Title: Revelations (part 10)

Author: Angela Rae

Category: Max/Liz, Michael/Maria, Isabel/Alex, Kyle/Tess (M) (AR)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these fabulous characters, more's the pity. They are the exclusive property of 20th Century Fox Television, Regency Television, Jason Katims, Melinda Metz and Laura J. Burns. To quote some of my favorite fan fiction authors, I'm just borrowing – I'll return them as I found them. Cross my heart!

A/N: Rated M for safety reasons… this fic is starts at the end of "Destiny", ep 1:22, and becomes AR after that. It's post S1 the way I thought it should have happened. Hope you Enjoy!

Okay, so this is where I break away entirely from the original story notes/type and start writing from scratch… Again, the plan is to eventually add a few S2/S3 characters and hold to some of the canon S2/S3 backstory (admittedly with a few large "tweeks"), rather than going in the direction I had originally plotted out back in Summer 2000. Let's see if I can keep this going *crosses fingers*

The Reviews really help the creative process, so keep 'em coming!

Okay, so here we go!...

Max waited impatiently in the parking lot after school for Liz to join him. He leaned against the hood of the Jeep as his mind flashed back to the sudden feeling of fear he'd felt through the connection Liz and he now shared. The only thing that had kept him in the gym during Coach Porter's reminder to hit the showers was the immediate feeling of reassurance that she'd sent him through the link.

He wondered where she was, and was just about to go inside to find her, when he saw her coming through the doors of the school, talking to Pam Lewis. Now that he could see with his own eyes that she wasn't hurt, Max sighed with relief. Liz nodded to something Pam said and waved goodbye, obviously distracted.

Pam caught sight of him and nodded a quick greeting before turning away and heading to her car on the other side of the lot.

Max got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and watched as Liz slid into the passenger's side and arranged her backpack between her legs, under the dash. Max wondered for the millionth time how he had gotten so lucky that Liz Parker loved him.

She looked beautiful, as always, but he could see the tension in her shoulders and knew that whatever had scared her so badly was not over.

"Hey." Her voice was quiet as she looked over at him. A small lock of hair fell over her eyes as she put on her seat belt.

"Hey," he said softly. Max couldn't help satisfying the impulse to reach over to tuck the errant strand behind her ear, his fingers lingering for a moment to caress her cheek. Liz shivered slightly.

That brief moment of contact brought with it a sense of intense agitation and unease. Liz was really upset. All of Max's protective instincts went from alert into overdrive. Liz gave him a serious look, warning him with her eyes not to draw attention from the crowd of students leaving the school with a big reaction.

"So," Max scrambled for a neutral question, all the while wondering what was really going on, "What's up with Pam?"

Liz looked startled for a moment then said, "Nothing much. She just wanted to talk about next year's Science Club membership. She wants to be president and asked for my vote."

"Is she going to get it?"

"Sure," Liz said, "Pam's great and she's passionate about the field. I think she'll make a good leader."

Max took her hand as he asked, "Where to now?"

"Let's just get out of here for a while – out of town," Liz said and feelings of conflict increased along their bond, "Everyone else caught a ride with Maria and our shift doesn't start for another half hour so we have some time."

"Alright. The desert?" Max asked, worried about what could be frightening her so badly. They had so many problems to deal with right now, he couldn't even begin to guess.

Liz brought his attention back to her when she cocked her head to the side and said, "Yeah, the desert sounds perfect."

"Okay." Max kept her hand in his when he backed out and drove toward the highway.

He went about five miles out of town, still trying to feel out what was bothering Liz through their link – with her blocking his every attempt – when they reached an out-cropping of red rock that was one of Max's favorite places to go when he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

Max pulled off the road and brought the Jeep under the shade of the over-hanging rock before putting it into park and shutting off the engine.

Wasting no time, he turned to Liz and asked, "What's wrong, Liz?"

"I had a flash. I was in the quad and when I touched one of the tables, it hit me. Someone's here and it's definitely another alien. They were at the school watching us, Max," Liz said, softly.

"Are you sure?" Max asked.

His feeling of shock traveled down their link. This was the first time Liz had ever had a flash that wasn't caused by direct contact with a person and, since he didn't doubt that Liz was telling the truth, it meant their enemies had found them much earlier than anticipated.

"Yes," Liz said, "The flashes were all in black and white, just like when I was with Nesedo and he was pretending to be you. I saw what he saw. Some kind of orb, weird skies, us at lunch in the quad, and a face. It was someone else's face. I don't know who, but I got the feeling that whoever he was the alien I felt was really scared of him."

"Okay," Max said, focusing on staying calm, "What else?"

"There was another flash of the boy who's face I saw standing over Michael. But this flash felt different from the others," Liz frowned as she tried to describe a feeling that she didn't fully understand herself. "It was strange, it felt distant, like it was waiting to be. I think it was a vision of something that hasn't happened yet. Max… Michael was hurt and the other boy's hand was glowing." Liz looked up at him with wide, scared eyes. "I think he was about to kill Michael."

(***)

Isabel was in the middle of one of the greatest make out sessions of her life when the phone rang.

She moaned in protest as she pressed her lips more firmly to the mouth that was giving her so much pleasure. Alex really is an incredible kisser, Isabel thought to herself. She tried to ignore the shrill ringing and focus on the gentle hands that were leisurely exploring the skin they were exposing, inch by slow inch. Isabel sighed and nestled closer to the lean body stretched out next to hers.

On the fifteenth ring, she growled in frustration and reached out to whip the receiver to her ear. Alex groaned loudly and fell back onto her bed.

"What?" Isabel practically snarled into the phone.

She heard Alex chuckle and felt him take her hand in his own when she turned to look at him. He had on such a comically frustrated expression that she had to laugh.

"Isabel?" came an uncertain voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes," she said, a little more politely this time, "Who is this?"

"It's Tess."

Isabel sat up more fully, startled. "Oh. Um, hi. We weren't expecting to hear from you so soon. Did something go wrong? Are you okay? Did you meet with Nesado already?"

Alex sat up beside her, a worried, questioning look on his face. Isabel shook her head and indicated she'd fill him in in a minute. Tess said something on the other end of the line.

"What was that again? Sorry, I didn't quite catch it." Isabel turned as much of her attention as she could to the conversation with Alex sitting right next to her. He was always a distraction. Isabel didn't know if she would ever get used to feeling his presence so intensely.

"I just said that Nesedo sent us a message that I'm bringing back with me. I'm arriving back in Roswell at eight o'clock tonight," Tess said again, "and I was wondering if you would come pick me up at the bus station?"

"Um, yeah. Sure," Isabel said haltingly. "Tonight. Eight. At the bus station. Got it."

"Thanks, Iz," Tess said, sounding relieved, "I would ask Max, since I know you're always busy, but things are kind of weird between us right now. I appreciate this, a lot."

"Yeah," came the quiet reply. "It's no problem."

"Okay," Tess said cheerfully, "So, I'll see you at eight."

"Yeah, eight," said Isabel and hung up the phone. She turned to Alex, who was waiting with a patient expression on his face.

"Tess?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Tess," she confirmed.

"Oh, boy," he said quietly. Alex moved to take her other hand, turning her to face him fully, before asking, "What did she say?"

"She has a message from Nesedo and she needs a ride from the bus station tonight at eight – the same time everyone is meeting up here at the house. We'll have to stop by the Crashdown on our way to the station to let the others know she's back in town." She paused for a second before continuing, "Alex, I don't know how I feel about her anymore."

"What do you mean?" Alex grew more concerned when he saw the distressed look on her face.

Isabel tightened her hands around his.

"I don't know. I just feel bad for her." Her look asked for his understanding. "I mean, she's all alone, except for Nesedo, and, let's face it, he's not exactly up for 'Father of the Year'. She needs us, she needs a family, and we're about to drop a bombshell on her."

"Izzy, Max is making a choice, same as we are," Alex said soothingly, "He's got that right and there's nothing anyone can say or do that is going to change that."

"I know, but I can't help feeling a little guilty going to pick her up, knowing what Max is going to say to her." Isabel sighed. "I like Liz and I love Max. And I'm happy that they're happy and in love... you know that, right?"

"Yeah." Alex reached out and gently cupped her face in his warm hands. "But you also feel bad for Tess."

He tilted her chin up so he could look into her beautiful brown eyes and widened the connection between them as far as he could, to let her feel him on the deepest level, as he said, "That's one of the things I love about you most, that you care so much, even when people don't see it. You're one of the most beautiful people I've ever known, Isabel, inside and out."

"Alex," Isabel whispered, tears coming to her eyes, "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Izzy," he said tenderly while deepening their mental bond.

They leaned in and kissed each other softly, the connection between them flaring brightly. It wasn't a kiss of passion, though Isabel knew they would have more than their fair share of those, but a kiss of promise. A promise of the type of commitment that two people their age should probably know nothing about. But their situation was different. Really different.

When she leaned back to look into his eyes, Isabel was once again hit with a sense of wonder that he cared so much about her.

"You know… we've got another four hours and fifteen minutes before we have to pick her up." Alex paused to suggestively wiggle his eyebrows with a comic leer. "Wanna neck?"

Isabel was still laughing when their lips met and they fell back on the bed with their arms intertwined.

(***)

Maria DeLuca deposited the Plutonium Platter and two orange sodas in front of the couple in booth two with what she called her 'professional smile' before glancing at the clock again. She reached up to adjust her silver alien antenna headband into a more comfortable position and smooth down a stray strand of short blonde hair.

Max and Liz were late. The Crashdown Café's evening shift had started fifteen minutes ago.

Not that Maria minded on principle since they all covered for each other all the time; plus it looked like it was shaping up to be a slow start to the night anyway.

Karen, the other waitress who'd promised to cover for them the last hour of their shift in exchange for coming in late, and José, the other cook, were scheduled to arrive in another half hour; so Maria wasn't worried about getting slammed later.

It's just that, with everything that had happened lately, she figured they were all safer when they stuck together as a group.

It was like that special on the Discovery Channel she had seen last month, the one about the water buffalo. The herd walked around in a tight group so they could all keep an eye out for predators and watch each other's backs, like a 360° alarm system or something. The narrator had said it was all about safety in numbers.

And with everything Michael had said about the other aliens, who were probably out there right now looking for them, and the FBI's Special Unit still existing, Maria couldn't help feeling a little scared for all of them. She had a lot more sympathy for the plight of the water buffalo anyhow.

She dropped off a water with an extra napkin for the guy at table six and quickly took his order. Then she walked back to the window that was the pass through to the kitchen.

"I need one Unidentified Frying Object, sunny side up, and a side of Saturn Rings, babe," Maria said through the open frame to the hottest short-order cook the Crashdown had ever had.

"Got it," Michael said over his shoulder as he dumped a few more onion rings into the fry basket and cracked two eggs on the grill next to a pile of hashbrowns.

Maria watched, admiring the view from behind, as he quickly assembled the skillet and tossed the rings into another basket. He grinned when he set them on the shelf in front of her.

His spiky hair drooped a little from the steam in the kitchen and there were grease stains on his uniform, but Maria still thought he was totally adorable.

Girl, you know you got it bad when… she thought to herself with a rueful smile.

"Max and Liz still aren't here yet," Michael observed, looking out the glass, front double-doors of the café.

"Yeah, I know," Maria said. She knew Michael could feel her growing worry through the connection between them when he glanced over at her sharply.

"I'm sure they're fine," he said quietly, "They're probably just making out in the alley or something."

"Right," Maria said firmly. See, there's absolutely nothing to worry about, she thought to herself. There's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Late for a shift doesn't always equal 'Kidnapped by the FBI' or 'Blasted into Pieces by Evil Aliens' or... Oh my God!

The more she thought of the possible dangers out there, waiting around every corner to pounce on her best friend in the whole world, the more freaked out she got. Maria was totally starting to hyperventilate. She reached into her apron pocket and her hand closed around the vial of cedar oil she carried with her everywhere.

She pulled it out, ready to start huffing like a mad woman, when Michael suddenly leaned through the window, put a big, warm hand behind her neck, and pulled her into an earth-shattering kiss.

Maria's eyes closed as feelings of Michael's love and his determination to keep her safe wrapped around her, and the vial in her hand was forgotten completely. The connection flared wide between them and Maria was flooded with its intensity while she and Michael clung to each other. Her world narrowed to only him and the feeling of his lips on hers.

He held her firmly to him for a few more moments before releasing her, brushing his mouth softly against hers in a light parting kiss as he withdrew completely. Maria gripped the counter to steady herself and slowly opened her eyes.

"What was that for?" she asked, a little dazed.

"It's a rule or something," he said with a shrug.

"A rule?" Her tone was a little disbelieving, "What rule?"

Michael looked at her and shrugged as he held his palm over the upper-left corner of his apron. Maria watched as it glowed brightly for a moment, before he took his hand away and the words "KISS THE COOK" were revealed in bold red letters on the white cotton.

Maria snorted with barely contained laughter. She glanced around quickly to make sure no one had seen, before leaning forward and saying in an excited whisper, "Oh my God, Michael! When did you learn to do that? That's like totally amazing!"

"Isabel's been working with me. I need to learn better of control my powers, and she's pretty good at this kind of stuff, so she showed me a couple of little things the other day. It's no big deal," Michael said. He struggled not to let his face show how much Maria's praise meant to him, but she could feel how pleased he was with himself through the link that was still glowing with warm emotion from their kiss.

"Anyway…" But whatever Michael's next words would have been; they were cut short by Liz and Max's abrupt entrance through the door to the Crashdown's break room.

"Liz, oh my God, are you okay?" Maria exclaimed, the humor of the moment completely forgotten. "Where have you been?"

Liz was still buttoning up her alien-themed turquoise waitress uniform and hastily tying on the silver apron, when she said, "Maria, I'm so sorry. I know I'm late. There's just something that happened…"

Maria froze, a sick feeling of dread gathering in her stomach, as the petite brunette looked her in the eye with an expression Maria recognized so well. Something was very wrong. Liz was never one to exaggerate the seriousness of any situation, that's why Maria knew this was definitely going to fall under the 'Things that turn Maria DeLuca into a Raving Basketcase' column.

Max confirmed this feeling when he looked straight at Michael and said, "We need to talk. I'm calling Isabel and Alex and telling them to come over right now."

"What's going on, Maxwell?" Michael asked, going to from cute boyfriend to grim second-in-command between one breath and the next.

"We should really talk about it when we're all together," Max said, his tone sounding deliberately too calm. "They should be able to get here soon."

Maria saw the way Max's eyes changed, showing a clear, fierce love, when he looked down at Liz and said, "We all need to just act normal until they get here. We can't raise any suspicions, especially now."

Liz nodded intently as Michael opened his mouth to object, "But…"

Max's head turned and he nailed Michael with a hard look. "No 'buts', Michael. We just need to wait until Iz and Alex get here."

Michael raised his hands in mock surrender, before saying caustically, "Okay, okay… whatever."

"Come on, you guys, don't fight," Liz said, her gaze moving anxiously from one boy to the other, "Anyway, Max is right. We should all be together when we talk about this. It's safer that way."

Maria took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm, to trust her friend's judgment.

"Okay, then," she said, nodding her blonde head as if that settled the issue, "Well, 'normal' is getting table six his eggs before they go completely cold."

Michael pulled the dish to the other side of the counter, completely blocking anyone's view, before holding his hand over the skillet. His palm glowed briefly and there was a little sizzling sound. He picked up both dishes and handed them to Maria with a quirky grin.

"Thanks," she said, startled. But she couldn't help the answering smile that came to her lips.

She swore she'd never get used to the whole 'alien powers' thing, but it came along with some pretty handy tricks when you were in the restaurant business.

She walked back toward the front of the café and set the meal down in front of her very appreciative customer. She was asking him if there was anything else she could get him when she saw Liz slip behind the register to ring up her other table for her.

(***)

Max took a moment to scan the café, reassuring himself there were no obvious threats to Liz or the others. Then he walked back into the break room to make the call. He knew Michael would keep an eye on things out front.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Isabel.

She answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"We need you and Alex to get over to the Crashdown as soon as you can. We've got a problem," he said quietly.

"Did something happen? What happened?" He could hear the rising anxiety in her voice.

"Everything's okay. But we should really talk about this when you two get here, okay?" Max glanced around, anxious to get the phone call over with so he could go back out front and keep an eye on Liz. He didn't like letting her out of his sight right now.

"Okay," Isabel replied, sounding somewhat reassured. "Oh, Max, hang on. There's something else. Tess called. She wants me to pick her up at the bus station later. She's getting in at eight."

"Great." Max said with a sigh. "Alright, come over and we'll talk, just the six of us, then you and Alex can go pick her up."

"Okay, Max. We'll be right there." Then she hung up.

Max flipped his phone shut and pocketed it as he pushed the swinging door open and stepped back into the dining area. His eyes immediately sought out Liz. His shoulders relaxed fractionally when he saw her smiling at four new customers as she took their order.

He stole a moment to admire the way her eyes lit up with her natural warmth when she grinned and how beautiful she was to him. His heart felt warm and cold in his chest at the same time. He realized how lucky he was to be with her and what it would mean to him if he ever lost her.

I can't – I won't let anything happen to her. He vowed silently to himself, then and there, to always be by her side to keep her safe.

He took a seat at the back booth by the waitress station to keep an eye out for Isabel and Alex to arrive and settled in to wait. He watched Liz and Maria fall into an easy routine as the Crashdown started to fill up with the usual dinner crowd.

They were busy seating customers quickly, taking orders, serving, ringing them up, and busing the tables in a synchronized rhythm when Isabel and Alex walked in.

(***)

Alex held the door open for Isabel as they walked into the Crashdown. It hadn't taken long from the time of Max's call for them both to reach the café. He looked down when he felt her grip his hand tightly.

He glanced at her averted face and realized the cold look in her eyes didn't match the worry he felt pouring off her in waves. Her public face was on. She'd told him once her old friends used to call this expression 'The Ice Princess' and it was how she dealt with anything that frightened her or made her unsure of herself.

She'd learned at an early age not to show weakness because it only invited attack. This was like putting invisible armor around her heart so nothing could hurt her. Her old friends used to laugh and say she looked like 'ice'… glittery, perfect, cold and hard.

But now Alex knew the truth behind the lie. He could feel it through their entwined fingers and the connection that bound them so tightly together.

He caught her eyes for a moment and reached for the quiet calm that came from his certainty that, no matter what challenge they faced, they could beat it as long as they all stayed together. He sent that surge of faith to her and was rewarded with a shy smile, her mask of indifference slipping for a moment as she felt his support.

Alex squeezed her hand reassuringly before letting go and following her to the booth where Max waited. He smiled to himself while he admired the graceful way Isabel slid in across from her brother. Her golden hair was caught up in an artfully messy top-knot that left her nape and shoulders bare.

It made him remember the way the blonde strands had fallen in a silky curtain around his face almost twenty minutes ago on her bed when she'd leaned over him and kissed him breathless.

"Hey, Alex," Max said, startling him out of the memory. Alex blushed when he noticed the way Max was looking at him, like he could read his mind in that moment and knew exactly what he'd been thinking about.

"Hey, Max," Alex said, looking a little embarrassed but kind of proud too, and then he quickly brought his attention back to the topic at hand, "So, what's this all about anyway?"

"Yeah, Max," Isabel said, glancing around the café, "What's going on?"

Liz hurried over to their table with a tray of drinks.

"The usual," she said. Liz put a couple of Cherry Cokes in front of Max and Isabel and set an orange soda in front of Alex. She dropped three straws in the middle of the table and laughed when Max and Isabel reached for the Tabasco at the same time.

Isabel slapped Max's hand away with a mock-growl before snatching the little bottle from her brother. Max grinned while his sister shook a generous portion into her glass, only daring to reach for the bottle again once she started to mix her cola/sauce beverage with her straw.

Max added some Tabasco to his Cherry Coke too, stirred it together, and took a quick sip. "Thanks, Liz," he said quietly, his hand brushing over hers where it rested on the booth.

"Sure," she said, her voice soft.

Their eyes met and filled with love for a moment before he asked, "So, when can you and Maria go on break?"

Liz glanced over at the clock, then around the café, before meeting Max's eyes again with a serious look, suddenly all business. "Give us ten minutes."

Max nodded. Then Liz walked away and pulled Maria aside to whisper in her ear. Maria glance back at their table and smiled in greeting before nodding to Liz and hurrying to drop another ticket off with the kitchen.

Max continued to deflect Alex and Isabel's questions by telling them to wait for the girls' break, that they should really talk about everything as a group. Ten minutes later, Maria and Liz pulled Karen aside to tell her they were taking their break. The other waitress nodded distractedly as she poured a couple of Cokes for one of her tables.

Then Maria caught Michael's eye through the window to the kitchen and saw him nod once before he told José he was taking his break too.

The six teens quietly slipped into the employee's room in the back.

(***)

A blast of hot summer air came in behind him as Davis stepped through the Crashdown's brightly logoed double doors and into the air-conditioned café.

His cold gaze immediately went to the group of teens walking into the back room. He counted six of them as the swinging door closed behind them. He immediately wondered who the other two were.

There was an empty table near the front, so he took a seat and settled in to wait. He ran his fingers through his short sandy-brown hair and tried to resist the overwhelming urge to scratch at his neck. He needed to shed, he'd have to get back to the motel soon.

A harried-looking, older woman in one of the waitress uniforms hurried over and set a water in front of him. When she asked what he was having, he quickly glanced at the menu on the wall and just read off the first two items he saw. For a brief moment, he wondered what the hell a Warp Wrap was, but was satisfied when she nodded and walked away.

Nicholas would be arriving in this back-water town any day now.

He needed to observe the targets and, above all, to identify their protector. That would be the real challenge. Unlike the cloned hybrids, their assigned protector wouldn't have the limitation of only one appearance, making it the perfect stealth assassin. And this protector was dangerous to them, very dangerous.

He needed to catalogue their movements, committing every detail to his report, and wait for the Royal Four to lead him directly to the only being on this planet who could hope to protect them now…

He realized his expression was betraying him when the waitress came back with his order and gave him a slightly petrified look when she set it on his table. He flashed her the 'what a sweet young man' smile he practiced in the mirror and his acting skills were rewarded when she smiled back and asked if there was anything else she could get him.

He shook his head 'no', still smiling up at her, as he thought, Of course there is. You can get me the heads of the four reincarnated alien royals in the back… with extra cream, please. A little politeness never hurts.

TBC…

A/N: R&R is always appreciated. So, press the little blue button… :)