Title: Against Myself
Author: Shannon (aka on Fanfiction.net, superCANDYgirl)
E-mail: slaygirl2000@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell. Make up
your own witty line.
Rating: PG-13,
perhaps R
Category: M&M mainly
Summary: Episode 8. Maria knows
something, but will the others listen before it's too late?
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: If this episode seems crappier than usual,
I'm sorry, but it's probably because I wrote this one as fast as I could so I
could write the next episode. The next
ep is the one I have been absolutely dying to write since I decided to do this
series, and I kind of ran out of patience for this one. But fear not, the better half of the season
will start soon!
Air
Date: December 11, 2001
Maria woke up an hour after she passed out. The first thing she noticed was Liz's face hovering in front of her own. She was on the couch now, apparently having been moved from the floor where her black out occurred. She wasn't sure what had happened while she was out, but she still knew one thing for certain. Michael was in serious trouble. Eyes wild, she jumped up and grabbed Liz by the arms. "Liz, it's Michael we have to find him, something's happened, he's…"
"Right here," Michael called, interrupting her. Liz was looking at Maria like she was crazy. Maria spun around to face Michael. She ran up to him and threw her arms around him. She could tell immediately that something was off, and pulled back.
"When did you get back?" she asked, hoping it looked like she was eyeing him with concern not suspicion.
"About half an hour ago. You were still unconscious," he told her. Maria began doing the math in her head, to see if he made it back within his two hour time limit.
"That's 20 minutes before he said we should worry," Max told her, apparently understanding what the confused look on her face was about. Maria nodded absently, trying to disguise the wary look she was giving Michael. Liz shot her a 'what's wrong with you look' that Maria ignored.
"Anyways," Max was saying, "It looks like we should be okay for tonight. There's nothing else we can do now anyways, and I think we could all use some sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow. Agreed?" Everyone nodded, and Kyle, his father, and Isabel immediately said goodbye, and headed out the door. Michael turned to Maria.
"You coming to my place?" he asked her. She studied his eyes for a minute and something bothered her about what she saw there, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. She slowly shook her head.
"No, I have to, uh, stay here tonight, since uh my mom's out. You know, hold down the fort and whatever. You go home. I'll see you tomorrow," Maria stuttered, continuing to focus on his eyes. What is it? She thought. It's like there's something…
"Yeah, okay, whatever. Later babe," he said. Then it hit her. What bothered her was that she saw nothing in his eyes. Not one flicker of emotion. Oh, god, it's not Michael, it's…trying to kiss me. Michael moved to kiss her, but she dropped to the ground before he could. Liz rushed over to her.
"Maria, are you okay?" Liz asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy still I guess," Maria replied. She looked at Michael, who shrugged and left. Only Max and Liz remained.
"Max, I'm going to stay with Maria for a while," Liz told her semi-boyfriend.
Max looked hesitant. "Do you want me to stay? Take you home later?"
Liz shook her head. "No I'll be fine, really. Go home." Max still didn't seem certain, but having no real reason to stay, he gave Liz a quick kiss and walked out the door.
Maria turned to Liz. "It's not Michael."
"What do you mean? Of course it is," Liz told her, confused.
Maria shook her head. "No Liz it's not. It's Rath, not Michael."
Liz looked doubtful. "Maria I think…"
Maria cut her off. "Look Liz, out of everyone, I think I would know if it was Michael. And that was not Michael. Didn't you notice how different he was? It was like he didn't care, like he had no emotion. If that was Michael, he would have been sitting with me when I woke up. He would have caught me when I fell. I'm telling you it's not Michael."
Liz continued to look at her dubiously. "I don't know Maria, maybe it's just Michael regressing to his former self because of all the stress. A year ago if he had been acting like this you wouldn't have even blinked, let alone questioned his identity."
"That was a year ago! Things have seriously changed. Liz, when I looked at him, I couldn't see him. I touched him and I got nothing. He wouldn't block me out like this, not now," Maria insisted.
Liz sighed. "Look maybe you're right, but we should talk to Max before we do anything. If it isn't Michael, we'll just get ourselves killed. Go to sleep, we'll talk to Max before the meeting tomorrow."
Maria grumbled unhappily, but gave in. "Fine. But Liz? If Max doesn't solve this tomorrow, I'm going looking for Michael, with or without you guys." Liz nodded, and the girls said their goodbyes.
In the one-time storage room that was now serving as Michael's cell, Michael shouted and pulled against his chains. He knew it was useless, the only person around who could hear him was Lonnie and she didn't care, but he had to try something. Finally exhausted, Michael gave up his struggle, tried to use his powers, again without success, on the chains. I swear, Michael cursed, if he lays one finger on Maria I will rip his lungs out and shove them up his…
Michael's thoughts were interrupted when the door to his cell opened without warning. A glass of water was shoved at him. Lonnie glared at him, and he waited until she left to take the water.
Michael sighed. He was afraid, but not really for himself. They didn't seem to plan on killing him, though he was sure they would if they had to. He was more afraid of what Rath would do to Maria. Despite one lingering paranoid, untrusting part of him he was certain that Maria would recognize that he was not himself. But that might not do her any good, cuz she certainly couldn't fight off Rath if he wanted something from her. God, please keep her safe until I'm out of here, Michael silently pleaded, even though he didn't really think it would help. I swear, I'll kill them all if they touch her.
The next morning, Maria was no less certain that Michael was not Michael than she had been the night before. It was with apprehension that she drove to the Crashdown. The second she looked inside the café any doubt that Liz had managed to instil in her that she was wrong vanished. Because there was 'Michael', groping some blond chick in the back booth of the restaurant. Before he could see her, Maria turned and ran for her car. She drove straight home, and paced around her kitchen for a few minutes to calm down. Even though she was sure it wasn't Michael, it still cut through her to see him (though it wasn't really him) with another girl. When she was sufficiently calm, she sat down to think, trying to come up with a plan to locate Michael. She didn't have time to warn the others, they would already be at the café, and no way was she going back there. Alright, she thought, the real Michael is not here. Which means that must be Rath, cuz Ava warned us something like that was going to happen. So if Rath's acting as Michael, that means Lonnie must be guarding the real Michael somewhere, probably the warehouse Ava mentioned. Now, Michael was going to take Ava half an hour out of town last night. So even if he didn't make it, they still must have caught him coming or going in that direction. And since he wasn't gone very long, the warehouse must be on the way to where they were headed, even though they tried to avoid it. So if I can figure out where they were going, I might be able to find a clue as to where Michael is. Maria nodded, her logic made sense, and went to find a map. She figured he was probably headed about 35 miles out of town, the way Michael drove. Sure enough, 34 miles out of Roswell, travelling along 285 North, there was a hotel marker. Probably where he left Ava. Determined, Maria grabbed the map, her cellphone, and car keys, and headed out to find Michael.
Max and Isabel showed up to café together, and were both surprised to see Michael(Rath) with his arm around a blond who was definitely not Maria. When Michael(Rath) saw them, he said goodbye to his seat mate, and went to join the others. Liz and Kyle were already there, giving him dirty looks. Max also looked at him funny.
"Michael, should you be doing that? I mean, I thought you loved Maria," Max asked.
Michael(Rath) shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know, I do, whatever. Can we get on with it, I have places to be," he muttered, casting a discreet glance at the blond he had been playing with.
Liz's icy glare turned even icier. "Where's Maria, its not like her to be late? I called, she's not at home."
"How should I know?" Michael(Rath) asked. "Look do I have to stay?"
Max was about to tear into Michael, put stopped when Liz put her hand on his
arm. "No Michael, you don't have to
stay. Leave if you want," she said.
Michael(Rath) nodded briskly. "Cool," was all he said before he headed out the door.
Everyone turned to look at Liz. "It's not Michael, it's Rath, and Maria's probably out looking for the real Michael right now, and if we don't find her soon she's going to get herself killed." Everyone seemed to accept this explanation giving the way Michael had been acting, and moved into action.
"What do we do?" Kyle asked, eager to save both his friends.
"We need a plan," Max said, and though everyone rolled their eyes, no one could argue with him.
On the outskirts of Roswell, Maria had discovered an abandoned textile factory. It clearly hadn't been used in years, and would serve as the perfect hiding place for the Dupes. There wasn't much traffic, or any other buildings nearby. Maria parked her car off the road, hiding it behind some trees. She moved quickly with a stealth she didn't think she possessed to the rear of the building. It didn't seem like Rath and Lonnie had any guards, so she just had to be on the lookout for those two. She climbed up a fire escape, and slipped in through the window. She found herself on a sort of catwalk that over looked the entire middle of the factory. Moving as quietly as could, she worked her way down to the main floor. She was going purely on instinct, trying to find Michael without giving her presence away. She peered around a corner, and saw Lonnie standing on the other side, down the hall a bit. She quickly pressed up against the wall, and began moving back the way she came. When Maria heard the footsteps, she broke into an all out run. But Maria quickly realized the factory was somewhat maze like, and she had no idea where she was. She could no longer hear the footsteps behind her, so she stopped to breathe. When her heart rate slowed, Maria turned around the corner.
And straight into Lonnie.
Maria gulped as Lonnie smiled at her. Maria was terrified Lonnie was going to kill her.
"It's you, thank god. I was gettin' to think I was gonna half to look for you, ya know. But here you are. Your little boy won't shut up. Keeps tellin' me how bad he's gonna kill me if Rath touches you, yo. I tell him to chill, but he ain't listenin'. Maybe now he'll shut up," Lonnie advanced on Maria, who stood frozen in spot. At least Michael's not dead. At least I'm not dead. Wait, why aren't I dead? Maria was relieved. It didn't seem like Lonnie was planning on killing her on the spot. But then the look on Lonnie's face changed, and Maria started looking for an escape. "'Course, I can't just give him you. He'd think I'd gone soft. And I ain't gone soft. No, we gonna have to make things look a little different, ya know what I'm sayin'?" Maria turned and ran. Lonnie sent a bolt of energy that knocked Maria to the ground, skinning her knees and palms. Lonnie came up and kicked her in the stomach, cracking a rib. Maria groaned, and Lonnie hauled her to her feet. She delivered two quick blows to Maria's face, one cutting her lip, the other giving her a black eye, and then, apparently satisfied that she had messed Maria up enough, dragged Maria to Michael's cell.
Michael was jerked from his state of semi-sleep when the door to his cell was flung open.
"Here, Lover Boy," Lonnie said, "I brought you a toy. Have fun." She threw Maria at him. He moved to catch her, but couldn't get very far. He looked at her face, and grew angry quickly.
"Who did this to you?" he demanded. Maria jerked her head towards Lonnie. He again began shouting threats, and struggling with his chains. Maria used the little strength she had to help his struggle by working on the chains.
"Uh-uh," Lonnie said, "none o'that." Using her mind, she rearranged the molecules of the chains so that Maria's wrist's were in a binding, which were connected to Michael's cuffs with a single link. "Play nice kids." She began to walk out, but before closing the door she took a thoughtful look back at the couple. "You know, seein' you two like that makes me think o'me an' Rath in the early days." Simultaneously shouts of "Ewww!" followed her out the door.
Rath headed back to the factory, changing his appearance to look like his regular self. He couldn't take anymore of this preppy shit. The others were on to him, they wouldn't have let him leave otherwise, and there was no point sticking around. He and Lonnie had to work on a new plan, hopefully one that involved killing all the little pipsqueaks, and taking Zan and going home.
A few hours later, Michael and Maria fell asleep. He had already explained to her that he couldn't get out of the chains because they were made of lead, which made him unable to use his powers. He also couldn't heal her. So they had stayed bonded together, finally finding a position that was slightly less uncomfortable, with Maria in his lap and their arms between their bodies, and fell asleep from pure exhaustion.
Michael dreamt. He wasn't surprised to see Maria in his dream. He was surprised to find out that it was the real Maria, not just the one inside his head. Here in the dreamplane they were free to move about, but were still showing all the injuries they had received. Michael held his arms open to her, and she went into them willingly.
"How did you get in here?" he asked her.
"I don't know, I fell asleep and I was here," she sounded small, her face buried in his chest.
"Is this your dream or mine?" he wondered aloud. She shrugged.
"Both, probably. But I don't know. Can we just be quiet for a minute?" she asked him. He sighed and nodded, and held her tighter. After a while she spoke again. "I was so scared. I knew right away it wasn't you. I was afraid of what they'd done to you, and Liz wouldn't listen to me, and I was afraid I wouldn't see you again."
Michael lifted Maria's chin, and looked into her tear filled eyes. "I'm right here. I'm okay. I'm not going anywhere. We'll get out of this, I promise."
"How?" she asked.
"The others will come looking for us. It's just a matter of time," he told her reassuringly. They both knew they may not have much time, as with her disappearance everyone was sure to realize that Rath was among them, and it wouldn't be long after that before Rath decided bloody deaths for all was the way to deal with this situation.
Maria looked up at Michael, her eyes full of fear. "Michael, what if…" She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before Michael started kissing her. She went along willingly, opening her mouth for him, and wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her tighter, trying to be as close to her as possible. A white light began to surround them, originating at all the points where their bodies were touching. It was warm and soothing, and grew in intensity the longer they kissed. Suddenly, it flashed, blinding them both, and causing them to wake.
When Maria woke up she became aware of four things. One, she was still kissing Michael. Two, all her bruises and cracked rib were healed. Three, she felt stronger than she ever had before. And four, Rath was shouting, "What the hell was that light?!"
Maria opened her eyes and pulled back from Michael, smiling. His eyes shone with wonder, as he lifted his hand up to touch her face, free from all the cuts and bruises that had been there. "How…" He didn't get to finish as the door swung open.
"Yo, what the hell happened in here? How'd you get healed? This ain't suppos'd ta happen," Lonnie asked, seeing her injury free captives. Maria looked at Michael as an idea hit her. She smiled and turned to face Lonnie.
At the top of her lungs and as off-key as possible, Maria began belting out Celine Dions "The Power of Love" to the surprise of everyone in the factory. Lonnie looked at her in utter shock, and left the cell shaking her head.
"The bitch has gone crazy!" she shouted to Rath.
"No shit!" they heard him call back.
Maria kept singing, louder even, after Lonnie left. "Sing with me," she told Michael between lines. He looked at her like she truly had gone crazy, and shook his head.
"No way."
She continued singing. "Just do it."
"I don't know the words!" he protested.
"Yes you do, you had it in your head for three days last week," she told him. He blushed, and continued to look at her funny, but began singing along nonetheless. "Louder," she commanded, and he obeyed.
When they were making enough noise, Maria began pulling on the chains. Michael followed her lead, and they soon broke the link on the cuff from Michael's wrist to the wall, as whatever the light that they had generated was had seriously damaged the old chains. Without missing a line, they broke the link that connected their cuffs, each able to move now. They stood and stretched. Maria motioned for Michael to follow her, and they stood on opposite sides of the door. Maria kept singing loudly, though Michael tried to get her to shut up, so he could think of a way to break out. Frustrated, he finally yelled at her, "Are you trying to piss me off?"
"No, I'm trying to piss them off," she hissed, and continued. Michael realized what she was planning. Get Lonnie and Rath to storm in here, catch them by surprise, and make a break for it. Michael sighed, and went along with the plan, since there was no way he and Maria could break down the solid steel door and still be able to take on Rath and Lonnie. The things you have to resort to when your powers are taken away, he thought sadly as he joined Maria's horrible rendition.
They sang for a minute, but no one showed, so Maria figured they weren't being annoying enough. What would seriously piss off two New York City street punk aliens? Then it hit her. Her effort redoubled, she began singing Britney Spears' "Oops, I Did It Again". Michael grimaced with embarrassment, but sang along. Maria had to resist the urge to laugh at him. Then she heard the footsteps, and braced herself. The door swung open. Michael hit Rath, knocking him unconscious. Maria only managed to stun Lonnie, but it didn't matter, she and Michael were off and running, searching for the exit in the maze of doors. I hate this place, she thought desperately as they turned into another dead end.
What Michael and Maria didn't know was that not only did their terrible singing allow them to break their chains, it also allowed Max, Liz, Isabel, and Kyle's entrance to go unnoticed by Lonnie and Rath. The four of them had found the factory using the same logic Maria had, and knew they were in the right place when they saw Maria's Jetta. They too were racing through the factory trying to get to Lonnie and Rath, and get Michael to stop singing. They went through a door and slammed right into Michael and Maria who were trying to exit through the same door. Looks of surprise and understanding were exchanged all around. With no time to waste, Michael and Maria explained quickly what happened, and held up their wrists still in the cuffs of the chains. Max and Isabel got them off with a wave of their hands, and Michael was able to use his powers again. Everyone was happy about this because singing certainly wasn't one of his strengths.
"Maria's idea?" Max asked. Michael nodded. The six teenagers were about to continue the search for Rath and Lonnie, to take care of them once and for all since Michael had the use of his powers back, when Rath and Lonnie found them.
"Well ain't this convenient," Rath said. He and Lonnie faced the other six menacingly.
"You're out-numbered. Out-powered. Back off now," Max told them.
Lonnie laughed. "I don't think so. But we'll make you a deal. Go wit' us, no trouble, we let the rest o'ya go. Hmm?"
Max shook his head. "I'm not going with you. And you don't really want to go there either. Khivar will kill you both on sight. And if you don't back down now, we'll kill you both. Step away, and you get to live."
"No, see, I don't think so. We got a deal. You die. We don't. Simple," Lonnie said.
"You're sure of that?" Max asked.
"Yeah," she said. Without warning, she let a bolt of energy fly towards Max. Kyle immediately threw up a forcefield to protect Maria and Liz, while Max put up his to protect his brother and sister. Michael and Isabel used their powers to battle their evil counterparts. The room was small, and as things exploded, dust and smoke built quickly, making it hard to see. The fight lasted no more than five minutes, and ended when Isabel killed Lonnie. Rath had been seriously injured but was still alive and fled from the room. No one tried to stop him as they had to get out of the building before it collapsed around them. Fortunately, a number of walls had been knocked down, and a path that lead almost straight outside cleared. The six teens ran outside as fast as they could, putting as much distance between themselves and the disintegrating building. They stood in silence as the factory turned to rubble.
That night as Maria drifted off to sleep in Michael's arms, she could have sworn she heard him humming "The Power of Love" and smiled.
A/N Yeah, so there was some lameness. Sorry. I don't own the songs.