'Michael.' said Isabel.

'Yeah,' he replied, lifting his head to look at her.

'You don't believe Adam really is an FBI agent do you?'

Michael grunted and raised his shoulders, turning his attention back to the TV. God he'd missed this, if there was one thing on Antar that sucked, it was the lack of violent movies and hockey! If he'd had to go any longer without hockey he'd probably have ripped off his own head and hit it around the jail cell with a stick just to make himself feel better, that would satisfy his violent side too! The only problem was that it was impossible for him to watch a violent film at the same time as the hockey and spending time with Maria! It sucked big!

Isabel sighed and looked down at her hands. She couldn't work out what it was she was feeling, it was that feeling she felt when Alex was there, that sense of security that told her everything was Ok. That was why she was siding with Maria on this one, Adam couldn't be bad, he was just too- too Alex like!

Michael glanced back across at Isabel as she sighed. 'Why does I bother you so much?'

Isabel gave herself a small smile, two whole years in a jail on Antar and he still hadn't learnt tact! 'I dunno,' she replied hesitantly. 'It just- Forget it.'

Michael began to turn back to the TV, she obviously didn't want to talk about it. but suddenly an image flew into his mind, Maria, with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. Fine! Fine, he thought. 'No, tell me.'

Isabel looked up at him in surprise, maybe Antar had done him some good after all! 'It just feels like,' she paused. 'It's really dumb.'

'Tell me!' persisted Michael. 'I took two years of your girlie gossip fine, don't stop now, I might start missing it!'

Isabel smiled at him. 'It just feels like saying he betrayed us is saying Alex betrayed us. But we know that isn't true, it just feels wrong.' She turned her gaze down to her hands in embarrassment.

Michael stared at her in surprise. That made sense, wasn't that what had been lying under everything he had been thinking for the last hour, well other than the playing hockey with his head thing. 'I know how you-'

Michael was cut off by the opening of the front door, both he and Isabel leapt to their feet, hands raised in fear of the intruder.

'Who's there?' demanded Michael as Isabel began to edge towards the bathroom where Max was hidden.

'Relax it's just me!' replied Serena as she walked into the room.

A door flew open and Liz rushed out, her face pale. 'Serena! Did you get my- ' she stopped as a look of anger passed over her face. 'You!'

Michael swung his eyes back to the door when she spoke.

'Uh. hey?'

'ADAM!' squealed Maria, running out of her room and straight at him. 'Michael Geurin don't you dare try any funny business.'

'What's going on?' asked Max as he walked out of the bathroom into the chaos.

Adam swallowed, just what he loved, a party. Oh God! They were gonna kill him, blast him into tiny pieces and then slowly incinerate him. His pulse rate quickened and he looked around in panic, in search of a friendly face. It wasn't like he signed up for the ride, he'd just been dragged down into this whole cruddy alien thing! The alien abyss, Adam gave a wry inward smile at the memory of that saying and it's speaker. It sure would have been great if he was here now, just one friendly face. Suddenly his eyes stopped on one person, his friendly face.

'Come in,' said Isabel, 'And close the door before someone sees.'

Adam smiled uneasily as she addressed him, he wasn't used to such beautiful women talking to him, well other than Serena, Maria and Liz but they didn't count, they were becoming more like sisters, incredibly pretty sisters, but still sisters.

'Come on,' said Serena taking him by the arm and leading his unwilling body into the room.

Maria quickly closed the door behind them and walked to Michael's side. She unobtrusively reached out her hand and clamped his right arm firmly to his side. He looked down at her with slight annoyance. 'What?' she said. 'I'm just making sure you don't do anything you might seriously regret!'

Isabel followed Serena and Adam to the couch and sat down. 'Max?' she said looking behind her, looking for his instructions.

Max looked away, unwilling to be in charge, this wasn't his ball game. This one was up to Liz.

Adam cleared his throat and looked round the silent group nervously. This was fricking crazy! What on earth was he thinking? Aliens! Aliens that could shatter you into a million pieces with a flick of the wrist and here he was sitting in a room with four of them and one extremely pissed human who apparently had her own bag of tricks! He was crazy! Absolutely mad. 'Ummm. hey?' he offered weakly into the deathly silence.

Michael glared at the boy on the couch. It looked like Maxwell was shirking his responsibility so it was his job to conduct the investigation. 'What ermmm.' Damn this was harder than he thought. 'What the hell is he doing here?' he demanded, turning his attentions to Serena.

'You know [I]he[/I] has a name!' growled Maria from beside him.

'Right,' replied Michael. 'What is the crazy, Diary stealing, FBI agent doing here- Ow! Ria that hurt!'

'Yeah well learn some manners,' she replied looking down at his shin, which hopefully was going to have a nasty bruise in the morning. Never mess with hurricane DeLuca. 'Adam, it seems no one else is gonna ask you anything so it looks like I'm just gonna have to take control. Please explain to my mindless friends that you are not out to kill them!'

Adam looked gratefully up at Maria, trust her to come though for me. He opened his mouth to reply only to be interrupted by a small voice from the other side of the room.

'Why did you do it Adam?'

Adam looked over at Liz' fragile form and was instantly sorry for all his past actions. Her face looked tired and there were big dark rings under her eyes and he could faintly make out tear stains on her pale cheeks. 'I. I was trying to help.' he said weakly.

'Help?' demanded Michael. 'What by putting all our lives at risk? By betraying us to the FBI?'

Michael winced as he waited for Maria's attack on him but it was Serena's voice that broke into the discussion for the first time. 'No offense Michael, but don't open your royal mouth about things you have no idea over!'

Everyone looked at her in surprise, except for Adam.

Kyle blinked at the stunning woman just across the room from him. He couldn't believe it, beautiful and tough too. This had to be Kyle Valenti's year! Hell she was so amazing, he'd marry her right now.

Michael gaped at her in amazement, had that really just come out of her mouth. Maria grinned at the black haired girl sitting next to Adam, she had definitely found another best friend! Anyone who spoke to Michael like that had to be great!

'What's going on, Serena?' asked Liz.

'I guess I haven't been entirely straight with you,' said Serena looking at her hands in embarrassment. 'I'm uhh, not entirely new to earth. I used to live here.'

'You what?' growled Michael.

'I was sent here five years ago to look for you. Antar was going crazy, Kivar had defeated most of the rebel armies, we needed the king back. The word on the streets was that the prophecy must be fulfilled, that if it did not happen soon Antar would be lost forever.' She paused to survey the group, they were all listening intently. 'And so they sent me down-'

'Why you? Why just one small girl on such a big mission,' asked Isabel with curiosity.

Serena gave a slight smile. 'I asked to come, my father was leader of the rebel cause but he had been captured just a few months before, I knew the only hope he had was if the king returned and rescued him. And I came alone because no others could be spared, they all had to fight.'

Adam reached out his had and gently squeezed her arm in encouragement. She smiled back at him, both Isabel and Kyle's eyes flashed for a slight second. 'Earth wasn't what I had expected, I was young and foolish. I thought earth was some sort of paradise and that you would be easy to find, that one didn't work out! The portal opened somewhere in New York, earth was just a little different to Antar.' she added with a laugh. 'Believe me when I say I had a hard time working out what the hell a cab was. I had a few tight misses with my powers when I first arrived as well, it took me about a week to figure out that the less I used them in public, the more likely I was to be accepted. '

'How did you know where to look for them?' asked Maria, curiously.

'I didn't,' she replied simply. 'I stayed in New York for about one and a half years infiltrating the FBI, getting as much information as I could without much luck. The only alien that they seemed to know anything about was a shape-shifter traveling his way across country, killing humans as he went, obviously on the same quest I was, finding you. But then half way through the year information started pouring in about a shooting in Roswell, New Mexico.'

'About a girl who was miraculously healed,' said Liz quietly.

Serena nodded. 'I decided to leave New York and head across to New Mexico to see what I could find, I didn't start in Roswell, I didn't think the aliens would have stayed there if the FBI was on to them so I travelled round looking for them. Right at the end of that second year something happened that told me and pretty much everyone else where you were.'

'We set the orbs off,' replied Max quietly, remembering the fateful day when he and Liz were once again torn cruelly apart.

'Yes, an orb, or a trap, call it what you want. All I knew was that if I didn't find you quickly then you would all be dead within months.'

'What?' asked Kyle in confusion. Hmmm dead within months, he didn't remember that happening. 'But you didn't find us, and we're sure as hell not dead.'

Again Serena nodded, this time with a sad look upon her face. 'No you're not, but one of you is.'

'Alex,' said Adam.

'How do you know about Alex?' asked Isabel quickly and sharply.

'I-' Adam looked helplessly at Serena.