The morning sun had almost fully risen. Groaning, he stirred his bitterly protesting
body to seek out a safer hiding spot.
Staying here could get him killed.
He was so very tired but at least he was functional. The coma had lasted for three months, during
which his body had slowly healed and he'd regained some of his energy. He'd been awake and walking around for one
week and he'd spent every possible moment of that week hunting them, looking
for her.
Seattle, Day One
"I've never figured out how you can be up so late and still
be so damn cheerful in the morning!" Kendra grumbled as she bumped into the
kitchen counter, her voice scratchier than usual.
Looking at her sleepy former roommate, Max chuckled and
handed her a cup of coffee. "I take it
Mr. Multiples was busy last night? I
mean, since you're crashing in my crib and all, he must have other plans."
"Yeah, he was on call," Kendra pouted. "So, what excitement's on your game plan for
today?" she inquired sweetly.
"No idea, girlfriend, but when do I ever know," Max
smirked and headed for the door, pushing her motorcycle with her. "Off to work,
see ya!" she said, waving her hand absently.
"Whatever!" Kendra called after her. She shook her head amused. She really needed
to find out what Max was on all the time.
Talk about your serious 'upper'.
Max loved mornings when everything was so quiet and still,
when people hadn't left their houses yet to fill up the streets with noise and
traffic and the sky was turning a stunning rainbow of colors as the sun rose
over the buildings. She raced along the
streets of Seattle on her baby, a Kawasaki Ninja 350, the wind whipping her
hair. She laughed, remembering the
recent impromptu ride she had taken with Logan. Riding her motorcycle was always an exhilarating experience but
helping Logan fly down those streets at such a reckless speed thrilled her to
her fingertips.
Max arrived at Jam Pony on time for her shift, an amazing
feat considering her last three shifts had been delayed due to some crazy Eyes
Only dilemma. "Oh my god, the almighty
Max is here. The day can start, people.
Off your lazy asses and onto those bikes. I wanna see lots of pedaling.
Bip, bip, bip! Move these
packages, people. They won't move
themselves."
Normal's usual
banter did little to move the masses of kids sprawled around the Jam Pony break
area. But slowly the packages moved
out. Sketchy and Herbal loaded up with
packages to the Warehouse District while Max and Original Cindy biked off to a
nice and relatively untouched part of Seattle, delivering parcels to various
clients near Logan's home. Seeing one
headed for Logan's address Max decided to take this one.
"There's just one left," Original Cindy said with
relief. She'd biked more than usual
today and her legs hurt. And it wasn't
like she'd gotten a lot of sleep last night over at her new Miss Thang's house.
"Hey girl, I got it covered," Max replied with a smile.
"Wait a minute, sister child. My homegirl Max is smilin'? Somethin's up." Max never
smiled. She smirked, often, grinned,
occasionally, but smiling? Never! Original Cindy knew she was on to something
here.
"It's nothing. Catch ya later for chow at the Crash?"
"Ohhhhh, I get it.
It's that rich, pretty boy toy of yours," Original Cindy said
grinning. "How's his legs anyway?"
"Better and he's not my boy toy!" Max replied
indignantly. He was doing
better, standing longer every day, and even walking occasionally. That was the reason she was smiling. It had worried her once, these changes in
him. She was so used to their
relationship, the way it had always worked.
All of a sudden their future was uncertain, his possibilities expanding,
and it scared her. Maybe he wouldn't
need her around anymore now that he had his legs back. But now she'd had time to adjust and seeing
Logan this happy made her smile.
"Girl, ain't nothin' wrong with havin' a sugar daddy. Especially one as pretty as he is. He may be a man but even Original Cindy can
see he's got it goin' on! You can't
deny he moves your furniture."
Max laughed. "Later,
boo." As she climbed the stairs she
heard classical music coming from his apartment. 'Mozart?' she thought.
'No, Vivaldi. He's in a good
mood!' she smiled to herself.
"Morning," Logan said, surprised, as he opened the
door. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Max grinned, handing him the package and leaning against the
doorframe. "Business. Got a package for ya."
"Thanks," he said with a small smile, accepting the envelope
as he wheeled out of the way to let Max enter.
"No big dealio. So,
what is it? Info from a source?"
"Yeah, I've been waiting for this," he said opening the
package. As he looked at the
information Max came inside and closed the door. She loved his house. It
was comfortable yet classy, plush and inviting. And it smelled like Logan.
He started to wheel himself into his computer room. "I'm hoping it'll get me closer to…" Logan's
voice trailed off as he saw something that shouldn't be there.
"Zack?!" Max exclaimed, shocked at seeing Zack sitting on
Logan's window ledge. He looked older,
tired and his face was bruised. There
were angry red slashes on his arms.
"How…what…what are doing here?"
Zack tossed a look at Logan. "You really need to lock
your windows. And Max, nice to see you
too." Even his voice was tired.
"Sorry, I'm just surprised," Max hugged him, holding him
close, relieved he was all right even though she had suspected he would
be. She'd never gotten a chance to
thank him for taking the rap for her last December and getting hauled back to
Manticore in her place. "Thank you for
what you did. I don't think I'll ever
understand it but thank you."
Zack slowly released her, "Any time," he said softly,
remembering their last real conversation.
How was it that this woman made him forget all his training, allowing him
to feel such intense moments of weakness?
Logan looked away, seeing the tenderness in Zack's eyes. He understood what Zack felt. Hell, he felt it himself. But he knew he couldn't compete with Zack
for her, that it wouldn't even be a contest.
Burying his feelings for Max was relatively easy until Zack showed
up. Logan took a deep breath and willed
his emotions to stop.
Zack cleared his throat, "I need your help."
"Are you okay?" Max looked at him concerned. He'd just been in Lydecker's hands for several
months. There was no telling what
they'd done to him.
"Yeah, fine, nothing a little snap of Lydecker's neck won't
fix."
Logan raised his eyebrows.
"Where have you been?" he asked quietly.
Zack looked intently at Logan, almost glaring. Logan expected an angry outburst to follow
that glare yet he stared right back, daring him to push it further. When Zack finally spoke it was quiet,
intense.
"Manticore, for rehabilitation."
Max gasped. "Oh,
Zack." She knew what the process of
rehabilitation could do to a body.
Zack waved away her concern. He didn't want to think about it right now and he definitely
didn't want anyone's sympathy. "I broke
out three days ago after I found some very interesting information," he looked
directly at Max. "I know where Brin is and
I know how to get her out."
New York City, Day One
It was night. But it
wasn't dark. It was never dark in New
York City. Still, that didn't mean she
couldn't disappear into the night. And
she did. She blended with the background
as if she were nothing more then a shadow or even a ghost of a shadow. It was cold outside but she barely noticed
the snow and forming ice. She was on a
mission, not the most dangerous she'd ever undertaken but definitely the most
important. The dripping subway tunnel
smelled worse than she remembered. She
knew this place intimately. She could
have crossed this ground blindfolded and still remained unseen. The stealth was necessary, as her prey MUST
be approached with caution. As she
neared the target area she heard voices, angry voices…well, one angry
voice. Did Rath always have to
yell? She slid into a hidden
surveillance position.
"Whadya tell 'em, huh?
Did you tell 'em everything? You
weak little bitch!" Rath screamed this
in Ava's face and slammed her into the wall.
"Oh, poor Ava. Where
are your new 'friends' now?" Lonnie's cold voice dripped sugar coated malice as
she bent to touch Ava's face. She
yanked her purple hair, forcing her head back.
Ava started to cry. "You cost
me my target, and a convenient ride home," Lonnie whispered in her
ear. Rath's hands were burning. He wanted…no, he needed to kill something,
tear something apart.
"ENOUGH!" Nicholas
stepped from the corner of the room.
"Now that you've terrified her past being able to speak…" he sighed and
rolled his eyes. "Chalk one more up for
the 'infamous' Rath. Let me get
this one." He approached Ava and she
scrambled to get away from him. "Hold
her." Although he looked like a mere
pubescent boy of thirteen, no one could mistake Nicholas for an innocent,
unassuming preteen. He was extremely
dangerous and his very presence exuded that danger. His apparent youth only added to his menace by juxtaposing a
vicious predator in a boy's body. He
had once commanded an entire alien army but now his 85-year old mind was
trapped in this pathetic 'innocent' shell.
Lonnie held her as Rath pinned her down. Nicholas reached out his hand to her
forehead.
"Ava, Ava, Ava," he sighed condescendingly, "What exactly
did you tell them?"
Ava screamed as Nicholas clamped his hand on her head. His mind was ripping through hers, not
caring how he hurt her, shredding her memories, her thoughts, looking for
anything that might give him an advantage.
She had no strength left to fight this mind rape. After he found what he was looking for he
released her. She slumped to the floor,
blood streaming from her nose and mouth, her breathing erratic and shallow.
"Everything," Nicholas said with disgust. "She told the Royal Four everything she
knew. Not that she knew much…She
doesn't know where the Granolith is."
Finding the Granolith meant everything to Nicholas. It was an unimaginable source of power and
it would take him home, back to Antar and off this wretched rock. It had been entrusted to Max Evans; a hybrid
of the former king of Antar and it was Nicolas' duty to get it back to Kivar,
the usurper of the Antarian throne. He
had gotten close the owning the Granolith when Max had come to New York City to
attend a Peace Summit. Unfortunately,
Max turned out to be as difficult as his twin hybrid Zan. The only option left was direct assault and
repossession.
"So…what next?" Rath asked.
Lonnie smiled at him and he stepped back. It was not good when she smiled like that,
so cold, so hard, and almost feral. "We
kill Max."
Nicholas blinked.
"No, YOU kill Max. Then come
prove it to me and maybe you'll still get your ride home." Nicholas
couldn't believe she would actually expect him to do her dirty work. That hadn't been the deal. Besides he had no intention of getting
anywhere near that Tess creature again.
She had destroyed his entire army in one blast. When he had originally tried a direct
assault on the Four he had assumed they would not know how to use their full
powers. Using an army of Skins, aliens
inside human skin husks, he had subdued and captured all of the Four. But before he could question them, rip the
information he needed from their minds, Tess had incinerated all the Skins in
one incredible blast of fire that she protected herself and the other three
from. Nicolas had barely escaped.
"Oh no, my dear Nicholas!"
Lonnie's voice got very quiet.
"You are coming with us.
Consider this one of my cards I haven't shown yet. We both know you failed to get the Granolith…twice,"
she stalked towards him slowly. "Let me
guess, if you fail again, Kivar won't be pleased. You need to see this through or you're finished, right?" She chuckled seeing him pause and
swallow. "So, show us what you can do
against the big, bad Royal Four." She
began walking out of the sewer hovel they called home. "We leave tomorrow. Judging by last time, we'll reach Roswell in
four days. Come boys. There is much to plan."
"What about her?"
Rath asked indicating the dying girl on the floor.
Lonnie shrugged.
"Kill her. And hurry up." Rath finally let the heat in his hand
explode. The blast threw Ava across the room and the nauseating crunch signaled
her death as the impact broke her back.
'Stupid little bitch,' he thought and he ran to catch up with Lonnie.
Shaking, Niyah rose from her hiding spot. Watching them torture and kill Ava had been
one of the hardest things she had ever done.
But intervening would have gotten them both killed. "I'm so sorry, my friend," she
whispered. "I promise I won't let them
win!"
Niyah knew she had to hurry. She had to make it to Roswell sometime tonight. Her brother was there and she needed his
help to avenge Zan and Ava. As Lonnie
had said, there was much to be done.
That morning she'd sent a coded message to notify her brother. All she could do now was travel
quickly.
Roswell, Day One
It was late. Kyle
sat in the Crashdown waiting for Tess.
They had a study date. He
tapped his pencil along to the song "Butterfly" by Crazy Town playing in the
background and looked around at the few remaining customers. Liz plopped down in the seat opposite him,
tossing her antenna headband on the table.
"God, my feet are killing me!"
"Pulling a double shift, Parker?'
Liz grimaced. "Yes,
thanks to Courtney being 'gone'," she lowered her voice. Courtney had taken her own life to save the
aliens and protect the Granolith. Since
she was a Skin she had pressed a button on her lower back disintegrating the
husk, leaving no trace of her body.
People in Roswell assumed that she had run away. "My dad still hasn't hired anyone
new," she sighed. "So, how come you're
here so late?"
"Studying."
"Ooo, fun."
"Yeah right, but at least it's with Tess," he said,
immediately wanting to take it back. He
did not need Liz's scientific mind probing into his personal, and often
pathetic love life.
"What is going on with you two?" Liz asked, smirking.
She'd noticed how close they seemed to be getting lately.
"Nothing that is any of your business," Kyle replied with an
embarrassed shrug. Seeing Liz start to
retort he added, "You owe me, Parker.
So bud out."
She pretended to be offended. "Fine. But you know this
group. Secrets don't last long around
here."
"Unless Liz Parker keeps them," he replied pointedly. Last October Liz had asked him to help her
set up Max by having Max catch them in bed together. He never found out why she wanted that to happen but Kyle was her
friend and friends help each other. But
that didn't mean he couldn't rub in the fact that she had never explained
herself.
Her smile faded. He
would have to bring that up. "Not
funny, Kyle."
She walked away towards the back room as Tess came up to the
booth and sat down. "What was that all
about?"
"Nothing. I guess
she's not in the mood to be teased," he replied. He may not understand why it was so important but he would keep
Liz's secret like he promised.
"So, Buddha Boy…I guess we should start the horrible task of
studying."
He smiled. He loved
it when she called him that. If anyone
else tried, he'd pound on them. But
Tess…she could say it and it was a compliment. "Yup, guess so."
They opened the textbook and began discussing chapter
fifteen for the test next Monday. Maria
dropped off their food, giving Kyle a wink and an eyebrow wiggle, making him
blush. Tess didn't appear to notice the
exchange. Relieved, Kyle studiously
focused on the homework. He figured the
faster it was done the sooner he would have a chance to turn this study date
into a real date. Their studying didn't
last long though. Isabel, Max and Alex
descended, joking and laughing as Alex tried to teach Max to speak a few
Swedish phrases.
"Vi forenat om du inte misstyker?" asked Alex. Isabel giggled and Max rolled his eyes.
"Huh?" Kyle replied intelligently. He was fluent in several languages but none of them were
Scandinavian ones.
"Mind if we join, I said," Alex clarified.
"Unless, of course, you're actually studying," Isabel added
quickly.
Kyle realized his 'date' had just gotten screwed. "Sure, have a seat."
"Yeah, I'm sick of studying anyway," Tess replied although
she was enjoying her time alone with Kyle.
There hadn't been a lot of that lately.
They all squished into one booth, Max and Kyle only mildly
annoyed with each other's presence.
Ever since that Gandarium fiasco last week Kyle was less averse to being
near the aliens. The fact that they'd
screwed up his formally normal life still pissed him off from time to time, but
helping to save the world from a very real threat, albeit alien, put a new look
on things. Buddha taught that one must
accept the path put before him and Kyle could see that aliens would always be a
part of that path. He felt he was
slowly coming to terms with, and even acceptance of, the "little green
men". They ordered some food and Alex
soon had them choking with laughter as he entertained them with stories of his
crazy exploits overseas. Alex even
managed to get Kyle to sing a bit.
"I wondered what that odd sound was coming from the ground
while we were digging," Tess teased.
Kyle slugged her playfully on the arm.
He had hoped no one had heard them singing that day. He and Alex thought they were going to die
in that Gandarium crystal encrusted cavern and a little music had helped to
ease the nervousness.
"Any chance for us to join the fun, since you are
here past regular business hours?"
Maria asked with Liz standing next to her.
"Sure, pull up some chairs," Alex said jovially. As they continued, Michael wandered in from
the kitchen. His head was buried so far
in the newspaper he was reading that he almost tripped over a chair.
"Since when have you been a big fan of the daily
news?" Max inquired, amused.
Michael answered him without looking up. "Since they printed articles involving that
FBI woman, Agent Duff. Look at this."
He put the paper down on the table and they all tried to see
the article. Kyle decided that he'd had
enough, now that the talk was steering towards the alien crap again. There was only so much that he could take in
one sitting. He knew he couldn't leave yet, he still had to study with Tess but
she was obviously engrossed at the moment.
He picked up the classifieds and went to the main counter, putting
distance between him and the aliens.
Sighing, he started looking at the automotive section. Given that he'd already read the comics that
morning he figured he could see if there was a cool car available. Then he saw the ad, a small one sandwiched
between two beautiful, and highly unattainable, Mustangs.
Billboard Welcome Sign 03:30 2-28-01
338265349078
Kyle froze, his thoughts racing. That was his barcode number!!!
How was that possible? How could
anyone know? Was it one of Them or was
it an X-5? Was it only a search or did
They know? His mind jumped into
Manticore mode. He needed a plan, a
tactical advantage. Was this ad in
other papers or just Roswell's...He had to do some research. It was almost 23:00 hours. That left only four and ½ hours, very little
time to decide, to plan. He tore out
the ad and stood up so fast he knocked over the stool. Ignoring the questions and funny looks from
his friends he bolted out the door, heading for the library. He needed to check out the other papers.
"What the hell was that?"
Maria exclaimed.
"He tore out a part of the car section," Michael said,
confused, looking at the torn paper.
"Couldn't have been that good of a deal. It's eleven o'clock at night," Max said
dryly.
"Got any ideas, Tess?" Liz asked, figuring if anyone would
know she would.
"No, but that's not like him." Tess decided to ask him when she got home.
Seattle, Day One
"Is it really possible to get her out?" Max asked hopefully,
her mind working the possibilities as she paced the living room floor. "I mean I know we promised her but I
couldn't see a way to do it, to actually take on a Manticore facility…"
"Yeah, I thought that sort of mission was impossible. You know,
'it's-too-bad-that-it-happened-but-move-on-and-be-a-good-soldier' kind of
thing," Logan interjected, standing up to pour some coffee for them all. Zack gaped at him, at his legs. "Long story," Logan said dismissively.
"It is possible if we can get a few of us together first,"
Zack continued, ignoring Logan.
Max whirled around and looked at him sharply. "Who else?
Where are they?!"
"I can get a hold of Niyah and I know she's been looking for
Kyle. With the four of us it would be
possible."
Max sat down slowly.
"Kyle, Niyah…" she whispered, looking at Logan. "Niyah was my age. She was a soldier like me.
We were so close…" There was silence for a moment. She glanced at Zack. "Where's Brin?"
"The facility they're holding her at is five miles outside
of Roswell, New Mexico."
Max smirked. "Maybe
we could pass our suped-up bio-engineered abilities off as mysterious alien
sightings."
"Well, great, now that you have a plan, I have some work to
do," Logan said a bit harshly. He hated
the thought of how much danger Max would be in and his frustrating inability to
do anything about it. But he knew how
much this meant to her. "If you don't
mind…"
"Actually, I do," Zack began, annoyed that he had to bring
this…this 'competition' into his plan.
"We need your help for this plan to work."
Roswell, Day One
It was still night, it was still cold, and she was still
hiding only this time in a very different city. Niyah crouched down near the base of the signpost. From here she had a view of most of the
surrounding area. She used the
heightened abilities in her other senses to cover 100% of the space she
couldn't see directly. She listened,
sniffed the cool air, waiting. She'd
stolen a small plane and flown to Roswell in four hours. She sat there wondering if she'd arrived
fast enough. Would he come? Did he get the message? Did he bolt already? She heard faint footsteps. They were deceivingly faint. She knew the person had to be much closer
than those steps sounded. Those were
Manticore steps, footfalls only an X-5 could be capable of, and she smiled as
she waited.
Kyle was terrified.
Had he ever been this scared before?
When they'd escaped Manticore he'd been scared, sure, but not like this,
he'd still been a soldier. Years before
there had been the others to help him, a focus in the storm of panic. Now, after eleven years of relative
freedom…Now it was just Kyle, just the possibility that this was a trap and he
would only have himself to rely on. He
forced himself to breathe, to focus, whispering, "My strength fails me, my
vitality exhausted, I only hear the locusts shirring through the night," and
walked towards the sign.
Niyah stood up. Kyle
dropped to a defensive position and launched an attack. Niyah deflected the first blow and vaulted
over his head. "Kyle!" She took a kick to the shin. Throwing a double punch to his stomach and
blocking one to her head she yelled, "Stop! Kyle! It's Niyah!"
Kyle stopped and took a step back, still wary and
ready. Niyah stepped into the
light. Although she looked different
then the girl he once knew, Kyle could never forget her amazing green
eyes. She had gotten them from her cat
DNA. They looked so out of place
against her light brown skin, obtained from crossing various bits of African
American and Caucasian human DNA. Out
of place but bewitching and hypnotic.
"Niyah," he said as he hugged her, his voice trembling with relief, joy,
and welcome. He could feel the bar code
on her neck. "What are you doing here
and why did you try to find me? You
know that breaking cover is dangerous."
"Yes, I know but…oh, Kyle, I can't believe it's really
you! I've been looking for you for so
long now!"
"You have? I had no
idea how to find any of you! I tried
but…" he smiled weakly.
She pulled back from the hug and gave him a once over. "I have to say damn! They did a good job on you."
Kyle laughed.
"Thanks, you too. I forgot how
much I loved having you around," Kyle hugged her again. "You could always make me laugh."
"Not that we ever had much to laugh about…"
"I was thinking more about once we had escaped to New York."
Niyah grinned.
"You're right. We laughed a lot
there." Her smile faded. "But I'm not here for fun this time. I need your help."
Kyle was immediately concerned. "My help, how? Are you in
trouble?!"
"No…Kyle, it involves the whole…" she shook her head. "You are not going to like this but…it
involves the aliens."
Kyle stared at her, incredulous. "You have got to be joking!" he groaned, closing his eyes in
frustration. "But why am I not
surprised. My long lost sister shows up
and guess what? She's involved with the
aliens! Just tell me straight out, is
this gonna cost me my cover?"
"Yes, probably."
"Jesus, Niyah!" Kyle exploded. "I have worked so DAMN HARD to maintain this dumb jock
routine. My life was okay, almost
normal even…I had my dad, my friends.
Then all that alien crap started and I got so freaked that they would
bring Lydecker here." He was pacing
back and forth, and then he stopped, looking right at Niyah. "Did you know I got shot? I DIED and then that alien freak hybrid used
his fucked up powers on me and now I have no idea what I am
anymore!!! Part human, part animal,
part 'alien'… Wouldn't Lydecker LOVE to get his hands on me now!" He stopped ranting and sighed. "What the hell does it matter anymore. These aliens have fucked up the only normal
thing I had, why not just do away with the rest of it." He pressed his palms together. "No conditions are permanent, no conditions
are reliable, nothing is self."
"What?!"
He looked at the ground.
"Just promise me…NONE of this gets to my dad. He is NOT involved in any way!!
Got it!?"
"Got it. Just you
and me and Zack"
Hearing Zack's name snapped Kyle right out of his pity
party. "You know where Zack is?"
"At the moment no, but I can get in touch with him if I need
to. Are you…okay? I mean, what was that you just said?"
Kyle shook his head.
"No, I'm not okay, but so what.
I guess I couldn't hide forever."
He laughed softly, bitterly.
"And that phrase is Buddhist dogma, my lame attempt at a little peace of
mind. I just really want my dad safe
and left alone. He's been through
enough."
"That's fine, Kyle."
She smiled and laughed quietly.
"You know, I'm jealous you have a dad."
It had hurt a little all those years ago when Kyle's mom had wanted to
adopt him but not her. And then she
married Jim Valenti, giving Kyle an All-American family while Niyah stayed
homeless in New York City.
Kyle chuckled.
"Well, it's not always great."
They stood in silence for a moment.
Kyle exhaled sharply, "So, tell
me what's up, how can I help."
As they walked back into town Niyah explained the situation,
at least as much as she knew. She told
him that Lonnie, Rath, and Nicholas were coming and would be here in
approximately two days, that they were planning to kill (at the very least) Max
to gain control of the Granolith. Niyah
told him a bit of her relationship with Zan and Ava and how she wanted to bring
the others down not only for killing Zan but for what they had just done to
Ava. Kyle shivered, imagining Tess in
Ava's place. Suddenly he had a very
strong desire to kick some serious alien butt.
"I'll get them to a meeting at the UFO Center tomorrow after
school. We can plan it out then, okay?"
"Sounds fine." She
started walking away.
"Where are you going?"
Niyah seemed surprised by the question. "To keep a lookout, of course."
"Wow," he said, an embarrassed grin spreading across his
face. "Seems I've relaxed too
much. Even with all these alien
crises…" he held out his hand to her.
"Look, they aren't going to be here for a few days yet. Do you want to stay with me…at my house?"
Niyah smiled. "No,
but thanks. I really do need to keep a
lookout, just in case. You concentrate
on scheming up the best scenario.
Besides, I have to call Zack and get him to come down here."
"Okay. Be safe."
"Always. You too."
Kyle grinned. "See
you later?"
"Definitely."
New York City, Day Two
Rath inhaled half the slice of pizza in one bite. The second half he drenched in Tabasco Sauce
before stuffing it in his mouth. "I say
we hit 'em fast and hard, you know, in, BAM, out! Then the granolith is ours."
Nicholas stared at him.
"Wow, what a great plan, and just how would we find the Granolith
when they're all DEAD?!"
Rath stepped up to Nicolas, nose to nose. "What, are you the friggin' man now?! I don't see you coming up with any GREAT
ideas!!"
Lonnie had as much of this testosterone filled bickering as
she could handle. She watched them,
considering their strengths, their weaknesses.
The fire in these boys was too hot.
It would burn too fast and out of control. She preferred her ice-cold methods. It kept the mind clear and focused. She smiled as a new possibility formed in her brain. "Chill, boys, chill. It'll all fall our way. But Rath does have a point…" Lonnie began.
"Word…she's in line…" Rath interrupted with a grin.
Lonnie stopped and looked at him. Rath's grin faded and he stood still, looking at the floor.
"The faster we get there, the bigger the surprise, yo. We leave tonight…by plane. We'll be in Roswell before dawn."
"Fine, whatever. But
this had better work, Lonnie."
"It
will, Nicholas." She smiled again
causing both boys to freeze.
Roswell, Day Two
Kyle walked up to the alien group during lunch. He wasn't quite sure how to do this, who to
tell, but he knew this group. No matter
whom he told first, they'd all know eventually. Might as well tell them together to avoid any false information
or confusion. He'd already let Liz and
Alex know about the meeting he had planned.
Since the day when
Kyle made it very clear he wanted nothing to do with them, except Tess, they
had tried to avoid involving him in anything that might be considered "alien
crap", anything outside of normal friendly interaction. He'd warmed up to them after that Gandarium
crisis last week but he still seemed uncomfortable with his recent inclusion in
the 'I Know an Alien' Club. Two weeks
ago, Isabel and Max had helped his dad save a girl buried in Frasier
Woods. Later, a green crystal was
discovered there and it didn't take a genius to conclude it was an alien crystal. It turned out to be a crystallized form of
an alien parasite known as the Gandarium that if released into the Earth's
ecosystem would destroy all life on the planet. Kyle and Alex had gotten trapped in a crystal cave where Kyle
discovered that the crystals needed oxygen more then humans. Michael managed to kill the parasite queen
and all the crystals died, releasing the boys from their underground
prison. Saving the world had a definite
impact on Kyle. For the first time he
reconsidered his aversion to the Four.
Michael, Isabel and Max weren't too certain how to take his
approach since Tess wasn't sitting with them.
What could he want?
"Kyle, are you okay?" Isabel asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"You seemed…rushed last night," Max answered.
Kyle sighed and shook his head. 'Why am I doing this?' he thought to himself. "We need to meet, all of us, after school at
the UFO Center. It's important."
"Really?" Michael scoffed.
"Right."
"Guerin, I don't have any patience for your shit right
now. Just get your ass there, make sure
these two come," he growled and walked away.
'Now to find Tess and Maria.'
"You have got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Isabel. "What is up with him?"
"Well, I'm intrigued," Max said. Kyle may be an asshole sometimes but he wouldn't do something
like this as a prank or for anything unimportant. But what could Kyle know that they didn't?
Later, after school, they trickled into the UFO Center. Max knew Brody wouldn't mind. He, Isabel, and Michael arrived together
since Tess was already there. Liz and
Maria walked over from the Crashdown and Alex came alone. "Do you know what's going on with him?" Max
asked Tess, hoping she could shed some light on his mysterious behavior.
"Sorry, no idea. I
haven't seen him since he ran out last night.
Maria told me to be here."
"Maybe the melting crystals got to him and he cracked," Alex
joked, referring to the dying crystals covering them in green goo.
"Except that theory would mean you'd be nuts too," Liz
pointed out.
"True…"
"Well, whatever," said Maria, "this had better be quick
'cause Liz and I have shifts coming up like, now."
"I'll do my best," Kyle said as he walked in. Niyah walked in with him and to say she made
an impression was a gross understatement.
Niyah, like the other X-5s was something to look at! She was 5'9", had perfect mulatto skin,
soft, curly brown hair to her shoulders, an athletic body in peak condition,
and those unbelievable eyes. The boys
in the room stopped breathing, and the girls went from mild admiration to
nasty, jealous judgments, especially Tess, whose thoughts were quickly becoming
violent. Who was this girl and what was
she doing with Kyle and why is she staring at Max?!?
"This is Niyah. She
knows…knew Zan," Kyle began, flashing her a sympathetic smile when he corrected
himself.
"And Ava," Niyah said softly, looking over at Tess.
Everyone gasped in various states of shock or surprise. Max was instantly suspicious because the
last time he'd had anything to do with Lonnie and Rath they'd tried to kill
him. What if this was a trap? Even more disturbing, what if Kyle wasn't
really Kyle but Lonnie or Rath shapeshifted?
One look at Isabel and he saw she seconded his fears. Niyah kept staring at Max with curiosity.
"She's got some important information that you all need to
hear," Kyle continued.
"How do I know we can we trust you?" Max asked her,
cautious, studying her.
"You look so much like him," she whispered, overlapping his
question.
"Wait, you KNEW Ava…as in what?" Liz demanded, interrupting.
"Hold your questions and let me explain. We are short on time," said Niyah, taking a
deep breath, "so I'll give you the short version. I knew Zan and Ava for five years. We were close. I watched
Zan's back and he watched mine. I was
out of New York City when Lonnie decided she didn't need Zan anymore…and I got
back too late to stop what they did to Ava."
She paused, and continued quietly, "She's dead."
"Oh my god," breathed Liz, sitting down hard. Why had she let Ava leave? Now she was dead?!
"I was there in time to hear what they're planning
next. Lonnie has had a deal with
Nicholas this entire time," she said, looking at Max. "She was supposed to kill you in exchange for a ride home," Niyah
chuckled wryly. "I'm not certain if
that ride included 'the freak with the mohawk' as Nicholas is fond of saying,
or if Rath was to be killed too.
Anyway. Because Ava spilled the
truth, you lived and Nicholas is in deep shit for losing the Granolith twice
and failing to kill you. They're on their
way here to try again." Niyah expected
the room to erupt into questions but they were all dead silent. She waited, realizing that this information
needed to sink in.
"When will they be here?" Isabel's voice trembled a little,
tight with nervousness.
"In two to three days if they stick to their plan. Surprise was going to be their biggest
weapon but I guess I just shot that to hell."
"Are you just here to tell us this or did you have a plan?"
Max asked.
Niyah looked at Kyle.
He nodded so she continued. "I
have a plan but it requires that you trust me implicitly. I can't tell you the why's yet just the
how's, okay?"
"Why should we trust you?" Michael scoffed. "We don't know you."
Niyah hesitated, not wanting to say anything that Kyle was
unwilling for them to hear. "Well, Kyle
trusts me," she began cautiously, "and if that isn't enough, one of you could
connect with me, find out the validity of what I'm saying."
Kyle saw that Niyah was reluctant to give anything away
about their Manticore history. She was
trying to protect him as she had always done but he knew that this group would
only trust her if they had real proof, a real connection. "You can trust her. She's my…she's my sister," Kyle said knowing
as he said it that all hell would break loose.
"WHAT?!!?!?" Maria and Liz yelled. Isabel's mouth dropped open and Max and Michael froze.
"Sister?!" Tess said with relief as Alex dropped the soda he
was drinking.
Kyle held up his hands, stopping the flow of questions. "Yes, she's my sister." Niyah looked at him sadly, knowing what he
was risking, what he was losing. "I'm
adopted. My mom adopted me when I was
seven and I haven't seen Niyah again until now." He looked at the floor and then up at them earnestly. "Please don't tell my dad. He doesn't know my mom adopted me. He thinks I'm all he has left of her."
"We won't say a word," Tess said smiling at him, reaching
out to take his hand.
"And I thought we had secrets," Michael said, amazed.
"You have no idea," Kyle murmured quietly, looking directly
at him. "Anyway. I promise you can trust her and, um, any
plan she comes up with."
Niyah saw that they were agreeing, if not somewhat
reluctantly. A sad smile crossed her
face. If only the other four had gotten
along with this kind of trust. If only
they had cared about each other this much.
"We are definitely going to talk later, Mystery Boy," Maria
commented.
"So, what's your plan?" Max asked.
