TITLE: Faked
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything you recognise… not even Janice Rook!
SUMMERY: (After Destiny) When Amy Deluca gets offered a job in Seattle, Maria jumps at the opportunity to have an alien free life. But when the aliens are replaced with transgenic how will the 'flaky' Maria cope with the truth about her father?
AUTHORS NOTE: This chapter is set almost three months after the last. I've decided that the transgenic wont get outed, for a while at least. This is also set about the time of 'Dupes'. I'll try to keep Roswell story line going even through Maria is in Seattle. I'm trying to write these fast so I can post a chapter a week. Also I decided Maria was almost 18 because I thought her having a group of friends at 20 and above made there relationship a little odd.
CHAPTER 2 - A change is as good as a rest.
Maria had just finished her shift at Jam Pony and was now watching an eyes only broadcast along with all the other Jam Pony employees. Maria started at the screen. He had never said anything relevant to her and she was sure he wasn't about to, still these broadcasts were more interesting than anything she'd seen in a while. A chirpy nineteen eighties pop song began playing and another worker glared at Maria as she answered her phone.
"Hello".
"Maria it's Liz".
"Oh my… Liz what's wrong".
"Nothing, can't a friend call a friend". Maria felt relief pour over her as she walked away from the crowd and back to the lockers were she took a seat on a bench.
"Good, how's everything down there? You and Max".
"Fine, everything's fine. Max and I are working through things".
"O.k. so what's the real reason you called".
"This whole destiny thing… it's over Maria. They know they can't be together".
"That makes no difference to me Lizzy. Max wants to be with you, Michael can't be with me. He has his whole absence of human emotion thing going on".
"When can you come visit"?
"I'll see what I can swing when the holidays come by. I have to go Liz. I'll call you when I get home".
"Ok. Bye". Maria looked at her phone. I was awful to think but she didn't miss Liz as much as she thought she would.
"Who was that"? Maria looked up to see the guy who had glared at her.
"None of your business".
"It is if I say it is". Maria looked at him. There was something in his eyes. As he neared her Maria felt a sudden danger. His hand grabbed her arm and she went into auto pilot. Her foot connected with his groin and as he fell she kicked him again in the collar bone which broke with a resounding crack that Maria was sure everyone must have heard. The guy stood, the pain evident in his face but his eyes still held their dangerous appearance as he reached out for her again a hand grabbed him by the shoulder giving his broken collar bone a squeeze. The guy fell to his knee's in pain as Maria turned to face the owner of said hand who turned out to be Alec.
Another couple of employee's gathered around and manoeuvred him away to where Normal gave him a verbal lashing, fired him and told him never to come back again.
"So, where did café girl learn self defence", Alec asked.
"Café girl was taught it in school".
"When did fancy prep schools start teaching that"?
"When I joined apparently". OC looked quizzically at her.
"Boo, your schools weird".
"I think you need lessons", Alec looked at her, "Maria your almost eighteen and new to this city… your going to be in danger a lot at your age, especially when you don't really know your way around. You need to be able to look after yourself".
"Are you offering"?
"I guess I am".
"Well O.K. then". Sketchy didn't look happy as he and Alec walked off to go to there usual club and Maria was sure she heard Sketchy complain to Alec about making moves on his girl.
"Hey, Max and I will walk you home".
"You sure"?
Max smiled at her and nodded. The two of them had an odd sort of friendship. Maria and Max both had secrets that they weren't about to share and even though they were close the secrets kept them apart making Maria slightly surprised every time Max offered to help her with something.
Cindy and Max gasped when they saw the inside of her house. Maria felt slightly guilty knowing that they lived in a supposedly abandoned apartment block and that she lived in an apartment that had been worth almost two million when it was first built.
"Nothing in here's worth much, my moms a hippy. She finds nice things that are seriously cheep".
"What does your mom do"?
"She works in public relations for a medical company. They gave her this house and her car. They gave me a credit card".
"Boo I think you should work I public relations". Max grinned.
"If I could get this I would".
"Do you want something to eat, there's not much but my friend Liz sends up stuff from Roswell… there you can get a chicken as easily as you could before the pulse… not that she sends that. She did once but it got eaten on the way. We just got a thank you letter".
"Life sucks", Cindy nodded in agreement as she pulled some peanut butter out of the refrigerator.
"So what does she send".
"Mostly stuff that lasts a long time or some of the stuff that's made in the Crashdown, with there labels attached". Maria grinned at the thought of someone opening a box with a cake labelled alien blood pie on it like the one on the table, "She doesn't like to send so much, it tends to get stolen and sold off somewhere before it reaches here".
"So what was living in the alien obsessed town like"?
"About the same as living here I guess. Some things were a little easier to come by. It wasn't dangerous to be out after dark".
"Sounds kinda… neat. Most people want to go to Canada, when really they should go to Roswell".
"Not possible. Since 'Nowhere town' life is so rosy you have to come from there or have family living there to move. If you want to move there you better have a load of money, unless your already living there and moving away from home. Then 'the man' just gives you a house".
"Look I can see my dreams disappearing into the air". All three laughed.
"Who's home"?
"Mom your late".
"Got a call from Valenti". Maria saw the dreamy look in her mothers eyes as she mentioned the sheriff.
"How nice… your fantasising about him again".
"I am not. He was just a nice guy".
"A nice guy you get all blurry eyed about when you talk about him", Amy pulled a face at her, "Mom this is Max and Cindy from Jam Pony".
"Nice to meet you. Its nice to see your all having such a healthy meal". Maria nodded.
"I think I like your mother" Max grinned as she started eating some alien blood pie.
Michael Guerin was wearing a sieve on his head with red and yellow wires sprouting from each of its holes. His whiskey eyes were as defiant as they ever could have been.
"Damn it Maria. You and I will never work, I'm an alien and you're… well your just weak. You're a human. To fragile, I'm not going to leave you. I already left you. Deal with it". There was a shrill buzzing sound as the dial on the lie detector moved to the little 'T' signifying Michaels honesty.
"You were a little fun. Then a little irritating and now your becoming a stalker". The machine buzzed again and the dial once again moved to the 'T'.
"Maria if your not going to answer your phone, I will".
"Huh", Maria opened her eyes to see a pair of dark eyes boring in to hers, "Max"?
"Yep", she brunette said handing her a green phone. The memory of inviting OC and Max to stay became clearer in her mind as she answered the phone.
"Oh my God Maria you will never guess what happened. The pod squad have twins. Max's is dead. Isabel's is a bitch and Michaels is a total pervert and Tess's, Ava, well she's what you'd expect Tess to be because you know they are nice and she's not and for the twins it's the reverse. I think we got the wrong one".
"Liz you might have to say that again since you just woke me up and my grip on reality is a little strained".
"Max, Michael, Isabel and Tess were just one group. There is another in New York. But they are more like Zan, Rath, Ava and Vilandra". Maria shook her head to clear it and then gave the receiver a quizzical look.
"What happened"?
"Michael made a move on me… only he was dressed like a cheap punk. Turns out it was Rath. They told them what happened back home and they have to go meet some people to get there… well Max and Tess have to".
"You and Max? How's it going"?
"It's not and it can't".
"Why"?
"I can't tell you Maria. Look I have to go. I'm sorry". Liz hung up without a goodbye. Maria stared at the phone.
"You know staring it wont make her call you back", OC said as she pulled the phone from Maria's hand.
"Liz and I have never had secrets, ever. Why would she have one now"? Max had sat on the bed next to her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"So who were all those people"?
"They were all our friends. But Tess came and spun them some yarn about how they all knew each other before they had been abandoned and that was how they were supposed to be. Now the friendship is just wrong". Maria groaned loudly and got off her bed and opened the curtain on one of her many windows. "Tess is like a virus. We weren't all really close but we were getting by just fine. Then she comes along it its ruined".
"Did she break you and Michael up".
"I wish, then I'd kick her ass. Michael loves me too much to be with me. Apparently". OC laughed. There was a quiet noise and Max checked her pager.
"That's Alec. I have to go see a friend of mine but Alec wants me to drop you off at his on the way there". Maria nodded and walked to her wardrobe to get dressed.
Alec's home apparently had belonged to a friend of Max who had loved TV and junk food. The TV's and junk food were still there but now it was Alec's home. If the noody mags didn't tell you that, the little bits and pieces did. Alec seemed to be into everything.
"Are you finished staring"?
"You know if this place had the same paint job as mine… I'd be staying here not there".
"Trust me. I'd gladly trade". Maria nodded in acknowledgement.
"So your school is teaching you girls how to protect yourselves"?
"No my school is teaching me how to protect myself. I think the school has it in for me. The professor says I can achieve so much more because I have potential".
Alec threw a punch at her which she caught with her fist. Alec looked awed.
"Your fast".
"So. Why did you do that"?
"To test your reflexes… which are apparently really good. Your better than I though. You just need practice so you wont fear the fight".
"How do you know"?
"I used to fight in the ring".
"That's pathetic and the fact you look so proud of it is even more pathetic". Alec grinned at her.
"So café girl when do you want to practice".
"When ever you want golden boy… if your not chicken".
Logan was looking at pictures on his computer.
"I've been trying to find Lydecker since his disappearance but if he's still on this continent, he's laying low. I did however find something more interesting". Max waved her hand to usher him on. "Manticore had a hand in another type of genetic modification. I seems they were using people as test subjects for growing harmless versions of diseases".
"That's disgusting. How"?
"The same way active immunisation works. They use a very small, almost harmless dose of a virus so the body develops antibodies. If the body ever comes into contact with the virus again it can defend its self. They did this at an embryonic level so infants were born as living cure to each disease. It was just a step up from that to your general blood type and illness immunity".
"I don't understand if they had these cures why didn't they use them"?
"They used them in you. Apparently they were paid a higher price not to release them to the public. There is a reference here to an experiment which created a prototype". He turned the screen to Max so she could read it.
'Subject has yet to show any of the usual signs of pregnancy. Although she most defiantly is. The infant is due to be born in a two months and is already at a viable stage. The suggestion has been made that we remove the infant from the mother but it has been agreed that this child will be the test subject to see how a transgenic will function without the training given to others…
… the child has started to talk, I was trying to push her into learning more but her mother isn't having any of it…
…I have decided for the integrity of the experiment that I should remove myself from the child's life. I want to train her because I know she can do so much more but her mother doesn't understand. I will find some way in a few years to test her and see how she fairs.'
"There is nothing more. I know there are other files. They are spoken about but I can't find them". Max just stared at the screen.
Maria and Alec had been sparring for about half an hour when Alec had swung a low kick under her feet and knocked her off balance sending her crashing to the mat that covered the floor. He quickly dropped himself so he had her pinned to the floor.
"I win", panted then wiped the sweat from his brow. Maria hit him on his sternum with the heal of her palm, throwing him off of her and on to the mat by her side then pinned him.
"I've never given up that easily" she replied breathlessly. Alec twisted her leg with his and managed to use it as leverage to get her off him then pinned her again. Maria shut her eyes and tried to catch her breath. Her skin was on fire and her muscled ached. She opened them to see Alec staring at her as he moved to kiss her.
At first there was no real pressure of his lips but as soon as she reacted the kiss deepened for all of five seconds before they jumped apart.
"That never happened", Alec said in almost a whisper.
"Nope never did", Maria hurriedly agreed in the same tone as she lifted her self off the floor.
"Well never talk about it again".
"Talk about what, nothing happened".
"Good".
"Good".
"Bye".
"Bye".
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Its really hard trying to write something when you know its got a lot to go but thinking ahead to the action trying to get there faster because your excited. Hence, two chapters in one week. Since I've done this hard work… REVIEW!!