Roswell Fanatics

Chapter 69


- Well, I think I’ve covered the whole Antar part, so any questions? Anything? Whatever? - Langley sounded impatient. They looked at him wide eyed and open mouthed, except Michael, whose eyes were closed and he looked asleep, but he wasn’t, he was very alert.

- How can you have all that information as if you knew everyone’s POV ? - Liz asked, intrigued.

- I’m alien, baby, and I have my alien gadget. - Langley gave her his “charming” smile and showed her the artifact in question.

- That is Brody’s thing! - Exclaimed Max.

- No, it’s mine. - Langley assured him.

- That’s what I want to know about. - Michael said, opening his eyes and recognizing the artifact.

- And you will, my lord, please bear with me. - Langley said dipping his head.

- Fine, go on. - Michael encouraged him.

- This gadget is hooked straight to the Granalith, I can access it any time, anywhere. It`s the alien Internet, the answer to all the questions. This wasn’t mine originally. I will explain. The ship that carried the pods, brought two protectors, one per pod, and with a gadget each. We weren’t counting with a malfunction due to atmospheric changes which couldn’t be foreseen or prevented. At the crash, I banged my head up and I had a concussion, not bad enough to cause amnesia, but I was very confused and dizzy for quite a few days. We were all knocked out for hours, and I came to with Nasedo pulling me up because the humans were arriving quickly, and we managed to hide in a cave. That evening, Nasedo tried to find the pods, but he returned saying that he had tracked down and stopped a jeep carrying them but he didn’t dare do anything alone, because the 2 humans in it had seen him, and he wasn’t risking being captured. His powers were unstable after the crash, and he didn’t want to use them until he got them under control. We stayed hiding in the cave for some days, until I was able to get over the dizziness and I could finally walk. Then we shape shifted to our travelling forms and used the gadgets to find the pods, and entered the facility. We had to take care of two human doctors who tried to attack us with some knives, and then a third human came into the room, but we didn’t detect any danger from him. He left when he saw us and helped us causing a disturbance which enabled us to take the pods with us. We hid them in the cave and Nasedo, taking advantage of my unsteadiness and confusion, convinced me that I was in charge of the defective pods. That evening as we sat sleeping by the pods, I woke up and saw Nasedo walking over to them. He pointed his hands to both the Ava-Tess’ and switched them. I couldn’t understand then why he did it. Then he went to my Rath-Michael, the original, that’s you, my lord, - He bowed his head again at Michael.

- Stop that lord thing, ok? Just call me Michael. -

- Yes, m…Michael. I’m not sure what he did to him, or if he finished doing what he intended, but I’m sure he did no switching. Has anything…strange happened to you that can help me understand what he did? - Langley asked.

- Maybe it was this…- Isabel tried to make sense of it. - Once we thought Max had died, because he tried to restore an old man’s youth at gun point, but what happened is that his essence hid in the restored man’s brain and their bodies switched, the old one turning to dust. Gradually Max took control of his body again. Some time later, Michael got the royal seal on his chest, and started acting weird and erratical and quite mean. We thought it was the real Rath, but he went back to normal when Max recovered the seal. -

- That wasn’t the real Rath-Michael at all! What happened was that Nasedo must have planted a back up in case Zan-Max was destroyed, and the defective Rath-Michael fused with the other one, and then returned. Rath-Michael was a very fair person, he was never mean. -

- What happened to the defective one when this was going on? - Asked Liz.

- He just shut off, and turned on again. He never knew what happened. -

- And why did Nasedo switch Ava-Tess? - Max wanted to know.

- Because it would be easier for him to manipulate the defective one, with less human feelings and a mean streak and he needed her to mind-warp Max, here…- He looked at Max with a mocking smirk and scoffed, - anyway they wanted. And of course they did. - Langley smirked again at Max with contempt.

- Well, what happened then in the cave? - Maria asked, saving Max and making Langley return to the story.

- Oh, I pretended to wake up, and he came back and sat down beside me saying he had needed to stretch his legs. The rest of the night, I pretended to sleep, not trusting Nasedo, and watching him probably pretending to sleep too. Then before it was light, using the gadget, we found a truck travelling to New York, which would pass through the highway near us in 10 minutes. Nasedo compacted the defective pod into what looked like a briefcase, placed it in my hand, and put legal identification and money in my pocket before walking me to the side of the road. Then he hitchhiked the truck, and paid him a wad of bills to please take me with him, showing him a hologram of a wrecked car, and telling him help was on the way, but I had a deadline to meet. I spent the days it took to get there sleeping in the truck, and when the man went to eat, I tried to access the Granalith with my gadget, but it didn’t seem to be working. It was disguised as a battered old transistor radio, not to arouse suspicions. The only thing I could get was a message from Nasedo giving me orders that once I arrived in New York, as far away from him as possible, I had to destroy the pods. By the time I arrived in New York, I had remembered what my mission was, and what Nasedo had done. He had taken my pods and my gadget. I wasn’t planning on murdering my clones, but I had my orders, even if they were really Nasedo’s, so I read on a newspaper about an abandoned branch of the subway that was going to be dynamited early next day and took them there. I hid them in a dark bend and covered them with a large piece of grease cloth I found there, and stayed with them all night, saying my farewells and asking for their forgivance. I left before it dawned and deleted their programme from the gadget, knowing they would be gone in a matter of hours. I tried to decide what I would do. I didn’t even know where the crash had occurred, and then, I saw this ad in the back page of a newspaper a guy was reading in the park which said: “Visit the crash sight of the UFO in Roswell, New Mexico, and learn about film making at the same time! Interested? “ followed by a phone number and an address. I went directly and got the job. We left the very next day, and I worked as an assistant of some kind. Every night, I worked on the gadget, trying to get it to work correctly, trying to find what Nasedo had disconnected or whatever, and they all laughed at my funny old radio, intrigued why I didn’t toss it in the trash can and got a new one. I told them it was the only thing I had of my late father, and they bought it and left me alone. On my free day, I took a hike in the desert, where they said the crash had been, and tried to find the cave, but no luck. Anyway, I suspected Nasedo had hidden them away somewhere else, just in case. Someone got killed, during the filming, and as soon as the police permitted it, we left for Los Angeles. I spent a year of frustration, trying to get the damn thing to work, and finally gave up, and integrated myself complete to humanity, and started climbing in the business. Then one evening, I don’t know exactly what I did, and I accessed my original programme. I managed a connection, and saw my pods, somewhere in a cave. My Rath-Michael opened his eyes and immediately after, so did Vilandra-Isabel, and Zan-Max. I noticed Ava-Tess remained catatonic, as she was not connected to these other three. They ripped their way out of the pods, and Rath-Michael used his hand to open the entrance to the cave, and they were out. My connection turned off too, and nothing I did got it back. Some nights I got snatches, I saw Nasedo return to the cave to get the hybrids and I laughed my head off, to see him go out of his mind when there was only one. At least it was Ava-Tess. His timing was somehow off, probably because he changed the gadgets. Some lucky nights I got more snatches, and I saw Max and Isabel, living in a nice house with good people. I also saw Michael in a crappy trailer being brutally beaten and sexually abused by a filthy man who was obviously drunk and I was so furious not to be able to track him down, that I blocked it out before I totally lost it. Many years later, it woke me up one night, and I felt some kind of signal had been lit, and I saw Nasedo putting out a fire. Then one lucky night I tracked down the piece of crap that was Michael’s foster father, and I didn’t stop until I accessed an orbing programme and caught him getting boozed in his trailer alone. I terminated him and shape shifted into him and went to the sheriff saying I was leaving town, so no one would be blamed for his disappearance. Then I buried him and returned home. When I saw Michael leaving by himself, I could feel some peace, at last. Next I saw Max in a white room, scared shitless, and I managed to access the agent Pierce’s mind. They had no intentions of harming him. They needed a replacement for our pilot, who survived with them so many years, and gave them the technology to reach the moon. So they weren’t planning on killing him or dissecting him, because they thought he would be useful to them, or at least the information they thought he had, would be. They just wanted to scare him to confess who he was and then try to get some more profitable technology. All they did was drug him to make him talk, and when he didn’t, they gave him some psychological jolts, concerning his girlfriend, and a shallow cut with a scalpel, and he was screaming his head off! Some king! - Langley scoffed again laughing openly at Max, who was as red as he could get. - They easily got him to give them the communicator, because they thought it was the source of the technology they wanted, using the one they had taken from agent Topolsky before they frazzled her to a crisp. They wanted all the information they could get, and given time, they would have had him singing in falsetto if they wanted, but Nasedo and Michael got him out with Tess’ mind-warping thing. Nasedo needed him to carry on his plans to return to Antar in full glory. Soon after that, I recognized Nicholas, in spite of his human body, in a meeting with what I knew were skins, the name the enemies called themselves on earth because of the husks they had to wear. They hadn’t learned how to shape shift back from their travel form, what the NASA would give to be able to shape shift astronauts to our travel form! They wouldn’t need spacesuits. But they think that’s our appearance, and we let them think that, because if they knew how human we look, at the time of the crash, they would have immediately thought we were Russian spies and started a world war. That’s not what we wanted. Sometime after, it happened again and I saw Isabel talking to her mother. Then I received a warning, from the skins, destined to Nasedo, informing him that a spy from the rebel group of skins had landed in Roswell, meaning to convince Michael to lead them into recovering the throne to the Royal blood and making new rules accepting a warrior king. That’s when I realized that Nasedo was on the skins’ side, with Khivar, and meant to take you back for a public execution. -

- Then why would they kill him? - Max asked.

- They didn’t. The rebel skin spy did. - Langley confirmed.

- Wow! That Courtney was really something! - Kyle said.

- Courtney? - Langley was curious.

- Yes, she was the rebel skin spy. - Isabel said. -

- You knew him? - Langley asked.

- Her! Yeah, she was drooling after Michael and giving him spankings. She told him who she was after he discovered her, but he wouldn’t believe her. - Maria told him.

- Shame, it would have been the best for the planet. But you weren’t ready.-

- Why did the gadget react to me in Brody’s hands? - Michael asked Langley.

- Oh, yes, Nasedo had programmed it to react against any enemy of his, and that included Royal blood. Brody must have activated the defense mechanism by accident. My next contact, showed you with your dupes, and I was shocked to see they were alive, but without Zan. When you separated, I couldn’t recover their deleted programme, so I lost them again. Anyway, I was really your protector, and I finally got the gadget going almost well, though I couldn’t get the visual part. The last time I had seen you, you were about 9 years old. I didn’t insist with the visual for the safety reasons I told you before, but I managed some constant information about your lives. That was until Max made his appearance, and of course I had no idea of who he was. -

- Ok, let me go over my questions…healing hurts Michael because Max isn’t Royal blood too…Royal blood can’t be mind-warped…Oh yes, why can’t he keep down pills, and why can’t he shower in hot water, and why does he sleep for so long when Max and I only need a couple of hours or so? - Isabel couldn’t stop herself, and Langley chuckled.

- Because he is Royal blood! He is very sensitive to the taste of the chemicals in the pills, which you hardly register, the hot water actually burns him, making him hurt, and he needs more sleep because he burns more energy than you do, and sleep gives it back to him. -

-Why did he have problems with the anesthetics and drugs when we haven't had any? I was put to sleep in a couple of minutes and that's what it took Pierce to drug Max. - Isabel went on.
- Royal blood, milady! It has a defense mechanism to reject anything that is alien to them, the other way round in this case. - Langley told her.
- But I changed his blood to human! - She insisted.
- This is not about the red liquid that runs in his veins, it's what he's made of, his essence, that's what I mean by Royal blood. Even if you changed his blood to human, the defense mechanism is still there. The amount of the drugs that his human part managed to absorb, did what little effect they could, and the rest was neutralized by the alien element, once it kicked in, or made the effects erratical, right? - Langley asked.
- Well, yes, some lasted much less than they should, and others had a totally different effect or hardly any. - Isabel remembered.
- Now you know why. - Langley concluded.


- Why is he so…stubborn? - Maria couldn’t wait to hear the answer.

- Because he is a born leader. His instincts are always right, and he gets very frustrated when he has to wait for our king, here, to make up his mind at his usual snail speed, after he has finally been able to overcome all his doubts and fears. Michael is action, and he can’t stand to be held back. -

- Why couldn’t I heal him when he got that fever after the sweat at River Dog’s? - Max asked.

- Because that was a test, that had been programmed, many years ago, and he had to go through it to proof who he was. River Dog was the link, that’s why he was the only one who could guide the healing. The stones can be used only in very special times. -

- You mean Michael met River Dog many years ago? How could he? - Liz wondered.

- He can’t remember it but it will come to him in due time. And it will be soon. Something will remind him of that meeting and it will all come back. I’m not allowed to interfere with that. -

- Why were we given part of our Antares names here on Earth? - Isabel asked.

- Your second names were Earth names. You were programmed to remember your full names. When you came out of the pods, you still couldn’t speak the human language, but you could say your names. Of course, the second names were recognized immediately, and since your speech was not clear yet, the first Antares names came out as gibberish, and so they were ignored. -

- Who were our DNA donors? - Was Max’s next question.

- That I’m not allowed to disclose either, but you will find out soon, too. -

I have posted this chapter again with some corrections, because I've been trying to delete the first one, and have been unable to. Sorry.

I have misnumbered the chapters, there are 2 chapters 64, so the second one should be 65, and so on, so the one I'm posting right after, is 71.

Chapter 71


Isabel placed one hand on Maria’s, which rested on Michael’s back.

- I’m sorry, Maria, but I need to know. - She looked at her, apologizing with her eyes. Maria looked back at her, confused. Isabel continued

- After Tess arrived, something really weird happened, both Michael and I started having these dreams in which we were together, you know, like a couple? And in one we even had a kid. - She kept looking straight at Langley, avoiding Maria’s eyes.

- That’s impossible, cause you guys didn’t live enough to get married in Antar, so there was no child at all. - Langley replied.

- Isn’t it strange that Rath-Michael and Vilandra-Isabel had been having sex for quite some years and had no babies? - She was baffled.

- Antares women don’t need birth control in any way. They get pregnant when they want to, and that would’ve been after they got married, provided they could, as the Royal line had been having problems of that kind, in the last 3 generations. - Langley told her.

- Awesome! - Maria and Liz said together. Isabel ignored them and continued.

- At that same time, Liz and Max followed Tess, who had befriended Kyle, and had him help her retrieve a book from one of the highest shelves at the library, which she took out from the wall. Max saw her do it. Did she have something to do with the dreams? - Isabel was intrigued.

- Of course she did, she gave you the dreams to get you all back together so Nasedo could keep his promise to hand you over to Khivar. - Langley assured her.

- I can understand that she did that to me, but you said she had no power over Michael, and he had them too. - Isabel said.

- She had no direct power, she did it through you. - Langley explained.

- No, I can’t dream-walk Michael, he has always blocked me out…-

- I didn’t. - Michael whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

- WHAT? - Everyone shouted, along with Isabel.

- I didn’t block you out. I had been at Maria’s when you called me and asked me to come sleep over at Max’s, to make sure I was safe, so I told Maria I was leaving, and she said before I left, I had to try a piece of pie, that she said her mother had baked with a new recipe, and she wanted an opinion. She spiked it with Tabasco, and it was damn good, it had this exotic taste, and when I asked her about it she said it was rum, and she gave me a second piece for the road. I ate it on the way, and noticed I was getting rather dizzy, and barely made it to Max’s window. He was surprised to see me there but you said you had called me. I knew it was the rum, cause Max said he had behaved like an idiot that time Kyle gave him a chug of beer, so before they noticed anything, I immediately rolled out the sleeping bag and passed out. I remember I felt you starting to dream-walk me and I was about to block you out, as usual, when I got curious thinking what kind of dream I could share with you, surely the rum, because I never let you in. When I woke up, the effects of the rum were gone, and I was worried about you. Max, of course, had woken up when I jumped up to go to you, and he came too, and started asking all his questions. The next times, I didn’t block you out because I wanted to know where this was leading to, and I wanted to make sure you were alright. Why did you try to dream-walk me anyway? You had no way of knowing I wouldn’t block you out this time, and you hadn’t tried in years. -

- That was Tess, alright. Maria, why did you give Michael that pie with liquor? Didn’t you know what had happened to Max? - Langley took over.

- Yes, but like I didn’t remember it when I did…and it had just a small measure of rum for the whole thing. Anyway my mum asked me to get Michael’s opinion, and left him two pieces. - Maria looked confused.

- You say your mother baked that pie as an experiment, did she tell you where she got the recipe from? - Langley insisted.

- Yeah, she found it in the mail box, and she thought it was neighbour or a friend. She also said she was about to throw it away, and she simply couldn’t, and felt she needed to try it. It was weird, and no one except Michael seemed to like it, with the Tabasco of course. So after that, she only did it for him. - Maria told him.

- It has Tess, written all over! - Langley knew for sure.

- She came to me one evening, and made the four dots on my window. When I asked her what that was, she said I knew, that I had seen them before, and that I should remember. And I got this flash, and I did, so I went to Max and told him about Pohlman ranch, which was the crash site. - Michael recalled.

- How could she do that? - Isabel asked.

- That wasn’t a mind-warp, she just triggered his memory, you could have done it too, if you had remembered, like Tess did, because of Nasedo. - Suddenly, Langley grew serious.

- Maria, you said your mother kept baking that pie for Michael? - Langley said, alarmed.

- Yeah, she baked it just for Michael, and I felt she was getting to like him, and I thought it was just great. Why? - She didn’t get what Langley was getting at.

- What happened with Michael those other times he ate the pie? - Langley asked suspiciously.

- Mum always left him one when she was going away for the weekend, and knew Michael would come and stay with me. She knew I was going to be with him anyway, and she told me it was ok, because he would take care of me. She really started liking Michael since he was so close to me when Alex died. - Maria got a sad look in her eyes.

- Go on, tell me exactly what happened. - Langley was anxious.

- Well, Michael would go to my bed, and get real lazy, so I would baby him, and of course we would end up making love and go to sleep. Oh, I hate having to have to get up at night to pee, and I never do, but when we had the pie, it always made me go at night, even twice, like nothing else did. - She said, remembering it clearly.

- What about you, Michael, what do you remember? - Langley turned to Michael.

- Hey, man, that’s private, it’s just between Maria and me, ok? - Michael didn’t like this kind of questioning.

- I’m sorry, but trust me, it’s very important. Please Michael, I need to know!- He insisted, convincingly.

- Maria? - Michael asked her, after a defeated sigh.

- Tell him, Michael, he’s right, it might be important. - Maria accepted.

- I knew the rum was giving me these crazy feelings, so strong, so our sex was awesome, especially the one after she came back from the bathroom. Before she went, she made me eat another piece of the pie, for energy, she said, and I complied because I liked the dizzy careless feeling it gave me. She would feel kind of different, like she was someone else, real wild then, she played with me, with this vibrator toy…it drove me wild, as I had her with that thing humming inside me. And the way her nails felt as she clung to my butt, especially as sensitive as the rum made me, it hurt amazingly good. We did it for hours, at least three times, I had barely finished, when she fed me the pie and I was ready again. I guess it was that buzz up my ass…-

- Yeah, definitely that too…- Langley started.

- What do you mean “that too”? - Michael interrupted.

- I don’t know how to tell you this, but one last thing, when you finally finished, did she go to the bathroom again? -

- Yes, she wanted to wash up and she didn’t want me to do it with my powers. I thought it was silly, but she said she wanted to pee again. -

- What happened when she came back? -

- She felt normal again, relaxed, and we went to sleep. -

- Were you able to see her, during the wild streak? - Langley wondered.

- No, she said she wanted it dark and mysterious, she would wear a soft, silky long gown, just hiked up where we were joined, and a scarf over her face, like the Arabian nights. It excited us both, so I didn’t mind it. It kind of drove me nuts not to be able to touch her, but at the same time, I liked it. - Michael had noticed how Maria felt all tight and tense under him, and he thought it was because it was embarrassing for her, even if she had insisted on getting it out on the open.

- Michael, that wasn’t Maria, it was Tess. Maria was sitting on the toilet, mind-warped into thinking she was there with you, doing all the weird stuff Tess was doing to you. Tess couldn’t shape shift as a hybrid, not even if she had wanted Nicholas to do it, like in Antar, so she used the liquor trick on you to have her way with you. - Langley felt bad to let them know what had happened.

Now it was Michael’s body that had gone tight, but with fury at what had been done to him.

- Dammit! - He whispered in frustration.

Maria bent forwards and kissed his hair. Her hand rubbed his back, trying to soothe him, and the pressure of Isabel’s and Liz’s hands were doing the same thing too.

- It’s ok, Michael, it’s ok. - Repeated Maria. - It wasn’t our fault, there was no way we could know. I’m sorry. - Michael turned his face and buried it against Maria.

- In a way, it was us, cause it was you in my mind, and in yours, you were the one with me, Tess was just the means, I didn’t feel her at all, and you didn’t know it was her with me, just you. I just felt you. - Michael kissed Maria’s stomach and faced Langley again.

- I can’t blame her for wanting Michael. I’m really sorry for her. - Maria said.

- Yeah, so am I, it must have been hard for her, having been raised away from us, and the way we didn’t accept her when she finally found us, having to mind-warp Max and Isabel, and Maria, to get to me…I don’t know, she didn’t have it easy either, it wasn’t her fault that Nasedo switched her and took her with him. He poisoned her mind. Must’ve been tough. - Michael was trying to understand her.

- I know she didn’t mind-warp Max into having sex with her. - Liz said, sure of herself.

- Of course she didn’t. She didn’t have to, she prepared the way to the last detail. - Langley agreed with her.

- What really happened, Langley? - Liz wanted to know.

- Remember future Max? That’s where it started…- Langley began.

- How’s that? - Max was now curious too.

- Ok, listen. The whole thing was a Tess mind-warp…-

- No way, cause I remember it clearly…- Liz protested.

- Of course, that’s what she wanted you to see. She knew Max had changed you when he healed you, and your powers were slowly forming inside you. She wasn’t sure how far you were, and what they were, so she started with some truths, to gain your confidence. Vilandra dying two weeks before he held Michael dead in his arms was absolutely true. The appearance of future Max was just what you wanted him to be: some kind of warrior, not the passive king he really was, so she gave you that. You bought it and that boosted her confidence. Then she tried you with the mariachi thing, especially the part of the rose changing colour in the air. That was something the real Max would never have done, give himself away in front of the mariachi’s would be utterly stupid, even for him, yet he did. The mariachis didn’t even register it, and when you didn’t notice that huge blunder, then Tess knew she had you. That ‘s when she knew you still hadn’t developed any powers to let you see through her, so she went straight on to convince you to let her in, not only for his, but for Isabel’s and Michael’s safety too. Sorry, Liz, but she had you by the balls. You made him think you had been with Kyle, so he thought he had the right to be with Tess. And she was there to receive him. End of the story.

Chapter 72


- What about the book? - Isabel asked.

- Tess’ book? What can I say…- Langley was doubtful.

Liz had noticed a slight change in Langley’s expression when the book had been mentioned a little while before, but she made nothing of it. Now she noticed it again and this time it was too obvious. She was about to insist on the importance of the book but Isabel spoke first.

- My god, Langley, it showed our couplings quite clearly! - exclaimed Isabel.

- Sure it did, that’s how it was in Antar, but here on Earth, things seem quite different, right? - Langley said with a smirk.

- Until Tess arrived, I had always thought Michael was my brother. - Isabel said.

- So you mean to say you thought you were triplets? - Langley grinned, sarcastically.

- What? - Isabel sounded disgusted.

- Well, apparently you’re all the same age here, right? And you don’t look alike, you and Michael could pass as siblings, but Max? He doesn’t look like any of you. - He told her.

- And how was it in Antar? According to what you’ve just told us, Michael was quite big for his age, taller than Max in spite of being three years younger. Max was the eldest, but was about my size, did we look alike, as siblings? -

- No, you should be grateful you took after your mother, and Zan-Max took after his creepy father. Rath-Michael was clearly related to you, after all he was your cousin. You would’ve had beautiful children. - He sighed in disappointment of what would have been.

- But we didn’t, you already told us. - Isabel said bitterly.

- Yes, that was such a shame! - Langley sighed again.

- About the book…- Liz and Michael said at the same time, and Liz had to giggle. Langley’s expression changed again, like the last two times. He sighed dramatically and shook his head.

- Alright, you got me. The book was entrusted to me, as a guideline to show my group, that is the original, you guys, what you had been and had to become to be able to return and recover your lives. Nasedo probably brought Tess up by the book, telling her she was the queen and they were eventually going to find Max who was the “king”…- He scoffed when he mentioned the title and glared at Max. - So she could marry him again to return to Antar and claim the throne back. No wonder Tess could remember things you didn’t. Nasedo made sure to have her remember what would come useful to get her into your group, but not what could get him in trouble. After the crash, Nasedo must have kept the book hidden, and no mention was made of it, so later on, when I remembered everything, and it was too late and I was too far to do anything about it, I assumed that it had been destroyed in the crash. It was too important to be left there to be discovered by the humans, because although it was written in Antares, the pictures were graphic enough to identify you, and anyway the language perhaps could be decoded, as it eventually was. It would have been handy if Nasedo had been able to raise all of you as he planned, but it wasn’t to be. I’ve sometimes suspected Nasedo caused the crash. It was very convenient for him to have no witnesses of his planet of his treason…-

- Then why did he save you? - Asked Michael.

- Good point. He probably would have wanted to have the defective pods destroyed in the crash too, but both sets were close together, protected by the Granilith’s shield. When the humans made the scene, the Granilith protected itself merging into the correct set of pods, that’s why Vilandra-Isabel found it behind the remains of the pods, where it had again materialized and kept itself out of sight, in a hidden cave. Nasedo saved me because, no matter what powers the enemy had given him, he couldn’t be in two places at the same time, and he needed a scapegoat, not only to help him recover the pods, but to take care of the destruction of the defective set, away from the hands of the humans. He didn’t plan on soiling his hands with the unpleasant task in his schedule, provided both sets arrived on Earth in perfect conditions, in which case the defective set had to be destroyed, and he would be no longer needed, so he was supposed to return to Antar in the ship. Of course the crash enabled him to stay here on Earth, which wasn’t in the programme but was definitely in his. -

- That’s why the dupes grew up without a protector. - Liz thought aloud.

- What about the other gadget? How did it end in Brody’s hands? - Michael inquired, making Langley’s face twitch again.

- Nothing escapes you, right? - He chuckled. - If I had problems with Nasedo’s simpler programme, he must have had serious ones with mine. He must have managed, like I did, to access his original programme, to time it with his original Ava-Tess, now in his hijacked group. No wonder his timing was so off, especially since the Granilith was guiding the adapting of the pods to the changes of atmosphere, painstakingly slowly, to be sure that everything would be exactly as they wanted it to be. Even if the Earth’s atmosphere was almost the same as Antar, it took 50 years to perfect it all to its liking, trustful of its time warp which could make a large number of Earth years turn into seconds. By the time you were ready to come out, the Granilith kept Ava-Tess catatonic because she didn’t belong with you. No wonder his gadget didn’t alert him when you started waking up, but probably when she did, that why he was late. The reason he couldn’t find you right away, was because of his gadget…-

- Why don’t you use its real name instead of calling it “gadget”? - Max interrupted, and Langley laughed out loud.

- It’s really called a trithium amplification generator.- He said grinning as he looked fixedly at Max. - Will you repeat it to make sure you got it right? -

- Ok, “gadget” it is. - Said Max frowning. - Go on. -

- After he recovered Tess, they travelled in a car, as father and daughter. A few days later, he found Tess in the bathtub of an old house they had rented, with the gadget submerged under water. He almost killed the girl, pulled her by the hair out of the tub and shook her until she passed out. Then he realized she was his ticket back, and let her rest until she was fine again. He spent years trying to get the thing to work. Then one night it suddenly came alive and before it died down, Nasedo sent through it a tracking signal and it fell on Frazier woods. He was startled, cause he never thought you’d be so close to the crash site. He thought you were far from there. So he spent months finding about adoptions in that area, until then again the thing came to life as it received a signal coming from Roswell, just outside the library. He accessed the orbing programme and went to check it out, to find it was real. After that, he narrowed his search to that area, and discovered about the Evans’ adoptions and made the arrangements to move there. He planned the trip slowly and cautiously, not to arouse suspicions and finally travelled after a couple of months or so. They went by car, and Nasedo hid the gadget at an inside pocket in an old duffel bag which he kept with him all the time. During the trip, Nasedo got angry at Tess because she was listening to her CD player and didn’t answer his questions, so he snatched it off her lap and tossed it out of the car. Tess was furious and when they switched so Nasedo could snooze, Tess tossed the duffel bag out of the car too. By the time Nasedo woke up it was too late. Tess didn’t even remember where she had tossed it. It was Nasedo’s turn to loose it and was about to slap Tess silly when a police car cruised by and stayed in front of them for several miles until they turned into the next town. He ended yelling his head off and Tess just told him the damn thing was broken anyway, which was true. At least they knew where you guys were, and that was all Nasedo wanted from the thing, so now he had no further use for it. Of course the only other handy thing it could do was block out your powers, even Michael’s, so Nasedo now had to be nice to you, in case you got pissed at him and wanted to fry him. How it ended in that guy’s hands, I have no idea. -

- So that is how Larek used Brody, through the gadget? - Maria asked.

- Yes, he was Max’s only friend and kept trying to find him. Nasedo had blocked out entries from Antar, and Brody activated it back when he played around with his new found toy. Larek came through but didn’t recognize Zan-Max in his new body at the New York summit until he saw him and then there was that weird thing he had at the UFO museum, when he accidentally accessed the summit and freaked out on Max and Tess and then remembered Dimaras rock, though he confused their meeting placing it at night, when it happened it the afternoon. -

- Ava told me that Zan wanted to do everything right, and he was very determined to do so…- Liz was rudely interrupted by Langley.

- Just like he did in Antar. It wasn’t what he wanted but the way he did it that made it go bad. And he did it again, he pissed those around him. -

- She also said she felt Zan wasn’t in love with her, but kind of waiting for someone else to come into his life. - Liz went on.

- Zan was in love with her alright, but he wanted someone just for him, and Ava was drooling after Rath, that’s what soured the whole relationship. Now Ava can say she loved Max, but what she really loved was being queen, cause the dupes could remember who they were. Remember Ava was from this group originally, so she has more human feelings and obviously her conscience is giving her problems, that`s why she kept her feelings for Rath from taking control, unlike Tess. It seems Zan still sensed them in her, and he resented them although she did nothing wrong. He just made her feel bad about something she didn’t do.

- Where did the other planets get their names from? - Max tried to stir the conversation away from his mistakes, even from his dupe’s.

- What names? The other planets have no names. - Langley was confused.

- At the summit, they called them Kathana, Sero, Hanar, you mentioned them before, too. - Max insisted.

- You’ve got it all wrong, those are the names of their governors, that’s how we identify them. Larek was originally from Hanar, who is his father, but he had to replace Isor, of the other planet, who died suddenly with all his family and both his advisor and his son were with them, when their transporter crashed. As they were friends of Hanar, he sent his son Larek to become the governor of the late Isor. So that planet is now identified by Larek, as it was at the summit, only the main one is identify by the original name of Antar, and Nicholas represented it in Khivar’s place. -

- Lonnie told me her protector had told her about the Granilith, how is that possible, if they had no protector? - Max remembered Lonnie’s words.

- The night I spent with the pods, saying my farewells and making my peace with them, I told them the story of their previous lives, the abridged and not so traumatic version, and yes, I mentioned the Granilith. I was just trying to feel better about having to destroy them. I didn’t think they could hear me, no wonder they knew who they had been. - Langley apologized.

- Larek told me after the summit that I had always meant well for my planet, but just went too fast, was that true? - Max asked.

- Yes it was, you wanted to change everything as soon as possible, after your father died, and though your mother, your uncle Ramthis, Rath-Michael and Larek himself when he came to the funeral, advised you to do it gradually, so the people would get used to the changes, at a smooth pace, you didn’t listen. As usual, you had to be right and do it your way, and of course it backfired and people got angry and started considering you unreliable. You really brought everything on all of you because of your stubbornness. Even good things must be introduced gently for people to understand and accept them. Sorry, Max, but you totally fucked up everything so many generations of kings before you worked for, your father surprisingly included. And it was just to oppose Rath-Michael, who along with the rest, was absolutely right. No wonder the rebel skins wanted him on the throne. He could have easily fixed what you had messed up. But he was loyal to you, because of Vilandra-Isabel, and look where it got him. I don’t think anyone would deserve to die like he did, thanks to you.

Chapter 73


- What do you know of the Gandarium? - It had to be Liz. Langley scoffed.

- Right, the Gandarium. It was the bridge between DNA and RNA…-

- We know all the subtleties, Larek gave them to us fully specified, what we want to know is why they wanted Laurie’s DNA. - Liz interrupted him.

- Khivar’s scientists wanted to make a hybrid of him, and reproduce him at a full speed to be infiltrated on Earth as soon as possible to get to you faster than it was taking Tess. Seeing how impatient he was, they wanted to give him a surprise and earn something for them out of it. So they accessed the Gandarium deposits that had been left there after the crash, to get the DNA of a certain human, who was one of the rare ones who had the recessive genetic defective chromosome, and they were thrilled to know that she had the same DNA that had been used to make the Rath-Michael hybrid. Since she was rather near, they had no problem helping her escape and luring her back to Roswell, so she could be kidnapped by this other human they had accessed to do the dirty work. They weren’t counting on Isabel accidentally dream-walking her and spoiling the fun. -

- But I didn’t even know her, how was I drawn to her dream? - Isabel was really baffled.

- Her DNA asked for your help, being the same as Michael’s. Remember you once told him you would always be there for him? Laurie and Michael are connected by their DNA, so who else could help her and be there for her? Her DNA took your promise seriously. -

- I’m glad I could help her, and stop Khivar from getting his hybrid. -

- He must have thrown an Intergalactic fit. The other two who provided the other DNA for you and your brother were too far away, and anyway, the opportunity is already lost, because the Gandarium is gone. What is it? - He had noticed Isabel’s sad look.

- I just remembered that Grant was really killed by the Gandarium, and Alex and Kyle were almost killed also, and Michael was shot, and had to bear his wound until they got back in Roswell, so Max could heal him. - She said.

- Alex was a great guy, Isabel, he had it right that day he took you to the UFO museum and showed you those pictures of Machu Picchu in Peru. There has been a lot of UFO activity in that area, because of the link with Antar and the Andes people who live there. You felt it once, too. -

- What do you mean? When? - Isabel wanted to know.

- Remember that film Alex rented once about the divers? “Le Grand Bleu”?

- Yeah, what about it? It was all in Europe. - She tried to remember.

- No it wasn’t. Remember the part in the snow, when the train arrives in the highlands of Peru? - Langley asked her.

- Oh, yes, the views were awesome! - She exclaimed.

- And the music? You remember the music? - Langley insisted.

- Oh my god, it was so beautiful, it made me cry! - She recalled.

- You played that part to Max and Michael to see their reaction and they said it sounded very familiar but couldn’t quite place it. Right? And Michael said it made him sad. Because it was the same kind of music the Andes people played on their pipes. In Antar. - Langley reminded her.

Isabel gasped and covered her mouth with both her hands.

- Yes, I remember, I loved it, and you did too, Iz. - Michael whispered.

- Ok, ok, let’s move on, don’t get sad, please… - Langley guided the conversation away from their memories. - I have a question for you, Max. -

Max turned to look at him totally surprised.

- Do you really love Liz as much as you say? - That got everyone’s attention.

- Of course I do. - Max assured him.

- I think you have the weirdest way to show it. - Langley criticized.

- What the hell do you mean! - Shouted Max, very upset.

- You two-time her with Tess, and then you risk her life, safety and freedom making her hold a gun at a hold-up to check on a spaceship? You were hearing the sirens and Liz’s scared voice calling you to her while you watched the ship open mouthed not even thinking what would happen to her once the cops broke into the store! - Langley burst out angrily.

- The gun was not loaded! - Max said defensively.

- Oh sure, the cops could tell it wasn’t right away just by looking at it, or because she told them so? What if they had shot her? You couldn’t have healed her again in front of them. You never thought of that, huh? You almost made her lose several years of her life locked up in jail. And you have the nerve to call yourself responsible, and want your throne back which you lost through your own stupid mistakes in Antar which you keep repeating here on Earth? Please, my lord Rath-Michael, you’re the only one who can block out of this idiotic part of my brain that forces me to do everything he wants. You just need to order me to stop obeying him, that’s all it takes, and I’ll be free! - Langley begged.

- Langley, there must have been a sensible reason for you to be programmed in that way. - Isabel said.

- If there was, it makes no sense at all to me. Please find someone else. I just can’t do it anymore. I’m sorry, it’s not fair to me. Put yourselves in my place, nobody asked me if I wanted it. - Langley looked desperate.

- Nobody asked me either if I wanted to live teen years of torture with a drunk bastard, and all it would have taken was for someone to care enough for me to get me away. No one did until I was sixteen, and I finally asked for help. I got it then, so I think it’s about time you get it too. Sorry Max, but I order you, Langley to stop obeying Max. You’ve had enough, I understand you. - Michael took it very seriously, and the absolute silence in the room showed the importance of that action. Max was livid with shock and fury. He started getting up, ready to leave the apartment.

- Sit down, Max, and for what it’s worth, listen to the man and put yourself in his place. How would you like to be forced to do something you don’t like, huh? Like when you were banned from the crashdown, and from seeing Liz by her parents. You would’ve given anything to have them forgive you, right? And Jim Valenti spoke for you and you got your breakthrough, though you knew you didn’t deserve it. - Max knew Michael was absolutely right, and showed it by sitting back down and staying.

They were all staring at Michael hardly believing what had just happened…Michael had bossed Max around and made him obey him! The way Liz eyes were watching Michael said how grateful she was that her secret thoughts had been finally been brought out in the open. She had been asking herself those very questions so many times since that unthinkable incident. Deep inside, she was bitter at Max’s lack of concern for her, but she just hadn’t been able to bring it out by herself, and it was eating her out, every time she was reminded of it. She squeezed Michael’s thighs and that’s all Michael needed to connect with her feelings. His muscles tightened under her hands and her “thanks” received his “you’re welcome”. Of course Max felt the whole deal through his physical connection with Liz as he leaned on her legs, and both her and Michael knew, and of course so did Isabel. They privately agreed never to mention it again. This had been a closure to the issue. Langley could tell something had happened between the four persons concerned, three alien and a human on the way to turning into one, but he had been effectively blocked out. Perhaps for his own good. He was so glad he wasn’t under Max’s thumb anymore, that he didn’t care what he had missed. He trusted Michael completely.

- Well, I guess you’ve run out of questions for the time being. If you ever need to contact me again, just use the video like you did now. Don’t worry if it falls in someone else’s hands. You’re the only ones who can access this programme. My lord Rath-Michael, you have my eternal gratitude, milady Vilandra-Isabel, I wish you the best. - Langley disappeared from the screen and the Opera music returned. The door suddenly burst open and Isabel, quickly leaning over Michael, snatched the remote control from Max, and turned the video off. They all turned to see Isabel’s husband Jesse, wide eyed and open mouthed, frozen at the door, staring back with shock at the scene before his eyes, mostly the sight of Michael lying almost naked over his wife’s lap. He hardly registered the rest of the group, glaring at Isabel.

Chapter 74


Jesse strode into the room, and stood behind the couch. He stared, frowning, at Isabel’s hands, resting on Michael’s butt.

- What the hell is going on here? What were you watching? Pornos?- He shouted.

- We were watching Opera’s. - Max said, without turning.

- Oh yeah, sure. Why not try cartoons? That would me more credible. -

- Then try it yourself. - Isabel handed him the remote control.

Jesse ignored her, surprised because Michael seemed too controlled, and expecting him to spring up at him any minute. He noticed Maria had 2 fingers in his mouth, then turned to see Liz had her left hand over Isabel’s right, and her own right hand was shoved between Michael’s thighs high up, leaving him no doubt her fingers were touching his testicles and her thumb was…up his ass? At least it seemed so. He looked up and saw Max’s head eerily turned back at an impossible angle on his weirdly E.T.- like long neck. It looked like an owl’s as he watched in disgust at the intimate way Liz’s hand was touching Michael. “Oh my god, now they’re making me see things.” Jesse thought, before realizing that Max’s upper body was also turned towards Liz, making the position of his head, humanly possible, after all. He felt Max, just like himself with his wife, was itching to snatch away Liz’s hand from Michael’s sensitive body parts, but none had the guts to incur in Michael’s explosive anger, especially now that he was kept soothed by the three pairs of female hands. Jesse was certain that Max had been extremely lucky in that last alien confrontation with Michael. From what Isabel had told him, that window pane had saved his life, if not, the stronger alien would have choked him to death in the next few seconds. Jesse had no way of knowing Michael had been under the influence of his dupe Rath, who provided the aggressiveness that Michael normally kept in check. Anyway, he was sure Max was as scared of Michael’s anger as he himself was, and both knew that Michael’s passive appearance was not reliable if provoked. Max knew that even now, that he was just himself, and in spite of his size, Michael was capable of feline agility when he needed it, and he could pounce, in a fraction of a second, before his target had time to react. Michael could think and act at almost the same time, and neither of them was about to risk it. Jesse was a fairly big guy too, but his common sense told him he was no match for the younger alien boy, whose warrior instincts lay just under his skin, ready to flare up, as they had already witnessed. He turned his attention on Stuart, whom he was sure he hadn’t met before.

- Who are you? - He asked rudely.

- He’s Michael’s doctor. We had to call him because he had a high fever and he came to check him up. He was kind enough to stay and help us understand what the Opera Aida was about, and about the Opera Theatre in Milan, where the show was filmed from, and where Stuart had been to watch it live. - Isabel informed him, looking very serious.

- Any problems with that? - Michael slurred around Maria’s fingers.

Jesse needed to cool off, before he made things worse, so he just scoffed and marched towards the bedroom.

- I need a shower. - He grumbled and slammed the door behind him.

Isabel felt very uncomfortable with the unpleasant scene they had just gone through, and started apologizing to Stuart.

- I’m so sorry…-

- Don’t worry, anyway, I should be leaving, since I sent a message saying I had an emergency and would be quite delayed, when I saw it was going to take longer that we expected. I should be going now. - He took a pad from his black bag, and after scribbling on a page, handed it to Max.

- This should do the trick with your principal. - He winked at them and left in a hurry. He had just closed the door when Jesse came out of the bathroom looking absolutely pissed. - Where is my blue bath towel? - He asked in a nasty way. Isabel, unable and unwilling to get up turned her head to the left in the direction of the guest room. - It's in the guest room's bathroom, I used it to take a shower there. C'mon, bring it to me. - He felt uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him and decided to do as she said. He returned with the offending thing in his hands and stood in front of his wife, ready to lash out, but not daring, because of the audience, especially Michael. - It's all wet and bundled! - He protested. Isabel glared at him and swept her hand over it before he could stop her. The towel seemed to shrink and then ended dry and neatly folded in Jesse's reluctant hands. He glared back at her and she knew exactly what he was thinking.

- I know, I know, you don't like me doing my thing, but you want your towel and that's the only way you're going to have it. Now, go and have your bath, we're busy here. This is very important, our friends are here because, unlike you, they care for us and you're definitely disturbing us. -

She dismissed him rudely, her hands back on Michael's butt. They all could see Jesse's eyes were glued to his wife's insulting hands, and he started turning red before he decided the best thing he could do was comply before he made a bigger fool of himself. They waited until he slammed the bedroom door behind him to react. Max got up and muttered uneasily:

- We better leave...-

But Isabel said in a cold and calculating voice:

- If you leave, I will go with you. This is also my house, and as I took his stupid reporter friend, who almost got us in trouble, he can take mine! -

Max raised his hands, in defeat and sat back down, continuing their Langley discussion as if nothing had interrupted them. When Jesse realized that he wouldn't have the time alone with his wife he had expected, he simply came out of the room, bathed and dressed in a fresh suit. After frowning at the group, which hardly paid any attention to him, Michael still half naked over his wife's lap, with her hands on his ass, as if it was totally normal, he growled a forced "good-bye" and left.

- I don't know about you girls, but my legs are getting numb with the hunk here over them. - Isabel gave Michael's butt a little squeeze. He winced and scoffed.

- I knew it was too good to last...- Michael protested.

- You've been lying over us for hours! What did you expect? We've just broken a record here, we should be on the Guiness book...- Maria turned her voice on, after having been dumb with fright at Jesse's arrival.

- For what? - Michael asked.

- For unending hours holding an alien gorgeous ass on our laps. -

They all turned surprised eyes at Liz, who blushed and said:

- What? Isn't that what we've been doing? -

Max just shook his head at her, unable to speak, frowning slightly.

- Ok, I get the message. - Michael said and carefully got up. - The whole thing has got me sleepy, I'll go take a snooze, ok? -

Maria whacked him on the ass as he turned towards the bedroom, making the towel ride lower, and eliciting a hiss from him. The girls got up, walking stiffly around the room to normalize their blood circulation.

- Shit, I'm hungry, can we go to the kitchen? - Kyle asked, timidly.

His answer came in the stampede towards the said room, where they sat at the breakfast nook as Isabel brought 3 frozen pizzas from the fridge and with Max's help, heated them to the right temperature. Maria returned, which meant Michael was fast asleep and the debate at the kitchen was going full throttle, with Isabel in the spotlight, full control. Max was unusually quiet and Liz was trying to feel what was going on inside his head but he seemed to be blocking her out, something he rarely did. Suddenly, Liz felt Michael needed her, and not wanting to alarm them, she quietly excused herself muttering "bathroom". After a couple of seconds, Max felt her calling him, and he used exactly the same excuse, adding : “thank god there's two", obviously meaning the bathrooms. They barely nodded and went on, without missing a word. Max went to Isabel's bedroom and found Michael was again lying with one leg sharply bent, his foot hooked behind his other knee, facing away from Liz, who sat at his hip leaning over him with one hand on his far thigh. She sensed Max's silent entry and turned a worried look in his direction.

- Something's wrong...- She said and he went to sit opposite her. He noticed Michael's hands were tucked under him and they suspected another stomach ache. The sleeping boy moaned and turned his face towards Liz, straightening his leg and shifting his hips slightly sideways as he usually did. Liz's hand slid to his other thigh. She noticed a slight wince on his face and she looked down to his middle. To her dismay, she saw bright red blood seeping from under his belly.

- Max! - She whispered softly.

He followed her eyes, leaning over Michael as he placed his hand on the small of his back. Michael recognized Max's touch automatically

- Max, stick them back in and heal me...- Michael said in a husky voice, full of pain.

- He's having a nightmare and we're seeing it real through our contact with him. - Max whispered.

She nodded and moved her hand from his thigh to place it on his back beside Max's. She reached up with her free hand and brushed Michael's soft hair away from his face so she could see his eye, his face half buried in the pillow because of his prone position. Then she caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers. She bent over him and her hair provided a curtain that limited Max's view of what she was doing. Liz brought her lips to Michael's and kissed him gently, sending her love to him. He responded equally, with the special love they felt for each other, no tongue, just pure love. She broke the kiss and watched his lips curl in one of those rare beautiful smiles he saved for her, and now Max watched as she smiled back. He suspected what had happened, but hadn't actually seen it. He was beginning to learn to trust her, anyway, now that she knew of their healing connection, they were just sharing Michael, and if she could take what he had to do to him, he could accept her caressing him. At least it wasn't sex, like his was. She had felt Michael was keeping something away from her, through their kiss, and she realized that he was blocking out his pain, he didn't want her to go through that, always protecting, and she loved him even more for it. She looked down again and the blood had disappeared, his hands came away from under him and lay parallel to his body, palms up. She took one hand and Max took the other, and they felt Michael falling into a peaceful sleep. She leant over him and kissed Max, in a forgiving way, and he understood her acceptance of their weird existence. He sent his apologies through his kiss, and sensed her feelings matching his. They felt a new page had been opened for them, but they would have to begin again, treading softly, getting the feel of each other, slowly merging their souls to try and become once more one single being in this second chance they had been granted, through the last person they could have thought possible : Michael. They returned to the kitchen and went back to the debate and the pizzas. Maria got up and left the room. Soon after, they were interrupted by Michael and Maria, so they all went to the kitchen’s door to see what was going on.

- No, sir, you’re going to take a shower and I’m going to help you. - Maria decided for him.

- Fine! But I’m not bathing in this shower right after Jesse. Yech! - He made a face, and turned towards the guest room’s bathroom.

They were relieved to see it was just a typical M&M bicker, and turned back to the kitchen. Max stayed behind and went to sit on the couch. Liz could feel he was upset and went to him.

- Are you ok? - She asked him, concerned. Max looked ready to break down and cry.

- I’ve never felt so much hate directed at my person! - His voice broke, holding back the tears.

He needed to get it out of his system and Liz was there for him, ready to listen.

- It was staggering. I mean, it wasn’t just dislike, or disgust. I could even understand contempt, but this was pure hate! - He cried.

- Max, come here. - She moved closer to him and took his hand in hers, as she continued.

- Everyone makes mistakes, many make really big ones, we can’t help it, it’s part of our lives, our experiences, and we learn from them, not to make them again. They turn us into the persons we eventually become. From what Kal Langley said, your father was quite responsible for the way you turned out. Ok, so he indulged you too much, but he was an ambitious man, which is not totally bad, everybody wants to climb up, you see it in humans too, all the time. He wanted to share with you the lucky break he had had, and make you also a king. So he pressed you too much in his zeal to make you the best, and he just overdid it. Then you wanted to impose your ideas impatiently, because you couldn’t understand why your people didn’t see your point of view and agree with you that it was the best for them. So you forced it on them and it backfired. Now, in this life, you’ve been lucky to have great parents again, they indulge you just the same, and your father presses you, not to become someone as important as a king, but the best you possibly can. You are privileged to have the advantage of knowing what your previous mistakes were, to correct them,
but Max, believe me, so far you are not succeeding at all.
Now take Michael, was life was so unfair in Antar. He lost his mother before he even knew her, his father wanted him to be something he didn’t want, just like it had happened to him, but he was able to get his way easily. He was strict and cruel to him until he saw he couldn’t change his son’s choice, so then he just had to accept it, and made sure he would be the best. The problem with him here, was that in this time and culture, that kind of discipline is not well seen, or approved of. So if Michael needed the same hard training, the only alternative possible was Hank. It makes me think that things do happen for a reason. I admit Hank was extremely brutal and abusive to him, but that taught him to protect and defend himself from a very young age, and do the same for you with the school bullies, so you profited from it. And he came through all right. Under his defensive stonewall, he is a very caring person where his friends and loved ones are concerned. And his loyalty in both lives, that is natural to him, that is him. No one else would have died such an awful death like he did in Antar to keep you alive. And he would do it again, if it meant saving you or any of us. You can’t imagine how lucky you are to have him, we all are. -

Liz had been so focused in making her delivery to Max, as truthful as it was, that neither of them had noticed the absolute silence in the rest of the apartment.

- That was amazing! Really awesome! - Isabel cried, with tears in her eyes.

Liz and Max turned to see them all standing, red eyed, at the kitchen door. Liz blushed a deep red, but Max took her other hand to have both of hers in his, and kissed her forehead. They had also been unaware that Maria was about to come out of the bathroom to get an extra towel, when she heard Liz’s voice. A hand on her arm told her Michael had heard it too, so they just stood inside the half open door concealing them, not meaning to eavesdrop, but curious about the outcome. Once over, they looked at each other, sharing their special love for Liz, and hearing Isabel’s voice, they approached the sitting couple. Michael rushed in front of Maria, and bent over to hug Liz. Being still in his improvised terry cloth “mini skirt “, and without realizing it, he mooned Maria who was coming behind him. She was trying hard not to laugh, due to the circumstances, until the rest of them noticed what was amusing Maria, and shook their heads no, barely managing themselves not to break out laughing. As Michael let go of her and started to pull back, Liz placed her hands on his shoulders, pulling him back towards her and gave him a sister’s kiss on the lips. They stayed there smiling at each other, and Liz unexpectedly felt Max’s full understanding, without the slightest hint of jealousy or anger. Liz squeezed Michael’s shoulders and let go of him, so he stood up.

- Ok, spaceboy, let’s get another towel, and I’ll give you your shower. I’m getting hungry here. - Maria whispered softly.

- Hey, you’re right, I’m starving. - Michael mentioned.

- What do you expect, it’s almost 5 o’clock, and you guys haven’t had lunch. You just hurry up and I’ll prepare something for Michael, ok? -

- Thanks, Iz. - Michael said as Maria pushed him into the bathroom.

By the time they came out, Isabel had made broth and jello for Michael and heated more pizza for Maria. Michael attacked his stuff and didn’t even bat an eye in the direction of the pizza, making it clear he had learnt his lesson in a very unpleasant way.
- You know, Isabel, that was so cool, what you did with the towel? You really pissed Jesse off! - Kyle said cackling like a nut.

- Ew! I thought it was gross! He dried himself with the towel used to soak up the water coming from Michael’s ass! If he knew, he’d have 10 cows! - Max said, making a face. That sent everyone into hysterical laughter, except Michael, who couldn’t see what was so funny, and simply didn’t get the sick joke at his expense.

- I cleaned it, but still…- Isabel couldn’t finish, as another bout of laughter shook her whole body. Once she got it under control, she sighed and shook her head.

- Jesse can really be a prick when it comes to my powers. It really pisses me off. I’m afraid he’ll never be able to get over that. - She now looked sad.

- Guess we’ll have to go back to my place, and get our shit together, to have the same version for school. - Michael said.

He went over to Isabel and hugged her tight, kissing her cheek. She kissed him back and he thanked her for everything, especially her patience with him. She hugged him again, teary eyed, and saw them off. Jesse would probably be back any minute now, and in one hell of a mood. Welcome to married life! She told herself, and started thinking, not for the first time, that she had made a really bad decision.

Hey Grace! I sure enjoy your feedback. I guess some of it was answered in the chapter I just posted, though I read your feedback after I did. Remember that Max was quite mean to Liz when Alex died, and surprisingly Michael took her side. In the end, she was right. Max is very one track minded when it comes to the ones around him. He doesn't give them much choice but his own, so the others should have the same rights when it comes to him. Isabel has told him in many ocasions that he can't treat Michael the way he does, that he has no right to do so, and he still does it. He has a weird way of showing his friendship when it comes to him. I especially liked what Michael told him when they were in jail in Las Vegas, he was absolutely right. On the Max-Liz issues, that's real hard to define, they each stick to their sides of the story, it's normal, of course they're both right in their POV's. That's life! Happens all the time!

Chapter 75


They had hardly left when Isabel felt an unbearable loneliness. She had felt so completely at home with all her friends and her brother and cousin. And now she was waiting for her husband to come home, to frown and criticize her and he would probably be in a fowl mood after what had happened. She started tidying up and noticed the mail was gone, Jesse must have taken it when he left. She ended up in her bedroom as she thought what her life had become. She knew it wasn’t fair to Jesse either. He had married her without knowing who she really was, had been punched in the face by her brother at the bachelor party, he had kicked out his reporter friend because of the issues with her, he had found out in the hardest way possible what she really was, and to top it all, he had been attacked and glued to the wall by Michael, who told him bluntly that she had been his, first, and he would get her back. Then he had been forced to kill an FBI agent to cover up for them, or had he? Had it all been a sham not to break his cover? To get them to trust him? Lately, she found it difficult to believe in anyone, even Jesse. Her life had taken a really weird twist these last days, the horrid dreams, Stuart had burst into her life under such traumatic circumstances yet he accepted like she was, and that meant the world to her, and the bonding with Maria, that had been awesome, she now felt the human girl closer than a sister, and she loved her for loving Michael the way she did. Maria had finally realized how much she had been hurting him, and Isabel was glad it seemed to be over, for his sake. She heard the door open and with a rush of hope she turned to the living room. There was Jesse, dropping the mail from his pocket on the coffee table. One white envelope remained with him, and Isabel shuddered, easily guessing which one it was. She got careless, with disappointment, and tripped making Jesse turn to look at her.

- What’s up? - Isabel asked, tentatively.

- You ask me, what’s up? Shouldn’t I be asking that? - He said, the frown returning.

- Jesse…- Isabel pleaded.

- I’m tired. - He said, using it as an excuse.

Isabel felt tired too, totally exhausted with the tension of facing Jesse.

- So am I, I’m turning in. Have you eaten? - She hoped he had.

- Yeah if you can call an airplane dinner, actual food. - He replied.

- Alright. - She went into the bathroom and instead of her usual nightie, she wore PJ’s, and got into the bed.

She had freshened up the bedclothes not wanting to change them because she could still feel Michael’s scent in them, only for her. The bed felt so empty, it made her very sad. Jesse went to the bathroom and came out in his typical wife beater, and sweat pants. He sat beside Isabel and she couldn’t help cringing away from him, she didn’t know exactly why. He reached out and touched her arm and she pulled further away.

- Sorry, I’m with my…you know…- She said, not facing him.

- When did it start? - He sounded doubtful.

- Right after lunch. - She lied.

- Of course. - He scoffed and lay back, placing the pillow over his eyes.

After a few minutes, he got up and left the room. Isabel heard him turn on the TV, and felt like a bitch. She had been married to this man for almost a year, she had been sleeping with him and having sex on this very bed, but now, she couldn’t bear having him near, worse still, touch her. The bed felt so cold, she started drifting into sleep, and decided to risk dream-walking Michael. She focused on him, and saw him lying half over Maria, his face in the crook of her neck and his hand on her breast, his thigh wedged between Maria’s and she knew they had had sex. His other arm, behind his body, moved, and his hand started searching around on the bed. Isabel gasped, knowing he was looking for her. She rushed to him, glad he wasn’t blocking her out, and spooned against his side, hugging his arm against her. She heard him sigh and she knew he was pleased to have her back.

- Michael, why didn’t you block me out? - She asked, unsure of herself.

- I couldn’t, I can’t do it any longer. I don’t want to. - He whispered huskily, over his shoulder.

- Aren’t you afraid we might get more weird dreams? - She said in a small voice.

- Just bring them on. I can deal with anything. I’m ready. - He answered her, full of confidence. - I’m here with you. -

Isabel leaned over, giving his shoulder a soft kiss, then she rested her cheek on it and started to relax. Michael shifted his hips and pushed his butt into her groin. She followed his lead and playfully ground against him remembering Max’s suggestion, sometime in their early teens, when the 3 of them began experimenting with sex, that she had penis envy. She had to admit that Michael made her feel like that, but only Michael. He felt so good pressed against her, that she really wished there was some way she could be inside him to get even closer. And yes, she envied Max for being able to connect with him so deeply, as only another male could. She finally let herself go and slept peacefully, feeling safe, trusting he was there with her and for her. She woke up very early, when Jesse opened the bathroom door. At first she wasn’t sure where she was, but then she saw she was in her room, and knew she had just heard Jesse. She heard him showering and then shaving. He came out in his underwear, to get his suit from the closet. He gave a start when he saw her sitting on the bed.

- Did the conferences finish earlier? - She asked him.

-No, they were in schedule. There were two extra days, with free tours of the city for all of us, but I wasn’t interested. This wasn’t my first time there, so I decided to come back instead of wasting my time. I must go back for the closure, tomorrow, and then to Chicago, where I’ve been invited to an important legal update course. - He showed her the white envelope which sat in the pocket of the suit’s coat. - Your father insisted, it will be about 10 days at the most. -

- Sure they will…- Isabel thought, telling herself she wouldn’t have believed it a week ago. She decided it was safer to keep quiet, so she just nodded.

- I’m going to the office, will I see you at lunch? - He asked, hopeful.

- I can’t. I didn’t know you’d be here today. I have the day tied up with some charity work, for an orphanage. Sorry. - She looked down at her hands, ashamed of lying to him, she really had promised Stuart they would have lunch at the hospital’s cafeteria, and she wasn’t missing that, no matter what.

- Ok, I’ll have lunch with your father, then, we have a lot of things to discuss. I’ll probably be back late. -

- Ok then. - She got up and went to the bathroom, closing the door after her. She came back out when she heard him leave the apartment. She knew the gang would be going to school, so she had to keep herself busy until they were back. The charity thing for the orphanage was real, but it was her mother’s. Anyway, she called her and she said she would be over in about half an hour, to help her pick up and keep track of the donations. Isabel was ready in 10 minutes, and decided to call Max to find out how it had gone with them, while she waited for her mother to arrive.

Things got hectic at Michael’s when the alarm clock went off. Maria jumped up and a movement on her left caught her eye taking her by surprise. No way it was Michael, so she initially thought it was Isabel. Then she remembered they weren’t at her apartment, but she was, with Jesse. Then who?...She turned slowly, and met Liz’s eyes as she sat on the bed beside Michael, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

- Liz? Liz! What are you doing here? -

- Hurry, bathroom! - They rushed to the bathroom but there was no competition.

Once inside, Maria opened her mouth to find out what was going on, but Liz was faster.

- Last night, as we were watching an old film, Max screwed up by calling me “Tess”. So I got up and started walking towards you guys. Max caught up and apologized and gave me some silly excuse, so I told him I would forgive him is he showed no jealousy or moron behaviour if I slept that night with you, because there was no way I wanted to feel him even near me. He started to protest and I said then I would go home, so he accepted it and went back grumbling to watch his film. Anyway, Michael’s bed is more comfortable than that lumpy couch. - Maria rolled her eyes, upset at Max’s slip of the tongue. Liz didn’t seem very keen to discuss it so they got ready very quickly and left the bathroom to make breakfast. They expected the guys waiting eagerly for them to come out, but everything was quiet. As they silently crossed the living area, Maria saw Kyle on one end of the couch sitting upside down, his legs draped over the back and his head on the floor, resting on his palms. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was open, but he seemed to have run out of snores. Maria looked around, trying to find Max, but he was nowhere in sight.

- Where’s Max? - She asked Liz, who gestured with her head to a pyramidal shape on the other end of the couch, covered with a blanket. Maria gazed at it, and arched her eyebrows at Liz, not understanding.
Liz walked up to it and snatched away the blanket and there was Max, sitting with his legs pulled up, his arms around them and his forehead on his knees. He opened his eyes and stared at Liz.

- We’re going to make breakfast, ok? - Liz told him.

- Am I forgiven? - He asked, doubtfully.

- We’ll talk about it later. - Liz answered as she walked after Maria towards the kitchen.

- You might be, if you guys help me wake up Michael. - Maria said. - Your breakfasts depend on it. - Max went to Kyle and kicked his arm a couple of times before he opened his eyes.

- Ok, so we have to wake up Michael. - Kyle said, yawning.

- It’s not fair. - Max just sat there frowning.

- C’mon, man, how hard can it be? We’ll give him a good shaking…-

Max’s head went “no”.

- We’ll tickle him? - Kyle wiggled his fingers.

Max shook his head again.

- Oh, yes, I heard you say you just had to flip him over, right? - Kyle insisted.

- Sounds easy but it’s not. You have to be real fast, or he’ll get you. -

- I’m very agile, I’m a jock! - Kyle exclaimed.

- Does the term dumb jock apply to you? Because it’s the only one I can thing of right now. - Max said.

- Hey! - Kyle sounded offended. - The boy’s asleep. -

- He’s faster than you think and you have to be faster than him or he’ll whack your head backwards. -

- I want my breakfast. - Kyle shrugged. - Let’s get it over with. -

Max sighed and rolled his eyes. His cell phone started ringing and when he checked the screen, he smiled with relief.

- It’s Isabel. - He said. - Go ahead, I’ll be right over. -

Kyle turned towards the bedroom muttering: - I really hate cell phones but right now, I wish I had one that had rung instead of his. -

He stood there rubbing his hands and staring at the big alien boy, fast asleep on the bed. He checked on Max, but he was sitting on the couch, saying “yes Iz”, so he was just probably using her as an excuse to back down. Kyle placed his finger on Michael’s spine, between his shoulder blades and started tracing it all the way down, as far as his tail bone, making him buck and slither. He started growling and Kyle sensed danger, so as soft as he could, he whispered : “Easy, spaceboy” and watched him smile, thinking it was Maria. Kyle went on rubbing the last vertebrae, and the way Michael was writhing and purring, made Kyle think it was working, and his eyes would open anytime, now. A hand on his shoulder made him jump.

- What are you doing? - Max whispered into Kyle’s ear, sounding pissed.

- Shit Max! You scared the crap out of me! I’m trying to wake him up! -

- Not like that. - Max looked pissed.

- Jealous? - Kyle gave Max a wicked grin. - The boy’s hot.-

Max looked like he was about to explode.

- No, I mean it, he feels hot. Maria! Are you sure Michael is ok? - He yelled.

- Is he awake? - She answered.

- Not yet, he feels kind of hot…-

- That’s cause he’s asleep, what is it to you anyway? You lay off, Max, wake him up, or you’re getting just O.J. and milk. - Maria yelled back.

- I’ll do it before you hurt him. - Liz said behind them, making them jump.

- SHIT! - Both Max and Kyle together. They noticed Liz was barefoot, no wonder they hadn’t heard her come in.

- Aren’t you helping Maria? - Max asked, knowing he would like whatever she was about to do.

- She insists she’s the only one who can make the omelettes the right way, so it’s ok with me. She needs to concentrate. Better leave her alone, you know what I mean. -

Liz sat on the bed by Michael and ran her fingers through his hair. Then she caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers and kissed the corner of his mouth, whispering his name a couple of times. When he turned his face to capture her lips, she moved them to his cheek.

- I’ll kiss you if you open your eyes. - She whispered against his skin.

- Maria…- He whispered, and moaned in protest. - Please…-

- Ok, I’ll take my shower alone. - She whispered backing off.

- No, wait…- Michael moaned and stretched, arching his back like a cat.

- Ok, Maria! Come take your spaceboy to the shower! - Liz said and patted Michael’s ass. - Good boy! -

- Liz? Hey that’s cheating! - He whined and quick as a flash, he reached back, grabbing her wrist and pulled her to him. She was forced to sit beside him again, as he gave her a smug smirk. Max gave Kyle a “You see?” look as Kyle gaped open mouthed, at Michael’s speed.

- My eyes are open, now you keep your promise, you still owe me from the tickling at Isabel’s bed. - Michael slurred in a husky voice.

Liz smiled, knowing Max was watching, and kissed Michael as he wanted, ignoring the gasp from Max, who was behind Michael, so he hadn’t seen him or Kyle. Liz opened her eyes, staring straight at the two shocked guys, and winked at them. She ended the kiss, and tousling Michael’s hair, left the room. At the door, she looked over her shoulder straight at Max.

- Now we’re even. - She grinned at him, and left.

Liz knew she was being a bitch, but it felt great, especially since Max’s voice saying “Tess”, had been ringing in her ears, until now. Suddenly, it was completely gone.

Correction: In the line:

- Aren't you helping Maria? - Max asked, knowing he would like whatever she was about to do.

It should say:

- Aren't you helping Maria? - Max asked, knowing he wouldn't like whatever she was about to do.