I’m planning next. I’ll let you know in the post after this one.



Aftermath
Part 66


The stars once more surrounded them, sparkling points of light amidst the blackness of space, some far, some near. A supernova faded into the distance.

‘Max! Max? Did we get him? Is he here?’

‘I’m here!’

‘Oh Max! Thank God. You scared me to death! I was afraid you weren’t gonna make it.’

‘Tess? What about Tess?’

‘I’m here, too.’

‘We all made it!’

‘It was Liz. I saw her shield surround Max and Tess just as the ship exploded. She saved them.’

‘Liz . . .?’

‘Everything’s alright now. I can feel it. We’re gonna be okay.’

They sped by the planets, by the spinning rings of Saturn, the giant spot on Jupiter, by the smiling man in the moon. The Earth loomed large, a beautiful shade of blue, with white clouds swirling around it. They all mentally sighed. Home. What a beautiful sight.

They plummeted toward the earth, reminding Liz of a vision she’d once had, in the eraser room with Max. His kisses had shown her this very sight, and now she was living it.

Someone screamed, Liz was pretty sure it was Maria, and then they were hurtling through the atmosphere, straight toward the desert. They swooped down with breakneck speed, on a collision course with the Vasquez Rocks, and then they were inside, in the belly of the Granilith, with their solid forms still standing silently around it. Seconds later, Liz opened her eyes, reunited with her body.

“Wow,” Michael shook himself. “Was all that real?”

“Every minute of it,” Liz responded.

Max was beside her in a flash, taking the healing stone out of her hand. He caressed her fingers while he stared lovingly into her eyes. “Thank you. For reaching out to me. For saving me. For loving me.”

“Max,” she fell into his arms. There were no words to describe what she was feeling. For a brief time she’d been afraid he wouldn’t make it back to the portal, that she might lose him forever, and the thought had left her hollow. When he’d turned that corner, with Tess running beside him, it’d been the happiest moment of her life.

“Liz, honey,” he threaded his fingers into her hair and lifted her face up to his. “Tell me everything’s fine now. Tell me we can live our lives without worrying about the Skins, or invasions, or the world coming to an end. Tell me we can just live the way we want to. Tell me what you see, Liz.”

She looked up into his eyes, unafraid to give him the answer. The smile on her face came from deep inside, a feeling in her heart that had nothing to do with visions.

“What do I see?” she smiled at him. “I see you and me . . . happy.”

His lips crashed down on hers, making her prophetic words come true. The feel of her lips, her mouth, her body against his, made him the happiest human alive.

* * * * *

Max stood on the rocks looking out over the desert terrain. The heat was stifling, burning into his skin, but he didn’t notice. His eyes remained trained on a distant plume of dust rising up from the desert floor. A car was approaching, one that he expected. Liz stepped out of the pod chamber and joined him.

“Anything?”

“There,” Max raised his hand. “They’re coming.”

She knew who he was talking about. He’d called the Sheriff and asked Jim to drive his parents out to meet them. He thought it would be easier for his mom and dad to believe him if they saw the evidence first hand.

“Do you know what you’re going to say?” Liz asked.

Max tore his eyes away from the approaching car. He flashed Liz with a nervous smile, saying with a sigh, “I don’t have a clue.”

The Sheriff’s SUV pulled up next to the Jeep, kicking up rocks and dust as it came to a stop. Max smiled as Jim climbed out, looking around curiously; it was his first visit to the pod chamber. Max’s smile wavered when he saw his mother climb from the back seat, followed moments later by his dad. They both looked concerned, curious, maybe even a little disturbed. They had no idea what they were doing here.

Jim’s features softened when he noticed Max high up on the imposing rock formation. He lifted his hand and waved, then turned to Diane and Philip, motioning upward. Max felt the instant connection when his mother’s gaze looked up and their eyes met. He’d always wanted to be close to his parents, but he’d been too afraid to open up. Now, everything felt different. He didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

A few minutes later, Diane Evans came face to face with the son she loved with all her heart. Philip stood behind her, more curious as to what Max had been doing for the last few days, but equally as relieved that his son appeared to be fine, if somewhat scruffy.

“Max, honey,” Diane sighed and wrapped him in her arms. She was just happy to know that he was alive and well. He looked like he’d been through an ordeal; unshaven and unkempt, but she noticed something else too, a confidence she hadn’t seen before.

Isabel stepped out of the pod chamber, looking tentative and unsure. Max could clearly see just how badly his sister wanted this meeting to go well.

“Mom. Dad,” Max looked back and forth between them.

Philip had a question poised on his lips, he was a practical man, not prone to flights of fancy, but something in Max’s face staved off his cross-examination. This wasn’t the time to play lawyer.

“I know you’re both curious,” Max led them inside the pod chamber. “I want you to see something. You always wanted to know about what happened in our lives before you found us, but I could never tell you.”

Max turned around to face them, seeing the shock on their faces as they absorbed the sights inside the cavern. This was something he could never show them before.

“Max,” Diane pressed her hand against her breast. “What is this place?”

Max gave her a tremulous smile. “You wondered about our past, about where we came from, about who we are. Well,” he waved his hand to signify his surroundings, “this is where we were born.”

“What?” Diane stared around her in amazement. “You – born – Max?”

“Those were our incubation pods. Me and Isabel. Michael, and Tess, too. Isabel and I were born right here, on the same day you found us in the desert. We could never tell you about our past because . . . we didn’t have one.”

* * * * *

Michael sat on a bar stool, leaning back with his elbow on the counter. He watched Maria make a selection from the Crashdown’s old jukebox, then she turned to face him as some old familiar melody filled the air, a song he couldn’t name. She crooked her finger at him.

“Forget it,” Michael grumbled. Maria sauntered over to him and draped her arms around his neck.

“Dance with me, Spaceboy.”

“No.” He didn’t want to. Besides, he didn’t know how.

“Dance with me, Michael,” she insisted.

Involuntarily, he rose to his feet. Maria smiled. Michael glared. “This really bites!”

A few feet away, Alex opened a pizza box and reached for another slice. They were having an after hours party, just the eight of them, to celebrate saving the world. They were all in high spirits, everyone except one.

“Alex?”

At the sound of Tess’s hesitant voice, Alex turned to see her standing behind him.

“Hey,” a boyish grin flashed over his face. “You want one?” he offered her a slice of Meat Lovers Supreme, with everything on it. “You better get one before Kyle eats it all.”

“No,” Tess shook her head. She shot a look at Kyle in a booth across the Crashdown. He nodded at her, encouraging her to continue.

Alex frowned at her obvious discomfort. He closed the lid of the pizza box and gave her his full attention. “What’s up?”

“Alex,” Tess dropped her head forward, avoiding eye contact. “There’s something – I,” she sputtered, trying to find the words, then finally spit out, “The car – the accident – I didn’t want to do it.”

“Do what?” Alex flashed a confused smile.

Her voice cracked, her shoulders hunched. “I didn’t – Zan forced me.”

His brows furrowed, and then a look of understanding spread over his face. “Oh. The accident. You mean . . . that was you?”

“God,” Tess covered her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I’m so sorry.”

“Hey,” he patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. He wasn’t sure what to say to her, so he said the first thing that came to mind. “It’s okay. Max fixed me and gave me cool powers!”

Tess shot her face up, staring at him through tear filled eyes. “You don’t – you don’t hate me?”

“Hate you?” Alex arched an expressive eyebrow. “No. I mean, I guess it’s kind of weird that you killed me and everything, but I’m cool.”

“Oh Alex!” Tess threw herself into his arms.

Liz finished filling a glass of Cherry Coke and set it on the counter. Max came up behind her, sliding his hands around her waist. He nuzzled his nose close near her ear. “Is that mine?”

“Yep,” she grinned. His warm breath on her throat made her stomach do somersaults. She turned around to face him, smiling even wider when his lips swooped down to kiss hers.

“Do they ever stop?” Kyle smirked.

Isabel looked over at her brother mauling Liz, and turned a shade of red. Some things were just better not seen or spoken of, and Max’s love life was at the top of that list.

The phone rang by the cash register. Liz reached for it out of habit.

“Let it ring,” Max mumbled against her lips. His hand pressed against the small of her back, holding her tightly against him.

“But it might be important.”

“This is important,” Max kissed her hard again.

“Just one second,” Liz came up for air. Whoever was calling was very insistent. She answered the phone on the thirteenth ring. “Hello?”

She suddenly stiffened and her eyes opened wide. Max stepped back, concerned for a moment, until he heard who she was talking to.

“Dad. How’s Hawaii?”

“Is everything okay, Liz? We’ve been calling every night, but you’re never there. Your mother’s worried sick.”

“Everything’s fine, Dad,” Liz gave Max a face.

“How’re things there? Have we missed anything?”

“Missed anything?” Liz arched an eyebrow. “Let’s see. We had an alien sighting, there was a threat of alien invasion, and we thwarted a plan to take over the world. Nope, you didn’t miss anything. Just a typical week in Roswell.”

“That’s good, Lizzie. We’ll be home tomorrow; you can tell us all about it,” he teased. “Our plane gets in at 6:00.”

“We’ll pick you up,” Liz leaned into Max. “Bye, Dad.”

Max took the phone out of her hand and set it in the cradle. “They’re coming home tomorrow?”

“Yep,” she melted into him. Her pulse quickened as his arms surrounded her again, and his lips kissed a trail up her throat.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he whispered against her skin. He leaned back with a hopeful look on his face, only showing a slight case of nervousness.

Butterflies took flight in Liz’s stomach. She smiled shyly, “Okay.”

“Okay?” a smile spread across his face. When she nodded, he grabbed her hand and rushed her across the room.

“Max, where are you going?” Isabel called out. The back door swung wildly on its hinges, footsteps raced up the stairs to the apartment above the restaurant. A door slammed above them, followed seconds later by the sound of female laughter.

Kyle looked at Isabel with a shit eating grin on his face. “Do you really want an answer?”

* * * * *

Max was in the middle of a good dream. In it he was as strong as Superman, as agile as Spiderman, and as suave as James Bond. His job was to save the world, and he did it with style, but at the forefront was the girl he did it for, the only girl he wanted, the love of his life, Liz Parker. He only had eyes for her.

Her breath blew lightly across the bare skin of his chest, her head rested on his shoulder, her body curled into his side. He liked her this way, naked in his arms. When she shifted he realized he wasn’t dreaming.

“Hey,” he smiled at her sleepy face. God, she was beautiful.

“Did we fall asleep?”

Max nodded. She looked up at him with such affection he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Her breasts felt soft against his side. Her thigh between his legs made him hard again. He thought he could probably get used to this, making love to her over and over again. He should probably give it a rest, but god, she smelled so good. He couldn’t help how much he wanted her.

“I suppose you’ll have to sleep at home tonight?”

“Yeah,” Max said after a long sigh. “Isabel’s with them, but I should be there, too. All this is so new to them.”

“They took it well, though.”

“As well as can be expected,” he agreed. “I think my mom suspected something for a while. A long while. I don’t think my dad had a clue.”

“But you told them, and the world didn’t fall apart.”

“You always thought I should tell them, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Liz nodded.

“I’m sorry I didn’t do it before. Isabel always wanted me to.”

Liz turned until she was laying half way on, half way off his bare chest. She looked down into his golden eyes and asked, “Do you have any other regrets?”

“Like what?” he brushed his hand through her long hair.

“Anything?” she asked.

He thought about it for a minute and then he shook his head. “No. No regrets. After all we went through; we came out stronger in the end.”

“Yes, we did.”

“Except . . . Zan,” Max forced the name out. It wasn’t easy for Max to talk about him. He still struggled with the idea that, under different circumstances, he might have been just like him.

“It had to be that way,” Liz said gently.

“What do you mean?”

“Zan needed you.”

“Me?” Max arched his eyebrows.

Liz traced her finger over the heart shaped tattoo on Max’s chest. “Zan was connected to you, Max, not me. He only loved me because you do. Everything he learned, he learned from you. Love. Compassion. The Skins taught him duty; you taught him how to be human. He needed to learn that, so he could become what he was meant to be.”

“And everything I learned is because of you,” Max turned Liz onto her back. “I wasn’t lying when I told you, you made me human. You bring the best out in me, Liz Parker. I wouldn’t be who I am without you.”

“Come here,” Liz threaded her fingers into his hair to pull him down to her. “Kiss me.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Max smiled.

* * * * *

The Solidin Plateau
Antar


Zan lay on the hard ground with his hands behind his head, staring up at the stars in the night sky. It was cold here. Desolate and lonely.

As lonely as his heart.

They’d made first contact today; a unit of eight keeping a wary distance, probably assessing him and Ava as much as he and Ava were assessing them. He hadn’t been surprised by their appearance. Visually, the Antarians were exactly what he expected; small, humanoid, with grey skin and huge black eyes. They looked just like the Skins, except the aura around them was softer, warmer; he’d noticed the difference immediately.

The Antarians were camped on the other side of the ridge, close enough to keep watch on the two of them, far enough away to be cautious. Perhaps in the morning they’d have their first face to face encounter with the native population, but Zan was too tired to think about that now. He wanted the sweet oblivion of sleep. He wasn’t worried about being attacked in the night; Antarians weren’t a warrior race.

“Can you see it?” Ava’s voice broke into his musings.

“See what?” Zan asked. She lay on the other side of the fire. She didn’t want to be near him. He didn’t blame her.

“Earth. Do you think we can see it from here?”

“I think it’s that one,” Zan pointed at a twinkling light in the sky, low in the western quadrant. “The one below that cluster.”

“Are you sure?” Ava’s voice took on a note of excitement.

“Pretty sure,” Zan answered. He wasn’t averse to telling her a little white lie, not if it made her feel better. In truth, he had no idea where Earth was, or if he’d ever see it again.

“It’s so different here,” Ava said wistfully. “So . . . cold.”

Zan felt it too, deep in his soul.

“Ava?”

“Yeah?”

He heard the tentativeness of her response. It pained him that she had good reason to react that way to him. He’d made her life a living hell.

“I’m sorry.”

After a long pause, he heard her answer.

“I believe you.”

“I won’t ever do those things to you again. You’ll never have to be afraid of me.”

Ava didn’t respond. Silence fell over them again, with only the crackle of the fire to fill the void. Minutes later, Ava spoke again.

“You love her, don’t you?”

“No,” Zan denied.

He turned onto his side away from the glow of the fire and tucked his hand under his cheek.

In the light of the stars, a single tear dripped down his nose and landed on the ground.




The End



Read on . . .


*

Prologue


New York City
June 2000


Christos Pappaderos opened the driver’s side door of his unmarked vehicle and climbed behind the wheel, careful not to spill his coffee. His partner Tom slid into the passenger seat with a cup of his own, and a box of donuts to go with. Their demeanor was light, carefree, in stark contrast to the type of work they did.

“You keep eatin’ those,” the older detective said to his youthful partner, “and that pretty girl of yours is gonna dump your ass.”

“The fuck you say,” Tom laughed. He patted his tight abs, adding, “I burn every calorie I consume. And Cindy likes my ass just fine.”

“She won’t when it’s 5 by 5,” Pappaderos mumbled as he started the engine and pulled into traffic.

Tom took a sip from his cup and shoved the first donut in his mouth. He chewed for a minute and then swallowed, asking as he reached for another, “Hey Pap, how long you been married?”

“Ten years next month,” Pappaderos answered with a smile, his dark good looks marred only by the scar running through his right eyebrow. Everyone called him Pap or Pappy, although at 35 he wasn’t an old man. He wasn’t even a father yet, but his years of experience on the force made him a man to look up to. Tom felt lucky to have him for a partner.

“I’m takin’ her to Hawaii,” Pap added in his typical New York drawl. He might be Greek, but he grew up right here, in the greatest city in the world. “Teresa’s never been to Hawaii. It’s a big surprise, so don’t be tellin’ her.”

Tom didn’t miss the adoration in his partner’s voice. Everybody knew how Pap felt about his wife. They teased him about being the most pussy whipped cop in the precinct, but for Pappy, the sun and the moon rose in Teresa’s eyes. Curious, Tom asked, “How’d you know she was the one for you?”

Pap shrugged. Nothing could wipe the smile off his face when he talked about his wife. “It was my mother’s fault, ya know. Greek women, they’re big on matchmakin’. I didn’t want nothin’ to do with gettin’ tied down to no woman, but one look and I was hooked. Now my ma’s buggin’ us to make her a grandmother. Maybe we’ll hafta work on that in Hawaii.”

Tom snorted a laugh. He’d always wondered how Pap kept such a jovial attitude toward life when faced with all the horrors they confronted working the sex crimes division. Maybe it was time to ask him.

“Pap? How do you do it? How do you go to bed every night and sleep peacefully, after everything we’ve seen?”

Pap looked at Tom like an indulgent father looking at his wayward son. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I like knowin’ I make the streets safe for Teresa.”

Before Pap could say anything more, the radio roared to life. The dispatcher’s voice came through loud and clear. “Two four Tango Charlie, state your location.”

Tom picked up the mic and answered, “Canal Street and . . . Hudson.”

“Your presence has been requested. Divert to 649 Downing Street.”

Pappy took the mic away from Tom. “For?”

The female dispatcher’s voice came over the airwaves, “A nine-eighteen. First Federal Savings and Loan.”

Pap thought he heard the slightest bit of stress in her tone, but he’d been on the job a long time, nothing much surprised him anymore. Still, why were they being called out on a nine-eighteen? Working the Special Victims Unit didn’t usually involve robbery.

“We’ll be there in five,” Pap told her and keyed off the mic. He lifted the red light from the seat between him and Tom and put it on the dashboard. With the flip of a switch, his police siren shattered the night air.

* * * * *

“Pappaderos,” Pap flashed his badge to the uniform cop manning the barricade, walking through with a confidence born from years working the job. It never once crossed his mind that he might be here for personal reasons. He approached the lead investigator, ready to get this over with so he could go home to his wife.

He noticed Frank Carmichael right away; they’d walked a beat patrol together years ago, fresh out of the academy. Frank worked out of the 409 now, Homicide Division. What was he doing here?

“Hey Carmichael, whadda ya got?”

“Jesus,” Carmichael blurted out, spinning around to face Pappaderos. His job weighed heavily on him, especially tonight. “Shit.”

“I got a call about a nine-eighteen. What’re you doin’ here?”

The red and blue lights of half a dozen cop cars strobed across Pappy’s face. His was a strong face, rich with character and usually full of good humor. But something was off tonight, something wrong in the air. Frank’s reluctance to look him in the eye wasn’t helping.

“What’s that?” Pap eyed a surveillance photo in Frank’s hand, the type taken from a security camera of an ATM. The black and white photo looked grainy, but Pap could clearly make out a solitary figure, male, wearing a long coat, probably leather. Pap was trained to notice details. The eyes in the photo stared right at him, intense eyes, full of deadly menace. After tonight, Pap would never forget those eyes.

Paramedics frantically worked around a body on the pavement. Blood covered the ground in glistening pools of red. A high heeled shoe lay in the middle of one, a Bandolino, $79.99 at Macy’s. Teresa bought a pair a week ago.

The whine of a defibrillator filled the night air. The sounds of Paramedic’s voices all ran together.

“Clear!”

The body jerked.

“No pulse. No respiration.”

Pap took a stride toward the frantic activity on the sidewalk.

“Wait,” Carmichael grabbed his arm.

“What’s going on, Frank?” Pap frowned. He’d never seen Frank look so green before.

“Before you go,” Frank Carmichael hesitated. “You – there’s – there’s something you should know.” He shook his head as if to clear it, then let it out, as gently as he could. “There’s no easy way to say this, Chris.”

The hackles rose on Pappy’s neck. Nobody ever called him Chris. Hell, half the force didn’t even know his first name. He was just Pap. Or Pappy. Only his mother called him Chris. And his wife.

“It looks like she was making an after hours deposit,” Frank continued. “The store receipts for the day. We think the perp came up behind her. It happened fast. It don’t look like she suffered.”

“What the fuck you talkin’ about?” Pap felt his stomach start to churn. Why would they call him out for a mugging? Who the fuck were the paramedics working on?

“Pap,” Frank’s voice gave it all away. He restrained the Detective with a hand around his upper arm. “You don’t wanna go in there.”

Pap wrenched his arm away. “What the fuck? You call me out here when my shift is over, when I could be home havin’ dinner with my wife. What the hell’s goin’ on here?”

“Pap,” Frank swallowed hard. “It’s . . . Teresa . . .”

“What?” Pap felt the blood drain out of his face. What about Teresa? She worked the opening shift at her sister’s bookstore in Greenwich Village. She was always done by four, and home by five. She didn’t make bank deposits after hours. He’d told her a thousand times it was too dangerous.

“The security camera caught it all on tape,” Frank fell into police mode, the only way he knew how to deal with it. “We’ll catch the bastard that did this to her.”

Pap turned away from Frank, no longer listening to him. The blood was pounding too hard in his ears to hear. He moved toward the blood soaked ground, afraid to look, unable not to. Tom hovered behind him, not knowing what to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen to one of your own.

Pap stumbled forward on shaky legs. It couldn’t be his wife they were working on. It just couldn’t be. He was taking her to Hawaii next month. They were gonna start a family. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t real. Please God, don’t let this be real.

A paramedic sat back in defeat, revealing the face of the female victim. Pap’s silent prayer died on his lips.

“No,” Pap stared at his wife’s face. Her eyes looked up at the night sky, empty and lifeless.

“Noooo,” a cry tore from Pappy’s throat. Frank caught him as his legs gave out.

“Chris –”

“No,” Pap clutched at Frank’s arm. “Oh God, no. Not Teresa. It can’t be Teresa.” Tears filled his eyes and spilled down his face. “Oh God, please, not Teresa . . .”


A few miles away, a dark haired man entered an old run down hotel. He wore a long black leather trench coat over black pants and boots, hair long and dirty, a weeks worth of stubble on his chin. He made a straight line for the night clerk.

“I need a room,” he stated gruffly.

“Fifty bucks a night,” the clerk replied. “Cash or credit card. No checks.”

The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He slammed it on the counter, his amber eyes staring menacingly at the clerk. “That enough?”

“Looks like,” the clerk picked out a couple of twenties and a ten, and pushed the rest back across the counter. He noticed a deposit slip from Aurora Books on the bottom of the stack, but he wouldn’t make the connection until he listened to the morning news.

“Fill this out,” the clerk pushed a registration form across the counter at him. “Name and address.” He watched as the man picked up a pen and spelled his name in crisp, neat letters. He left the address blank and pushed it back across the counter.

“Jak?” the clerk eyed the dark stranger. “Ya got a last name to go with that?”

“No,” the man growled. “Just Jak.”

“Well, Just Jak,” the desk clerk reached for a room key and set it on the counter. “Second floor. Room 205. Stairs are on your left.”

Jak closed his hand around the key and turned his back on the clerk. He headed toward the stairs feeling hungry and in need of a shower. And rest. Lots of rest.

Tomorrow he had places to go, and more people to kill.



To be continued . . .


Aftershock



Oh, and in case you're wondering what Pappy looks like . . .





Author Note: Many of you know that I’ve been writing Rosfics pretty much non-stop for the last 4 years. I posted my first story back in 2000. A lot of people have asked me what I plan to do next, and I think I just answered that. As you can see, I am planning to write a sequel to this story. In fact, I have 2 stories planned. Aftershock will be the second one, and will revolve around one man’s quest to seek vengeance and retribution, and how that ultimately impacts Max and Liz.

But first, I’m going to write Zan’s story. I know some people never found him redeemable, but I feel compelled to take his story to its conclusion. I want to see how his humanity unfolds, and what kind of effect it has on him and those around him. I haven’t decided where I’m going to post it yet, possibly through a private email list, or maybe here if I can figure out which board it fits on. When Zan’s story is over, then I’ll work on Aftershock.

But before I do any of that, I’m going to take a break first. In a few days I’m heading to California to vacation with some Ros friends. And when I get back I’m gonna take some time for myself and soak up what’s left of the summer sun. I’ve been doing this for so long, it feels weird not to have a new story ready to go. Roswell’s been over for a while now, but I still feel a strong connection to it, to the characters, to the story, to the possibilities. I’ve always got new ideas swirling around in my brain, but I also have some non-Roswell stuff I want to finish that I never seem to have the time for. So I’m taking a few weeks off. I’ll still be around trying to catch up on some of those good fics I’ve been missing out on, but I probably won’t post anything new of my own until September or October.

Happy reading everyone!



Oh what the hell, here's the introduction to Zan's story . . .


Afterburn


Lips.

Red lips.

Warm and moist against his skin.

He inhales sharply when she kisses his throat, when her tongue darts out to taste him there. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. His tongue darts out to wet is lips.

“Liz . . .”

“You like that?” she asks.

Her voice sounds sultry to him. Sensual. So sexy he can barely contain the desire to roll her onto her back and have his way with her. But he needs to let it happen this way. He needs to let her be in control. To come to him willingly. To share herself without coercion or force. To want him, as much as he wants her.

He aches for her.

Burns for her.

Loves her.

“Well?” she lifts her head from his throat. Her hand feels warm on his bare chest.

“Yes, I like that,” he smiles into her dark eyes. The soft glow of candlelight reflects in her irises, or maybe that’s the flame of love. He hopes that’s what it is. He wants that so much.

“Do you like this?” she asks.

Her head lowers and he feels the brush of her soft lips on his chest. Her tongue sweeps around the dark circle of his nipple. She flicks at the tip as it rises to a peak.

“Yes,” his breathing turns a little sharper.

“How about this?” her lips move lower, down his ribs. His heart rate doubles when her tongue dips into his navel. Her hair feels like silk on his skin, draping across his stomach like a curtain. He closes his eyes and lifts his hand to caress the back of her head, but he won’t force her lower, even though he’s silently begging her to touch him there. She has to want to do it own her own. She has to want him, otherwise it means nothing.

“Cat got your tongue?”

He opens his eyes to see her looking at him. The candlelight flickers across her creamy skin, so supple and smooth, so warm against his naked body. The scent of alirias fills the tent. It’s the closest thing he can find to roses.

“Do you know how beautiful you are?”

He sees her blush. She doesn’t think she’s beautiful, but she is. Just looking at her takes his breath away.

“Tell me what you like.”

“You,” he answers. A smile flashes over her face, but it’s gone quickly, replaced by a look he’s waited what seems like a lifetime to see. His breath catches in his throat as she glides up his body, her soft breasts touching his chest, her thigh lifting to cross over his thighs, aligning her body over his. She looks down into his face, her hand gently caressing his cheek.

“Make love to me, Zan. I want to feel you inside me.”

His body goes still. Is he even breathing anymore? He’s waited so long to hear her say this, to speak his name with such reverence, to hear how much she wants him. It’s the truest moment of his life. The echo of his name drifts on the air, singing to his soul.

Her face drifts nearer, her lips move closer, her mouth opens to take his. “I love you, Zan,” she vows just before she lifts her hips and impales herself on his rigid length.

He’s rendered speechless by the feel of her silken walls surrounding him, and by her declaration. Her words echo in his head.

“I love you, Zan. I love you, Zan. I love you, Zan.”

“Zan.”

“Zan.”

“ZAN!”

A hand on his shoulder shakes him out of his dream. He comes out it feeling groggy and confused. He can’t see at first. Everything is dark. He hears the strike of an energy stick and then a light flares, bathing the tent in its warm glow. He’s already half off the cot before he sees who it is.

“Ava?”

“I heard you mumbling in your sleep,” she sets the energy light on the ops table, illuminating the charts and graphs Zan was studying before he fell asleep. She keeps her back to him, and it takes him a moment to realize he isn’t dressed. He reaches for the leather pants he discarded earlier and slips them on. He doesn’t bother with the vest. It’s a warm night, and he’s not a modest man.

“What’s happened?” Zan asks as she unfurls a map of the Morrow Hills. She’s disciplined. A warrior. She wouldn’t be here at this hour without reason.

“Word’s come in of an outbreak in the southern hills. Fifty clicks from the Capital City. Intel believes Khivar’s formed a command base in the caves, and that he’ll attack the Capital soon. He’s not going down without a fight.”

Her voice sounds raspy. Zan knows his sounds much the same. They don’t use their vocal chords as often as they did on Earth, it isn’t necessary when conversing with Antarians.

“He wants a fight?” Zan growls. “Then we’ll give him one.”

“I’ve instructed a battalion to be ready to move at first light.”

“Good,” Zan acknowledges her militaristic planning. But underneath her emotionless words he senses something else, a deep longing for what can never be. Her next words confirmed it.

“Do you miss it?” Her crystal blue eyes lift to meet his; she doesn’t need to clarify her question. They both know she means Earth, and all they left behind.

“No,” Zan lies, but he knows he doesn’t fool her. He dreams about Liz at night. He talks to her in his sleep. He misses her everyday, but she wasn’t meant for him. He envies Max.

“I miss the blue sky,” Ava says wistfully. “And the rain. Do you remember how fresh the air would smell after a rainstorm?”

Silence is his answer, which is all she expects. He doesn’t talk about Earth. He keeps it all inside.

The tent flap rustles and Kel enters. The shapeshifter stands at attention giving Zan the respect he deserves, awaiting his orders.

Zan sweeps his gaze over the form Kel has assumed tonight. The shapeshifter can be anything he wants to be, but it hasn’t escaped Zan’s notice that Kel prefers a human form whenever Ava is in the vicinity. Sandy colored hair. Strong jaw. Blue eyes. Muscular but not overly tall, reminiscent of a human Zan once knew.

“Speak,” Zan tells him.

“The troops are ready at your command,” Kel informs him. His stance is stiff. Formal. An unspoken ‘Sir’ hangs at the end of his words. The world views Zan as their Savior, a living legend, but Zan doesn’t like titles. He’s just a man, mortal and conflicted. War is what he knows, what he’s good at, what he was born for. He doesn’t rejoice in the kill like he used to, but he does what needs to be done. As She would want him to.

“We move at halflight.”

Kel inclines his head at Zan’s command. He turns to leave to inform the troops, but before he goes, Zan notices the brief look he sends Ava’s way, and the momentary smile Ava gives him in return. It passes quickly, but Zan’s aware of the growing attraction between them. As Kel leaves the tent his form shifts to Antarian, small bodied, thin arms and legs, smooth gray hairless skin. Kel mimics those around him, one of the few remaining of his kind.

Zan is well aware of the history, that the Skins conquered the Shapeshifter’s distant home world eons ago, laid their planet bare, exterminated all but the few they enslaved and took with them. Zan freed Kel in a raid nearly two years ago, and he’s been a faithful servant ever since, rising in the ranks to serve as one of Zan’s most trusted Lieutenants.

When Kel is gone, Zan swings his attention back to Ava. “You like him.”

“Kel?” Ava sputters a denial, but the pink hue rising in her cheeks gives her away. She’s not as good at hiding her emotions as Zan is.

“He’s a good soldier.”

That earlier smile returns to Ava’s face, softening her features. He might be a man of few words, but what Zan’s just spoken is the highest praise he can give a man. It’s also his way of sanctioning their union. Zan has no claim to her; he’s been a solitary man since his departure from Earth. Ava willingly came with him, but only for the cause, not to share his bed. He has no complaints, though. His heart belongs to someone else.

“Show me the maps,” he joins Ava at the table. Time to make a battle plan. He lets the preparation consume him; the strategy, the logistics, the tactical planning necessary to wage war.

It’s the only thing that keeps him from thinking of Her.