Chapter Twelve

He didn't exactly know what to think about finding his sister and his girlfriend in bed together the next morning. When he woke up he could sense Liz nearby and went to find her. She was fast asleep curled up next to Isabel and they both looked content; he knew that something important must have happened between them and whatever Isabel had done for Liz he was sure that his soulmate was much better off for it.

"Liz, Isabel... it's time to wake up" he gently shook them awake; it was one thing for him because he knew it must have been something alien related but it would have been an entirely different matter if either of his parents found them.

"Max?" Liz whispered, she looked up and saw him standing there. It took her a moment to realise that it wasn't Max from her time line but Max age sixteen; she couldn't help but feel heartbreak at the sight of him. Yes she loved him no matter what age but she had a lifetime with the other Max, her Max, so it just wasn't the same.

"Its morning Liz... do you want me to drive you home?" he asked but she shook her head as she sat up

"No, that's okay. I think I'll run home, it's been a while since I've had a good run" she replied with a smile, he'd never seen her content since she'd come back from her timeline. She got out of the bed, pulled on her shoes then paused in the window "Could you pick me up later for school? I'll see you later!" and then she was gone.

***

Liz arrived home and quickly got changed, she felt so well rested and happy. It had been such a very, very long time since she'd felt that emotion; with all her friends and family around her it was easy to temporarily forget of that horrible future, her past, that she had lived through. She could forget for a while but it was something that would always be with her.

She altered her clothes using her powers to the fashion and style she knew as we comfortable for her. She had baggy combat pants on, combat boots and a beige camisole and her hair tied back. Looking herself over in her mirror she looked every bit the army brat she had learnt to be. Once she was ready she hurried out and down her stairs to wait for Max and Isabel to pick her up.

***

"Things are changing... I can feel it" he mumbled

"What's changing?" asked the soldier guarding him, Kjou had been the soldier assigned to protect the King. He was the only bodyguard visible, the rest were all hidden

"Time, reality. I can feel them breaking down. I need to go to the Granolith chamber" he said

"But sire, we're going to the War Room to meet with Kathana, Sero and Larek. It's important we go there" Kjou tried to remind him, Larek had been pretty adamant that it was important the King get there. Since he got into the throne room and forced his bad memories of ten years of torture on Kivar he'd just wandered like a lost soul, almost as if he was empty

"I am so very empty... I can't remember things" he said desperately then suddenly turned and hurried down the corridor. Kjou watched as the walls seemed to bend and flicker, he hurried after Max wondering if they were under attack. But it was quiet, too quiet, like nothing was wrong at all.

Max entered the chamber housing the Granolith and everything else seemed to disappear. He grabbed a crystal just as the soldier stood near the door vanished

"What's happening?" Kjou cried, he'd never seen things like this happen before; he didn't know how to fight against it the way his king seemed to do

"Time to go. Hahahaha time!" Max laughed as he put the crystal in the slot "You should come with me. I don't know if it'll work but if you stay here you will cease to exist"

"Cease to exist?" he repeated, Max placed both hands on his bodyguard's shoulders and they were both sucked inside as the fabric around the Granolith seemed to tear. Within seconds there was a flash and they were gone just as everything vanished completely.

***

"So I was thinking this weekend we could all go out to the desert and practice, build up strength, since the others are in California living it up with Kal it would be good if we could get stronger too"

"Yeah that would be good. But Isabel, it wasn't about strength... it was about unity, using our Czechoslovakian passports to complement each other. We need to go over strategy and defence"

"Okay" she replied with a bright smile "Then afterwards we can go shopping? You know, completely selfish blowing money and just doing what normal teenage girls do"

Liz slammed her locker and looked at her friend with a thankful smile; it was easy to see what Isabel was doing. She was trying to make Liz feel better, try and take away the bad memories and replace them with good ones

"I'd love to" she stated "And Isabel..."

"Yes?"

"Thanks" Isabel grinned then walked off down the hall just as the bell rang. The halls began to clear quickly and Liz was hurrying to put her books into her bag, she dropped one. She shoved the rest in before bending to pick up the fallen book when she paused; something was different, she could sense it. She slowly stood back up looking round. Liz stared down the hall but saw nothing, it was quite deserted now, she turned around holding her breathe.

Her bag clattered to the floor and her books spilt out but she didn't see nor care. Max was walking towards her, to anyone else he looked sixteen, but as soon as she laid eyes on him she knew. It was him. It was Max. It was her Max! He was here, he was alive and he'd come back for her!

"Max! Oh my God!" she cried jumping over the books and rushing over to him

"God! Liz I never thought I'd see you again"

"Me too! I thought you were dead!" she felt so happy to be held in his arms that she didn't care that she was late for class. All she wanted was to be held and to hold him; it was all she needed.

"Let's get out of here" Max whispered and she nodded. The two of them hurried out the doors Max came through unaware that they were being watched. He came out from behind the corner and wondered what the hell they were talking about. Why would Liz think Max was dead? And why did Max think that he'd never see Liz again? Whatever was going on he was going to get answers. He watched the happy couple go before turning to follow them, if they were going to skip class then he wanted to know why and what they were going to do.

***

It was a sight to see. It certainly was! Alex and Maria watched Michael, Laurie and Kyle moving feathers around with their minds. Kal had suggested feathers because they were so light and that they should start at the beginning. The feathers were floating around each other like they were orbiting planets. The three of them sat there with their eyes closed as Kal explained how to do it.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Consuela came in, she paused when she saw the floating feathers that dropped down instantaneously

"I thought I told you to go home" hissed Kal

"I did" she replied "And I came back to do my evening shift. There is a Kevin Jones here to see you, sir" she said. She had seen what the children had been doing; three of them had telepathy and Kal was encouraging their gifts, why? She just added it to her mental list; these children were special and she would find out. The man who had just arrived cleared his throat then burst into the room impatiently.

Kevin paused when he saw them then gasped; he had to control the urge to bow to the young children before him. They were just kids! They were what the Antarian alliance was relying on? These kids! There had to be more to it, they had to be stronger than they appeared

"You must be the martial arts teacher"

"Ye-yes I am. I'm Kevin Jones... nice to meet you" he held out his hand for Langley to shake. Kal looked over the younger man before him, sizing him up. He looked to be about twenty five and there was strangeness to him like they'd met before

"Have we met before?" he couldn't help asking, he couldn't sense any alien energy in him but that meant nothing

"I think you knew my father" he answered "Shall we begin, do you have a room where we can train? The kids here are going to be my student's right?"

"Yeah that's right" he nodded "That's Michael, Kyle, Laurie, Maria and Alex"

"Nice to meet you" he smiled; he'd heard that Michael was General Rath in his former life. He couldn't quite see it from where he was standing but maybe that was a good thing, if he couldn't tell then others couldn't either and that meant he was underestimated.

***

She opened the door and they hurried inside with her shutting it quickly behind him, her keys fell to the floor as they started kissing and before long her shirt followed them. They walked backwards not taking their hands or mouths off each other. Liz ripped his brown shirt open sending buttons flying everywhere

"God Max" she groaned, officially this would be their first time together since they were both in their sixteen year old bodies; it occurred to her that if they did then she was would get his first time. She would have him before Tess did!

Liz jumped up in his arms wrapping her legs around his hips as they crashed into her bed, Max lay over her panting hard

"It feels so good to be this young... it is a bit weird though" he told her "I want you Liz. I need to feel you. It's been so long"

"Make love to me Max. Give me your first time, instead of giving it to her" she whispered and he nodded slowly leaning down to kiss her softly. He moved down attacking her neck, he knew her body so well even though this was the first time he was doing this in this line.

He held her hand, linking fingers with him as he moved his way down her body. He carefully slipped her trousers down

"It's like old times. When we were in that tent... camped out in the Mojave desert" he whispered

"We'd just wiped out a battalion and rescued part of Los Angeles. Kyle knocked out the power because he was drunk. You made a hole in the roof of the tent so we could..."

"Make love under the stars" he finished the story as she lay there in her underwear. She gently flipped him over so she was straddling him; her hands went to his belt buckle

"All those times we were afraid of being completely natural because we didn't know what it would do, since I had already been changed by you"

"Liz..." he began but she shook her head

"Let me finish. Max I want to do this, all those years on Antar... with Kivar"

"I dealt with Kivar. You don't have to worry about him anymore"

"Please Max... all those years. I need you, I need to feel you. Not some bit of rubber... I'm ready. And if... if I do end up with a child, it will be your baby. A baby we've created together..."

"Okay. I just don't want to hurt you"

"You can't. By doing this I'll never be hurt again, this will change things. Tess won't have the control over you like she did and we won't be broken up" she pulled his jeans down then laughed "I'm sat here in my underwear and combat boots! Not very sexy"

"It's you, Liz, that does it for me" he said with a smirk and she grinned

"Yeah I can see that" she couldn't help lean forward teasing him through their last strands of clothing and he groaned loudly.

*

He watched from the fire escape, thankfully no one could see him starving in through her window because the fire escape was at the back of the building overlooking an alley. He'd been wondering what had been going on for a while ever since Kyle and Liz broke up and then he went off on some exchange programme. Then Liz went out with Max as soon as Kyle was gone, talk about a quick rebound!

Tommy couldn't help but lean closer to look through the window. As soon as they're entered Liz's supposed apartment it was clear that they were going to go all the way. Since he heard them talking in the corridor at school his interest was more than piqued; what the hell was going on? He tried to hear what they were saying by moving even closer. The metal of the fire escape squeaked and grated against the wall making him freeze. He glanced back up to see both of them staring straight at him!

"Shit!" he cried jumping up to make a run for it down the fire escape but all of a sudden his body went limp and he couldn't move. He willed his arms and legs to move but they wouldn't budge. He couldn't even shout for help! The window opened and two pairs of hands grabbed hold of him pulling him inside.

Max and Liz dropped Tommy in the middle of the floor in the bare apartment. Liz let him loose and he sank back before jumping up intent to knock her out of the way getting to the door. But she was quicker, she held up her hand and he went flying backwards landing on his back groaning in pain.

Max shut the window then walked over to his girlfriend; they were both dressed only in their underwear but neither was ashamed in front of their peeping prisoner.

He knelt down near him scowling to intimidate the guy who'd been spying on him and his girlfriend... his wife.

"Talk" he demanded coolly

"I can't sense him. Can you?" asked Liz glancing between the two of them. Max shook his head; because they couldn't sense him that made him either a human or a skin. One thing was clear was that he wasn't an Antarian.

"I'll check him..." he replied and easily turned him over, Tommy struggled by he held him down with ease and lifted up the back of his shirt feeling the small of his back "He's human"

"Might be a vessel" she commented

"I don't think so. If he was then he would have used his powers instead of trying to run, he's human"

"Who the hell are you?" he cried desperately, he'd rolled over to stare up at them and they were menacing to him

"Why do you want to know?" she answered him "Why were you on my fire escape?"

"Why were you watching us?" Max added

"I wanted to know what's going on. Something weird has been going on with you two, Kyle, Isabel, Alex, Michael and Maria!"

"Max," Liz gasped "If he's noticed it then other people are bound to notice"

"We'll deal with that if it has become a problem but for now I think it's just him being nosy. Honestly Tommy, I would never had thought you were bright enough to figure our secret out"

"You-you're not human are you? Either of you?" he gasped quietly "You're from the crash aren't you? It really happened! What did you do to Max and Liz? Oh god this is like invasion of the body snatchers!"

Liz laughed at that. It was true in a weird sort of way, she'd taken over her sixteen year old self and it turned out Max had too. She was glad that he was here now, that he'd come back and melded with this timeline's Max. If he hadn't then she wouldn't have seen him again; once she was in the past she couldn't return to the future because her influence in this present had changed that future and now it was gone altogether.

"No we're not human" Liz shook her head

"What are you going to do to me?"

"What should we do with him Max?"

"I don't know... there's so many things we can do... it's been a while since I've tortured someone. I did learn a lot when I was in those dungeons"

"So did I" she replied, Tommy looked up at them with such terror and fear "Relax Tommy, we're not going to hurt you. Believe it or not we're the good guys"

"We should show him... like you showed the others. This is interesting, young Max's memories are mixing with mine. I can remember it but it's like I wasn't there"

"Don't worry" she soothed him "You'll get used to it and those memories we have with become hazy and it'll hurt less" Max put his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head "Do you want to show him or should I?"

"If you're going to show me what you really look like... please don't! I won't tell anyone about you! Just please, please, please let me go! I won't tell anyone I swear!" Max nodded at Liz and she knelt down reaching out to touch him. Tommy closed his eyes in fear.

She connected to him easily and the images flashed through his mind and once it was over he started crying. He understood it all and when he opened his eyes he looked up at them with so much respect. Liz had also gotten a few flashes of him and couldn't help but smirk as she saw his true self. When he'd been peeping at them it was the sight of Max that had excited him more than the sight of Liz.

"He's going to keep our secret and I'll keep his" she announced. Max looked at her, she just smiled letting him know that it was okay and his secret was a personal thing.

"I know I'm just... an ordinary human and I'll need some time to get used to what you showed me but when... when you need me, if there's anything I could do to help then I'll be there"

"Thank you. Take as much time as you want" Max said. Tommy left quietly as it all rolled through his mind.

***

Kevin arrived home to the tiny little condo he'd rented and sighed deeply as he leaned against the door. He couldn't believe how hard it was to hide himself from the Royals and their family but he figured it was best; he was an outsider to them and he knew what kind of reaction he'd get if he came out and told them he was like them.

He turned on the TV before sinking down on the couch; he still didn't know how it'd had happened and it wracked his mind trying to figure it all out but for some reason he'd arrived on Earth the same time Liz had come back from the Future and he hadn't disappeared. He wasn't bound to this timeline but for some reason travelling through the Granolith at the exact time his reality broke down had put him outside time. As soon as he arrived on Earth he turned to amassing details on Copper Summit, the New York Royals, both shapeshifters and this line's current queen which was Tess Harding. Then he got word of things happening, changing and he could feel it within him, that strange sense that something was different. Liz had sent several of her friends to one of the shapeshifters for protection and training leaving the King, the Princess and Liz in Roswell protecting the Granolith.

Suddenly the phone rang breaking his train of thought; he quickly got up to answer it. It was one of his contacts in Roswell

"There's been a development, sir" came the voice on the other end of the line, completely foregoing pleasantries

"What is it?"

"Someone has discovered King's secret"

"Is their safety compromised?" he replied fearful that it had and what that would mean

"I'm not aware of it. I've got the details on the one who found out and I've sent it to you; he's a student like them at the High School"

"Adam, I want you to contact Connie and her father in the resistance and get them to bring Ava to me"

"Yes sir" said Adam "Sir... can I ask, did you... did you meet them?"

"I did yes. It's hard to believe they're the same people. Contact the others and then I want you to go find Tess, bring Tess to me and get the Griffin's to take Ava to Liz in Roswell"

"Understood sir" Adam stated finally before ringing off. Kevin put the phone back in the cradle before glancing at the TV, it flicked off and he sighed once more. He'd been so focused on all of them for so long he hadn't had a moment to himself. It had only been days since he'd come here and built up enough contacts and people willing to fight but it felt like it had been months! He'd achieved so much and now that he sat down to think about it he was overwhelmed by it all.

***

She slid closer to him smiling into his chest as she stole his warmth; he looked down at her and couldn't help but smile back. He wrapped his arms around her keeping her safe

"I like these lazy mornings. I was so sore last night" she moaned "Maria really packs a punch"

"Well she's small... she has to have something to make up for it" he replied and she chuckled "Are you going to spend some time with Michael today?" her sunny mood disappeared into a scowl

"I'm not talking to him after the pool incident. Since grandpa died my aunt and uncle have dictated my life, I don't want him to be doing the same"

"He has a point for what he said; he is actually worried and concerned about you"

"Got a funny way of showing it" she snapped

"Laurie... if he really was like your aunt and uncle he wouldn't have said what he said about me. He wants you to be happy and he's worried that I might not be the right guy for you; he's looking out for his sister. I can see why he might not think I'm up to the job of being your boyfriend because I was the typical bonehead jock. If you don't do it for yourself then do it for me spend time with him, please"

"Okay" she said sulkily

"Thank you" he replied pressing a soft kiss to her forehead "I was really proud of you yesterday, your powers are really strong. I was a little surprised"

"Well I've had a long time to practice them... Michael's energy is similar to yours. It's like you're both warriors"

"I think it's because we both have people we love and want to protect. You're a part of the group now Laurie... and I really am glad that you are. In the future time line... when I died, I was alone. Yes I was mourned by Liz and the others, my family, but I didn't have someone who loved me like Max and Liz love each other. What I'm trying to say is..." she silenced his nervous words by crashing her mouth against his.

TBC...