Chapter 7

"Mom?" asked Maria again.

Amy smiled at her daughter, delighted at last that her secrete could be shared. However, before she could answer her daughters questioning look the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," she said.

A few moments later she returned with Jim Valenti in tow. When they got to the room Amy realized that Maria and Michael were still in shock. She turned to Jim. "Hank's been hurting Michael and tonight Michael lost control of his ability. Hank isn't dead because we both know that Michael doesn't have that much control but he came close. I think it is time that we had a meeting and tell them everything."

Jim nodded, "Right I'll go clean up the mess over at Hank's, you call Nancy and Jeff and see if we can have the meeting there. I'll pick up Charles and Cathy we will head over there and meet you. I want you take some pictures of Michael so we can get him out of the situation. Then," he said turning to Maria. "You finish up healing him."

"Sheriff?" asked Michael. "How much do you know about us? Because Max's parents don't know anything and if you and the rest of the earthlings' parent's know than maybe the parents of the space-farers aught to know to."

Jim looked at Michael and nodded his head, "Right, I will pick them up when I pick up Alex's parents. Remember get pictures first."

Amy walked Jim to the door and then grabbed her Polaroid camera. Going back to Maria's room she took the pictures. "Okay guys its done. I am going to take a quick shower, before we leave, so Maria if you think that you can finish healing Michael go for it. Oh and Michael call me Amy."

Maria looked at Michael her head swimming, "Now I know how you must of felt."

Michael grinned, when the Sheriff first entered the room Michael had wanted to bolt. Then he heard his and Amy's conversation. Michael realized that they knew more about him than he did. His gut told him to trust them. He hoped his gut was right. Michael shook the thoughts from his head and eagerly opened the connection again. For a while he and Maria just savored being merged. When they finally broke apart, Michael realized that he was completely healed. "Maria, how?"

Maria looked at Michael her eyes wide with fright, "I don't know."

The Crashdown

"Mom, what do you mean, when you say that Amy is bringing over Maria and Michael, while the Sheriff takes care of some business and then intends to pick up Mr. and Mrs. Whitman?" asked Liz.

"Lizzy, please just trust me. Your dad and I have some things to tell you. But we need to tell everyone. I need you to call Max and Isabel," explained Nancy.

"Why?" Liz persisted.

"Just trust me. Okay?" asked her mom.

Liz nodded her head. She picked up the phone and asked that Max and Isabel come over to the Crashdown about six o'clock. No nothing was wrong they just need to talk. As Liz hung up the phone she hoped nothing was wrong.

By six, everyone except Valenti Sr., and the Whitman's had arrived. "We'll give them about another fifteen minutes and then we will tell you why we asked you of here," explained Ms. Deluca.

"In the meantime can I offer anyone anything to drink?" asked Mr. Parker.

Everyone glanced at each other, "Thanks dad, but I think we are good."

The Brat Pack gathered around two tables, "Does anyone know what is going on?" asked Isabel. Michael and Maria exchanged guilty looks. "What?" asked Max sharply?

Michael looked at Maria. "Well," she began "Michael showed up at my window he had been hurt. I screamed when I saw what had fully happened to him. Mom came running I told her to call the Sheriff. We connected, I healed him, he told me that he used his powers to save him self. My mom heard us and seemed surprised that I healed him but not that Michael had powers."

"You healed Michael," gasped the group.

Maria nodded her head, "I don't know how I did it. Maybe it happened because Michael and I are bonded or maybe because I was healed."

"But Alex, Kyle, and I were also healed and so far none of us have developed any extra powers," responded Liz.

"But I was healed by the Granolith."

Just as Maria made that announcement Jim Valenti and the Whitman's walked in the door. They weren't alone.

"Mom, Dad," exclaimed Max and Isabel at the same time. "What are you doing here?"

"The Sheriff, said that you and Isabel had some things to tell us," replied there father.

Max looked at Isabel, Liz, then the rest of the group. He didn't know what do. How could he tell his parents and in front of the others too.

"Max you and Isabel need this. I understand that now. Things may be hard at first. All of their parents knew from the beginning. They well support us. Help your parents understand and except. If they need the help," Michael said to him quietly.

Max looked at Michael then turned to his parents, "Mom, Dad, Isabel and I have something to tell you. But first you might want to sit down."

"Max would you like the rest of us to leave you alone?" asked Jeff Parker.

"No Mr. Parker, but thank you for asking. It seems to me that you already know what we are, so I could use some moral support," replied Max.

Max sat down across from his parents he took Isabel by one hand and Michael by the other. Liz stood with her hands on his shoulder. Maria and Alex both grabbed their soul-mates other hand and Kyle stood proudly next Liz. Max told them the story of Isabel, Michael, and his' birth, their pact never to tell any one their secrete. Liz's getting shot Max's healing her, her and the rest telling the three of them (Isabel, Michael, Max) about what they knew and the recent event of Michael being healed by Maria. They omitted that fact that they were soul-mates and that Maria had been mind raped. "That's about it oh there is a fourth member of the pod squad as the earthlings like to call us. But we don't know where she is."

Diane and Philip sat in amusement then wonderment then shock. At first they had thought that Max was making the story up, then they were awed at how believable he made everything seem, then they were in shock when they realized he believed the things he had told them.

"Listen Max you are my son I love you and we will get you the best doctors and psychiatrist we can find…" began his dad.

Max interrupted saying, "I am not crazy, Mr. Parker, Sheriff, Mr. Whitman, I am about to show them what I can do, please restrain them if the decided to run out screaming?"

Liz quickly went around the crash down pulling the shades down and making sure the door was locked. When she was sure that things were secure she gave him the go-ahead symbol.

Max took a deep breath, and then another one. He looked around and saw smiles of support on everyone's faces. He took another deep breath. "I don't think I can do this, I have never actually given a public display of my powers."

"Oh cut the crap Max," said Michael as he sent energy bolt towards Max. Max immediately threw up his shields. The green glow encompassed everyone in Michael's line of fire.

"Thank-you Michael for helping me overcome my stage fright," said Max sarcastically.

"No problemo."

Max turned to look at his parents, he could tell they were shocked. Jeff Park took a quick assessment of the situation. "Guys," he said to the Brat Pack, "Why don't you all go in the kitchen and grab some food and drinks. We'll hold the fort."

Liz and Kyle readily hugged the suggestion, shooing the others into the kitchen before them. Liz and Kyle realized that their parents were going to try and make the Evan's feel slightly better about the situation so that they wouldn't emotionally hurt their children by rejecting them out of hand. Once in the kitchen, Liz suggested, "Why don't you fire up the grill and we make a real dinner. Max you can help Michael with the burgers and Isabel you can help Maria with the fries. The rest of us will take care of the drinks. Maria copped on to what Liz was trying to do, and a few seconds later Michael also copped on, on his own, surprisingly.

So for about an half an hour to forty-five minutes later Liz's dad gave her the thumbs up sign. Quietly to her self Liz breathed a sigh of relief. Acceptance from his parents met everything to Max and Isabel and Liz didn't want to see them hurt. "Well guys, I think we are almost done, Max, Isabel, Kyle, and Alex you can go on out with the drinks and Michael, Maria, and I will finish up here."

As soon as the rest had cleared out the three cooks/waitress showed their ability, they had everything done in five minutes. So Liz and Maria brought out the food while Michael shut the grill down. Then everyone sat down and had a nice dinner. After everyone had finished dinner they had desert then Maria and Michael ask that Amy and Jim explain themselves. Jim looked over at Amy and then said, "We he said gesturing to Jeff, Nancy, Cathy, and Charles, all were trying to get pregnant, but we couldn't. We always liked to hang out a laid back parties. One night after a party we went for a camp out. We all were "borrowed" by some visitors, they helped us get pregnant. We promised to protect them. They explained that there would be others with powers that were half alien, that some how the hybrids and our own children are connected. That is about all we know, but after the original Brat Pack became so close to Max, Michael, and Isabel we suspected that we had found the others."

"I need to add something," said Amy, "I was out at the Mesa-Eagle reservation, I had Maria with me. An older Indian by the name of River Dog touched her head. He then said to me; when she speaks of Nasedo bring her to me."

"What?" asked everyone?

"I think that River Dog may know about you all. I drive out there every once in while, but he has never approached me again."

"You! Went out there after that and never told anyone, my gosh Amy what if something had happened to you," said Jim with a vengeance.

"I never took Maria with me again, I just hoped that I would get some more information," fired back Amy her eyes glinting with anger.

"Remind me to never got on Maria's bad side," said Michael loudly, breaking the tension. A few weak laughs followed his comment and earned him a hit in the shoulder from Maria which caused laughter to follow.

When the laughter had died down Jeff turned to Liz and asked her, "I want to know how you are connected."