Mary
by
Disclaimer: I don't claim. Talk to Jason Katims, UPN, WB, etc.
Summary: When the aliens receive news that a little girl, who hasn't yet been born, will save the earth, what must they do?
Rating: By chapter.
CHAPTER ONE--PG-13
In a suburban town, in a little house, a man watched over an exhausted woman carrying a little child. She was still in her mother's belly, but had already the fate of the world fallen on her shoulders. The man didn't know that, though. He couldn't.
The thirty-ish individual smiled as the woman, his wife, rolled over in her sleep, reaching out for him. The child, too, stirred, but with far less intent. Perhaps the little girl was dreaming. The man didn't see, couldn't have, but he had seen the slight flutter of a smile on his wife's face when the baby had moved, and he lay back on his bed, his head propped on pillows, intending to spend a while just watching his family, however unborn one of them was, and basking in it.
He turned his head a little at a slight sound, but didn't think anything of it. Summer had come, and the drapes flapped against the open windows. Through the screen, you could hear many strange sounds that a person had forgotten during the shut-in winter months, the man reasoned. He picked up a book, and started to read, humming softly.
Suddenly, the screen bowed in, broken as though by a huge weight, and a woman, tall and cut, clearly quite strong, in a black jumpsuit and ski mask flew through it, landing on her feet in the bedroom. The man let out a startled yelp, and his wife awakened, and started to scream.
The attacker put her hands in front of her, and a low light emanated from them. The woman clutched her stomach, crying out, as the man jumped from the bed and headed for assailant. He was stopped easily with a low side kick, and went down, moaning but not seriously injured. The attacker jumped from the broken screen, and the man lay, still a little in shock, on the floor of their home as his wife continued to cry.
Perhaps it was the fact that their little girl, who should have never been able to, had looked up at her abductor. Or maybe it was the eyes of the woman. They were the only part of her that showed, and the blue depths had seemed almost... sad... at taking the infant from her parents. But he believed that her kidnapper had meant her no harm.
Later, when he told this story to the police, they decided that it was a distraught almost-parent, wishing desperately that his child had been taken, and therefore, perhaps reclaimable, instead of wanting to believe the 'truth': that his wife had miscarried. Unusual this late in the pregnancy, but not unheard of.
And even if the mysterious woman in black had had something to do with it, there wasn't a lot the law could do. At four months pregnant, the woman could still have legally had an abortion, and at best, the case was unbelievable. There was nothing that could be done.
Still, the couple continued to believe that their child had been taken, rather than accept that she'd 'died'.
Isabel
"Max, did we really have to do that?" I asked, as I handed the not-quite infant, perfectly silent, as before, to Liz. I could see Liz concentrating hard to keep the fetus alive, but I knew she could do it. She might not have faith in the powers she gained, but I did.
I peeled off the ski mask, and unzipped the jumpsuit, revealing my usual fair underneath: A pair of tight leather pants and a halter top. I threw the jumpsuit, with disgust, to the floor, and waved my hand over it, setting the whole thing on fire. It turned into charred ashes in seconds, and I put out the fire with another swipe of my hand.
"Iz!" Max reprimanded me. "Anyone could have seen that from another car."
I shrugged. I knew that this, that obeying Max, as a king, was my part in my destiny, but that didn't mean I had to accept it. At least, I think Max was happy that I'd accepted it more than the original part of the destiny thing.
This baby, however cute she would someday be, was a pain in the ass, though. How the hell was I supposed to tell my parents? And who's really bright idea was it for me to carry it? Oh, that's right, my brother's. It's always his idea, when we do something really stupid, did you notice?
Max drove like a kamikaze, and I took the fetus back from Liz, pouring all of my energy into keeping the underdeveloped being alive long enough to reach the area we'd decided on, in a little cave in this remote location. Michael twisted himself around in his seat, and touched my hand, lending me his strength.
The little being was shaped sort of like a human, but was mostly head, with a little body and four little stumps that signified her limbs. Her eyes were closed, not developed yet, and she was encased in a ball of light that was doing it's best to emulate the mother's womb. She was odd-looking, at the best, and I felt more than a little trepidation as I looked upon her.
We pulled into the parking area, which was deserted this late at night, and ran from the car, Michael and Max doing their best to lend me strength as we ran though the black, on our way to the little rocky indent.
The ocean whooshed, and the seagulls crowed occasionally, and there were no cars anywhere nearby. I couldn't help thinking that maybe this wasn't such a bad place for a conception. If only it was natural, and little more voluntary. Bowing to the cause of world-saving doesn't really constitute voluntary. It more constitutes wanting the world to continue to exist, even if this was the price.
We dashed into the rocky cave, and found the so-called 'sacred' circle ready on the floor, Kyle in the middle of it. He wouldn't fit in the car, so we'd left him here, where he could also ready the process, for when we got back.
Max was, at my request, acting as the conduit. Liz would hold the little fetus, because Max would need Michael's energy. Maria and Kyle, too, could contribute. My brother had promised that this should be as painless as possible, but I wasn't nervous about that. I was more nervous about the parents.
We'd agreed that Kyle would act as though he were the baby's father, since Sheriff Valenti would be better equipped to act as the baby's grandfather, knowing all that he did. It wouldn't be easy for Kyle, though, and I was grateful that he'd decided to help.
I lay in middle of the circle, spread-eagle, feet and hands bare, touching Michael, Max, Kyle and Maria each with one of them. Liz stood between my legs, holding the fetus, using much of her energy just to keep it alive.
Joining hands, Michael, Max, Kyle and Maria closed their eyes. I used my alien powers to ready my body as though I was about to give birth, and the fetus flew off of Liz's hands abruptly, heading for me.
I'll spare the gory details, but to make a long story short, it hurt. Not the getting pregnant part, but my uterus hadn't had the last four months to naturally stretch, and it complained. Liz and Maria sympathized, telling me all about menstrual cramps, something that, being an alien, I've never had. I just simply tune out pretty much any function of my body when it becomes annoying.
Doubled over, holding my stomach, I managed to make the car, and we made the long drive home. I took two sleeping pills, my powers drained, and I don't remember much of it. Just that it was down to a dull , rather strong, but dull, ache when I awoke, rather than the sharp, constant pain, it had been.
Kyle
I never said this, alright, but I kind of like Isabel. In the romantic sense. I'm not ready for a relationship now, not right after Tess's betrayal, and I know she isn't, she's still in mourning for Alex, but someday, I think we could be good together. So forgive me if it didn't take long for me to agree to pretend to be the father of her child. I think Max and Michael see right through me sometimes, but they've never said anything, so we're still good that way.
It was odd to see Liz act like one of the bunch. She has these weird abilities, now, not really entirely like the aliens, but not entirely unlike them, too. She's healed some small wounds, and stuff, is all. But today, she held that fetus, that child, and she kept it alive, long before it could possibly survive on its own.
I've never tried to develop my abilities, but Max says I probably have some, if I knew where to look. They're probably within the realm of what he can do, he says, but who knows what he can do? He's said himself that he has a lot of powers that he isn't sure what they are or do. Wouldn't that be weird, to have something in your head that you didn't know what it did? Like an unlabeled button on a switchboard.
I wished desperately that I could do something when I saw Isabel in so much pain earlier, coming out of the cave. I wanted to be near her, to lend her my strength, just as a friend, but a good friend, but Max and Michael took their usual places at her sides too quickly. They've always been protective of her, questioning her abilities. I never do that. If Iz says to stand back, I stand back.
I sat in the back of my car, letting Max drive. Michael took shotgun, and Maria and Liz were driving Maria's mother's Jetta back. Isabel slumped on me when she fell lightly asleep, still holding her stomach. I nestled her onto my chest, and gently moved her hands from their death grip on her gently swelled belly.
After long moments, she moaned and reached down to hold her stomach again. I pushed her hands gently away, and started to rub her rounded mid-section. Her eyes fluttered open for just a second, checking on who I was, and then she fell into a deeper sleep, apparently reassured.
We got back, and woke up Izzy. She changed slowly, haltingly, into a pair of jeans and a baggy shirt. Max helped her into the house, and I left, alone in the car. Maria and Liz had stopped to get Michael a block from the Evans' house.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Probably the only thing I'm sure of, is it won't be boring.
Max
I got Izzy settled in bed, and she fell asleep pretty fast, her knees curled to her stomach in a fetal position. I covered her slightly with blankets, hoping my mother didn't come in and find out by accident. But, either way, we were explaining to our parents tomorrow. About Iz's pregnancy, not about the alien thing.
Isabel still believes that our parents will love us, treat us the same way, if they know we came from another planet in this large universe. She can't see that no one else ever did. Granted, the different way that Liz, Maria and Alex treat, and treated us wasn't bad different, but it was different. And therein lies the potential for our parents to shut us out. To deny us, to even turn us in.
I've been tortured once. I won't put myself in a position where I might be again.
I don't blame Izzy for wanting to tell, for thinking that there's nothing out there worse than the pain of keeping a secret from those closest to you on this earth, and I don't blame her for not knowing. I'd do anything to spare her the pain of what I went through. But she wasn't there, I was. And I won't put any of us in a position where that could happen, again.
Night takes over quickly, and I fall asleep. In the morning, I awake to a tugging on my arm. Opening sleepy eyes, I look up into my sister's face, much less pulled and tired-looking with the sleep that she's gotten, and the rejuvenation of her powers. I know she has hers back, because I can feel mine once more.
"What, Iz?" I moan.
"Mom and Dad are leaving for that lawyer thing at eleven, remember? We've got to go talk to them, now."
I groan at the idea. I may be an alien king, but I'm still a teenager, and I like my sleep. Reluctantly, I pull my head out of the pillow and make eye contact with my sister. "Okay."
"Good. Kyle will be here in about ten minutes. Be downstairs, maybe eating breakfast, or something. I don't want you too involved in this."
I snort. God, I'm starting to sound like Michael and Iz. "Not too involved? This was my idea, Iz."
She shrugs, then turns her stare commanding. "Stay out of the crossfire, Max. I mean it."
No one can order me around. Or, at least, they shouldn't. But my sister, when she acts like this, leaves no room for negotiation. "Alright, Isabel." Then, as she leaves, "Crossfire?"
*******
Fifteen minutes later, right on schedule, the silence of the silent breaks in the living room with my father's exclamation of "How could you?"
I sneak away from the table, and stand in the doorway, just watching the exchange. I want to protect my sister, but if this is going to work, it has to go as we planned. I watch as Kyle wraps an arm around Isabel.
He cares about her, I know that. I'm not sure how, exactly, but he's a good friend, and wouldn't hurt her. That's all I really care about right now. I think I've finally learned that my sister's, and Michael's, and the love lives of all the people I know, are no one's business but their own.
Not that I wouldn't dive in in a second if I didn't think that Kyle Valenti had honorable intentions regarding my sister.
Of course, considering that I'm allowing them, and even encouraging them, to masquerade as though they are about to be young teen parents, the definition of honorable that I'm using may be foreign to some.
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