Control……
Max woke to the smell and sound of a fire crackling.
Sitting up with a hand to his head, he saw the film burning. “Mmhhh!” He
could feel a large bump on the back of his head.
Kal came to stand over him. “Why are you here?”
“I'm looking for our ship from the '47 crash.”
“Who are you working with?”
“No one.”
“Don't lie to me. I will kill you.” Kal warned Max.
“Like you killed Ferrini?” Max got to his feet.
“How did you get to
“I-10 west, then straight north.” Max said flippantly.
Kal held up a hand. “Don't get cute with me, you
prick.”
“Do you murder everyone who discovers you're an alien, or
do they get a warning first?” Kal used his powers on Max, who fell to the
floor again in pain. “Unnhh!”
“Why do you think I know where this ship is?”
“You knew it was in
“Who else knows?”
Coughing, Max struggled against the Shapeshifter’s
powers. “Please, the …”
“Answer me!” Breathing hard and coughing as he tried to
get free of the power holding him, Max struggled as Kal stood over him. “So,
this is the mighty king of Antar, a low-rent Tom Cruise with a $10 haircut?
Buddy boy, you have no idea what you're gettin' yourself into.”
“I came all this way to find you.” Max told Kal. “I
need your help. You're our protector.”
Kal shook his head in disgust. “Don't call me that,” he
ordered in anger. “Yeah, I was put on that ship to protect you. But that was
50 years ago.” Max continued coughing as the pressure held him almost choking
him to death.
“Boys!” Kal called to a few large men. “You're
leaving.” Kal told Max, “Or you're dead.” He nodded to the two large men.
“Take Mr. Evans to my airplane.”
~~~
“Max!” Liz screamed into the phone. “Max!”
Michael stood up from where he had been sitting on
Maria’s chair to take the phone from Liz. He listened for a moment. “It’s
disconnected. Max was disconnected.”
“Oh, my God! He was in the vault and he saw the
Shapeshifter, the form he used.” A near hysterical Liz grabbed Michael’s
arm. “He said it was a producer he met at a restaurant.”
“Did he tell you the name?” Liz shook her head, Michael
made a face dropping Liz’s arm. “You have to toss a stick in
“I’m going to
“No! Liz, that is crazy!”
“Crazy is Max out there alone! He’s out there with a
murderous Shapeshifter and …”
“You can’t go!” Maria insisted. Oh, God. Liz in
“I have to.” Liz argued with Maria.
“Michael! Stop her. Reason. Restrain. I don’t care,
just stop her before she does something stupid,” Maria ordered.
Michael shook his head. “You can’t go.”
“You are not the boss of me, and …”
“You go, Liz, and you can kiss your relationship to your
father goodbye.” Michael was deadly serious. “So far you have lied, broken
rules, defied his orders to continue seeing Max... You go to
“I don’t care. He’s out there alone!” Liz was damn
near hysterical. “He could be dead.”
Michael sighed rubbing the back of his neck. Rolling his
eyes, he nodded. “I’ll go.”
“I’m going with you.” Liz told him.
“No. No you’re not.” Michael was pretty emphatic.
“First, I have a few days off since I was excused from school during Maria’s
illness. Two, I am not taking you, so you can forget it. You’re father is my
employer, and he finds me transporting his rebellious daughter over state lines
to her forbidden boyfriend, I’m toast. You are not trouble I want. And third,
forget it. No.”
Liz’s face took on a stubborn look, one that they
recognized from when she was investigating Alex’s death. Maria groaned.
“Michael’s right,” Maria told Liz gently. “We need you here.”
“Maria, I’m going.”
“No. I am. I’m going with Michael because he’s my
partner and I have the same excuse.” Maria informed Liz. “You get to stay
here and contact us when Max contacts you.”
“My cell works here or on the way to
“Once you leave
Michael didn’t like this either way. “Maria, you’re
sick. Barely over it, and you want to go to
Maria got up. “I better go pack us a few days’ worth of
clothes. We’ll stop at my place on the way. You can call the airlines and find
us a flight.”
Maria got up as Michael stopped her. “Maria,” he said,
but then she turned, and her hand went to the naked expanse of his chest. Their
eyes met, and they stared while Liz watched. Liz frowned at them, the way they
seemed to be trapped in a look, talking without words, and she drew in her
breath sharply when Maria’s hand went up Michael’s front, her hand slow and
caressing, too intimate to be a touch of just a friend, or even a close one.
“Go get packed,” Michael said thickly. “I’ll call
for tickets.”
Maria went into the bedroom.
~~~
They landed at LAX, and found a taxi to the hotel that
Maria had booked. Michael lifted a brow. Nice room. “Um, how are we affording
this?”
“Vegas money. I dipped into the savings.”
“I thought we used it all this summer on Daytona and
“Nope. We ate a big chunk of it, but I was saving at
least half to use when we graduate for relocation.” Maria made a face. “That
and reconnecting your electricity.”
“We need to hit Vegas again sometime for restock the
coffers. Michael grabbed the remote to check the TV.”
“Later.” Maria took out her phone and called Liz.
Michael watched her for a moment before digging into his bag. He took out her
medicine. Going for ice while Maria talked to Liz, he came back with sodas from
the machine and ice. He handed her a drink and her antibiotics with two
Tylenols. “Listen, Liz, Spaceboy is medicating me again. Give me a second.”
She put her hand over the receiver. “I don’t need Tylenol. I don’t think I
have fever.”
Michael felt her head. “Take them anyway. You’re
slightly warm.”
Maria gave up and took the pills. Michael took the phone
from her. “Liz, did Max call?”
Michael listened as Liz said no. He quickly wrote down all
the information about where Max had been so they could track him. They were
going to Ferrini’s agent, and Max’s first, then they would find Ferrini’s
girlfriend. They were hoping the agent would remember what producer Max saw at
the restaurant, so Bunny would be unnecessary. Michael wasn’t too excited
about Maria meeting Bunny, so she could give Liz a detailed description. Max had
enough trouble. “Okay, I’ll give you back to Maria. Call us if Max calls, or
better yet, tell him to call us.”
Michael gave Maria the phone back going off to take a
shower. He grabbed fresh clothes. Jet lag was catching up to him. He needed a
nap before he could think straight. A nap and food would be a good start.
“
When Michael came back into the room he was wiping moisture
off his bare shoulders, wearing on a pair of jeans. Searching for a clean shirt,
he watched as Maria connected a laptop to the hotel computer line. “What are
you doing?”
“Searching for this Joey Ferrini in the movie database.
If he has a sheet, it should list his agent.” Maria found the information on
the man. “Is this him?”
Michael came to sit next to her, to look at the screen.
“That’s the man.” Maria found a link for agent and manager information.
Michael grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the information down as Maria sat
back getting up.
“Did you mess up the bathroom?”
“No more than usual. I decided to get in there before all
your girly junk took all the counter space.”
“Moisturizing is essential to good skin health. You going
to look through the computer a bit?”
“Yeah. I want to see what kinds of parts the guy
pulled.”
“Look at his face. It is evidently not Brad Pitt roles.
He was born to be a gangster.”
Michael nodded his eyes on the screen as Maria hit the
bathroom with her huge bathroom bag of essentials. “Does your mom know you
took the laptop?”
“Why are you trying to ruin my first
“Uh-huh. Sure.” Michael smirked. Amy would find out.
She always did. The only secret Maria ever managed to keep from Amy was the
alien one.
~~~
Michael reached for the phone, irritated. “Yeah?” he
growled in the phone squinting at the time. Three in the frickin’ morning!
“This better be good.”
“Michael?”
Michael sat up. “Maxwell? So you live.”
“Apparently. I just called Liz, she told me that you and
Maria came to
“Well to find you or recover your body before the FBI
does, one or the other.” Michael glanced at the sleeping Maria. She was dead
to the world. Still recovering, the travel left her more exhausted than she
expected. They had gone out and messed around, checking out the area, but when
they got back she crashed. “Where are you?”
“Just outside of
“Okay, where’s the Cheville?”
“Parked at the motel I rented.”
Max admitted. “I’ve got the room for another three days, so it should be
okay there.”
“Can you get to our hotel room?”
“I’m out of money.”
Michael reached over to dig through Maria’s bag.
“We’ve got money. Take a taxi to our hotel. I’ll be out front to pay off
the taxi.”
“That’ll be expensive.”
“Okay then walk.”
“I’ll take the taxi.”
~~~
Michael had to wait over an hour for the taxi to arrive
with Max. Leaning in, he passed the money and waited for Max to get out. They
walked back into the hotel, and Michael nodded to the breakfast room that was
just setting up for early breakfast at six.
“Nothing’s open, but we can sit in here for the next
forty minutes until something is open.”
“What are you doing here, Michael?”
Michael scoffed. “What do you think? You find the
Shapeshifter, and then the phone goes dead. Liz was hysterical, ready to come
herself.”
“Did you tell Isabel you were coming?”
“Is she here?”
Michael had a point. If Isabel knew she would’ve insisted
on coming. “Thanks for not telling her.” Max rubbed the back of his neck
tiredly. “You shouldn’t have come, especially with Maria. This guy is
serious. He’ll kill anyone that knows, remove any exposure.”
“I have no intention of exposing Maria to him.” Michael
couldn’t let Max keep him so far out of the loop. “What’s the Shifter’s
name?”
“Kal Langley. He’s pretty big here I guess.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Go back.”
“He’ll kill you.” Michael pointed out.
“I can’t not go back. My son, he’s out there, and he
needs me.”
“Okay, Maria and I will stay, to watch your back from
afar, but he makes any move on you, and we take him out. No hesitation, Max.”
Max nodded. “No hesitation.”
~~~
Isabel and her mother were meeting with the wedding planner
discussing Isabel’s wedding themes. The wedding planner and Isabel were more
into it than Mrs. Evans who listened with increasing ill ease as Isabel created
these huge plans for a wedding that was ill advised.
The wedding planner was impressed by all the ideas that
Isabel had and mentioned that Isabel and her mother must have been
brainstorming.
“Oh, not me. I, um …” Diane Evans could hardly wrap
her mind around the idea of her daughter marrying at eighteen. “...Can hardly
get used to the fact that I’m here.”
“Mom, you said you'd be supportive.” Isabel reminded
her mother.
“I didn't exactly have a choice.”
The wedding planner smiled sympathetically at Diane.
“It's always a surprise when your little girl takes this step.”
“Mmm,” Diane said appreciating the sentiment, but it
hardly eased her trepidation.
The wedding planner got distracted and went to handle other
things while Isabel sighed at her mother.
“Why are you being so negative?”
“Isabel, I am in shock. I mean, I've barely gotten used
to the idea of you graduating high school.”
“Mom,” Isabel didn’t bother to take the exasperation
out of her voice, “we have been discussing this for forty-eight hours
straight. I mean, you were the one who hired the annoying wedding planner.”
“Well, I mean, if you're actually gonna go through with
this, you need to have a realistic plan.” Diane pointed out.
“If?”
Diane didn’t get to comment as the wedding planner
returned her attentions to Isabel and Diane. “Sorry.” She smiled perkily.
“So, where were we?”
Isabel put her mother’s protest aside and went back to
her dream wedding. “Well, I was thinking that I’d like to have the wedding
in a freshly mown field. Maybe next to a pond, and then have the reception in an
old barn.”
“Oh, that's a lovely notion.” The wedding planner was a
professional, she was use to off the wall romantic ideas, but hardly realistic.
“Really, it is, Isabel, but when you go country, you open the door to a host
of logistical nightmares. Plus, the insect population-- very hard to control.”
The woman flipped through her planning book of previous weddings that worked
wonderfully. “You want to know a wonderful venue? The lobby of the Springfield
Inn. I have done so many weddings there.”
“But I don't want someone else's wedding.” Isabel said
shaking her head as Jesse came up behind her chair. He stood over her and
commented to the three women.
“Maybe we could light the barn with torches. Not …”
Jesse offered helpfully hating to see Isabel already getting irritated by the
arrangements. “Not like tiki torches. I mean … maybe torch is the wrong
word. More like candles. Oh, there's nothing more flammable than an old barn.”
“Yes, well, that's why we need the pond.” Isabel
pointed out to her fiancée who was obviously not seeing the beauty and grandeur
of her idea wedding. “Wendy, this is my fiancée Jesse.”
“So, when do we want to have the big day?” The woman
asked the happy couple.
“This spring,” Isabel told her smiling pleasantly.
Diane Evans sat up straighter. “What?” Shock was clear
on her face.
“Yeah.” Isabel told her mother seeing the reaction.
“We figured … why wait?”
“This is not a race.” Diane looked at her daughter and
then at Jesse. “I mean, the two of you just got engaged. Let's …”
“Mom …” Isabel reasoned, ignoring everyone else, but
her mother. “It's what we want. Can’t you just be happy? We're planning my
wedding. I mean, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be great.” Isabel reassured her
taking Jesse’s hand in hers.
“Oh … so cute, so in love.” The wedding planner
breathed. Diane Evans rolled her eyes wondering if she could get a damn whiskey
neat.
~~~
Michael grumbled as he and Maria walked the streets of a
pretty brisk shopping district. She was definitely feeling better, and it was
mean of him, but he missed her being sick, dependent on him.
“Why do we need to shop? This is insane, and a waste of
money.”
“If we’re going to crash a
Maria stopped in front of a store, her hand grabbing
Michael’s arm tightly as she was mesmerized by the sight. “Michael,” she
said hoarsely and passionately. Her eyes were trapped on the display. “Those
shoes!”
Michael swore. He could give up a left testicle to have her
say his name that way again, but for a totally different reason … for him.
Shoes? She’s going to get all excited over shoes? “Maria,” he said as he
peered at the overpriced tooled leather, too skimpy for that damn price.
“They’re expensive!”
“They are perfect!”
“Maria, you want to waste more of our relocation money on
a pair of shoes?” Michael shook his head, but then his eyes found something so
unexpected he could hardly breathe. “What is that?”
“What?” Maria followed his glance. “The boots?”
Michael stared at the most incredible black bike boots he
ever saw. “We need to go into this store!”
“Finally,” Maria motioned between the two of them,
“we are totally in sync.” Michael didn’t care about that right now.
Someone might buy his boots.
~~~
Michael, Maria and Max crashed a party at Kal's mansion.
Max took the direct approach, but Maria and Michael mixed into the glamorous
crowd, blending in while keeping near enough to watch over Max.
“So, uh, what happened with Tiffany? Did she walk?” an
unknown man asked Kal.
Maria stared over her colored glasses, her lip gloss shiny
and ultra pink, she whispered to Michael, “That’s him! God, he’s so …
normal looking. Is Max sure?”
Michael made a noise in his throat glaring at a man who
came by and put his hand on Maria’s butt. Letting Maria get a new outfit was
obviously a mistake. She wasn’t blending, but rather drawing a lot of
attention compared to Michael’s full black outfit and shades. A man bumped
into him and handed him a card.
“Call me.” The man gave him a smile and kept on
walking. Maria took the card and saw the name checking out the man as he walked
away.
“He’s gay.”
“What?”
“I’m sure. He just gave you his number.” Maria
explained. Michael made a face, turning to find Max in the crowd.
“How do you know?”
“He walked by and didn’t even look at my breasts.”
“Maria, you don’t have breasts.”
“In this number, that hardly matters.” Michael glanced
at the tight short dress with a top that did something to her front. It made her
look … stacked.
“Your point is noted. He’s gay.” Michael looked at
the guy standing next to him talking to a group of women. “Hey, dude. That
guy,” Michael pointed the man out, “wanted you to have this.”
The man looked at the card and the person Michael pointed
out and he lost his color as he exclaimed to his ‘friends’ over the number.
Obviously, the man was ‘somebody’, who, Michael wasn’t sure.
“What, are you kidding?” Kal was telling the people
hovering around him. “She's an actress. I bumped up her per diem. I put her in
a bigger trailer. I got Brian to rewrite the part.”
“That was my finest hour.” Brian told everyone. “Now
the hooker's a part-time yoga instructor.”
“You'll open 30 million easy.” Max said coming up to
the group smiling at Kal. He was dressed in the same ensemble that Michael was.
“Sorry I'm late. I …” Max took a drink from a passing tray. “Was on the
phone with Variety.”
Kal was obviously unhappy at seeing Max back in his world.
“I thought you were on an airplane.”
“Nah. I wanted to keep talkin' about our project.”
“Project?” Kal huffed, laughing charmingly for his
guests. “You're killin' me, pal.”
“Max Evans.” Max said to Brian. “Antar films.”
Maria lifted a brow. She hit Michael in the stomach.
“Hey, he’s not too bad when he tries! We might have to let him hang with us
a little more.”
“Nah. Smoke and mirrors.” Michael said. “He’ll get
back in the Parker zone, and revert to type. He’ll suck again.”
Maria made a face at Michael. “Eat dirt.”
~~~
Liz was in the kitchen at the Crashdown baking cookies
while talking to Maria who was giving her a blow by blow account of the party.
Maria called her every half hour with an update. Liz listened as she took the
cookies out of the oven.
“So I am making a special cookie for Max. M&M Tabasco
swirl cookies. I came up with the recipe all by myself.”
“Is this like a care package?”
Maria asked listening to Liz’s ‘Uh-huh’ as she made a face at a woman who
walked by with multicolored hair. “Max is so spoiled, man.”
“No, he is not.” Liz told her while transferring the
cookies to a rack to dry.
“Liz, he hasn't been gone more than a week.”
Maria pointed out seeing a star she knew. She whispered excitedly in the phone,
and Liz begged her to get an autograph if possible. “Autograph? I’m going
to make Michael take our picture!”
“Oh, I bet he’ll love that.” Liz said. “Is Max
still there with you? He’s supposed to be calling in less than an hour.”
“Yeah, he’s here still smoozing with Kal. I’m sure he
will be on the phone a.s.a.p. just to tell you how unreal this place is. Michael
keeps getting propositioned, and three agents offered to handle me! Unreal.
I’m not even wearing my good lip gloss!” Maria caught Michael’s eye as he gave her a look
pleading for her to rescue him from this group of people that caught him,
thinking he was someone.
Maria waved at him all sassy leaving him to his social
doom. It would build character. “So this phone call from Max? Are you guys
gonna talk, or are you just gonna breathe heavy into the phone? Are you gonna
repeat each other's name back and forth and back and forth?”
“Stop it!” Liz laughed. She looked over to the door and
saw Isabel. “Oh! Hey!”
“Who is it? Your dad? God, don’t tell him that Michael
and I are in
“Hi.” Isabel said looking around. “Have you seen
Maria?” Liz waved the phone at her. “You’re talking to her?” Liz nodded.
Isabel straightened her shoulders. “Can you tell her that I am … um, … I'm
getting married to Jesse Ramirez.”
“What?!” Liz said at the same time that Maria on the
other end said, “What?!”
“Yeah, and you know weddings are full of all kinds of
stupid traditions, like the garter toss and that--that chicken dance and, well
… bridesmaids, and since you guys are the closest thing I have to girlfriends,
I was wondering if you would be mine?” Isabel took the phone from Liz.
“Maria, did you catch that?”
“Ok.” Maria said stunned, and not sure what else to say as a guy walked by
and literally flashed her, and even that seemed more normal than Isabel’s
future nuptials.
Isabel gave Liz a look with a tip of her head. Liz agreed,
“Yeah, sure.”
“Great!” Isabel smiled and mentally clicked off that
task. “Good. Ok. That's done. Ok.” She looked at the tray of cookies. “Is
that for Max?”
Maria, who was still listening in interest, knew
immediately Isabel was talking about the special M&M Tabasco swirled cookies
answered, “Uh-huh.”
“Yeah. Sure is.” Liz said.
Isabel made a face. “He's so spoiled.” Isabel still had
the phone to her ear still needing to talk to Maria.
“Mm-hmm.” Maria mumbled. Max Evans was definitely spoiled.
“You know what?” Isabel told Maria on the phone while
staring at Liz so she was killing two birds with one stone. “Max doesn't know
about the engagement yet, so let's just … keep it that way. And, Maria,”
Isabel said directly in the phone, “I'm gonna need you to tell Michael for
me.” Isabel handed the phone back to Liz who was speechless. “Ok. See ya.”
Liz held the phone loosely in her hand staring at the empty
door with Maria’s voice on the phone. “Did that just happen? Um, Liz?
Liz, are you there? Um, Liz? Liz, snap out of it and check your damn cookies!”
~~~
Michael frowned at Maria who moved over to a quiet corner
and was talking to Liz on the phone. He needed to go over her investigative
priorities a little better. She obviously was having a hard time keeping her
attentions from being distracted. Michael gave her a bit of some slack due to
the Parker suck zone. He was sipping a cola standing with his back to the
Shapeshifter listening to Max talk to the group about his project with Kal.
“An alien stranded on earth,” said Max as he ate the
olive out of the martini he couldn’t drink, “tries to find his way back
home.”
“Like E.T.,” said a woman with large hair and toxic
hairspray, as Michael tried not to breathe in the fumes.
“Yes. But …” Max stared at Kal remembering his
reference to him as a bad Tom Cruise with a ten dollar haircut. “Think Tom
Cruise.”
“Sounds more like Starman,” commented the man next to
Brian.
“Exactly,” Max smiled charmingly his eyes continually
falling on Michael’s back as the other alien boy’s reaction were
expressively demonstrated by the movement of his shoulders under his shirt.
“That picture didn't open.” Kal informed Max making a
subtle threat.
“Oh, it gets better, Kal. See, our guy hunts down another
alien, also stranded on earth.”
“He's the only person who can help him on his quest.”
Kal guessed, rolling his eyes at the originality.
“How?” Ask the man next to Brian, who Max remembered to
be Scott.
“I'm glad you asked, Scott. There's a ship.” Kal
laughed, but the amusement wasn’t in his eyes. Max ignored it and continued.
“And this other alien might know where it is, or at least have the resources
to find it. You see, this other alien is a big …”
Kal chuckled and made a huge sarcastic guess. “
Michael swore under his breath as Maria came to join him.
There was dancing where couples just seemed to move to the music while standing
around talking in groups. Michael quickly nabbed Maria and whispered in her ear
what was happening while she looked over his shoulder, her eyes meeting Max’s.
They stayed close, never more than a few people away until
it was evident that the crowds were thinning. Michael took Maria’s hand and
they ducked into a quiet alcove, where Maria wrapped herself suggestively around
Michael in case someone happened upon them.
“Can you still hear them talking?” she whispered in
Michael’s ear. He didn’t respond as he moved her closer against him, pinning
her to the wall his head moving to her shoulder. “Michael?”
“Hmmm?”
“Can you hear Max and Kal still talking?”
Michael tried to concentrate, but his natural instincts
were reacting nicely to Maria’s body and the position they were in. Shaking
his head a little, he cocked it to the side to listen carefully. The final
stragglers were leaving, wanting to get as much of the producer’s attention as
possible.
“Mmm.” A man called to the Shapeshifter. “Call me
tomorrow? Do lunch?”
Kal smiled, his hand on Max’s shoulder keeping him in
place. “Max. That picture of yours, stick around. I got somethin' I'd like to
throw at ya.”
Brian, who was following the other man out, stopped not
sure he should leave, afraid Max was going to get a jump on him. “You sure you
don't want me to stay?”
Kal smiled pleasantly. “Good night, Brian.”
Brian smiled, not in the least bit happy, but unable to
find a reason to stay. “Ok.” As soon as Brian was gone Kal raised his hand
and Max flew across the room.
“You come to my home. You taunt me in front of my
friends. You threaten to expose me!”
“I have a son.” Max explained.
“You mated with another alien hybrid?” Kal shouted in
disbelief. He made a face. Oh, this got even better.
“My child is back on Antar. He's in trouble. That's why I
need the ship … and one of its pilots.”
“The Air Force reassembled that ship. But it will never
fly.”
“If anyone can get it up and running, it would be you.”
“I told you …” Kal warned Max as he asserted force on
Max’s throat with a thought. “I told you I would kill you.”
Choking, Max gasped against the threat to his esophagus.
“You're gonna have to. Uhh!”
Kal shook his head in disgust. “The Commander! Why am I
surprised? Of course you couldn’t do this alone.” The Shapeshifter said to
Max. Kal stood to his feet and advanced towards Michael and Maria, stopping in
front of Max.
Max slowly found his feet. “You can’t kill me, can you?
You've had so many chances.
Kal stared at Max for a moment, then at Michael. “Pod
people,” he said in disgust as he went to get something to drink. They were
not only disrupting his life, but giving him a damn ulcer.
Back at the hotel, Max and Michael argued while Maria
ignored them and went to bathe. She felt a little out of sorts from meeting the
Shapeshifter. The man had probing eyes, and his kept going back to Maria. It was
enough to make Michael uncomfortable. It was obvious the man wasn’t going to
take much more, so they left.
“You need to go home, Michael.”
“Not without you. He has spent the evening threatening
you, and …”
“He’s not going to hurt me. I think I nailed that one
tonight.” Max glanced over at Maria as she came back into the room from her
shower. “But, I think he could hurt Maria. He seemed inordinately interested
in her, and you saw what he did to Ferrini. He doesn’t like humans knowing his
secret.”
“Do not use Maria to control me.”
Max grabbed his jacket. “Not that I’m not grateful. I
am.” He stared at Maria. “I can’t be responsible for anyone else dying
because of me. Alex was more of a stain on my soul than I could afford, and
Maria would be impossible.” Max saw his remark hit home. Maria might have
thought he forgot Alex, but he had not. It was something he carried inside him
every day. It was the one wound … and endless pain that would never heal, and
for his life he would bleed his own duplicity, his unknowing part in Alex’s
death. That was his burden. He didn’t want Maria to be Michael’s. “Go
home. I can handle this.”
Michael and Maria were silent as the door shut behind Max.
Moving into the room, she went to stand beside Michael. “What now?”
“We go home.” Michael said. Max was right. This was no
place for Maria, and given his position on protecting Max or protecting Maria
… Maria just won.
“Home? Tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” Michael glanced at her. “Let’s take an
evening flight so we can spend the day at
Maria made a happy sound as she tossed herself in
Michael’s arms hugging him.
~~~
The next day while Michael and Maria were making themselves
sick on rides at
Kal sighed when he saw the pain in his ass. “That'll be
all, Giselle. Thank you.”
“Why would someone who can’t feel get a massage?” Max
asked out of curiosity.
“Excuse me?” Kal got up from the table and went to the
wet bar.
“You had your finger in a lit candle last night, and you
didn't even flinch. See, I don't think you can smell or taste, either. You must
have a thousand lemons in your fridge.”
“I like tea.”
“See, I don't remember much when I first came out of the
pods, but I do remember this-- the first few months, I couldn't smell or taste
anything except for strong flavors, sugar, lemon …
Kal was not only disgusted with the boy, but envious.
“You don't know how lucky you are to have even a fraction of human DNA inside
you?”
“You have human envy?”
“There's not a sensual pleasure on this planet I can’t
afford, but I can’t experience it, not like they can.”
“If your life is so limited, then how can you stand
living here?”
Kal shrugged. “I've learned to diminish my alienness.”
“How?” Max was curious about what the Shifter was
trying to protect.
“I don't shapeshift. I haven't done it in years. Gives
the body organs a chance to function.”
“That seems impossible.”
“Well, first thirty years, it was.” Kal admitted.
“Then, in 1978, I smelled chlorine in the pool. Soon after that, lemons. Last
twenty years was a bust, but don't you feel sorry for me. I love my life. Can
you say the same?”
“I need to find my son. He's in danger. You can help.”
“No, Max.” Kal wasn’t going to do it. “This is my
home-
“Oh, yeah?” Max said impressed. “Let me see it.”
“Huh?”
“The phone.” Max explained. “If it's that amazing,
hand it over.”
Kal tossed it to Max. “It's yours.”
“What? I mean …”
“You just--you said …” Kal seemed to suddenly realize
what he was giving away, so he quickly covered. “Hey, you said yourself I
should be more giving. Stick around. Have a sandwich. Take a swim. See you
later, Max.”
~~~
After school the following day, Maria went to find Liz. She
and Michael had gotten home real late the previous night, so they both missed
yet another day of school. On the flight home, Maria remembered Isabel’s news,
and that she was supposed to tell Michael. It made the flight a nice memory to
store in her mind for future nightmares.
“I still can’t believe Isabel's getting married. This
is, like, a disaster of epic proportions. If you think Michael freaked when he
found out, Max is gonna go ballistic.” Maria told Liz as she leaned against
the table talking to the working Liz. Maria was still off work since her
sickness, and she wasn’t looking forward to the shift the next day or all the
catch up homework she had to do.
“Did he really freak?”
“Oh, boy, did he! A total rant about exposure, who was
this person, and what the hell was she thinking adding another potential victim
to their ever growing list.” Maria sighed. “And who is Jesse Ramirez?”
Diane Evans didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she heard the
end of Maria’s comments, and decided to draw attention to herself. “Hi,
girls.”
Maria was startled, then embarrassed. “Oh, hi, Mrs.
Evans. You're here!” Mortified by her outburst Maria rushed to cover. “I--I
mean … How are-- how are you? Good?”
Mrs. Evans smiled, charmed by the embarrassed Maria. “So
… what's new?”
“Uh, nothing. You know
“Hmm. Well … actually, I, um … I was looking for
Michael.”
Liz jumped in to answer before Maria went off again. “Oh,
I'm sorry, but he's not working today.”
“Oh. Well, Maria, would you kindly remind him that he
still has my 9-by-13 casserole dish?” Mrs. Evans asked. “Isabel took
something over weeks ago for Max, and I'd like it back.”
Maria knew the dish well. “I--well, I'll remind him.
Definitely.”
Diane thanked her and turned to Liz, nonchalantly. “So,
Liz, how is Max?”
“Um, he's fine.”
“I was wondering if you happen to have his new cell phone
number. Apparently, he, um, he changed it when he moved out. I've left a couple
of messages at Michael’s, but I'm not even sure he's living there anymore. I
just want to talk to my son. I want to know that he's safe. I'm sure you can
understand that, can’t you?”
“I'm sorry, but I can’t help you.” Liz told the older
woman, unable to give out the number without Max’s permission.
“Well …” Diane was upset, but she hid it well.
“I'll let you girls get back to work. Ok. Bye.”
Maria waited until she was gone to look at Liz in shock.
“Open defiance of a parental unit. Whoo! This is just so twisted and …
romantic.” Maria made a dramatic gesture. “You and Max are totally Romeo and
Juliet against the world. I will be hiding that hemlock.”
“Well, actually, Romeo never called last night.”
Maria stopped. “No? I mean, he called the previous one
right?”
“No.”
“What?” Maria’s face cleared. “He was at the party
late the previous night.”
“That doesn’t excuse last night.”
“What? Last night too?”
“Yeah.” Liz went back to work with Maria following her.
Liz took a man’s plate before he finished.
“Hey! I'm not done!” Liz didn’t seem to hear as she
walked away. The man in anger walked out without paying his bill, but Liz was
oblivious.
Maria made a grimace at the unhappy customer, as she
hurried after her friend. “He'd better be in a ditch somewhere.”
“Maria, do not say that.” Liz begged her, unable to
take any more anxiety over Max’s health or possible death.
“I'm just saying blowing off a phone date is
unacceptable, that's all.”
“Look, I am just trying to convince myself that he's not
hurt or worse, that he is just busy.”
“Call his alien butt.” Maria suggested crossing her
arms. The boy had been alright over twenty-four hours ago, and from her view,
his damn speed dial finger looked fine.
“No. No, I am not gonna become the codependent
girlfriend, not when he’s on this whole quest.”
“Ok, I respect that.” Maria said seeing it from that
view. “But, I mean, how long is this thing gonna take? He may never find his
son.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Maria.” Liz dumped a bunch of
dirty dishes into the sink slumping depressed on the side of a table in the back
of the diner.
“No. Ok, there's no doubt in my mind that he is madly in
love with you, but, I mean, you're half of this couple. You know, you can’t
forget that.”
~~~
Michael didn’t bother to knock when he went to visit
Isabel. Too angry to care, he just entered the house and went straight back to
her bedroom hulking in her doorway.
“Why is it you feel you're above doorbells?” Isabel
asked when she startled at his sudden appearance.
“Got your message,” Michael said coldly. “Is it a
joke?”
“No. I'm getting married.”
“We agreed not to bring anyone else into this.”
“Michael, I don't want to put my life on hold. This is my
one chance to be happy … to love someone and have him love me back without all
of this garbage that has made us miserable our whole lives getting in the
way.” Isabel tried hard to plead to his humanity, to the side of him that had
everything she wanted … a relationship. “I've put a lot of thought into it,
and I don't see any reason why Jesse has to know the truth.”
“Well, knowing what I know about alien sex, he's gonna
have major questions after the honeymoon.” Michael rolled his eyes. Jesse
looked old enough to have had other sexual experiences, and a one hour orgasm
was going to be something different.
Isabel couldn’t take this. Not now. Not from him. Not
from anyone. She had only so many nerves about keeping Jesse outside the truth,
and Michael was making an argument that was one she didn’t want to consider.
“Ok, Michael, get out of my room.”
Michael ignored her. “What did Max say?”
Isabel sighed heavily. “I'm gonna tell him when he gets
back.” She needed someone on her side, someone that would believe in her.
“Come on, Michael. Just congratulate me.”
“On what?” Michael asked coldly. He didn’t bother to
say goodbye.
~~~
“Okay, so you’re angry. I’ve got that.”
“I do not want to talk about this.” Michael told her.
He was not looking at her. He was in a foul mood, and if he glanced over at her
in her new Mickey Mouse ears with the name Maria on the damn pink cap, he would
lose it.
“Sure you don’t.” Maria continued to eat out of the
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream container waving a spoon at Michael. “So is it
the whole … ‘Isabel is my destiny, she can’t do another man’ thing or
what?”
Michael sighed. Oh, that would be so much easier if it was.
Nope. He was stuck here in relationship hell with a girl that climbed all over
his body platonically, wore a pink Mickey Mouse cap, and spent too much time
seductively eating ice cream a mere foot from him. He was slowly going insane.
Michael couldn’t even remember the last time he wasn’t aroused, and the
fantasies and sexual dreams were increasing. Sure, he’d love to have a damn
cold, passionless destiny with Isabel … that way, he could actually get some
sleep.
“This is the whole respect thing.” Michael told Maria.
“Respect enough to actually frickin’ tell me herself, and not send my
faithful sidekick.”
“Faithful sidekick? Now why does that sound like a puppy
to me? Man’s best friend?” Maria’s face infused with color and she shook
her hand dropping dollops of ice cream on the floor. “What is this? Maria,
alien’s best friend, does stupid Maria tricks?”
“I don’t think of you as a pet.”
“Well good! I am not Liz or Isabel.”
“What does that mean exactly?” Michael asked his voice
biting.
“It means …” Maria went over and climbed on him,
straddling his legs as she faced him holding her ice cream still shaking her
spoon at him. “I do not take orders from you and Max, and I would never let
you order me about like some second class citizen waiting to be given permission
to love.”
Michael’s eyes moved over her and he took her weight, her
body wrecking havoc on his. He shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help it. He said
huskily, “Feed me.”
Maria’s eyes darkened, and she put the spoon in her mouth
upside down holding the curve against her soft palate. Her hands slowly
unbuttoned Michael’s shirt as her fingers trailed along the skin. Taking her
hands, she moved up his skin to his mouth were he pulled her fingers into his
mouth as he sucked on the digits his one hand removing the spoon from her mouth.
Maria moaned and moved in his lap brushing up against his erection hard, her
mouth moving forward to replace her fingers as Michael pulled her tongue hotly
into his mouth.
“Excuse me? Did you say, feed me?” Maria asked for
clarification as Michael’s darkened eyes seemed to focus on her again. She
frowned when he seemed to mentally shake his head.
Michael quickly lifted Maria off his lap and stood up to
get some distance from her. “Yeah. I’m hungry.” He took Maria’s spoon
and ate some ice cream, his mind very conscious of the fact he had something
that had been in her mouth, now in his. Ever since the night she had been drunk
and kissed him, he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop fantasizing about
having her do it again.
“C’mon, I’ll buy you dinner.” Michael suggested
ignoring the face that Maria had just eaten ice cream and a half a bag of chips.
“Get your shoes.”
“Right.” Maria said following his instructions. “I
mean, you and me, we have this equality thing going, and I wouldn’t want to
change that.”
“Hmm.” Michael glanced around. “Is that warm enough?
You should change.”
“Right you are.” Maria went into his bedroom to find
something else to wear. “Michael? This?”
“No. The one with the matching sweater,” he said.
“Okay.” Maria came out and held onto his arm. “I
mean, I love you, Spaceboy, but I’m not going to let you order me around.”
“Gotcha,” Michael said taking her arm. “You know, I
think you should stay away from spicy food until your stomach is a little more
settled. I don’t want you sick again.”
Maria kissed his cheek. “Whatever you want. You always
are so thoughtful.”
~~~
Diane Evans almost felt guilty. She had taken Max’s
number from Isabel’s planner, and as she waited for Max to answer, she
straightened her shoulders. She was his mother. She shouldn’t have to beg to
hear from her son.
“Hello?”
“Max. It's Mom.”
Max voice was guarded. “Hi.”
“How are you?”
“Good. I'm good.”
“Where are you, honey?”
“I'm in
“
“Just … because …”
“What is happening to our family?” Diane questioned
herself more than Max. “Do you know about your sister?”
Max stood still, his interest piqued. “What about
her?”
“She and Jesse Ramirez got engaged.”
“Wait. W-what?” Max stared to pace, not in the least bit able to
comprehend what she just said. “And you're ok with this?”
“Oh, doesn't much matter what I think.” Diane grieved.
Now would Max expect them to be able to control Isabel any better than they
could control him? “But, Max, Isabel values your opinion. Will you talk to
her?”
“Ok.” He could do that. He would do that.
Diane was afraid to ask, but could resist. “Do you need
anything?”
“No, Mom.”
“I just wanted to hear your voice.” Her boy. He was so
far away in more than just location. “I love you so much, Max.”
“Me, too. Bye.” Max disconnected. Diane looked at the phone no more
relieved or reassured. All she knew was her family was breaking up, and her
children were so far away.
“How's Mommy?” Kal asked having listened in to the
conversation.
Max didn’t bother to answer that. “Why did you give me
your phone?”
Kal shrugged. “I'm huge. I can get another one.”
“
“I'm on the zone.”
“Would you like to get me some?” Max asked.
“No.”
“
“Yes.” Kal admitted reluctantly.
“I wish I had known these rules a little sooner, Kal. We
could've saved some time.” Max said taking the ice cream Kal handed him.
“You and I are gonna find that ship.”
~~~
Michael was working and Maria was talking to him about what
they missed at school when Isabel came up interrupting them. Michael saw her
face, and he shook his head.
“Is,” he said. “We’re not doing this here.”
Maria looked from one to the other, and quickly excused
herself to go check on a customer, or maybe go stand outside and beg a passerby
to please come in and be her customer. She didn’t want to be there.
“Yes, we are! You spend every waking, dreaming moment
trying to get together with Maria, and nobody stands in your way, as if they
could. And Max?” Isabel made a scoffing noise. “He can clearly do whatever
the hell he wants. I am the only one who seems to have to follow the rules.”
“I'm not changing my opinion. This marriage is wrong.”
Michael turned to go back to work, he headed for the kitchen.
“Wrong for whom?” Isabel demanded. “Ok, maybe this
doesn't seem rational to you but it doesn't have to. I am crazy about this guy.
God, Michael, all I am asking for is a normal life.”
Michael stopped his back towards her. “And why doesn't
Jesse deserve the same thing? Everybody that we come into contact with is at
risk. Only in his case, if and when the trouble starts, he won't even know
what's coming. That kind of sucks.”
He couldn’t save Maria anymore from the pain of knowing
him. That ship had sailed so long ago. Hell, even if he knew all pain and fear
she suffered from knowing his secrets, he still couldn’t say if he would still
not want her to know. He would still want her. Still selfishly need her in his
life, but then again, that wasn’t something that could happen since she did
know. Jesse was free, and Isabel was mixing him into a situation without him
able to decide on his own.
The wedding planner, Wendy saw Isabel when she entered the
Crashdown and immediately rushed to her side. “Isabel! Oh, I'm so glad to run
into you.”
“One second …” Isabel said to the woman, not willing
to end this discussion with Michael.
“If you really loved him, you wouldn't be this
selfish.” He was that selfish himself, but then even the choice to tell Maria
hadn’t been his. He couldn’t take back what she knew, and her involvement
was already done. Jesse still had a choice, a life of being free of this on
going nightmare of fear. Michael had nothing more to say, or that he wanted to
hear, so he just walked away.
“Look at this.” Wendy said shoving a glossy in front of
Isabel. “I just discovered a new horse-drawn carriage company. How about the
fantastic gold tassels on his harness?”
“Horses, um … I am actually the only girl who never
liked them. We're gonna be taking a car to and from the reception.”
“Honey, do me a favor, just take this home and show it to
your mom. You know, the more I think about it, the happier I am you turned down
that April date at
Isabel’s mouth opened in shock. “What?” She ignored
Wendy for a moment as this new information took over her thoughts.
“Yeah, your mother was right, it's just too nippy that
time of year.”
“You talked to my mother?” Isabel asked her voice going
cold and hard with anger.
“When the date opened up, I called her right away.”
Isabel didn’t get a chance to say a thing about her plans
being cancelled by her mother as her phone rang. Sighing, she answered.
“Excuse me.” Isabel told Wendy. “Hello?”
“So you think you're getting married?”
Max’s voice said over the phone.
“H-how did you-- how did you find that out?” Isabel
asked her entire world crashing.
“Mom tracked me down. Isabel, you've only known this guy
for a month.”
“Four months, and don't call him this guy.” Four
months? Max had hardly said two words to Liz Parker when he decided to save her
life and propel their lives spinning out of control, but that was okay.
“Either way, I don't see the urgency.”
“I’m not gonna have this conversation with you on the
phone.”
“Look, just don't make any more plans until I get
back.” Max told
her.
“Stop it.” Isabel demanded. “I am not a child.”
“Yeah, well, you're acting like one.”
Isabel’s mouth opened at the hypocritical remark by one
of the most spoiled and childish boy known to the earth. “Yeah, well, you,
too.” Isabel screamed in the phone.
“Uh, well, uh, you …” Wendy wasn’t the brightest
bulb in the pack, but she was finally cluing in that this wasn’t a good time.
“Have a good one, ok?”
Isabel sat back exhausted with the phone in her hand, the
wedding planner fleeing, and Michael talking to Maria in their usual little
group of two. She could see Maria talking low and soothingly to Michael, who
looked up and saw her stare. He didn’t even bother to try. He walked out
without giving her another glance.
~~~
“Isabel? You okay?” Maria asked concerned, not only for
Michael, but for Isabel who looked beaten.
“No. Not really.” Isabel closed her eyes. “They
don’t want me to get married.”
“I know.”
“I know you do, and I also know that you know more about
it than I do.” Isabel stood up squaring her shoulders. “Do you even know how
unfair it is that they never ask or tell me anything? All they ever do is
order.”
Maria stopped Isabel from walking away. “Welcome to
Michael’s shoes. He walked in them for his entire life, and until recently, he
was never on the side with another person, just him standing there alone while
it was always you and Max against him. He understands, but he can’t change how
he feels.”
“I knew you would be on his side.”
“Yes, I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see and
understand your side as well.”
“That doesn’t help me right now, Maria.”
“I know.” Maria said as Isabel walked away. “But it
will later once I talk some sense in to a certain alien boy.”
~~~
Isabel’s life went from bad to worse. She confronted her
mother about canceling her wedding plans, and about contacting Max. Once she
found out that her mother went through her planner to find Max’s number, the
betrayal was numbing. It came down to her mother thinking she was moving too
fast, not thinking clearly, rebounding to Jesse from Alex’s death, and that
sooner or later, she would find that she made a mistake, that Jesse wasn’t
right for her, and find herself a divorcee. The lack of support was crushing,
and for maybe the first time in her life, she wasn’t getting everything the
exact way she wanted it.
~~~
“Maria, please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Maria asked innocently.
“Stop it. I don’t want to be reasonable, not about
this.”
Maria leaned her head against his back her arms snaking
around his waist. He didn’t pull away, but seemed to rest back against her.
“I’m sorry you’re not happy.”
“This isn’t about being happy or unhappy. It’s about
Alex. It was about us swearing to never let that happen again.” Michael
sighed, and untangled himself from Maria. He
sat down on the sofa, sitting her across from him in the coffee table.
“Alex?”
“Him. All of you. All the humans whose lives have been
altered, destroyed or directly harmed by knowing us. Alex, Grant, Topolsky,
Valenti, his father, Kyle, Liz, you, Pierce, your mother, Sean, indirectly
though Liz’s meddling and the list goes on.” Michael rubbed his face. “I
am the last person to suggest telling anyone, but not telling them, taking over
their free choice as if it were your right to play God with their lives …”
“You regret me knowing?”
“Yes.” Michael admitted. He winced at the pain he saw
in her eyes from his admission. He quickly took her hands. “I regret that the
choice was never yours, that it touched your life in so many ways which have
hurt you and the people you love, and mostly I regret that regardless, I never
can imagine my life a day without you knowing.”
Maria understood what he was saying. Knowing what he did,
he would’ve told her. He would’ve told her, he would’ve given her a
choice, and he was struggling between the right and wrong of it, and the pure
hypocrisy of not giving Isabel the same right.
“Alex’s blood stains my hands, Maria, and every day I
struggle with the nightmare of how it could’ve been you.” Michael glanced at
her, their eyes meeting, and it was the fear of knowing that it might have been
Maria and not Alex.
~~~
Liz called Maria for support, and Michael left her to talk
to Maria as he went off on his way to go return the casserole dish to the Evans.
How it was his responsibility and not Isabel’s who brought it over, or Max who
ate the damn casserole, he didn’t know, but there it was.
Liz was depressed and she sat with Maria on the sofa in the
DeLuca house. She had a box of Max's stuff.
“I brought your CD back.”
“Good.”
“Sure. There you go.” Liz said dejectedly. She looked
around the apartment seeing so much of Michael in Maria’s home, the slap at
how accepting Amy DeLuca was of Michael presence in Maria’s life. They
weren’t even together, and they were more together than she and Max. “How
about these peanut butter pretzels? I know that you really like those. Here.
Just take them.” Liz reached into the box. “The past three Simpsons on
tape.” Liz shoved it into Maria’s hands. “Really funny episodes. And why
don't you take these stupid cookies that I made.” Maria lifted a brow at the
M&M swirled
“Are we breaking up?” Maria asked gently, her hand
taking Liz’s. “No call?”
“Nothing. And I was totally panicked until I talked to
Isabel on the phone and she told me that Max called her this afternoon.”
Liz admitted, devastated by Max’s neglect.
“Come here. I feel your pain, girlfriend. And you know
what? Whenever this happens to me, there's only one thing I can do, and that is
take it out on Michael.” Maria said trying to cheer up her friend. “Let's go
to his apartment right now.”
Liz laughed a little hugging close to Maria. “You know
that I’ve been with him through all of this. All of it. Any time that he needs
anything, I'm there. Right? And he can’t even pick up the phone.”
“Well, this phone that you speak of, it's a revolutionary
concept, yes,” Maria said meeting Liz’s eyes, “but it does work both
ways.”
“I know.”
~~~
Max and Kal went to the Air Force base to see a general
that Kal used on his productions as a consultant. After much negotiation, the
general still refused to allow Kal and his intern, Max to see the ship. But Kal
knew where it was, and Max ordered him to take him to it
“It's in there.” Kal told Max.
“You can see through metal?” Max asked staring at the
large building.
“No. It's the only building big enough to hold the
ship.” Kal answered amazed by the denseness of the regenerated Antarian King.
Max ignored his disdain as the entered through the doors to find the ship
mysteriously unguarded.
“Well, you got what you wanted. I'm leaving.” Kal told
Max. He had enough of this boy. Enough of Antar, and more than enough of
everything. “Oh, I forgot to mention … You'll need the key.”
“Oh, I forgot to mention - I have it.” Max held up the
diamond he and Liz stole and that Michael and Maria had retrieved. “You
can’t leave. You're my pilot.”
“I'll have to shapeshift to operate the controls.” Kal
told him. Max knew what shapeshifting meant to him, what it cost him. He would
lose all the ground he gained in feeling, in being even partially human.
“My son needs me.” Max told the man, not able to let
Kal’s concerns outweigh his own.
“You're asking me to throw away everything I’ve ever
worked for.”
“You'll never be human,
Kal couldn’t believe he could hate someone so much. He
could feel hate fine, and when and if he shifted, it would be the one emotion he
would retain. “You don't want to go back there. This is such a better
place.”
“I'm gonna find my son and then we're coming back.” Max
told the shifter.
How naive could one boy be? “It won't be that easy.”
“How do we get this ship out of here?” Kal was quiet,
refusing to willingly help in any way. “Tell me how we do this!”
“First, you have to open up the hangar door, but not
until I get the ship airborne. Too soon, the alarm will go off and all hell will
break loose.”
“And then what?”
“I lower the entry beam and you step in and we're out of
here.” Kal felt his life slipping away, lost to this impulsive act that
couldn’t possibly work or end in any way but their deaths. “Please. Listen
to your human side. I don't want to go.”
Max ordered Kal, “Shapeshift. Fly the ship.”
Kal obeyed and he shifted into his native form before
entering the shift. Max watched as the ship began to rise. His cell phone rang,
and Max quickly glanced at it seeing Liz’s name show up on the caller ID. Max
turned off the phone and put it back in his pocket. The ship hovered for a
moment before crashing to the ground as alarms went off. Max rushed to
“
Kal shook his head weakly. “There was too much damage
from the initial crash. The generators overloaded.” Max quickly helped
~~~
“Hey, you.” Diane said glancing up at her daughter when
she entered the kitchen. “There's leftover chicken in the fridge, honey.”
“I didn't come to eat.” Isabel informed her mother.
“I, um … I came because a spot opened up at the wedding pavilion at
Diane didn’t want to talk about the wedding or get into a
fight with Isabel again. “When will your father ever learn to load this thing
right?”
Isabel refused to not be heard. “Jesse and I are getting
married there in two weeks.”
“You're what?” That got Diane’s attention.
“Getting married in two weeks,” Isabel repeated.
“Because you're mad at me.”
“No.”
“Yes, you are, Isabel.” Diane couldn’t take much
more. Years of struggling to keep a peaceful relationship with her daughter,
which usually meant giving her everything her way, and a son that no matter how
hard she tried to reach to him, remained aloof. “You're trying to put me in my
place, aren't you? You and I have been playing this game for years.”
“No. This isn't about you.” How could it be? It was
never about her mother, and it was her wedding day. “I came because I love you
and I would very much like it if you would be a part of what is going to be the
best thing that has ever happened to me in my life.”
“I'm sorry, but I can’t do that.” There was a knock
at the door, and Diane thankful of the interruption answered it. “Michael.”
“Mrs. Evans.”
Diane quickly invited him in to diffuse the tension in the
room. “Come on in.”
“Yeah, Maria said that you wanted this back, so I …”
Michael stopped noticing the tension between Isabel and her mother. “Oh, is
this a bad time?”
“No. No, not at all,” Diane lied. “Isabel, why don't
you see if Michael would like something to drink?”
“No, I'm fine. Thanks.” Michael quickly refused not
realizing that dropping off a casserole dish was going to trap him into a social
situation. God, when things like this happened, he usually found Maria and took
it out on her to feel better.
“Isabel?” Diane said to her daughter, trying to get her
to socialize.
“Excuse me.” Isabel walked out leaving a quiet Michael
staring at Diane Evans.
~~~~
Max helped Kal out of the car. “
Kal had enough. “I destroyed my life for you tonight, all
for nothing. Because of you, everything I’ve worked for is gone.”
“Kal.”
“It's how you've always been, Your Majesty: Selfish and
ungrateful.”
“Kal. You were right. I slept with the enemy, then sent
my own child back with her. It was the biggest mistake of my life, and I have to
live with it every single day. It's my fault. I shouldn't have dragged you into
this. But I didn't have anything to-- I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry.”
“Think of all the loved ones you almost left behind. Your
sister … girlfriend … your mother, who feels like she's already lost you.”
“How do you know about them?” Max asked confused not
only how Kal could know about them, but how they felt.
“It's my job.”
“Why didn’t you mention Michael?”
Kal laughed. “You can’t be that blind. Michael
doesn’t belong to you! He never has, and he never will. He is strong enough to
usurp you, and had he a little less humanity, he would. That beautiful piece of
girl he keeps close holds enough human feeling to keep him for a lifetime. I
could feel it across the room.” Kal laughed at how dense Max was. “I
didn’t mention him because he’s already too far gone from you. Go home, Max.
Don't come back. Word of advice … the more you embrace our alien side … the
more you're gonna lose.”
Max stared at Kal remembering his dark time with Tess, the
darkness that pushed him beyond what he thought he could ever do. It had never
been a mindwarp or Tess controlling him, but rather the rise of his innate alien
self exerting control over all he surveyed. Max closed his eyes for a moment.
Maria had been right. He had been at fault. He allowed his alien side to
dominate, and it cost them everything. His son. Alex. And so much more. Perhaps
his own sanity.
~~~
Michael let himself back into the DeLuca home. He was
surprised to see Maria sitting alone. “Liz leave?”
“Yeah,” Maria frowned. “She called Max and he
didn’t answer. I think she needs time alone.”
“I walked into something weird at the Evans.”
“What?”
Michael shrugged. “Not sure. They were fighting.”
Maria patted the sofa next to her. Michael sat down
stretching his legs out in front of him. “Liz said that Max called Isabel this
afternoon, but he didn’t call Liz.”
“He probably found out about Isabel’s wedding.”
Michael guessed.
“I think so. But how?”
“Don’t look at me. I didn’t tell, and personally, I
want nothing to do with it.”
Maria took Michael’s hand and held it in hers. “Are you
sure? None of you are leaving this planet. This is your home. Since you decided
to stay, everything you’ve done has been about catching up, preparing to live
here forever.” Maria bit her lip, her hand tightening on his. “Do you
honestly think you will never find love? Never find that one person you want to
tell everything about yourself to? Are you planning to be alone forever?” It
hurt to say that to him, to think of him one day in love with another woman, one
that would replace her in importance. Her stomach hurt.
“No.” Michael glanced at her hand. He planned to be
with her. Forever. She knew, she understood, and she made his blood race out of
control through his body.
“If you forbid Isabel this chance at a life … at
happiness, then when it is your turn, how do you plan to do the very thing you
refuse to let her do?”
“It’s different.”
“How?” Maria asked, not seeing how it could be.
It was different because he was already in love. The woman
he wanted, needed, and planned to be with already knew. She knew him better than
anyone could. He didn’t let people in, and she somehow found the way to break
inside by herself. No one would ever be able to do that again, he was already
full … full of Maria.
“It just is.”
“Well, then it shouldn’t be.” Maria glanced at him.
“You’ve been all alone all your life, out there struggling for someone to
just be on your side, just once. Now she’s out there too. I know destiny
changed things between you and Isabel, but if she’s still your sister, in your
heart you should want this for her. Right or wrong. You would want her to have
love.”
Michael picked up Maria’s hand kissing the back of it.
“I haven’t been alone in a long time.” He glanced at her, and she smiled,
her hand coming up to stroke his cheek. For a moment, he saw it. The shift. A
change in her sight as her eyes seemed to move over him, changing, darkening,
and he knew that for that instant, she was really seeing him not as a friend,
but as a lover.
Kiss her. It was screaming in his head. He started to lean down, to
kiss her with the lights on, in the daylight where could be no confusion, no
doubts when the phone rang. The moment was gone.
“Yeah,” Michael said his eyes not leaving hers.
“It’s Max. He’s coming home.”
~~~
Isabel was walking in the park, using her powers to knock
out street lights when Michael found her. Michael came up on his bike.
“That's city property.” Isabel shrugged blowing another
light. “What's going on with your mom?”
“I'm getting married in two weeks and she told me she
wanted nothing to do with the wedding.” Isabel was on the verge of tears.
“I'm all alone in this, Michael. Do you have any idea how that feels?”
Michael didn’t say anything because of course he knew how that felt. It was
the story of his life, but she wouldn’t want to hear that so he just listened.
“Max found out the other day. You can imagine what his reaction was. That's
why I wanted-- I just--I needed you to congratulate me the other night.”
Isabel sniffed. “You know, can you be on my side just this once?”
Michael shook his head at her. Unreal. He loved Isabel like
a sister, but in truth, she wasn’t easy to love. At times, she was impossible.
He asked her a thousand times to be on his side, and it never made a dent in her
views. He could count on one hand the number of times she sided with him against
Max. Remembering what Maria said, their talk, he swallowed the bitter pill and
spoke to her truthfully. “Isabel, you don't care what I think.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because if you did, then you wouldn't have had Maria
break the news.”
Isabel hung her head. He was right. She showed a lack of
respect or connection to him by having him told by another, while she insisted
on waiting until Max came home to tell him personally. It was a slap, an
inconsiderate move on her part. “I'm sorry. That was stupid. I just--I was
afraid that you would freak out and I didn't think that I could handle it, so
... I'm sorry.” She saw something in Michael’s eyes, something she didn’t
expect to see. Worry. It wasn’t just about her, it was for Jesse. “I know
that you're worried about Jesse, but I'm gonna keep him safe.”
Michael nodded feeling the emotions behind his eyes. He
couldn’t live through another Alex, another loss to the cause. It was getting
too hard to justify their lives over others. “I hope you can.”
“Michael, your opinion means as much to me as Max's.
You're like a brother to me, too.” Michael smirked at that. Yeah, a pain in
the ass brother, he got that. “The point is to just kind of …”
Michael interrupted her. “So in two weeks …”
“Less than, actually.”
“Congratulations, Isabel.”
Isabel smiled breathing deeply. “Thank you.”
~~~
Liz was sweeping the floor to the Crashdown when Max
knocked. She looked around for her father, and motioned for him to come in.
“Hi.” Liz said subdued.
“Hi.”
“When did you get back?”
“Just now.”
Liz looked at him with dark eyes holding a world of hurt.
“You didn't call.”
“I was driving all night.” Max admitted. “I-- I just
had to get back to see you. I-- I'm sorry.”
Liz remembered what Maria said. She was part of the couple
too, and it hadn’t felt that way for a long time. “You can’t do this, Max.
I love you, but you know, lately, I just haven't been feeling it back.”
“I didn't mean to …”
“But you did.”
“Liz, I know you've been here, alone, waiting for me, and
…and I've … it was wrong. I …” Max lost control. He lost his son. He
couldn’t lose Liz too. Not after all they had done to come back from where
they had been.
“No!” Liz saw the tears in his eyes. “Max. What, Max?
What happened?” Liz begged expecting the worst. His son was dead.
“I failed. And my son … he's up there somewhere. I've
just messed everything up.
Liz hugged him as he cried against her. “It's ok. It's
ok.”
“I'll never leave you, Liz.” Max promised.
