Title: Passage of Time
Author: Kelie
Rating: PG13/R (Violent scenes)
Summery: A device of great power tempts Michael and Max to play God with the lives of their loved ones.

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"Is-Isabel, hey, I was wondering if you could… um…" Alex Whitman began to speed-walk to keep up with the infamous ice queen.

Isabel ignored the annoying skinny human.

"Can you, please stop walking for a second?"

With a loud sigh, she slammed to stop on her heels and spun around to face the small boy. "What, do you want?" She asked harshly.

The boy was taken back slightly, she was gorgeous and yet so mean. "Just wondering if you'd like to place your name on this petition…" He showed her the paper.

"What's it for?" Isabel asked quickly.

Alex gulped a little. "To uh, fund an investigation into how the fountain heads on our water fountains melted to the walls." He said quietly.

"No thanks." She walked away.

Quickly she turned the corner and glanced at the water fountain, giggling. She knew why that had happened; she had done it a few days ago, while bored. As she moved away Max caught her by the arm. He pulled her into the corner by his locker and talked to her in a hushed tone.

"What did you do that for? They're looking into how it happened!" He snapped.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Well, they're not going to think an alien did it." She sighed.

"It doesn't matter. We can't take chances like this, especially not right now." He looked around, suspiciously.

She began to walk away. "You know Max, nothing has happened yet, and if we do what the other Michael said, nothing ever will. So, just relax."

He watched her leave, with astonished eyes.

The road was dusty, and future Michael found it hard to see. He pulled off the road a moment, to clean his helmet and wipe his eyes of the dirt. It was then that he saw the town he had been searching for. It was just down the road. He hopped on his stolen bike and took off toward the nearest building.

He unfolded the piece of paper and walked into the building closest to him, it was a post office. The clerk saw him, and new he was either lost, or looking to find someone.

"What can I do for you?" The clerk asked kindly.

Michael looked up in a daze. "I'm looking for my uncle and his daughter. The name's Harding… this is the last known address I have for them. Do you know where it is, and if they still live there?" He slid the paper across the counter and waited as the clerk took a look.

"Oh yes sir, your uncle and his daughter Tess are very well known 'round these parts. He's quite the business man! He owns the shop just a few buildings down… sort of a nik-nak type of place called 'Ratna', good for tourists. He sells really good fresh fruit too." The postman handed the paper back.

Michael nodded. "Thanks a ton, man."

Out in the sun once more, he searched with his eyes down the street. To his delight, he saw the store 'Ratna'… otherwise known as 'Antar' spelled backwards. Michael chuckled to himself and walked into the store.

The door opened, and a small bell rang to let them know a customer had arrived. He looked around. There was a lot of little things lying about, stuff that no one had touched in years probably. He wondered how long the shop had been there. Then he wondered how long 'Ed' and Tess had been living here. She said she had moved a lot, but perhaps not as much as she told them. From the looks of this place, she'd lived here for a while. He moved between aisles and found the counter, hidden at the back of the shop. Tess was standing behind it, leaning her head on her hands and flipping through a quantum physics book, looking amazingly bored. She glanced up and saw Michael.

"Can I help you find something?" She asked.

Michael shrugged. "I'm just browsing…" He moved to her, and looked at the book. "Some light reading?" He laughed. He glanced at the page and saw the sub title 'Time Travel, space travel and all things dimensional'.

"Just reviewing for… uh… school." She closed the book.

He grinned. "Time and Space travel, eh? You know about that stuff?" He leaned in to talk to her.

She shuffled uncomfortably. "Just what I've read, can't say I've had a first hand experience or anything." She laughed forcibly.

"Right." He paused. "I have."

Her eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"I've traveled through time." He explained.

She laughed. "Of course you have…"

"No, really. You're Tess Harding, Nasado… I mean 'Ed' -" Tess covered his mouth with her hand and ran around the front of the counter to stop him from continuing.

She took a breath, ran to the door and placed a 'closed for lunch' sign. "Whatever you heard in those chat-rooms was a lie, ok… I was just fooling around, now, you have to go." She began to push Michael out of the store.

"Wait, Tess… please. I'm not joking. My name is Michael, but it used to be Rath, in my past life. Please listen to me!" He begged, trying to keep from yelling.

She stopped suddenly, as if her blood had run cold. "Rath… but that means that, Vilondra and… Zan?" She took his hand, and searched his eyes. "Are they alive?"

"They are just fine, for now. But we need to talk, alone." He insisted.

Nodding, she led him to their home above the store. It was small, one bedroom, one bath and a tiny fridge and sink with a small table to call a kitchen. She sat at the table and waited, nervous that Michael was still silent.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He took a breath. "It's just that, what I'm about to tell you… you can't tell anyone."

"Not even Nasado?" She wondered.

Nodding no, he continued. "Not even him."

"Alright, tell me." She said.

"First of all, Nasado is a liar. He set up a deal years ago, to send us all back to Kivar, in return for safe haven on Antar. Second, you have to get out of here, today, with me, and go back to Roswell."

Tess' eyes widened. "Roswell? What for?"

"We all live there, and something really bad is about to happen to us all if you are not there to keep Max… that's Zan from making the biggest mistake of his life."

She sat back, taking this in. "You guys still live at the crash site's town… weirdos."

"After we gather them together, we have to get this crystal, it powers a machine called the -"

Tess butted in. "Granolith. Yea, I know. Nasado and I have it." She stood up and started rummaging through some drawers while Michael continued.

"That's great. Once I send all of you guys back to Antar, I should stop existing, since everything that caused me to be who I am would have changed entirely."

Turning around, Tess handed Michael the long crystal that started the Granolith. "Once you activate it you only have 24 hours before it does… whatever it does." She sat back down.

"I know. In my time line we used it, and you ended up jettisoning off to our home planet alone with your unborn son."

Her face turned all sorts of red colors. "How did that happen?"

"Max sent you home. When it happened he told us it was because you had killed our friend Alex, but later, after a lot had happened, he confided in me that it was to keep you safe, to keep you from getting killed by us because of Alex's death."

She hung her head. "I killed your friend?"

"It was an accident, and besides, you did it in an attempt to get you and your dying child home where he could thrive. But that mistake I was telling you about, the one you have to stop Max from committing… it has a name, her name is Liz Parker."

Future Michael helped Tess onto the back of his bike, before slamming the gas and speeding down the road. She clung to his back, the wind in her face, whipping her hair around. All she could think about what the others. What they would look like, sound like, act like. She couldn't wait to meet them. If they were half as cool as this version of Michael, she knew they'd get along great.

In Roswell, the aliens were sitting at home, discussing the predictions of the Future Michael's. Max was pacing, Isabel was listening to CD's, and Michael was just annoyed that he had to be included in this mess to begin with.

"I don't see the big deal. So we let some human die. It's not like we know them. Who cares?" Michael protested.

Isabel sat up. "Well, obviously you do… well not you, you from the future you does, so maybe it's someone you cared about."

"Someone I cared about?" He scoffed. "That's ridiculous, I don't even hang out with any humans."

Max nodded. "None of us do, which is why this is so confusing." He sat down. "I just don't -" The phone rang.

Isabel got up and answered it. The moment she did, her eyes narrowed on Max, her voice became stern and she grew some what angry looking.

"Yea, he's here. Can I ask whose calling?" She said. There was a pause as she listened to whoever it was speak. "I see, here he is…" She handed the phone to Max. "It's for you, Maria Deluca?" She walked past him, brushing against his shoulder. "No humans, huh?"

Slightly excited, but trying not to show it, he picked up the phone. "Hello?" He paused. "No, that's cool." There was another pause. "Great, see you then." He smiled and hung up the phone.

The others perked their ears. Michael grew annoyed. "This is retarded, I'm leaving." He picked up his coat and slammed the door behind him.

Isabel stood up next. "If only I could pick up and leave that easily. I'll see you in the morning, I'm going to bed." She left the room.

They pulled into a motel, and hopped off Future Michael's bike. Tess stretched her legs a moment, and walked along side Michael as they went toward his room. He opened the door, and to her horror she found a mess beyond her wildest dreams. He'd obviously been here at least a few days. There was a 'do not disturb' sign on the door, so no maids had come by to clean it. The bed was tossed; there was garbage and food on the table. Tess scrunched her nose up. The room was gross. She sat down cautiously on the bed, careful not to touch too much.

"You live here?" She asked.

He shrugged. "If that's what you call it. I don't exactly do much living."

"I see. Well… it's… nice." She offered.

Laughing, he threw her a candy bar. "I don't have much in the way of food, so you might want to eat that. Roswell is only about a mile down the road, so we can go there anytime you're ready."

She opened her candy. "I'm ready whenever you are." She explained while chewing.

He nodded. "Ok, well here is my plan. We kidnap Liz, and hold her here, until the shooting that would have her killed happens. If my dates are right, that's tomorrow in the afternoon shift. Without her there, Max won't heal her, and then at least they will be safe until I can figure out how to get you guys to Antar."

Tess seemed worried. "Kidnap a human? How?" She asked.

Michael picked up a 9mm handgun he was stashing under his pillow. "With this, and this…" She held out his hand and blasted the TV, it blew up and sparks flew from it.

Jumping back a little, Tess was surprised. "Jeez, ok… then I guess we should get started."

As the night progressed, Tess and Future Michael snuck into Liz's room by climbing up her fire-escape. Tess crept into her room and looked at her sleeping. This was the girl that Max supposedly left her for? She wasn't exactly what she expected. Although pretty, she wasn't worthy of a King. She snorted a giggle at the though, and Liz woke with a start.

Almost as if on cue, Michael rushed the girl, covered her mouth and hit her over the head with his gun. She hadn't even had time to make a noise. He lifted her over his shoulder and climbed down the latter, Tess following quickly behind him.

"You have to steal that car." He told her.

Tess' eyes widened. "Steal it? Why?"

"We need to tie her up and put her in the trunk. Don't worry about the plates, I can change them." He explained quietly.

Doing as she was told, she used her powers to unlock the car and start the engine. When Michael was done putting Liz in the trunk, He slid in the passenger side, and they took off toward the motel.

It had been one week. Max was waiting in the Crashdown Café for something to happen. He had ordered a coke and was mixing in some Tabasco sauce for flavor. His attention however, was elsewhere, to one of the waitresses. Maria saw him and went to his table.

"What can I get you?" She asked with a cute smile.

Max grinned. "Nothing right now. What are you still doing here? I thought you had the morning shift today?"

"I did, but Liz never showed up, so I got stuck with her hours." She moaned.

He shook his head. "That sucks. You have a break coming up at all?"

"I could take a quick five minute break, now… I guess." She took off her alien attenna and pulled a seat up to his table.

Meanwhile on the other side of the café two men began to argue. One pulled out a gun and a struggle started. Maria's back was to the men, and Max was consumed in his conversation with her. Before he knew it, there was a loud bang, and suddenly he was splattered with blood. Maria slumped over at once, hitting her face on the table. She slid off her seat and crumpled to the ground. Max flew to her aid, ripping open her shirt, he found a huge wound. He turned her over to find that the bullet had gone in her back and come out the front. He placed his hand over it to stop it from bleeding. The pressure didn't do much, blood squeezed out between his fingers.

A moment later, Isabel and Michael came running in to find Max bent over Maria, kneeling in a puddle of her blood. The girl was shaking, and Max looked frazzled. Isabel tugged at him.

"No Max, let her go." She said.

Max pulled away from his sister, clutching Maria to him. "No, you don't understand."

"Maxwell, this isn't the plan." Michael reminded him.