It was a cold dark night. Michael peeped through the window of Sheriff Valenti's office. He was having a conversation with his son, Kyle. "Dad, I've got something for you." Kyle handed Valenti the tape recorder. Valenti examined the thing. "Where did you get this?" "I borrowed it from the library for my drums practice. When Liz asked me to leave, I forgot to turn the thing off. I was just playing it back yesterday when I heard her conversation with Max. Let me play it for you." Kyle pushed the play button down. The voices were distinguishably Max' and Liz's.

Liz: Um, I..I scraped some cells from your pencil. This is really hard to say, I'm trying to keep from blacking out here. Um, the cells weren't normal. So, Max, what I'm going to suggest to you is that we just go back to the bio lab now, so that I can take a sample so that I can see what I'm thinking is wrong, you know? That I got the wrong cells…

Max: You didn't.

Valenti smiled and patted Kyle on his back. "That's my boy." Michael watched them leave.

"Max! You're in big trouble. Valenti has got his eye on you. It won't be long till he discovers our secret." Michael was out of breath. Max was confused. "What are you talking about?" Michael explained the whole situation to Max. Max yawned. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?" "Sure. It's your life."

The day went by as usual. Max, Michael and Isabel were talking about Max' safety as they walked down the corridor. Liz bumped into them. She looked at Max' expression and realized immediately that there was something wrong. She just smiled at Max and proceeded. When Liz got home, she reached for the phone and dialed Max' number. Max answered.

"Hello."

"Hi, Max! It's Liz. What's up?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"Nothing means bad."

"No, everything's fine."

"Max…"

"I can't discuss it over the phone. I'll tell you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." They both hung up.

Maria and Liz were looking for Max and his friends. Just as they went out of the school building, Kyle grabbed Liz's hands. "Max is dangerous. My dad is investigating his case. In a matter of time, he'll get arrested." Liz glared at Kyle. "Let go of my arm, Kyle!" He let go. Liz and Maria continued looking for Max. They finally found him in a table with his friends, Michael and Isabel. Isabel ignored their presence and continued what she was saying. "There's no other way, Max. You have to go away. Just temporarily. It's for your own good." Liz agreed with Isabel. "Isabel is right. Valenti is on your track. He's planning on arresting you." Michael popped some chips into his mouth. "How long do we have?" Liz thought about it. "A warrant can be issued within a day or two. But don't worry. He doesn't have enough evidence to support his plight so he probably won't get it." Max looked down. "He has more than enough evidence. He recorded our conversation, Liz. The one revealing our secret, our identity." Maria's jaw dropped. "Oh my God." Liz felt pangs of guilt. "I'm sorry, Max. I'm really sorry." Max looked up at Liz. "It's not your fault." Michael sipped a bottle of Coke. "I have a plan. Come over my house tonight." He left.

Everyone was in Michael's house. "So, what's the plan?," Isabel asked. Michael took out a glowing red stone from his pocket and handed it to Max. Max examined the stone. "What's this?" Isabel took the stone from Max' palm and looked at it. "Cool. Where did you get this?" Michael grinned. Isabel stared at Michael. "You stole it." Michael sat down his bed. "It's a Portal Stone. It brings you to a portal of some unknown place. Sheriff Valenti borrowed it from a museum and I borrowed it from his office." The stone could only be used once and by only one person. Michael knew that they were going to need it some day. Max moved closer to Liz and embraced her into his arms. Endless tears were streaming down Liz's eyes. Max wiped her tears away. Liz gazed at him. Pain was crushing her heart. She couldn't bear to see him leave. "I love you, Max." "There's no time to waste.", Michael interrupted. Max kissed Liz on the forehead. Max rubbed the stone. In an instant, he was gone. Liz continued crying. Michael went by her side to console her. "He's going to be alright." He assured her.