Fan Fic and More

Tracie, you never have to apoligize for RL. I hope RL will be nicer to you.

This part was well worth the wait. So MAx is having flashes. They actually acknowledge the connection. And Kyle was the best. HE was defending Tess. She's going to be a totally mess now probably. Maria and Michael those two are a riot.

A lot of interesting information there! So Max got flashes of Liz shot when she said "shot." And he saw Alex and all those other things. All courtesy of his alter ego who came to the pod chamber when he and the others were coming out. And the sheriff drew a picture of the other Max after seeing him in the desert. And their mom has the picture. It's interesting that Tess thinks she recognises him. I think she does!

“Who’s this?” she asked Isabel. She stared at the picture, confusion dancing across her face.

“I don’t know,” Isabel replied, barely glancing at the image. “Why?”

“Because it sort of looks like Max,” Liz said. “Or what Max would look like as a grown up. I mean, the hair color is wrong, and Max doesn’t have a beard, but it just looks like Max,” her voice faded out and color suffused her face as she realized just how much attention she actually paid to Max Evans.

“Let me see that,” Tess said, reaching from her spot on the bed for the paper. “I remember this,” she almost whispered. “I know this guy.”

“What’s that, Tess?” Liz asked.

“N-nothing,” Tess said, slipping the sketch in with some other papers. “Alex, did you want to give me the music?”

Laverne and Shirley! I've heard Liz and Maria called some things, but... Michael is a riot! And Michael yelling who wants to dance with Isabel so he wouldn't have to! LMAO If Isabel's self esteem hadn't got enough of a jolt from Alex asking Tess instead of her to the dance, that should have done it! : And then Michael's comment when he got Maria instead! : : :

“I’m not dancing with Isabel. She’s my sister. How freaking gross is that? Hey, you wanna dance with Isabel?” Michael called further down the line.

“Dance with Isabel Evans?” the kid asked, scanning the line across the gym. “Sure!”

Max watched as Michael quickly switched places and numbers with the other student just as the teacher blew his whistle. The lines surged across the gym, and Michael looked up to find that his new partner was Maria Deluca.

“Somebody really must hate me,” he heard Michael whisper under his breath. “I don’t dance,” he said, when Maria met him in the center of the gym floor.

“You do now,” Maria said, grabbing his hands. She placed them on her waist and put her hands on his shoulders. “Now, move to the music,” she ordered.

I loved that! And the way Maria took charge! Hehe

And Kyle defending Tess from the crashers then the others helping. Classic!

Great part, Tracie! Worth the wait!

Title: Consanguinity



Chapter Eight

He stalked through the halls of the deserted school, bellowing in fury. This was the second time he’d tried to make contact with her. The first time, she’d fought back and this time they’d come to her rescue. He needed her, she was too important to his plans. Everything hinged on her compliance. She’d been so easy to manipulate before, but this time, something was different. She was more secure, more sure of herself, and he didn’t know how to deal with that.

He opened the door to a bathroom, practically ripping it off its hinges. He paced back and forth, muttering to himself, until he caught sight of his reflection in a mirror. An adolescent, schoolboy’s body stared back at him. Grimacing in disgust at his reflection, he used his powers to revert back to a more mature human form. When the change was complete, he opened the bathroom door and stepped back into the hallway, and then out into the night.

** * **

The sweat poured off Max Evans’ forehead as he pedaled his bike down the stretch of highway. It was stupid, he knew, but ever since the night of that middle school dance, he felt something pulling him – calling him out to the desert. He didn’t know what it was, but he was powerless to ignore it.

Ignoring his discomfort, he pushed on, determined to make it to his final destination. Not that he knew exactly where that was. He was hoping instinct and a dim eight-year old memory would help him. He pedaled furiously as he tried to make sense of the feelings and images that had been assaulting his brain ever sine that night. The night he danced with Liz Parker.

Max pushed on, his physical endurance pushed to the limit, determined to reach his destination when fate took matters into her own hands. Without warning, the bike became incredibly difficult to pedal. Max quickly came to a stop. As soon as he got off the bike, the problem became apparent. He had not one, but two flat tires. Cursing to the empty desert, Max placed his hand over one tire, and used his powers to inflate it. He’d just started to inflate the second tire when a car pulled up beside him.

He turned to look but the glare of the sun made it impossible for him to see. The car door slammed and a figure moved to stand beside him.

“Having trouble, Mr. Evans?” a voice said. “You’re awfully far from home.”

Max tried to look but the figure was standing with the sun directly behind him, causing Max to squint.

“No, I’m good, really,” Max said. “Just taking a little rest.”

“Do you’re parents know you’re out here?” the voice continued.

Feeling intimidated, Max stood up and ended up staring Sheriff Valenti in the face.

“Oh, hi Sheriff,” he said, trying to act relieved. “I didn’t know it was you. Um, no, I didn’t specifically tell my parents where I was riding, but they won’t care.”

“Well, maybe not, but I do care, and it isn’t safe for you to be out here alone in the hot sun. Let’s throw your bike in the back and I’ll give you a ride back to town.”

“Oh, but uh, I really wanted to see how far I could go,” Max said.

“You know, Max, you’re a good kid. You’ve never been in trouble; let’s keep it that way. Why don’t you stop lying to me and tell me the truth,” said the Sheriff.

Max felt his heart pummel in his chest. He didn’t know what to think, for one brief moment, he thought the sheriff knew their secret. Forcing himself to relax, Max took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts.

“You’re right, Sheriff Valenti, I wasn’t being completely honest with you. But I really don’t want my parents to know why I’m out here. See, I know we were found not too far from here, and I really just wanted to look around and see if I remembered anything.”

“Max, you don’t think you’re going to find any clues to where you came from, do you?” the sheriff asked, kindly. “We scoured the area completely after your parents found you.”

“I know,” Max said, adopting a crestfallen expression. “I just wanted to, you know, see it. Maybe it would trigger something in my memory.”

“Is there any reason you don’t want your parents to know about this, Max?”

Max scuffed at the ground with his sneaker, raising a small cloud of dust. “I- well, I don’t want them to think I’m not happy with them, because I am.” He lifted his eyes and looked imploringly at the sheriff. “I am happy, I can’t imagine living anywhere else, or wanting anybody else as parents, I just, I,” he paused.

“You just want to know, is that it?” the sheriff asked, filling in the silence left by Max.

“Yeah, exactly,” Max admitted. “I don’t want to hurt mom and dad, they’re great, but I’d really like to know who left us out here, and I thought maybe if I came out here, something would, you know, like trigger some suppressed memory or something.”

“I’ll tell you what,” the sheriff said. “Let’s load your bike up, and I’ll take you for a ride, and then I’m taking you back to town. And Max, I don’t want to see you out here alone again. It’s too dangerous. Is that clear?”

Max knew when to give in, and this was a good time. He smiled at the sheriff and wheeled his bike over to his SUV. The Sheriff opened the back and lifted Max’s bike up into the back hatch. Once the bike was secure, the sheriff opened the passenger side and waited for Max to climb in. The sheriff quickly came around the SUV and climbed in the driver’s side and pulled out onto the empty stretch of highway.

** * ** * ** *

The stranger watched from behind the small outcropping of rocks. He’d used his powers to stop Max. He’d hoped to get the young king alone and make him see reason. He hadn’t counted on the sheriff stopping to help, or Max letting him. These kids were too immersed in their lives here in Roswell. He needed to get them and bring them home. His life depended on it.

** * ** * ** *

“Here’s right about where your parent’s found you,” the sheriff said, pulling his SUV over to the side of the road. “Does it spark any memories?”

“No,” Max admitted glumly.

“I didn’t think that it would,” the sheriff said. “Don’t feel bad, Max. I still think our best lead was the hiker I saw not too far from here.”

“Hiker?” Max asked, trying to quell the excitement from his voice.

“Didn’t your parent’s tell you about that?” the sheriff asked.

“Well they said that there had been some guy seen in the desert, but not that he was a hiker,” said Max.

“Okay,” the sheriff said. “I was just a deputy back then, and I was driving out here when I found this guy hiking on the road. He said he and some friends were doing some desert camping and had lost track of what day it was, and that he was hiking back to town to get a paper. I gave him an old paper that I had, and he took back off into the desert. I wish now that I had held him, but I didn’t really have any cause to do so.”

“Would you mind showing me where you found him?” Max asked.

“I figured you’d ask that,” the sheriff said. “Of course I will, but Max, I want you to promise me you’ll talk to your parents about this. They should know you have questions. They know you love them, and I think they’d be more hurt to know you’re keeping this from them more than they would be by knowing you were curious about where you came from.”

“I will, Sheriff Valenti,” Max promised. “Please, can you take me out there.”

The sheriff eyed Max curiously. He seemed consumed by his desire to find out as much of his history as possible. Maybe it was normal, he didn’t know. But he felt a sense of responsibility to this boy and his siblings. If he’d followed his instincts before, he would have detained the stranger and maybe he’d have some answers for the kids. He pulled out onto the road and drove several miles out into the desert, and stopped at a mile marker sign.

“It was around here,” the sheriff said.

Max climbed out of the SUV and looked around. The landscape was barren and evoked no memories in him at all. A feeling of loss welled up inside of him. He had felt certain that he needed to come out here. The drive to explore the desert was almost a compulsion with him and now that he was here, it appeared that it was all for nothing.

He walked around the front of the SUV staring up and down the road like he was searching for him.

“Are you sure it was here?” he asked the sheriff.

“Positive,” he replied.

“Maybe you got the mile marker wrong,” Max said hopefully.

“I wasn’t going by the mile marker,” said the sheriff. “I remember that.” He pointed off into the distance across the road.

Max followed his outstretched arm and saw a large sandstone outcropping.

That’s it, he thought to himself, excitement welling up inside. That’s it.

“Thanks, Sheriff Valenti. I guess this was all just a big waste of time.”

“No, it wasn’t, Max. Not if it helps to put your mind at rest. Now come on, I’ll take you home.”

Max climbed into the SUV and tried not to stare at the rock formation as they drove away.

Ok, I really believe its Nasedo after Tess. He really is giving me the creeps with the way he is stalking them. I don't like that he was so close to possibly kidnapping Max He actually could've hurt the Sheriff, so I am thankful he chose to remain hidden. I wonder what the other aliens will think once Max tells them about the rock formation :? I can't wait to see what happens next! Thanks for posting Tracy :D

Whoever is following the pod squad around needs to come out from the shadows! Hopefully the gang will realize they belong together and get on track with staying safe.

Excellent as always Tracie! :D

oh man its all coming to a head isn't it. i can't wait till theyget bak there with everyone. did max leave something for them in the cave?

Hmmm... I have a feeling that Nicholas is the one trailing Max. Or maybe Cal! I would think Cal rather than Nasedo, but...

The stranger watched from behind the small outcropping of rocks. He’d used his powers to stop Max. He’d hoped to get the young king alone and make him see reason. He hadn’t counted on the sheriff stopping to help, or Max letting him. These kids were too immersed in their lives here in Roswell. He needed to get them and bring them home. His life depended on it.

His life depends on bringing them home. Anyway, if it's Nicholas or Nasedo or Cal or someone else, it's a good mystery! And it was great how Jim helped Max find what he was looking for, and he doesn't even know it!

I wish I could fix my bike tires like that!

Great new part, Tracie! :D

Title: Consanguinity



Chapter Nine

Liz stiffened slightly as a pair of hands covered her eyes.

“I give up,” she said, not in the mood for any games. “Who is it? And if it’s you, Maria, I’m going to kill you. I’m late already.”

“Ouch!” came the male voice behind her. “That hurts. Do my hands really remind you of Maria Deluca?”

“Kyle, is that you?” Liz asked laughing. She pried the hands away from her eyes and turned to find her friend standing behind her, looking insulted.

“I do not have girl hands,” he said.

“No, you don’t have girl hands,” Liz agreed with a smile. Kyle always made her smile. Ever since that night in middle school, the eight tweens had formed a group, though some times, the Evans siblings seemed a bit aloof and withdrawn.

“Guess what I got today?” Kyle said, practically dancing in the hallway.

“Um, an A in Spanish?” Liz guessed.

“No, that’s never going to happen,” said Kyle. “Let’s limit this to things that slightly more realistic.”

“I give, what did you get?” Liz said, laughing at her friend’s excitement.

Not speaking, Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card and grinned.

“Kyle!” Liz squealed. “You got your drivers license! That’s so cool!”

“Yeah, I’m totally psyched,” said Kyle. “So, like, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the movies or something, you know, now that I can drive and stuff.”

“Oh, uh, um, you mean like a date or something?” Liz asked. “Kyle, I thought you liked Tess? I mean, the way you look at her and stuff, you know.”

“Yeah, well, I do,” he admitted.

“Kyle, are you just asking me to go out to make Tess jealous?” Liz asked.

“No way, I wouldn’t, uh, okay, yeah, I am,” Kyle admitted. He looked down at the floor, scuffing his foot in embarrassment.

“I knew it,” said Liz, smiling. “You’re such a geek, Kyle. It’s never going to work.” She reached into her locker and grabbed her last book and stuffed it into her backpack.

“I’m sure it will,” said Kyle, giving Liz a pleading look.

“I don’t know, Kyle,” Liz began. “I don’t feel comfortable…” Liz paused as a figure walking down the hall caught her attention. Without warning, she leaned over and kissed Kyle on the cheek and smiled. “What time are you picking me up tomorrow?” she asked in a loud voice.

“Uh, um, four o’clock,” Kyle asked, flustered by Liz’s complete turn around. “Liz, are you – oh,” he said, catching sight of Max Evans retreating figure. “Now I get it.”

“Shut up, Kyle. Don’t say another word. Just pick me up at four o’clock.”

** * ** *

“I really don’t get how the four of us going all the way down to Greenfield is going to make Tess jealous,” Kyle grumbled, driving down the highway.

“Because Maria overheard Tess and Isabel making plans to drive out to the desert on this road to do some exploring,” Liz explained.

“I get that part,” said Kyle. “It’s the why Maria and Alex are here with us part that I don’t get.”

“Because Maria wouldn’t stop nagging Liz until she told her everything,” said Alex, leaning over the front seat. “And as soon as she did, Maria went into full Maria mode until Liz said she could come along. Personally, I’m impressed. Liz held out for a full forty-five minutes before she caved in.”

“Okay, that explains the Maria part, but why are you here?” Kyle asked, driving carefully down the highway, with both hands placed at 10 and 2, in the way of a new driver.

“It wouldn’t look like much of a date if you had Liz and Maria with you, now would it?” asked Alex.

“Yeah, and Alex has it bad for Isabel Evans,” said Maria. “And she won’t even give him the time of day. Personally, I think he should just forget about her. She’s turning into one of those A-List popular crowd losers.”

“Hey!” Kyle interjected, “Those are my friends you’re talking about.”

“Well, you have to admit, some of them are – hey, there they are!” said Liz, pointing through the windshield to a Jeep pulled off the side of the road.

Kyle pulled his father’s car off the road and pulled the key out of the ignition. “This had better work,” he said, glaring at Liz.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me,” Liz shot back. “This was your stupid idea, not mine.”

“Yeah, but as my friend, you’re supposed to try and talk me out of said stupid idea. I know you’ve had a lot of practice,” he said, looking in the rear view mirror at Maria.

“Watch it, Kyle,” Maria growled. “Or I’ll have Alex kick your ass.”

“Don’t bring me into this,” said Alex. “And can I just point out, we look incredibly stupid and stalkerish sitting in the car. Shouldn’t we get out or something?”

** * ** *
“Max, we have company,” Isabel said, watching the approaching foursome. “It’s Liz, Kyle, Maria and Alex. What did you do, invite your girlfriend and her buddies out here?”

“Liz isn’t my girlfriend,” Max started to say automatically, but the words stuck in his throat when he saw Liz walking with Kyle, his arm around her waist. His face turned first white, then red when he realized that the two were walking like a couple.

“Gee, Max, you’re not looking too good right now,” Isabel said in an undertone.

“Hey, Max, I think we found something,” Michael called as he walked out from behind a rock. “Tess thinks she remembers something. What, did you invite the whole freshman class or something?” he asked, catching sight of the foursome walking toward them. “Is this like a – is Maria dating Alex?” he finished, practically shouting.

Everyone stopped short at Michael’s outburst, looking around in shock as two large rocks nearby apparently exploded. Maria screamed and grabbed on to Alex’s arm, while Max turned and glared at his brother.

“Sorry,” Michael said. “I guess I lost my temper.”

“You lost your temper, that’s great, really great,” said Max. “How are we supposed to explain this to them?”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Tess called. “Max, Isabel, didn’t you hear Michael. I think we found something. Oh, uh, hi,” she said, her voice flat when she spied Liz and Kyle standing arm and arm. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Never mind that,” said a hysterical Maria. “Those rocks just exploded. What the hell are you guys doing out here – Playing with bombs?”

“No, uh, it’s nothing like that,” Max began and stopped as several more rocks around them began to explode. “Michael!”

“It’s not me, Max!” Michael shouted. “I think there’s somebody out there.”

A large boulder near Liz exploded, raining smaller rocks down on her and the others. Kyle reacted instinctively and pushed Liz down to the ground and covered her body with his, shielding her from the worst of the explosion.

“Michael!” Max shouted again.

“Damn it, Max, it isn’t me. I’m telling you, I saw somebody out there!” Michael shouted back. “Get behind the rocks, now. It isn’t safe out in the open.”

He started running, grabbing Tess by the arm and dragging her behind him. “Will you four move it he shouted before disappearing behind a large rock.

Alex pulled Maria along with him just as another rock, exploded, this one positioned near Maria. Kyle got up and half dragged, half carried Liz, following behind Alex and Maria.

The eight friends huddled behind a large group of rocks, trying to figure out their next move.

“What is it?” asked Isabel. “What’s doing that?”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s coming closer,” said Max, after an exceptionally large explosion. He stood up, and tried to lean out around the rock, but the awkward angle caused him to slip, and lose his balance. As he fell, his hand slid across the face of the rock, catching on the rough edges of the rock.

“Max, are you all right?” Liz asked kneeling down to help him up.

“Forget that,” said Alex, pointing toward the rocks. “What’s that?”

As one, the other seven looked to where Alex was pointing, what had been solid rock was now a doorway revealing a chamber hidden within the rock.

“Now is not the time to be discussing, now’s the time to be hiding,” said Michael, pushing the others inside. Acting instinctively, he passed his hand along the wall, and the wall again appeared to be solid rock, only this time they were on the inside.

“I, uh, I can explain,” Max said, looking at Liz.

“Oh – My – God,” said Maria, holding her hands to her head and looking around. “You guys are aliens, aren’t you?”

Maria figured it out! That scene must have been some shock for Liz and Maria! I loved it when Kyle was admitting that he wanted to make Tess jealous and Liz was trying to say no to going out with him, then Max walked by, and Liz suddenly said yes. A little jealousy goes a long way, and others can play, too. It did seem to rattle Max when he saw them together! I liked Isabel's comment about Max not looking so well.

So now they're inside the chamber. Why do I sense that this is what the mysterious stranger wanted. He's trying to lead them to their presumed destinies, right? Okay, I'll wait and see. All the exploding rocks were great! I thought Max was doing it when he saw Liz with Kyle together, then I thought it was Michael when Max accused him of doing it. But it was our mystery person.

Kyle and Liz were hilarious with their plan to make Tess and Max jealous : It also worked, but the funniest moment was when Michael thought Maria and Alex were on a date and the rock exploded : LMAO. Now I wonder if it was Nasedo who was blowing up those rocks and will the Pod squad now have to tell their human friends about their alien status :? or will Tess just mindwarp the humans so they don't recall how they got into that chamber :? Can't wait to find out in the next part so come back soon please :D

Consanguinity

Chapter Ten

Author’s Note: Thanks again to everyone who voted for this story

“We are not aliens,” Max said, gritting his teeth.

“You so are,” Maria countered. “You made those rocks explode, and you made a door appear in solid rock, and well, you’re aliens!”

“We didn’t make those rocks explode,” Max said.

“Well, not all of them,” Michael said.

“Michael!” Max shouted.

“What? It’s not like I meant to do it! It was just a mistake. I kind of lost it when I saw Mar – never mind, it was just a mistake.”

“Jesus, Michael, are you ever going to learn to control your..”

“Isabel!” Max shouted.

“Mouth?” Isabel continued. “Come on, Max, do you think I’m stupid or something?”

“Look, would somebody mind telling me what’s going on here, because I’m really confused?”

“It’s nothing,” Max began. “We were just…what was that?”

“What was what?” said Tess, I didn’t hear anything.”

“That! Listen!” He turned and looked over to where the door had been located, trying to place the rumbling sound he heard.

. “Everyone, be quiet,” Max whispered. “I think somebody’s trying to get in. There isn’t any place to hide. It’s up to you Tess, can you do it?”

“I think so, Max,” Tess whispered back, her face a mask of worry.

“So what?” asked Kyle. “What can she do?”

“Will you please shut up!” Max whispered.

“Aye-aye El Presidente,” said Kyle, giving Max a mock salute.

Max was about to respond when the hidden door suddenly appeared, and slid back. Sunlight entered through the chamber door, making it impossible for them to identify the figure that entered slowly. He stepped further into the chamber, his features becoming more clear and defined. When they could finally see him clearly, Tess gave a small gasp of fear, closed her eyes tightly and began to move her lips in a soundless whisper.

“Where are they?” the man growled. “They had to come in here? Damn it, I need them and the Granolith if I want to get out of this place. Where the hell did Calarish hide the damn thing?” He cursed softly as his eyes scanned the small cavern once more. With a final burst of what they took to be profanity in some unfamiliar language, he turned, passed his hand across the rock wall, and stepped through the door that appeared.

The eight friends waited silently for what seemed like hours – waiting to see if the stranger would return. Finally through some unspoken signal, they all began to speak at once. Maria, Alex and Kyle all began demanding an explanation of what had just happened, while Michael and Isabel did their best to convince them that nothing had happened. Tess was crying and shaking with fear, and Max was busy asking her who the man was.

“That’s the man who tried to gr-grab me in the mall,” Tess sobbed.

“But who is he? Does he know who we are?” Max asked.

“His name is Nescado, and not only does he know who you are, he’s one of you,” said Liz, holding a folded piece of paper. “At least I’m pretty sure he is.”

“You know that creep?” asked Kyle, who had by now, abandoned all pretense of being on a date with Liz, and stood, rubbing Tess’ back.

“No, I don’t know him, but I can read, and the answers to everybody’s questions are right here,” Liz said, waving the paper.

“Give me that!” Michael demanded, trying to grab the paper from Liz.

“No, not until you guys tell us the truth – about everything,” said Liz.

“What truth?” bluffed Max. “There isn’t anything special about us.”

“Max, this says it was written by you. That in 2014, you and I used the granolith to send you back in time to warn me. And it says that we made a mistake in our calculations, and you went back to far. There’s a lot more, but I’m not letting you have this, until the four of you come clean. What is the granolith, and why did WE send it back in time so that you could warn me?”

Max looked at his brother and sisters in a moment of silent communication, and one by one they nodded.

“We might as well sit down,” Max sighed, dropping to the ground. “This may take a while.”

Max explained, with the help of his siblings to explain everything they knew about themselves, including faint half memories of a stranger finding them and leading them to the spot where Philip and Diane found them.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, but that just sounds pretty strange,” said Alex.

“I know,” said Isabel. “Try living it. But it’s all true, I swear. We – we’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but we’d all swore we’d never tell anyone. Our parents don’t even know.”

“Wait, you wanted to tell us?” Maria asked. “Us four, specifically? Why, Isabel. It’s not like you even like any of us, or anything. We’re not a part of the “A” list.”

“Hey!” said Kyle. “Didn’t we already have this discussion? I’m a part of the A-List, remember?”

“Seriously, Isabel,” Maria continued, ignoring Kyle. “Why would you want to tell the four of us, the three of us,” she amended, glancing at Kyle, “anything?”

“This is going to sound weird,” said Isabel, “but all of us, have felt a connection to you in one way or another from the first time we met. Tess and Max didn’t fight it as much as Michael and I did, but all of us have kind of felt that there was some sort of bond between us.”

“She’s not far from wrong,” said Liz, softly. “According to this we were, uh, close in the future.”

“Close, what do you mean, close?” asked Maria. “Cause girlfriend, you can’t tell me that I was close with,” she paused when she realized that Liz’s gaze shifted from her to Michael and back again. “You have got to be kidding me?” she shouted. “He doesn’t even like me. He can barely stand to be in the same room with me, and you’re telling me that in the future, we were, uh, close?”

“That’s what it says here,” said Liz. “Look, it says a lot of stuff, but how do we know it’s true? I mean this could all be part of some elaborate practical joke that they’re playing on us.” Her voice climbed hysterically. “Right, it’s just some joke? Because if it’s not, that means I’m going to get shot in a few months, and I really don’t think I can stand knowing that it’s going to happen.”

Without warning, Liz dropped the paper and covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook as she struggled to contain the deep sobs that exploded from her chest.

“I don’t want to be shot,” she cried. “I don’t.”

It was Max who moved toward Liz and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

“Liz, don’t,” he said, quietly. “You’re not going to get shot. If we know when it’s going to happen, we can make sure it doesn’t. Don’t worry, we’re not going to let you get hurt. I promise.”

“Look, I really don’t think we should hang around here,” said Michael. “We don’t know if that Nescado guy is going to come back. JockBoy,” he added, pointing at Michael, “ You come with me and scout out the area to make sure he’s really gone. If it safe, we’ll come back and get the rest of you, and we can head back to town.”

“Who died and made you king?” Maria asked glaring at Michael.

“Yeah, and can I just say, I’m not really comfortable of being a part of the scouting party. That guy was blowing up rocks. I don’t really think I can do much to defend myself against that.”


“Michael’s right,” said Isabel. “We have a lot to talk about, and it’s obviously not safe here. Kyle, you’ll be okay. Michael won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’m not reassured,” said Kyle with a long-suffering sigh.

“Uh, before you go out there, I think you should all hear this,” said Alex. He glanced down at the paper Liz had dropped. The one he’d picked up off the ground and continued reading while Max comforted Liz. “According to this, by the time Max came back to change the future, we were all already dead.”

Great part, Tracie! That last line is going to be quite a shock to them all, I'm pretty sure! I can just imagine Maria, at this point in time, being so unaccepting of the idea of a future with Michael. And I loved it when Liz was reading the paper to them and knew who the strange man was... and especially when she read the part about her and Max coming back from the future.

“Give me that!” Michael demanded, trying to grab the paper from Liz.

“No, not until you guys tell us the truth – about everything,” said Liz.

“What truth?” bluffed Max. “There isn’t anything special about us.”

“Max, this says it was written by you. That in 2014, you and I used the granolith to send you back in time to warn me. And it says that we made a mistake in our calculations, and you went back to far. There’s a lot more, but I’m not letting you have this, until the four of you come clean. What is the granolith, and why did WE send it back in time so that you could warn me?”

This was a great part, Tracie! I loved it!

Title: Consanguinity



Chapter Eleven

“Lucy, you got some ‘splainin to do,” said Kyle. “Especially before I go out there to face the apparently homicidal psycho alien with nothing but Michael for protection.”

“We'll explain everything,” said Max. “We promise, but not here, it isn’t safe.”

“Right, and how do we know you won’t just erase our minds or something?” asked Maria.

“We won’t do that,” said Michael, his tone defensive. “We can’t do that. Can we?” he added as an after thought.

Tess nodded her head, a guilty expression on her face.

“I’ve done it to mom to make her forget to fix dinner, and I’ve been cooking instead,” she said.

“Tess!” Max shouted. “That’s kind of wrong, don’t you think?”

“Well, if you subscribe to the whole ‘I only use my powers for good,’ theory, then I’d have to say that’s about as good as it gets, because I’ve tasted your mom’s cooking, and no offense, but it bad.”

“Real bad,” said Michael.

“Yeah, horrible,” agreed Liz.

“It’s the worst, Max. You have to admit it,” said Isabel. “Tess was, you know, only trying to keep us alive.”

“Yeah but still, we don’t know if you’re doing that could hurt mom in any way,” said Max.

“Oh, I never thought of that,” Tess whispered, an expression of fear masking her pretty features.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Max. “I’m sure nothing happened. Besides, we have an even bigger problem to deal with. We may have fooled this Nescado guy or now, but our cars are out there, and sooner or later he’s going to figure out that we aren’t anywhere, but here.”

“I have an idea,” said Liz. “Can we all go out together, and have Tess make it look like we’re walking away from our cars or something?

“That may work,” said Max. “Can you do it, Tess?”

“I think so,” said Tess.

“Wait a minute!” Maria shouted. “You know, we’re taking an awful lot on faith here. No offense, but what proof do we have that you guys are even telling us the truth?”

“What do you want from us; a signed affidavit from our home planet or something?” Michael practically shouted.

“That’d be a start,” said Maria.

“Oh, sure great, well I’ll just jet off in our spaceship to Mars,”

“Antar,” interjected Liz.

“Antar,” continued Michael without missing a beat. “And I’ll get our king to sign a note saying we’re all aliens. Would that work for you?”

“You have a spaceship?” asked Alex.

“Actually,” said Liz, reading the paper in her hand. “Max is the king of your planet.”

“He is?” asked Michael, and Isabel, while at the same time Max said, “I am?”

“Cool!” said a now excited Isabel. “That makes Michael a prince – well that’s kind of hard to believe, and Tess and I are princesses. Do you think we had tiaras? And coronation gowns, and royal jewels?”

“Excuse me, but isn’t this supposed to be about a little bit of proof from you guys?” said Maria. “Not about tiaras. Unless, do you have any here? Cause if you do, I’d love to borrow one. I think I’d look pretty hot in a tiara.”

“Can all of you just shut up so we can get out of here?” shouted Liz. “I just want to go home.”

“Liz, are you okay?” Max asked, concern dancing across his face.

“Let’s see, in the past hour, I’ve been attacked by a homicidal alien, found out I’m going to get shot, and that my husband sent himself back from the future to convince me to make his teenaged self fall out of love with me so he could be with Tess. On the whole, I’d say I’m doing just fine. Now, can we please just get out of here?”

A loud chorus of what’s echoed in the chamber as the others processed what Liz had said.

“Liz, stop it, we have to talk,” said Max. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“No, we don’t have to talk, we don’t have to do anything. You on the other hand are supposed to take your bride and go back to your home planet. Now can we just get out of here?”

Liz jerked away from Max, dropping the papers she held in her rush to get away, and ran over to where the door had appeared in the wall. Picking a rock up off the ground, she began to bang at the wall, looking for a way out. Suppressing a scream of frustration when the opening didn’t appear, Liz turned and threw the rock. All eyes watched it’s arcing path and started in amazement when instead of a rock on rock sound, they heard the unmistakable sound of rock upon metal.

“What was that?” asked Alex. “Cause if it really was a spaceship, I call shotgun!”

The others forgot Liz for a moment as they moved across the small and stared at the cause of the noise.

“What is that?” Maria asked pointing at a metal structure. It consisted of four rectangular metal containers stacked two by two, with a filmy white substance draped over it.

“I think that’s what we were in before we were born,” said Michael. He reached out and began to stroke the receptacles with an almost reverent expression on his face. “Do you realize that this is a piece of home?” he asked. “See, one space for each of us.”

“And Tess was down here,” said Max. He was staring that the unit, but he wasn’t really seeing it, he was staring into the past.

“I remember,” he whispered. “We came out first,” he said, pointing at Isabel and Michael. “And Tess was still in there. We were so afraid, and we didn’t’ know what to do. And then that man did something to get her out.”

“That man was you, Max,” Isabel reminded him. “You did it.”

“The question remains; why?” asked Alex, examining the unit.

He pulled at it experimentally, but was unable to budge it. Meanwhile, Maria climbed into one of the small openings, and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees.

“Wow,” she said. “It must have been a pretty tight squeeze. Good acoustics though,” she added, rapping on the panel above her head.

“Maria, come on. Get out of there. I want to go home,” said Liz.

Maria was about to argue, but once glace at Liz’s strained face caused her to shut her mouth and climb out of the small cube.

“Okay,” she said, making her way out. “I’m coming. Oops!” she said, banging her foot on the back panel of the chamber. “That was loud. But see, good tone.”

“Yeah, except for the part where that totally didn’t sound right,” said Alex.

“What do you mean?” Maria asked, standing up right. “It sounded good to me. Actually, it sounded like a G.”

“It sounded hollow,” said Tess.

“Yeah, so, what’s the big deal?” asked Michael.

“The deal is,” said Liz, getting drawn into the conversation despite her desire to leave, “That if it’s up against solid rock, it shouldn’t sound hollow.”

“That means,” Max continued. “There’s another room behind this one.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like this thing is going to move,” said Kyle, pushing at it ineffectually. “It’s like they used alien super glue or something.”

“Well just consider us the alien super glue remover,” said Isabel. “You guys may want to step back a bit.”

The four aliens focused their power on the metal chamber, and it wobbled slightly before it sliding to one side. An opening in the rock wall was revealed and a glowing light spilled out, flooding the cavern with it’s shimmering glow. The filed one by one into the new room and stared in awe at the tall glowing object that filled the room.

“I think we found the granolith,” said Liz.

WooHoo! They found the granolith. Kyle wanted dibs on riding shotgun if it was a spaceship, huh? And Maria is so Maria! Definitely!

I have to mention this scene, too, because it was so funny:

“Right, and how do we know you won’t just erase our minds or something?” asked Maria.

“We won’t do that,” said Michael, his tone defensive. “We can’t do that. Can we?” he added as an after thought.

Tess nodded her head, a guilty expression on her face.

“I’ve done it to mom to make her forget to fix dinner, and I’ve been cooking instead,” she said.

“Tess!” Max shouted. “That’s kind of wrong, don’t you think?”

“Well, if you subscribe to the whole ‘I only use my powers for good,’ theory, then I’d have to say that’s about as good as it gets, because I’ve tasted your mom’s cooking, and no offense, but it bad.”

“Real bad,” said Michael.

“Yeah, horrible,” agreed Liz.

“It’s the worst, Max. You have to admit it,” said Isabel. “Tess was, you know, only trying to keep us alive.”

HeHe! Poor Diane! The kids really do hate her cooking!

you know one of those fun games i play with myself is. i read a fic and decide where it would go in the tv show if it aired (yes i know total geek). it doesn't happen all the time. just sometimes it pops out...almostas a way of making what we say for three years work. well i have to say, this would be like the last episode to the mini-series that would really end it. you know as the show ended with them running out the church, and then bam it opens like this did and you realizes everything gets to be corrected.

ok that was my long way of saying totally rocks.

Just a friendly bump begging for more :

...... His last conscious thought was not of Liz, but of the Terminator movies.

‘I hope I don’t go back, naked,’ he thought just before losing consciousness.

LOL LOL LOL :

I was lurking and began reading some prologues when I found your story Tracie. I had begun to feel the anguish and then this sentence LOL LOL LOL !!!

Great change of plans

Title: Consanguinity



Chapter Twelve

Liz slid into the booth at the CrashDown beside Kyle and looked across the table at her two best friends. Both wore the same confused and depressed expression that she knew graced her face. It had been several weeks since the incident, as they’d taken to calling it, had occurred out in the desert. And since then, none of them had seen even one glimpse of the Evans family. It was like they’d disappeared off the face of the Earth.

“I still stay they beamed back up to the home planet,” said Kyle, popping a Saturn Ring into his mouth.

“Antar,” said Liz, “And I thought we agreed not to talk about stuff like that in public.”

“What public,” said Alex, looking around the empty café? This place is as deserted as the school library on a warm spring day.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t be too careful,” said Liz. “I mean, that paper we had talked about all sorts of crazy people that were after them, us, them, oh, I don’t know,” she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. “It’s all so confusing.”

“Well, if you hadn’t dropped the paper when you had your meltdown,” said Kyle, “It would be a lot less confusing.”

“I’ve apologized a million times for that,” said Liz. “What do you want from me, blood?”

“Lay off, will you, Kyle,” said Maria, coming to Liz’s defense. “If anyone was entitled to a freak out, it was Liz, after all, she’d just found out she was going to get shot. Besides,” she added, her gaze shifting to the plate glass window that looked out on to Roswell’s main street. “It looks like ET didn’t fly home.”

Kyle and Liz turned in the booth to see Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess staring in at them through the window. Kyle nudged Liz, and when she didn’t move fast enough, climbed over the back of the booth and jogged across the café and opened the door.

“Hey,” he said. “How are things on the home planet?”
“Hi, Kyle,” Tess answered, smiling shyly, while Max pushed past him and made his way to where Liz sat.

“Are you okay?” he asked without preamble. “I was worried about you.”

“You couldn’t have been too worried,” said Alex. “Seeing as how nobody heard from you in over two weeks.”

“We don’t owe you any explanations,” began Michael.

“Excuse me?” Maria all but shouted. “You don’t owe us? I think you owe us a heck of a lot, explanations being the least of what you owe us.”

“Look, it’s not our fault,” said Isabel. “Our parents,” she blushed slightly. “Well, they decided we needed to go on a family vacation. We’ve spent the last two weeks bonding at Disney World in Florida. They even took our cell phones so there wouldn’t be anything to detract from family time.”

“Oh, wow, that’s, well that’s just heinous,” said Kyle. “Two weeks of It’s a Small World? How did you survive?”

“It wasn’t easy,” said Michael. “If I get hugged by one more freaking Disney character, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

Everyone laughed at the image of Michael being hugged by Chip and Dale, and the tension that had filled the café with the arrival of the Evans’ eased considerably. But as the laughter died away awkwardness filled the room. The eight of them had shared something, and none of them were sure of how to deal with it.

“So, nice elephant,” said Maria, finally.

“Elephant, what elephant?” asked Michael, a panicked look on his face. There’s no elephant – Tess, are you doing something?”

“I’m not doing anything,” Tess said, smothering a giggle. “Maria’s talking about the elephant in the middle of the room. You know, the one everybody sees, but nobody talks about.”

“Oh,” he said, slightly mollified. He reached down surreptitiously and patted the small package in his pocket. It contained a charm bracelet with a Dumbo the Flying Elephant charm and a Tinkerbell charm. He’d bought it at Disney World for Maria, and he was afraid she had somehow found out about it.

“As long as I live, I swear, I will never understand women,” he grumbled. “What are you two babbling about?”

“She means we’re all just ignoring this whole alien thing,” said Liz. That’s the elephant.”

“Well, jeez, why didn’t she just say so?” asked Kyle, who had looked as confused as Michael during the entire exchange.

“Well, there it is, out in the open,” said Alex. “So what do we do about it?”

“Well, I think the whole thing is a fake,” said Liz. “No, not the part about you being aliens, obviously, you do have powers that none of us can even conceive of. But that whole thing about another Max coming back from the future – it can’t be true.”

“Why not?” asked Isabel. “I mean, we remember him, we have a picture of him and everything.”

“It couldn’t have been Max,” Liz said. “I’ve been doing some research, and all the theories say that if time travel were possible, and you came in contact with yourself from another time, both of you would cease to exist. So that couldn’t have been Max that came back, and that means maybe everything that was on that paper was a lie too.”

“Not necessarily,” said Alex. “I get what your saying, Liz, but think about this, the Max that emerged from that chamber thingy, he wasn’t Max yet. He was more of a blank slate. He had no prior knowledge of who he was, so it’s possible that the two Max’s didn’t cancel each other out.”

Liz opened her mouth to refute Alex’s statements but couldn’t. What he said made sense.

“That means everything on the paper was probably the truth,” she said, her expression grim. “Including the part where I get shot.”

“We don’t know that,” said Max. “That’s why we thought we should all sit down together and go over that paper word by word.”

“You mean you didn’t do it while you were on vacation?” Alex asked, his tone incredulous.

“Actually, Max the boy king forgot to pack it,” Isabel admitted with a grin.

“Hey, it’s not my fault,” said Max. “Mom and Dad were rushing us around, and I…”

“You forgot to bring it,” said Michael. “Forget it. We’re back and we’re here, so why don’t we start at the beginning.”

“Don’t you think it would make more sense if we each had a copy of our own to ready?” asked Tess. “I mean, I can’t really see all eight of us crowded around the one copy we do have. And what if something happens to it. We should make at least one back up copy.”

“Great idea,” said Kyle. “But there isn’t any place opened on a Sunday night where we can make copies.”

“Maybe we do,” Max said. “Do you have any paper?”

“Does she have any paper?” asked Maria. “This is Liz we’re talking about. She has notebook paper, loose-leaf paper, printer paper, all kinds of paper. If it’s a school supply, Liz Parker has it.”

Liz frowned at the geeky yet accurate description of herself and walked across the café floor to the fax machine her father had recently installed in an effort to boost business. She reached under the counter and pulled out a ream of paper and returned to the area where the others were sitting. They were all so different, yet they were inexplicably bound together. There was a word for it; she’d learned it just the other day while studying for her PSAT’s, but it danced on the edges of her memory.

She handed Max the paper, and they all watched, mesmerized as Max passed his hand over the old faded paper and then over the paper Liz had given him. As his hand moved across the paper, words appeared behind it, slowly coming into view like. While he worked, he talked half to himself, and half to the others in the room.

“There was this word that he used at the beginning. I don’t know what it meant. He said it had to do with all of us – Cons- cons…” his voice drifted off as he tried to remember the word.

“Consanguinity!” Liz shouted. “It can mean a connection formed by blood, like a family, or a close connection or a common bond.”

“That’s it,” said Max. “Consanguinity. Anyhow, he, um, I – God, this is so confusing – said we, all of us, had that affinity or common bond. There, I’m finished,” he added, making the last of the copies.

“Holy shit!” Kyle said. “That is probably the coolest freaking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. “Do you realize how much that could help me in school?” he continued while Max continued making copies for everyone.

“Shut up and read,” said Max, passing out the copies to everyone.

The small restaurant was silent, except for the occasional rustling of paper as the eight friends read. At one point, Maria got up and went to the cash register and returned with a handful of pencils, which allowed everyone to make notes. One by one, they finished reading and waited silently until the last person read the last page.

“Well,” said Max.

“Well, what?” asked Alex. “This is your show, what do you expect from us?”

“You heard Max before,” said Isabel. “We have a close connection. I guess before it was formed by Liz getting shot, but this time – well, I don’t really know how it happened, but we all admit that we’ve all kind felt bonded to you from the first time we met.”

“Do you remember when the other Max found us, he did something,” said Tess.

“Yeah, he did,” said Michael. “I kind of remember it was like seeing a movie playing in my mind, though I didn’t know what a movie was then. He showed us all the good stuff about all of us together.”

“Yeah, and it looks like he left a lot of the bad stuff for the letter that he wrote,” said Maria, flipping through the papers. “Some of this stuff is pretty horrible. You’re hunted by the FBI, and another alien race, that’s pretty scary.”

“But it doesn’t have to happen,” said Tess. “Especially this part about my being with Max. That’s really gross on all sorts of levels. He’s my brother. I can’t ever imagine liking him, liking him.”

“But he’s not really your brother,” said Liz. “You were married back on Antar, and see, it says here that if you’re not together, you’re all going to die.”

“Right, if we’re not together – but we are together,” said Michael with stunning logic. “We don’t have to be couples to be together. The bond we have now is really strong, who says that isn’t enough.”

“It might be,” said Kyle, rereading the papers Max had copied. “I think the other Max realized that. He originally was trying to get Liz to fall out of love with him and have her help Tess fall in love with him. I think he realized that it wasn’t necessary. What was necessary was to keep the four of us together as a family. THAT’S the bond he was trying to forge. I mean come on – we’re family, and family is forever. You can fall in and out of love with people, but family is family, no matter what.”

“Michael’s right,” said Max. “We’re a family – all of us,” he added, his look encompassing the whole group.”

“Great, now that we’ve solved the aliens taking over the world in the future problem,” said Maria. “How do we stop Liz from getting shot?”

awwww. they are family *breaks into a very loud off key rendtion of the song*

the whole elephant thing cracked me up. poor kyle and michael. so alike in so many ways. they took them to disney world. *sheesh, they could have taken me with 'em* thats so sweet.

come on michael give her the bracelet.

i love the easy bond they have with each other. i love how they aren't fighting it. *as some other bondheaded versions of themselves did*

and leave it to maria to get to the point. 'cause in a way if liz never gets shot, then no one will find out about them...but if liz doesn't get shot will someone else. i mean right now they have the best of both worlds. they know. they are together *come on you know it'll happen...even michael has given in and brought maria a good gift*.

oh right. i forgot. the bad guy who wants to get off the planet is out there.

you know you had some major foof going on...but alas so come the drama

Title: Consanguinity



Chapter Thirteen

If you’re reading this, it means my plan was successful, Liz read. Hopefully, this means you’re able to change the timeline, and prevent the horrible tragedy that happens because of us.

Liz sighed and rolled over on the bed. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to read it again. How many times could she read about getting shot and getting saved by Max, only to have everybody she ever loved killed by some evil aliens. She gave a gusty sigh, and rolled back over and continued reading. Maybe this time, she’d find something they’d all missed in the seven million times they read the stupid things.

My name is Max Evans. I was sent here, along with my sister Isabel, my best friend Michael, and Tess from our home planet of Antar. On Antar, we were known as Zan, Vilondra, Rath, and Ava. There was a terrible war on Antar, and we were killed by Kivar. Scientists managed to clone our essence, mix it with DNA from humans and send us to Earth where we were to incubate in four pods. The hope was that when we emerged, we, along with our protectors would find our way back to Antar and save our people.

Maybe, if we had remained strictly Antarian, this would have happened, but we, Liz and I, believe that because our DNA was mixed with Human DNA, it changed us too much. We are essentially human, but with advanced abilities. Isabel, Michael and I emerged from our pods too soon, and this is where our problems began. We managed to get out of the pod chamber and we roamed through the desert, to the road. We saw the lights of an oncoming car, and Michael got frightened and ran away. Isabel and I were found and adopted by Diane and Philip Evans. Michael was found later, and placed by social services in many different foster families before he finally settled with Hank Guerin. None of us remembered Tess, and later, she was removed from her pod by one of our protectors named Nescado.

Isabel and I grew up in a happy family, while Michael had an extremely difficult life with Hank. The three of us became friends in elementary school, drawn together by the differences that nobody could see, but that we knew we had. Things were fine for a long time, and our goal was to just blend in, but one day, my world collapsed and everything changed.

I liked a girl named Liz Parker. I used to go into her parent’s café and watch her for hours at a time, just to torture myself. I knew I could never be with her; it was too risky. We had to be prepared to run at any time, in case our secret was discovered. One day, Michael and I were at the CrashDown when it happened – a fight broke out, and Liz was shot. It would have been fatal, it practically was. I couldn’t let her die, I had to save her, she was everything to me even if she didn’t know it.

A knock at the door interrupted Liz’s reading, and she quickly slipped the papers under her pillow and pulled out a magazine and began to leaf through its pages.

“Come in,” she called.

“Hey, Lizzie,” her dad said, sticking his head in the door. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re home. Did you have any problems tonight?”

“No, Dad, everything was fine,” Liz said, smiling up at her father. “Did you and mom have a good ‘date night’?” she asked.

“We did, sweetie, thanks for asking. Did you, Maria, Kyle and Alex have fun tonight?”

“Yeah, we mostly sat around downstairs and ate. Oh, and the Evans kids stopped by. Their parents surprised them with a trip to Disney World so they stopped by to tell us about it. I hope that was okay.”

“That’s fine, Lizzie, thanks for telling me. You’ve never given us any reason to not trust you. I’m glad you enjoy having your friends come by here.”

“Well you know, the free Saturn Rings is a pretty good incentive,” joked Liz.

“You goof,” Jeff laughed. He stepped into the room, dropped a quick kiss on the top of Liz’s head and stepped back. “Sweet dreams,” he said, “and remember…”

“I know,” said Liz. “Pray for aliens.” It was a long-standing family joke that business in Roswell boomed whenever there was a sighting. “Good night, dad.”

She waited patiently until she heard her parent’s bedroom door close before dropping the magazine and pulling the creased papers out from underneath the covers and continued reading.

It was September 18th, and there was a big crash festival going on in town, and the CrashDown was filled with all sorts of alien hunters. Michael and I were sitting, and I was watching Liz, when it happened; a fight broke out between these two guys. Maria screamed, the gun went off, and Liz went down. I didn’t stop to think; I just knew I had to save her. Michael tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen, and in saving Liz, I started a chain of events that led to the destruction of everyone that I loved. But, I know I’d do it again if I had the chance.

Liz paused to scrub away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. She was crying not only because she was reading about getting shot, but from what Max wrote. She could feel the depth of the love this Max from the future had for her.

Liz figured out our secret, and she told Maria, it wasn’t long after that Liz told Alex. We formed a little group, the seven of us, and then, Tess came to town. We didn’t know who she was at first, but she wormed her way into our group with determination. She kept trying to come between Liz and me. It wasn’t long until we found out that she was the fourth person who had been in the pod with us. She’d been raised by our protector – if you could call it raised. He kept drumming her destiny into her brain, and I was her destiny. But her destiny, and a life that had happened however long ago on another planet didn’t matter to me. The only thing that mattered to me was Liz. We were a couple, and nothing was going to change that.

A group called the special unit was after us. They started looking for us after I healed Liz, and because of them, Kyle was shot while his father was helping us. I used my powers to heal him, and he too became a part of our group – kicking and screaming all the way. So then we were eight, and for a while it worked, but after Liz and I got married, Tess fell apart. Nescado – our so called protector – had brainwashed her into believing that we had to be together, and when she couldn’t have that, she left.

He was right, we needed to be together – but I don’t think we had to be together as in a couple. The four of us have these powers, and the compliment each other. Without Tess, we were weaker, and our enemies were able to work against us – to destroy us.

Liz and I, along with her friend Serena were able to modify the Granolith to send me back in time. Originally, the plan was to have me try and convince a Liz from my past to NOT fall in love with me. We both agreed it was the only way, but I couldn’t do it. I don’t know if it was the too human part of me, or what, but I couldn’t go back and convince Liz to destroy the best thing that had ever happened to both of us.

I don’t know if it was a miscalculation on our part, or the strength of my love that sent me back to before we emerged from our pods, but here I am, and I have a plan. I’m going to make sure all of you emerge together, if I have to pull Tess out with my hands, and I’m going to make sure my parents find all of you. You’ll be together.

When we were planning this, Liz talked a lot about consanguinity – she said it was a relationship by blood, or a close connection. She learned that word just before I healed her, she said. She figured the four of us needed that bond of blood to keep us together in the future. Maybe she’s right, but I’m gambling on it being a bond of love – the love the eight of us have for each other.

I’m going to try and give you all some of my memories. I hope it will help you form your own bond.

A noise caused Liz stop reading and look up. Through her window, she could see a dark shape huddled on her fire escape. Heart pounding, she slipped out of bed and crossed her room. Summoning all her courage, she pulled back the curtain. Her scream died in her throat when she realized that it wasn’t an intruder, but Max Evans on her fire escape.

“Hey,” she said softly, after she’d opened the window. “What’s up?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” said Max. “I kept thinking about the 18th.”

“Yeah, me too,” Liz admitted. “A lot, actually.”

“Liz, we’re not going to let you die,” he said. “We can’t.”

“You can,” said Liz. “And I think you have to. I also think you can’t save me, Max. Saving me is what gets that Special Unit after you.”

“Liz, you read what the other Max wrote. You’re the most important thing to him, to me. I can’t let you die.”

“And how is what he wrote any different than what Nescado did to Tess. He kept telling her that you were her destiny, and instead of that, we have this Max from the future telling us that you and I belong together.”

Without warning, Max put his hand on her shoulders and kissed her. It was a tentative kiss at first, growing stronger and stronger. Liz parted her lips wider as she felt Max’s tongue slip gently into her mouth, and she leaned farther out the window to get as close to him as possible. As they kissed, her mind was filled with images. She saw three naked children standing beside the four pods while a shadowy image reached out and pulled a fourth child free. The image shifted, and she saw him place his hand on Max’s head, and a cacophony of sights and sounds filled her mind.

Liz gasped and instinctively pulled away, severing the connection between Max and herself.

“What was that?” she demanded.

“That is what the other me let me see,” said Max. “And I wanted you to see it too. And this he said, placing a sheaf of papers on the windowsill is what he wrote that I didn’t let the others see.”

“You withheld this from us?” she asked. “Why?”

“Because I get what you said about not doing what Nescado did,” said Max. “Read it and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

Liz scanned the papers and smothered a giggle. “Alex and Isabel?” she said. “Michael and Maria, were together? Michael and Maria? The same Michael and Maria who can’t be together for five minutes without arguing?”

“Yeah, that Michael and Maria,” said Max. “ But I kind of felt the same way you do, and I didn’t want to force them into anything based upon what happened before, or in the future, or whatever. You know what I mean.”

“Well, what about us, then?” asked Liz. “Aren’t you doing the same thing with us that Nescado did with Tess?”

“Liz, can I ask you something, and can you promise me to answer honestly?” asked Max. Liz nodded slightly, biting her lower lip with her teeth as she did so. “Before all of this, how did you feel about me? Did you like me, maybe even a little?”

Liz nodded again. “Yeah, I did, and not a little, but a lot,” she admitted.

“Then it’s not the same, because nobody put those images in your mind,” said Max, kissing her again. “And since we feel this way about each other, I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to let you get shot. I just don’t know how, yet.”