Title: Return of the Dupes
Author: Shannon (aka on Fanfiction.net, superCANDYgirl)
E-mail: slaygirl2000@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The real Roswell does not belong to me. I do own a dupe, that being this series. I also do not own Linkin Park or "One Step Closer", which Liz
sings in this piece.
Rating: PG-13,
perhaps R
Category: General
Summary: Episode 7. I'm assuming you can
deduce what the episode will be about based on the title.
Spoilers: Everything that's happened so far in the
series, nothing that I write is based on anything I've heard for S3.
Distribution: If you want it take it, but let me know please.
Feedback: YES!!! I live on feedback.
Author's
Note: Sorry for the lameness of the title. I promise the story will have more thought
behind it than that. I also apologize
if I get the New York accent wrong on the Dupes (I live in Canada). Finally, I apologize for the cheesy "denial"
pun (it's not just a river in Egypt).
Air
Date: December 4, 2001
"Damnit!" Rath shouted as he threw the chair across the empty warehouse he, Lonnie, and Ava had set up shop in. Ava jumped, and backed away further. He and Lonnie had run into Ava last spring, and had talked her into hooking up with them again. They didn't really like the girl, but that mindwarping thing came in handy, and she stayed with them cuz she had no one else to be with.
"Chill, yo, we'll just do it the hard way," Lonnie straddled another chair, and acted like she didn't have a care in the world, like their entire plan hadn't just been ruined.
Rath, on the other hand, was not going to relax. "Chill? CHILL? Yo, Zan's bitch just wrecked our plan, and you say chill?!" Lonnie rolled her eyes at him, and he continued. "Ya don't get it do ya? It was so easy, take out the Evans chick from inside her own damn head, Zan falls right into our hands without us gettin' near'em. Now, yo, we gotta put our asses on the line! Shit!" He slammed another chair against the wall, and Lonnie sighed. Rath was a lot of things, but self-sacrificing wasn't one of them. Makes up for it in the sack, though, she thought, and stood up. By now, Rath had taken a position on the floor, and Lonnie climbed into his lap, straddling him.
"Chill. There's three of us looking like three o'them. We get them, get in, get Zan, and get gone. Things get ugly, we bump a couple of'em off, no big."
Rath looked up at her, then smirked evilly. She returned it. "Yeaaah," he said nodding his head to a beat only he heard. Then he stuck his tongue down Lonnie's throat.
They were both so absorbed, neither of them noticed Ava slipping out the back.
The next morning everyone gathered at Michael's apartment. After Isabel had woken up from her mental hell, she had promised everyone that they would talk tomorrow, but for now she needed some sleep where she could actually rest. Michael and Maria had left together (surprise, surprise), but Liz and Kyle had stayed at the Evans', for safety's sake. So now it was 6:30am, and a group of very grumpy, concerned teenagers plus one town sheriff were cramped in the small apartment. You'd think we'd stop having meetings here since it's always so tight, Liz thought. With Maria becoming a more permanent resident in Michael's home, the amount of "stuff" in the apartment had been piling up, putting floor space at a premium. Michael and Maria sat next to each other, as opposed to on top of each other as was the norm, on the couch, apparently having decided to keep the PDA's to a minimum for Isabel's sake. Liz, Max, and Kyle sat at the table, Isabel in the beaten up Lay-Z-Boy Michael had recently acquired, and the sheriff stood by the kitchen divider. After Jim Valenti had been caught up on the events of the past two days, they began to discuss the threat at hand.
"So we're sure it's Rath and Lonnie?" Max asked.
"Yeah," Isabel replied, "we're sure." She still hadn't told them exactly what had happened inside her head, but it didn't seem like she was going to, and no one was going to push her, given what Liz had found out.
"What do they want with us?" Kyle asked.
"Well, we know they're in cahoots with Nicholas, who's in cahoots with Khivar," Maria began, "A guess? They've got a deal of their very own."
Michael nodded. "She's probably right. Lonnie was gonna turn you in to Khivar last year to go home, maybe she's found another way to do it."
Liz spoke up. "We're assuming it's just Lonnie and Rath, but what about Ava? She could be involved in this too."
"I don't know," Max said, "she didn't seem to want to have anything more to do with them. Plus she helped you save my life. I'm not sure she would do something like this."
Michael snorted, and Maria said, "And the award for Most Naïve Alien who Refuses to Learn from His Mistakes goes to Maxwell Evans." Max looked offended, though he realized that Maria probably had a point.
Liz rolled her eyes and tried to repress the anger building inside her. She was trying her best to trust Max and move on, but him being a complete idiot really did not help things. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Maria's right. Tess helped save your life too. I trusted her not to betray us and kill Alex, but she did. And she was supposed to be from the set that was too human." Max sighed. He knew Liz was right too. Maria, however, looked thoughtful.
"Do you suppose it's possible for two people who are hatched to be switched at birth?" she asked completely serious. Michael shook his head in exasperation, and was about to tell her that it didn't matter, when she waved off the question with her hand, and spoke again, "And did Tess really kill Alex? I mean, if he was in Isabel's mind, is he really dead?" Everyone looked over to Isabel, as it had been the thing they were all wondering.
Isabel didn't look happy about being put on the spot, but had been expecting this. She hesitated a minute, then said, "I honestly don't know." It seemed to be all she was willing to say on the subject, and once again no one wanted to push her. Thus they moved forward, or perhaps backwards, as they had gotten off topic.
"Where were we?" Kyle asked.
"Ava, evil or not," Maria summed up. Kyle nodded. Max looked like he was about to say something, but Sheriff Valenti stopped him.
"Look, I think that for the moment we're safer if we assume all three of them are part of this. If it turns out that Ava's not involved, all the better for us." That seemed to satisfy everyone, and Liz shot a grateful look at the sheriff. Discussing anything that involved Tess or even her look-alike made her really uncomfortable. The Jim smiled knowingly at her, then turned back to the conversation.
"Alright then," Max began once again taking charge. "We know it's the Dupes, we can pretty much assume they've got some sort of agreement with Khivar to get home, and obviously we are somehow involved in this…"
"Thank you obvious guy," Maria interrupted. Everyone was surprised by this, she had been unusually moody the last couple days. Michael gave her a questioning look, and she simply replied, "What?" Max and Michael shook their heads, and Max began talking again.
"Anyways, the problem is we have no idea what it is that they're planning. Unless anyone has some ideas." He looked around the group, but his startled gaze rested on the newcomer standing just inside the door.
"I got a couple," Ava said.
Liz stood in front of her locker. After Ava showed up, the group realized they were going to need a lot longer than the half hour they had before school to discuss everything, so they agreed to meet at Maria's after school, cuz her mom was away, and they had more space. Liz was glad to have some time off before then. The Tess doppleganger had been unexpected, and she wasn't really sure how to deal with her presence. Liz didn't believe she could be trusted, but unfortunately she was the only person with information, and was willing to give it. Yeah, but at what price? Liz thought. All of this was bringing to the surface a lot of memories and issues she really didn't want to deal with. She loved Max, and really was trying to get past all this stuff and just be with him, but it wasn't easy. Tess stabbed them all in the back, she killed Alex, she was a murdering, conniving little bitch. But Liz still couldn't help but feel partly responsible. She was the one who changed the future. If she had just ignored Future Max none of this would have ever happened. She wouldn't have pushed Max towards Tess, he wouldn't have slept with her, Alex wouldn't be dead, she and Max would be happily married. But she had tried to save the world by getting Max and Tess together, and all hell broke lose. And Tess left Roswell anyways. Sliding Doors Theory in action, Liz thought. Then she sighed. She still hadn't told Max about Future Max. She knew he wanted to know why on earth she had pretended to sleep with Kyle, and she should probably tell him, but she just couldn't bring herself to it. She was afraid he would hate her, or blame her or something. Oh yeah right, the guy who ACTUALLY sleeps with his evil alien mate who killed one of my best friends has the right to hate me for trying to save the world, Liz thought bitterly. Then another voice mentally admonished her. To be fair, he didn't know she was evil at the time. Fine, so he slept with a stupid alien bitch who later proved to be evil, so much better. You pushed him to it. He still shouldn't have done it! The argument continued inside her head, until Liz couldn't take it anymore.
"Shut up!" she shouted in the middle of a crowded hallway. All heads turned her way, and Liz blushed. Then, trying to cover for herself, she continued singing, "I'm about to break. Everything you say to me…" she trailed off as people turned back to what they were doing. She sighed at her choice of song, at how oddly appropriate it was for her life right now. She was definitely about to break, if she didn't come to a decision about whether or not she could ever really trust Max again. Ava's reappearance only complicated things. Hopefully they would deal with this Dupe situation soon, and she could return to Egypt, cuz things always seemed better in denial.
Ava paced back and forth in Maria's house, where she was
hiding for the day. She hoped to
something she was doing the right thing, cuz if Rath and Lonnie found out she
was dead. She looked around her. I'm dead.
Rath walked unnoticed through the halls of West Roswell High. He had figured out a while ago how to change his appearance so no one would recognize him. Worked great when he turned himself into that Jonathan kid. One touch and the Princess was an instant psycho. Now he was watching his new target, looking for anything that would give away something that would make it easier for him to make the switch.
Lonnie sat hidden amongst a sea of faces in one of the lecture halls in the University of New Mexico. She knew Isabel felt her presence, but couldn't identify her. The main plan was for Rath to switch with Michael, but if that didn't work, she would have to get her better half. She yawned. Recon was so boring. Only two people understood what happened when the slides the professor was showing of Ancient Greek architecture turned into a live sex show.
After school everyone from the morning meeting sat in Maria's living room. Liz sat in straight backed chair slightly apart from everyone else, arms crossed in a defensive position, eyeing Ava suspiciously. Ava sat in the middle of the group. It was almost like she was on trial, and she knew they were watching her carefully. Some shit had happened with Tess earlier this year, she wasn't sure what, but everyone seemed to hate her, and thus were suspicious of Ava as well. Apparently whatever had compelled Michael and Maria to keep their hands to themselves this morning had passed, as Maria was once again firmly planted on Michael's lap playing with his hair while he traced invisible patterns just above her knees.
"Look yo," Ava began nervously, "Lonnie and Rath would kill me if they knew about this, so can we just like get it over with so I can get the hell out of here?"
Max nodded. "Answer our questions, you can go. We're not answering any of yours though. We've had one of you betray us already, it's not going to happen again. Got it?" Ava nodded her understanding, though she didn't really understand. But it was cool, she didn't need to know anything about them, just so long as she didn't die. Max continued, "Good. First, what did Lonnie do to Isabel?"
"Rath, yo, he pretended to be Jonathan. Put ideas inside her head, got into her mind, loosen the walls. Made it easier for Lonnie to get in and control her. Lonnie was suppos'd to destroy her to get to you, but her little boyfriend stopped that. Rath's pissed, he ain't gonna fail again."
"Why do they want me?" Max asked.
"They got a deal with Khivar. Bring you home, the three of us come wit'. But I want out."
"Why would you want out of a deal to go home?" Liz shot from the corner. Max looked at her warningly, he didn't want to risk Ava turning away from them, or withholding important information. She glared, and waited for an answer.
"Way I see it, Khivar's gonna kill the three o'you second you off the plane. Maybe not Lonnie, but you and Rath for sure. And he's already got one o'me up there and I ain't carrying your kid, so I'm dead too. And I already saw one Zan get killed, I ain't gonna have it happen to the other." Ava looked at Liz, who grudgingly accepted this explanation.
"So what's their plan?" Michael asked, growing impatient. "Where are they hiding?"
"They in some old wearhouse, I don't know. Don't know this town. And they probably gonna get Max here from inside the group, ya know, pretend to be one of you and all that shit."
"How?" Kyle demanded.
"I don't know. I left before they could do any damage."
"Ain't she sweet?" All heads turned the voice at the door. Lonnie stood there, a sarcastic smile on her face. Immediately, Max, Michael, and Kyle jumped up, throwing up their forcefields, and preparing to use their powers. "And real smart. Too smart." She glared at Ava, then turned to the guys. "Chill yo, if I wanted you dead, you would be. I ain't here to fight. Just talk."
Max looked at her suspiciously, and no one dropped their defenses. "We have nothing to talk about."
"Sure we do," Lonnie replied cheerily. "We can make this real easy. You come wit' us, we leave the rest o'you alone."
Liz jumped up. "No one's going anywhere."
"Ah, ain't that cute. Your little bitch defending you. I think I might gag. One time deal, duke. Take it or leave it."
"Leave," Max told her. Michael and Isabel simultaneously sent shots of energy at her. She fell back, stunned, but got up.
"Your choice, we do this the hard way. Later," with that she ran out of the door.
"Yo, I'm getting the hell out of here," Ava said, already heading for the door.
"Wait!" Max stopped her. "You can't go alone, it's not safe."
"It's not safe for you either," Liz reminded him.
"I'll go with her," Michael volunteered to Maria's dismay. "I'll take her half an hour out of town, away from wherever Rath and Lonnie are."
"Michael, you can't go. It's too dangerous. At least let me come with you!" Maria protested.
Michael put his hands on her arms. "You can't come with me. If I get into any trouble, I don't want to risk you getting hurt. And I can defend myself. I promise, I'll come back to you." Maria was still unhappy about letting him go, especially alone, but she could see that he was not going to argue about letting her come with him, and the others were needed to keep the people here safe. She sighed unhappily, and kissed him, long and hard, reluctantly letting go.
"If I'm not back in two hours, find me. Let's go." With a final look and a mouthed 'I love you' to Maria, Michael headed out the door, Ava trailing behind him.
Michael dropped Ava off at a motel outside of Roswell not unlike the one he and Maria had stayed at on their trip to Marathon two years ago. He sighed, hoping Maria was okay, and checked his watch. So far he had been gone for 47 minutes. If he pushed the Jetta he could make it home in under half an hour. He was just approaching the entrance to the small town, when suddenly the car's engine died. Oh shit, what now? He thought, anxious to get back to Maria. He popped the hood and stepped out of the car. It was strange, their didn't seem to be anything wrong with the car. He couldn't figure out what went wrong. Stupidly, he bent over further to take a closer look, figuring it must just be the light that was responsible for his inability to see what was wrong. Michael thought he heard a voice, and began to turn, but before he could see anything there was sharp crack to his skull. There was blinding pain, and then nothing.
Maria paced in her small living room. He had only been gone for a little over an hour, but she was still worried like crazy.
"Relax Maria, I'm sure he's fine. Michael can take care of himself," Liz tried to comfort her. But Maria would not be calmed.
"Something's wrong, I can feel it," she said shaking her head and hugging herself.
"Maria, the last time I checked you couldn't detect disturbances in the force. It's probably just your imagination," Kyle told her. Maria glared at him.
"You guys don't under…" Maria froze, mid-sentence, mid-stride. She could hear her friends calling to her, but their voices grew fainter. Suddenly, she let out a cry of pain, then collapsed unconscious to the floor.
Michael came to a short while later. His head throbbed from the blow he had taken. He tried to raise a hand to rub his temples, but found he couldn't move it. He tried the other one, same thing. More awake now, Michael realized he was chained to a wall. He tried pulling on the chains, but they held fast. Gradually, voices registered in his mind. He groaned and looked down. Why am I wearing leather…Oh no. Oh no, no, NO! He started shouting, but was quickly silenced with a gag. He looked up in pure horror. Rath stood before him, dressed in his clothes, all the piercings gone, tattoos hidden, and hair flattened out. Lonnie stood behind him, grinning like a maniac. What else would she grin like? This is not happening. I have to get out. Maria…His thought were interrupted by Rath slapping him on the shoulder, which turned out to be very sore. Rath smirked.
"I'll say hi to your girlfriend for you."
MARIA!
TBC…
A/N Sliding Doors Theory says that no matter what choice you make, even though different things may happen along the way, the end result is the same.