Part 4

When he woke up, Chris expected to hear the steady typing that had accompanied his many awakenings before. He was disappointed to see that Chloe was not in the room. It must have been apparent in his face, because the nurse who was standing at the foot of the bed and looking over his chart patted him on the leg. Chris smiled, thinking it was a thoughtful gesture.

"Your friend left with Mr Luthor, if that's who you're looking for," the nurse provided.

Chris wanted to thump himself over the head. He was supposed to be watching out for Lex Luthor. Now his only friend had left with him. He was not doing a very good job of it, was he? He hoped the Powers that Be wouldn't take away his new mission. He was kind of enjoying the friendship he had made.

The nurse must have read his expression in another way, because the next thing he knew, she was pulling up a chair and sitting next to him, a motherly look of concern etched in his face. Chris found it a bit eerie. After all, his recent experience with his own mother was in such a buddy manner. That was because he last saw Piper when she was only about a decade older than he was. "Awww son, don't feel too bad. You'll find a nice girlfriend soon. You didn't stand too much of a chance with her, even if you're nice-looking. Those two have been in and out of this hospital like this was the mall, they were bound to hook up. The few times they were here I could tell they were just waiting to get together sooner or later."

Chris smiled at the woman uncomfortably. "Well I hope she just gets home safely," he offered, hopefully to get the nurse moving. He had to think. He had to concentrate. The connection between Chloe and Lex really had begun.

"That we won't know for sure," the nurse said, grinning. "Both of them get into so many accidents, and you put them together in one car? I hope they're extra careful!"

Finally, the nurse stood to leave. She patted Chris on the arm and assured him, "If you get well in the next day, I have a niece coming in from North Dakota that's pretty as a pie and I can get you a date."

Chris smiled and thanked the nurse, still uncomfortable. When he was finally alone, he wanted to focus on getting better, not for the North Dakota girl but to get this mission completed in the shortest time possible. There was no telling who Lex Luthor could turn against if he continued in that evil destiny. He could even hurt Chloe.

He was not even alone for five minutes when the door opened again. Chris sat up so he would not be defenseless against the talkative nurse. He found himself looking at a platinum blonde man who slinked into his hospital room.

"You're the Guardian," the man began. He extended a hand, which Chris awkwardly shook. "The name's Spike."

"I'm Chris, not a guardian," answered the patient. Better be safe than sorry.

"Stuff it, man. I need yer help. I'm far from normal. Or human."

Chris wanted to yell in relief. They sent him some help! Another angel? "Do you know anything about the great evil I'm stopping?"

"Well bloody right I know what great evil you can stop from happening. You gotta do something about Blue out there."

Chris' eyes wandered to the glass opening of the door and saw what looked like a timid brown-haired young woman stepping into the room. "That's a great evil?" Chris repeated uncertainly.

"She's gonna be!" Spike answered.

The patient narrowed his eyes at Spike. "Are you an angel sent to help me out?"

"Angel?! Hell no! He's out of the picture." Spike shuddered. "Gives me the creeps to even be called by 'is name!"

"I don't know anyone named Angel," Chris clarified. "I'm asking if you're an angel."

The brown-haired young woman shook her head. "He's a half-breed."

Chris brightened. He, Wyatt and his aunt Paige were all called half-breeds at one time or another. "You're the son of a witch and a whitelighter too!? This is perfect."

"Me mum was called witch sometimes," Spike admitted. "Don't know what the hell a whitelighter is. I'm a vampire. She used to be a god-king."

Chris' eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. He grabbed at his neck until he realized he was already dead. "Nobody ever said anything about any of those!"

"Look, you're the Guardian of the Future," Spike told Chris. "Well guard the future by not letting her kill me."

"You two are not my mission," Chris pointed decidedly. "Nothing outside the mission." He had to get out of there. He still needed to check back in the future to find more clues that led to the corruption of Lex Luthor.

00

The clock read nine o'clock. Maria looked around the shop and was satisfied with the number of customers still around. In Roswell's Crashdown Café, she and Liz would have been starting to clean up by this time. Since she was now managing a coffee shop, her hours were later. They needed to open up earlier for those people who needed their fresh cup before starting their day. Since those people were the night owls, the Talon had to be kept open to cater to them during their peak hours.

After everyone had been served, Maria cherished the precious time when she could just sit behind the counter and start working on the books. For someone who had hated Math, she was showing an abnormally cheery disposition in facing a balance sheet.

Maybe it was because Math was a lot less complicated than life. Here, one plus one is always two. Everything was a given. If the left column did not agree with the right, someone screwed up. Everything was matter of fact and straight to the point. She wished life was like that.

"You know I can wave a hand over that and you'd be done for the day."

Maria looked up to see Isabel Evans leaning over the counter with a smile on her face. She had lost her brother. Why did she look so unproblematic? Maria had caused her brother's death. Why didn't Isabel's eyes hold any grudge or hatred? Did Liz look the same way? Given the fact that Maria had rendered an infant fatherless, she doubted it.

"Isabel," Maria choked out. She tried to think of something else to say, but there was nothing. How does one apologize for something like this?

Isabel's beautiful hand closed over Maria's. "How have you been?" she inquired, purposely veering away from the topic neither wanted to discuss.

"Good," Maria answered. "I'm not a waitress."

Isabel laughed softly. "You've been promoted." With a smile, she added, "I miss hanging out with you. I wish you'd just let me drop by every little while to catch up, you know."

The blonde behind the counter searched in her friend's face, found only sincerity and did not have any strength for more walls. "I just found out I'm the least mature of all of us. Everyone's making peace, settling down, moving on. Why can't I?"

"That's not fair, Maria," Isabel responded.

"Because it happened to me," Maria provided. "I know. In my brain. My heart though is another matter."

"That," Isabel answered. She grinned. "Also because everything true for the rest of us. Except Kyle, that is. He never matured. He's incapable."

That got Maria to chuckle. Isabel was still the same. Thank God. Maria finally agreed to her friend's request. "I'll give you free lattes when you're here for chitchat."

"I have something to tell you," Isabel said, "to get it out of the way and we can just talk like two girls who visit."

"Okay," Maria breathed.

The best way was still to do it in one breath, and get it over with. "Michael's gone. He joined the military." Maria's breath hitched. A flood of images made up of Rath, the Antarian general, and of Princess Vilandra threatened to overwhelm her. She fought them down. "So don't be afraid that he'll suddenly pop up here. He's not going to be hanging around anytime soon."

Maria nodded and smiled her thanks. "So who does Liz's baby look like?"

00

There were not many things in his life that Chris regretted. When he went to the past against all rules of magic, to destroy the future and the only life he knew, Chris did it wholeheartedly. He loved his older brother. As toddlers they were brought up that it was inevitable that Wyatt would be his hero. However, Chris knew full well that it was his responsibility to ensure that the strongest being in earth, heaven or hell work for the side of good.

He would miss that brusque guy, but Chris didn't regret destroying the possibility that he would ever be.

That was the reason of course that Chris was boggled by the steps he saw Lex Luthor take in this future world that he now watched. At first, Chris had thought that the Powers that Be had sent him to a boring conference. Lex Luthor was sitting at the head of a long table in his offices, alone, with a black leather briefcase in front of him. Chris waited for a beat or two, because he was certain that he would fade out soon and fade in to an action-packed sequence. Action was not forthcoming, however.

A few minutes later, Lex looked up. A burly suited gentleman, the uniform of whom Chris noted was of Lex's bodyguard. "The assassin is here."

Chris was prepared for the worst. He had seen a few demons in his time. He imagined that snapshot of his uncle that his aunt had kept in an old chest under her bed. Belthazor had been large, muscular, red, with eerie black markings all over him. He deflated when a sleek leather-fitted woman walked stiffly into the room.

"Illyria," greeted the businessman, who did not get up but motioned to one of the seats available.

"I would prefer to stand. The muscles of this shell must never be relaxed. It had been too used to slackness. Everything about this body has had to be stretched over time." In demonstration, Illyria raised long arms as high as she could reach. Then, with smooth and fluid movements, she bent to the left and the right.

"I hope you're not getting weak or slow," the businessman said.

"If you had any doubt, you would not have called me here."

Lex smiled at that. "Thank you for the confidence."

At this, Illyria cracked a smile. "The same for you. Now where is the money?"

The briefcase that had been lying on the table in front of Lex Luthor was touched. Lex pushed the buttons on the latch and revealed the money to the assassin. "This price is worth your reputation," Lex began. "Never let it be said that I do not pay for talent."

She glided over to the billionaire and reached out to run her hands over the cash. "Not long ago I owned a trembling earth," she murmured. "Now I am under orders of some boy born rich, just to survive."

Lex stood and allowed Illyria to step closer to the money. "Admit it," he whispered into her ear. She turned her head to meet his eyes. "You don't do it for the money. You thrive for the kill. Money is not an object. You have been feeding on the scent of blood since you killed that vampire with one strike of your arm."

At that, she whipped her head away and snatched the briefcase. "Do not speak of the past. I do not wish to remember."

Lex chuckled. "In your mind, you still live in the past, Illyria. You want to recapture your golden age. That's what you love about this job. You're powerful. You control."

"For one whose brain capacity is comparable to this shell and its dead lover, you will never understand."

"That's because you're full of contradictions," Lex answered. "You refer to these people you knew, to the grandeur of your reign, yet you will not talk of the vampire you killed."

"Enough!" she spat out, and the floor of the office rumbled beneath them. Her eyes flashed a bright blue, and then all calmed. "I will do what I have agreed to do. Your role is over. The general will be dead by tomorrow's sunrise."

Lex watched as Illyria strode out of his office. He was confident that she would get the job done. Only then will he finally close that chapter of his existence. His wife should recover, and he would lay that unpunished crime to rest.

A short series of beeps brought his eyes to the screen in front of him. He pushed the answer button on his desk, and the image of the general in question appeared on his screen.

"General Guerin," Lex greeted, "it's a pleasure to hear from you again."

"Drop the act, Luthor," Michael gritted. "This is not a conference call of any kind. Your supplies are arriving tomorrow. Be sure they're top quality or all contracts we have with you are off. I'm supervising testing tomorrow."

"They're top quality, alright," Lex assured Michael Guerin. The general he had first met as a shattered young man was visibly older. Lines on a face that should still be smooth proclaimed what the man had undergone in the last years. "Are you sure you want to supervise the testing though? You are still invited to my daughter's birthday of course. The party's tomorrow. Did you get your invitation?"

Michael shook his head. "I got it," he answered. "I'm not coming."

"I should say I'm disappointed. Marra would be too," Lex shared. "She has a lot of questions that I told her General Guerin could answer. She was looking forward to meeting you. Her fingers burn sometimes. I hear my wife tell the kid not to be angry all the time. Do you know why she's burning her Barbie's hair off when she's pissed?"

The mottled rage in the general's face was obvious. Lex could almost see Michael's own hand outside the camera's view starting to grow a fiery red-orange.

"Careful, general," Lex said quietly. "Control your temper," he advised. "You never know what explosives around you are that you can render out of control. You don't want to hurt anyone, do you?"

Michael shut his eyes tightly, evidently battling to keep his temper in check. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. When he opened his eyes, Lex saw none of the anger. In them, he saw something that had become so familiar in the many years they've been acquainted.

It was the same emotion that Lex saw in Michael's eyes that day out in the testing field, while Maria knelt on the dry soil and held her hands in front of her, staring at the futile silver markings. Lex Luthor stood looking down at a body almost completely unrecognizable that he could not even swallow the name. He had then looked up at the young man who had been scampering towards them and fell onto his knees.

"She's dead, Michael!" Maria had cried, looking at the stunned young man. "We killed her."

Lex had been numb, but he knew each part of his body was trembling in disbelief. He smelled the scorched flesh. He had gazed into that vacant green stare. And then he memorized every detail of the two faces in front of him. Soon he would learn their names. At that moment, he could only hold himself up.

"Will you ever let it rest?" Michael finally said, no longer the young man now, but an experienced man who had fought for his control.

Lex looked him in the eye. "The moment my heart stops being the vacuum that it's been since you killed her."

"You've taken everything from me," Michael replied.

Lex shook his head. He pushed the off button for the video call. "Not nearly enough," he murmured. He flipped the screen on and gazed at the grinning photograph of Chloe fitting her wedding gown. Pale, smooth, unblemished skin untouched by scars or burns going on endlessly until white lace and satin closed over it. Just one damn day before Michael Guerin's screw up. No, Lex hadn't taken nearly enough. Illyria would take care of the rest.