Chapter 8

Wicked Game

Max ignored caution as soon as he realized that his missing girlfriend was standing in front of him. Feeling a huge weight falling off of his shoulders he pulled the scared girl in his arms and pressed her at his body. He had been so scared when he imagined what those creatures would be doing to her to get to him and it had made him sick. He never wanted anyone to get hurt because of what he was, but that was probably a lost case. There would always be someone getting hurt, always someone taken away or maybe one day getting killed. Just because of the fact that they were involved with them.

In that moment he finally realized what Michael had been trying to tell him all those years. It would never be safe for them to fall in love, especially with human girls. He had never wanted to acknowledge that fact, but after having experienced first hand what could happen, he couldn´t just overlook the obvious. Unfortunately the humans would be a target with or without being involved with them and so he decided to keep them safe until everything was over and then to let them go, for their own good.

" What did those bastards do to you?", Max cupped her face and eyed the wounds in her face. He didn´t want to think where else he would find bruises on her body. It was making him very angry to imagine where they could have touched her. " Are you in pain?".

Liz just stared at him, her dry lips cracking with her attempt to speak and her eyes darting through the room with barely concealed panic in them. Her whole frame was shaking whether it was from the cold outside or from fear. " Pain, so much pain. And darkness. Fear".

Max glanced over his shoulder towards his friends and he saw the same perplexity in their eyes. Nobody knew what she was talking about and if she was even aware of the things leaving her mouth. Exchanging a look with Valenti, he realized that it was probably a side effect from the shock and she just needed rest, maybe something to eat and a shower. " Isabel could you bring her to the bathroom and make sure that she takes a shower?", after he received a nod, he turned to Tess. " Can you make a soup for her? She needs something in her stomach, but I´m afraid to give her anything to heavy right now".

" Of course. Kyle you can help me".

Max rubbed his face, feeling his old self slowly coming back to life. He just needed to concentrate on their situation and they would find a solution in no time. Unfortunately that meant he and Michael would have to work together and in the mood his friend was in at the moment, it wouldn´t be pleasant. " I´ll look if Liz can sleep with Maria in Michael´s bed".

Jim and Alex watched after him and they were glad to not have all this weight on their shoulders. Sighing both made their way into the kitchen. It wouldn´t get them anywhere if they were too weak from starvation.

Bedroom

Michael was sitting on the small armchair he had found at some front yard sale a year ago and had his eyes clued to the sleeping form in his bed. He was so grateful that Maria wasn´t a normal girl and that her guardian angel had worked his ass off to keep her safe, because he didn´t want to think what he would have done when something bad had happened to her. Just the thought that she could be dead was painful and he didn´t know if he would be strong enough to endure the pain for a long time.

But thankfully she wasn´t some damsel in mistress type and was able to kick back, although he found the thought that she was fighting against people that wouldn´t have a problem to crush her without blinking was more disturbing than anything else. Good for her that he wouldn´t leave her out of sight for a moment from now on, so that wouldn´t be a problem.

" Don´t beat yourself up. You´ve done a great job so far", Mike was disturbed about the guilty expression on the other man´s face, because it was destroying the picture he had been having about the commander, the man with no heart or soul. But this broken person wasn´t any of these things, not even to some extent and he wondered if his father had ever looked at his mother with so many emotions.

Michael startled for a moment, having forgotten that he wasn´t alone in the room. Turning to the boy leaning against his bureau, he was so curious why Mike was so intent on keeping Maria safe and why he was even more protective of her than him. " What are you getting out of this deal? Why are you so adamant to keep her alive?".

Mike swallowed the lump forming in his throat. It was still a sore spot to talk about his intentions and the force that was driving him to do the right thing. But he knew if he wanted to stay at the human girl´s side, he had to be honest, well as honest as it was allowed for him. " My father had been a very cruel man, he had never shown any emotions, not to me or anyone else. The only thing he had loved more than anything had been power and to control my mother. My mother, she would have done everything for me, she even endured the marriage with that monster, because she wanted to keep me safe from him and she knew that he would chase us, no matter where we would go. Unfortunately she hated my father with a passion and didn´t hide the fact, which ultimately ended with her death. My father never got over the fact that she had loved someone else and never gotten over his death and so he killed her. I just want to prevent that from happening to Maria and that´s the reason why Courtney chose me, because she knew I would fight everyone just looking wrong at her".

" I´m sorry, that´s pretty sad. But it won´t get so far, we´re both making sure of that", Michael could ban the idea of Mike being his and Maria´s son from the future from his mind. For a while he had thought that and it had sounded reasonable in his head. But now after hearing that story he was sure his theory was wrong. They loved each other and he would never do anything to control her, even if that wouldn´t be so bad with her always running into dangerous situations.

Mike nodded his head while he turned around to glance out of window, to hide the fact that he was close to shed a few tears. It felt kinda good to let that all out and to have someone else knowing what he had gone through. " Yeah, we will".

Michael had recognized the glistening in his eyes before the boy had turned his head and he saw the pain shining there. It was more than obvious that his mother had been everything for the guy and that he missed her deeply. " You have loved your mother very much, haven´t you?".

" Yes, she had been everything and I hate my father for taking her away from me", Mike wiped the tears falling down his cheeks angrily away, feeling the weight of his pain more than he ever had felt it before. He would never forget the cold look in his father´s eyes when he plunged the dagger in his mother´s soft body, watching her bleeding to death with satisfaction.

Michael sensed the pain and for the first time he knew that there were things far worse than just being afraid to be a danger to someone. It was even worse to witness someone you loved deeply die in front of your eyes. He felt for the guy and that was saying a lot, because he didn´t quite click with other people, especially strangers. But something with the boy was familiar and he had the urge to protect him. " I can believe that, but now you´re not alone, we´re taking care of you".

Mike whipped his head around and stared at the commander like he just confessed he was a cross dresser. Didn´t his mother tell him that Michael was the hardest to find a connection to other people and that it would take a lot of time and patience to convince him about the honest intentions? " Thank you".

" Hey is it safe to come in", Isabel poked her head inside the room, making sure that she wasn´t disturbing anything. Seeing both men glancing at her and than at the sleeping girl, she let her gaze wander to Maria, who was deeply asleep and wouldn´t have even noticed a helicopter landing in their midst.

Michael motioned for her to come inside, but to be quiet. He didn´t want Maria to wake up, she needed the sleep right now and he would make sure that she would get it. Unfortunately he hadn´t counted that Isabel would have someone in her tow, someone they thought they had lost. " Whoa, what is Liz doing here?".

Isabel rolled her eyes at the ever so tactful approach from Michael, even if he didn´t mean it most of the time. He just said what was on his mind before he thought if it was appropriate or not. " Nice. What you probably really meant was, how come she made it back to us, or not?".

" I´m just surprised", jumping to his feet, he walked towards the two girls and glanced at the scared, dirty creature looking at him with her panic stricken eyes. For a moment he felt pity for her and relieve that it wasn´t Maria having been through the torment. But then he bristled at the dark energy surrounding her. " Who are you?`".

Liz recoiled slightly from him, her eyes filling with tears at his harsh tone and she pushed herself deeper in Isabel´s arms. " Pain. Darkness. Fear".

Isabel was stunned about the defensive mood from Michael. Protecting Liz from the angry glare, she sent him her own heated glance. He couldn´t just act like that with the scared girl, it would drive her deeper into her catatonic state. Shaking her head at him, she wondered why he was reacting like in that in first place. " What is wrong with you?".

" With me? I´m not the one bringing strangers here", Michael knew that the person standing in front of him wasn´t Liz Parker. Aside from the fact that Khivar wouldn´t just drop his leverage, it was even really unlikely that he would let her live long enough to report back to them.

Isabel huffed angrily at him, pointing at Mike with her head and giving him a hint that he hadn´t done anything different. He had brought this boy under their roof and nobody even knew the guy or what he was doing here, but he was making a fuss because of one of their friends. " She´s not a stranger. She´s Liz. Maria´s best friend".

At that Liz reacted instantly at the name and she gazed past Michael and at the person lying peaceful in the bed. Stepping out of the protecting embrace of the other girl she moved towards Maria. As soon as it was clear what she was intending, her path was blocked from a male body.

" You´re not getting near her", Michael´s eyes had darkened so much that they appeared to be black and threatening. He was looking like the commander he had been in his past life, a terrifying monster with deadly intentions.

Liz cringed back from him, feeling the overwhelming energy from his body. He was making her scared with that darker aura around him and the poised posture, daring her to disobey his order and giving him a reason to attack her. He would attack her, she could see it in his eyes, he would fight everyone coming closer to his mate and she didn´t want to find out how much power he really possessed.

Isabel instantly pulled the frightened girl away and pushed her in the direction of the bathroom. Waiting until Liz was safely inside, she turned her attention to Michael, who seemed to have calmed down as soon as the human girl was out of his sight. " Are you stupid? You can´t act like some cave man with her, she´s scared enough".

" Believe me that´s not Liz in there. I don´t know if it´s a shape shifter or someone playing tricks on our minds, but that girl isn´t human", Michael couldn´t describe the feeling inside him, but all of his alarm signals were ringing very loudly and at the same time. It was probably some defense mechanism from the time as commander, but he trusted his instincts and he wished the others would do the same.

Isabel chewed nervously on her lip, knowing that Michael was usually right with his assumptions. They all thought often that he was paranoid, but in truth he just knew beforehand what was happening. " But why hasn´t Max noticed anything? Shouldn´t he be the first one to notice something strange?".

Michael had no answer to that and truthfully he didn´t care about it at all. The only thing he was sure about was Liz or that someone pretending to be Liz wouldn´t stay anywhere near Maria. He meant what he had said earlier, no one was coming near her. " I don´t know. But I´m not risking Maria, not after I almost lost her. Twice".

" Okay, I´ll keep an eye on Liz", Isabel hated to see that haunted look in his eyes, the knowledge that he would lose everything if something would happen to Maria. He would probably never recover from that blow and she would do anything to prevent that from getting reality.

Michael was relieved that she understood his need to protect and that she wasn´t giving him any grief about being a little bit on the paranoid side. He knew that he could be wrong with his accusing, but he didn´t take any chances, not with Maria´s life on the line. " Thank you".

Isabel patted his shoulder, in awe about the changes he was going through. A few days ago he would have probably choked on those words. But almost losing his love had made him realize that he had to do something different when he wanted to keep everyone safe. She knew that it was their worst nightmare coming true and Michael had always be afraid that he wouldn´t be able to protect them, the reason why he had practiced with his powers like a madman. " Do you want something to eat or drink? You have to be starved".

" Yeah, I thought about ordering pizzas for everyone, but I can´t be away from Maria, not even for a few seconds", Michael let his gaze wander to the human girl that had put his world upside down. He would murder anyone just breathing wrong in her direction, just a sneezer and he or she was dust.

Isabel followed his glance, watching with gratefulness that Maria was alive and under their care now. She would never admit it, but she had a soft spot for the other girl, for the way she hadn´t back down from Michael when everyone else would have just given up on the boy. And she admired the way Maria had kept her loyalty, even though she had had known that it could cost her life. " Tell you what, you stay here and I´ll order".

Michael smiled in gratitude at his sister, feeling the bond between them that had been destroyed since Max´ little stunt in the Crash Down Café mending again and he was glad about that fact. They needed to trust each other, now more than ever and they couldn´t do that when their connection was even slightly damaged.

" Hey Mike, you want some pizza, too?", Isabel tried to keep her suspicion about the motive of their newest addition in their group to a minimum. If Michael didn´t feel threatened by the boy, then she would make an effort to be normal to the guy.

Mike just shook his head, his eyes never staying from the sleeping human girl, although it looked like he wasn´t actually seeing something, it rather appeared like he was in deep thoughts.

Isabel rolled her eyes at the response, there was just a grunt missing and the boy would be like a twin from Michael, at least from the expressions and little things he did, because appearance like they were two different types. " Great, I´ll let you know when dinner´s here".

Michael nodded faintly at her while he took his position besides the bed again. He was pretty surprised about himself that he was allowing some stranger to keep watch over Maria, even after the whole incident with Khivar knowing about her. But the guy didn´t feel like a stranger to him and it irked him why he felt that way. " So where are you from? You told us you grew up on earth, but where exactly?".

" We moved a lot, I´ve seen most of America and part of Canada", Mike was relieved when the blonde alien girl left them alone again. He had heard a lot from Vilandra, even more so than about Rath. She had been the reason for the downfall of an entire empire and Khivar was counting on being able to manipulate her again, a fact that was making him really uncomfortable right now.

Michael could imagine how that must have felt, he could really relate to feeling like to belong nowhere. Thankfully that had stopped the moment he laid his eyes on Maria and her way of snaking her way into his heart so easily. She had given him some sense of him without him realizing it. " That has to be tough. I lived all my life in his desert island and strangely I can´t see myself leaving this place anytime soon".

Mike let his gaze flicker to the alien commander for a moment, stunned about love shining in the other man´s gaze, which was directed at the human girl sleeping peacefully under their eyes. That had been what he had wished for his mother, the reason why he was doing this here and trying to make up for his past sins. " You love her so much that you would give up a chance to go home?".

" She´s my home, the only home I´ve ever known and the only home I want to be", it wasn´t hard to admit that to someone not his friend or knowing their history. Michael had never wanted to acknowledge that he was tied to Maria, that he had grown roots to this place and the people and if he would go away, he would rip half of himself away as well.

Mike slightly relaxed on the ground, preparing him for a long day ahead of them. They were only at the beginning of a really long battle and most of those royals were too young and inexperienced to endure such a war. Thankfully he and his people were more than able to handle the situation, at least for now. " Keep that feeling, it could maybe save your life".

Michael had barely opened his mouth to ask how he meant that when another head was stretching through the open door. But this time it wasn´t one of the girls, it was Max and he looked a little guilty.

" Is it okay to come in?".

Michael motion his friend to stay and that he would come to him. He knew that whatever they would be talking about would probably end in a discussion, which usually lead to them fighting and he didn´t want to do that so close to Maria. Stepping out in the hallway and closing the door tightly behind him, he faced the other guy. " What´s up and make it quick, I can´t leave Maria for too long".

Max shuffled uneasy with his feet and he wondered why he was so intimidated from his friend. It wasn´t like they were strangers or anything. But something at the other boy was different and scary. " Liz needs a place to sleep and we can´t her force to do that on the couch after what she´s been through, so I came to ask if there´s still space for her on the bed".

" There´s enough space, but not for her", Michael was glad that they were outside of the bedroom and not anywhere near someone, because it appeared like this would be ending in a heated conversation like always.

Max was shocked about the sentence leaving the other guy´s mouth and he was stunned into silence for a few seconds, before he regained again. He couldn´t believe what he just heard and was angry at the way Liz was getting dismissed from his best friend. " And can I know the reason for that or is there some rule in your household I´m not aware of?

Michael bit his tongue from lashing out, knowing that if he would let himself get carried away he would probably do something crazy, like punching his friend´s lights out, which would calm him down, but not help the situation in any way. They had to start being more responsible and mature. " Like I already explained to your sister, I think that´s not Liz. Think about it, do you think Khivar would let her go just so that she could tell us exactly where he is and how big his army is?".

" What do you mean Liz is not Liz? Maybe Khivar has gotten hold of Maria´s Mom and he thought she was a better hostage than Liz", Max wasn´t sure if he could follow the thinking of the other man. Shouldn´t he be the first to know when something was wrong with his girlfriend? Wouldn´t he be able to know the differences between the love of his life and a shape shifter?

Michael was sure that he would probably react the same way if Max would have told him that and so he knew that it was just a normal reaction. But in this moment they couldn´t take the risk to make a mistake, especially if that mistake could mean harming Maria or worse killing her. " He wouldn´t let her leave, at least not alive. He knows that Liz is more valuable to us than Amy. He´s not dumb, he´s sure that with you and Maria wanting her back I would do everything to make that possible, because you both mean a lot to me".

Max felt the last words hitting him like a baseball bat, but not so painful. He had never realized how much his friend cared about him and it was nice to hear it, even if he was sure that it wouldn´t happen again. Instantly his anger at the other man disappeared and his more rational side emerged. " I know you´re trying to protect Maria and you´re not such a fan from Liz, but you can´t accuse her of something that´s not true. How do you know it´s your spider sense tingling and not your paranoia?".

" This doesn´t have anything to do with the fact that I don´t have any connection to Liz. I feel something dark clinging to her and before I´m not 100 percent sure that it´s just a reminder of her time as hostage I don´t want her anywhere near Maria".

Max looked back in the living room, having felt the eyes of his sister in his back the whole conversation and he knew that she would support Michael in that moment and even though he didn´t agree with them, he would back off for now. " Okay, you win this time. We keep an eye on Liz and as soon as we´re sure that she´s not dangerous we treat her like a friend again".

Michael breathed out relieved, glad that for once their argumentation hadn´t gone out of control and ended with a fight. Maybe they were finally reaching a common ground or the attack had made them realize that they had to work together instead of against each other. " I can live with that".

" Hey, can you come back. Maria´s pretty restless and I can´t calm her down", Mike opened the door and interrupted the conversation, which he instantly noticed and immediately pulled his back inside again

Michael glanced at his friend to make sure that their talk was really over. At seeing the barely visible amusement, he knew that everything was cleared and over with. Nodding in understanding he made his way back to his sleeping girlfriend. As soon as he stepped inside the room he saw Maria was all over the bed and her head was thrashing from side to side. He instantly recognized the signs of a nightmare and went to her. Grasping her face in between his hands, he tried to send her some of his serenity. Realizing that the movement was getting less and less, he put his body besides her on the bed, cradling her carefully and brushing her hair with his hand.

Mike couldn´t take the sight and he glanced at the other side of the room. Noticing a few books sitting on the ground, he stretched his arm out and took the first one catching his eye. Stunned and slightly pleased he saw that he was holding his mother´s favorite book; Ulysses from James Joyce. She had read it to him since he had been able to understand the words. It had been like a small ritual between him and his mother until she thought he was too old for that. Browsing through the pages, a little part of him felt like home.

" You like books?", Michael whispered, still holding onto Maria who was sleeping peacefully again.

Mike looked up at him, seeing the understanding in the other man´s gaze and wishing that his father would have given him the same attention. Maybe then everything would have gone a different course and his mother would be still alive. " Yeah, but James Joyce´ Ulysses was my mother´s favorite, it´s reminding me a lot about her".

Michael felt sympathy for the guy, knowing how much a book could help someone in a bad situation. Without that lecture on his side he wasn´t sure where he would be right now; probably in jail or dead or both. " Your mother had good taste".

" Yeah, too bad that it hadn´t applied to her taste in men", Mike couldn´t still believe that his mother stayed with a man that had no heart, no soul and was the most cruelest person ever walking this earth and any other planet in this universe. His parents had been like night and day; they hadn´t matched in any way and yet they had been together for most of his life.

Michael glanced down at Maria and he was sure that she thought the same about him from time to time. If he could, he would give her back her old life without any interference from aliens. Unfortunately he wasn´t able to do that and so he had to make sure that she was well protected and out of harms way. Kissing her head, he vowed to be whatever she wanted him to be as long as she didn´t leave him. " We will probably never understand the thinking of women".

Mike snorted at the true words, nodding in agreement and wondering if it would get better with the age. Suddenly he startled at the loud noises outside the bedroom, it sounded like broken windows and screaming girls. Jumping to his feet he exchanged a confused glanced with Michael, who had stood up as well as soon as he had heard the same.

" What´s going on?", Maria finally woke from the ruckus around her and the strange vibes filling the room. Rubbing her eyes she looked at both males in their fighting stance and asked herself what she had missed while she had slept.

Michael bent down to kiss her and maybe make a small attempt to get back to sleep again, although he was sure that she wouldn´t be able to do that after the sounds got louder and louder. " Nothing. I´ll take a look and you continue sleeping".

Mike wasn´t so in agreement with Michael leaving her alone and he was in the process to tell him that when the other man was already out of the door. Sensing something bad happening he pulled his weapon out of his pants to shoot anyone trying to come in here.

Living room

Everyone was running outside, trying to see who had thrown that energy wave at the house. Jim was at the front, his gun ready in his hand in front of him, Isabel and Max trailing directly behind him with their hands lifted. Kyle and Tess kept more in the background while Michael was at the end.

Liz barely came out of the bathroom when she noticed the commotion and she cringed at the raw display of powers hanging in the air. Opening a door closest to her, she disappeared behind it quickly. Turning around she was surprised to see that Maria was still sleeping and no one was guarding her. Checking the room for anyone, she was slightly puzzled that they left her unprotected.

Smiling at the perfect opportunity and that their plan had worked so great, Liz changed her appearance and back into her old form. Glancing at the window, she saw her own reflection staring at her. Brushing her fingers through her short dark blonde hair, Vilandra finally pulled her dagger out of her ankle holder and stepped closer to the bed, where the poor human girl was lying and not realizing that her time was up.

" You´re not replacing me, you stupid bitch", and she plunged the weapon into the soft body with all of her strength.

TBC