It caught Liz completely off guard when Isabel raised her hand aggressively in the direction of Zan and Michael.
"Get away from him," Isabel called out.
Liz observed a warm reaction from Isabel at the thought of meeting Zan and knew she couldn't possibly recognize him from anywhere else. That could only mean that Isabel spoke to Michael but that didn't make much more sense.
"Zan, get over here," Ava instructed.
Zan ran over to Ava, and Michael made no effort to stop him from moving back to the rest of the group.
"Isabel, what's wrong?" Max asked.
"That's not Michael," Isabel announced.
Even though something felt a bit off with Michael, Liz accepted a breakup with Maria as a realistic cause. However, Liz believed her best friend Maria truly found her soulmate in Michael. She assumed the couple faced a severe fight and never bought into the idea that they split up for good. Isabel's stunning accusation offered a possibility Liz never considered. Before she could react, Max beat her to it.
"What?" Max asked. "How do you know?"
"Michael is with Maria at their home in Flagstaff," Isabel explained. "I spoke with him less than an hour ago as I drove into town."
Max put up his hand and Ava quickly followed his lead. Now the three of them pointed their hands at Michael.
"Excuse me," Serena interjected, "but what the hell are you people doing?"
"Who are you?" Isabel asked.
"Serena," she said, sounding clearly frustrated with getting asked that repeatedly over the course of the morning each time someone new entered the scene.
Liz swooped in. "It's ok," she told Isabel, then turned her attention toward Serena. "We can't explain right now, but you need to stay behind them. We know what to do in these situations."
"You told us Maria left you," Max said, affirming for him and Liz that Isabel's claim made sense.
A nefarious smile stretched across Michael's face. He held up his left pointer finger, signaling that he needed a moment. Max, Isabel and Ava didn't lower their hands, but they also didn't attack him when Michael held up his right hand and directed his open palm toward them.
A bright white glow emanated from Michael illuminating the whole house. Liz wanted to witness the spectacle but subconsciously moved her right hand in front of her face to shield her eyes as she squinted attempting to see through the blinding light. However, she forced herself to put her hand down so she could observe Michael.
Through the intense white light Liz momentarily saw what looked like the classic depiction of an alien, with a slender frame, oversized head and large black eyes. As she continued watching, the image shifted and a tall, muscular human figure now basked in the light. As the light slowly faded away, the shapeshifter, which looked like Michael moments ago, now appeared as a tall, absolutely ripped black man. He was bald with a wide nose, flared nostrils, wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt, faded blue jeans and black, military-style combat boots. He towered over them standing close to 7-feet tall.
"You're…" Max stated, but Liz felt like they could all guess who stood before them.
"I'm Kivar," he said, speaking in a deep, booming voice.
At the mere mention of the name Max erected his green defensive barrier. Liz saw the same sinister smile on Kivar's face before Max's shield obscured his facial expressions. Kivar thrust forward his hand and an amber spot appeared on Max's force field. Waves of energy pulsated from the center of his attack. It looked like ripples of water irradiating from where a stone dropped in. Liz heard a crackling sound and noticed the amber color grew brighter, a sign Liz feared meant that Kivar moved closer to breaking through Max's defenses. Max grimaced trying to muster more energy to maintain his shield.
Then Ava called Isabel to move with her in tighter next to Max. Ava instructed Isabel to place her hand over Max's and then Ava did the same.
Liz witnessed Tess do this in Copper Summit back in high school. At the time, Tess explained that she could funnel her energy into Max and that he could use it to bolster the strength of his shield.
This time, neither of the hybrids needed the explanation. The amber spot began to dim, a sign to Liz that Max and the others turned the tide in the battle. Liz wondered if Kivar would simply halt the attack.
Instead, something she never witnessed before start to happen. The amber spot turned purple. In fact, Liz noticed that Max's whole shield turned a light shade of lavender with the spot Kivar attacked a dark, rich purple. Liz realized the energy from the rest of Max's energy barrier began consolidating into the dark purple spot. Eventually, nothing but a dark purple sphere of energy remained.
The sphere shot toward Kivar striking him in his left shoulder. Kivar let out a primal scream that sounded more like a slimy alien creature than anything resembling human. He gritted his teeth in pain and anger.
"This isn't over," Kivar howled at them.
Then, Kivar turned away from them and dashed back to the far wall at the back of the house in the kitchen. With his left shoulder hanging limply by his side, Kivar took his right hand off his shoulder just a moment allowing him to violently obliterate the wall and run out of the house.
Liz felt the warm air wafting into Ava's home, and she heard dogs barking in the distance. She noticed pieces of wood, glass and plaster on the kitchen floor. It appeared Kivar didn't smash the wall outward but instead used his powers to explode it, sending debris flying in all directions.
"What in the hell," Serena started, but her voice grew noticeably weaker with each word, "just…"
Liz noticed a large splinter of wood punctured Serena just above her right hip as blood soaked into her cream colored shirt.
"Serena, you're hurt," Liz said aloud as she ran toward her.
"Is everyone else all right?" Liz heard Max ask.
Serena began to collapse to the floor, but Liz reached her just in time to catch her and guided her gently down. Liz wound up sitting cross-legged while Serena lay on her back, her head cradled in Liz's lap.
"Max," Liz called.
After assessing that no one else sustained any injuries, Max rushed over to Serena. Liz knew Max and Isabel would bring the prerequisite caution at the idea of Max healing Serena. Ava may share that thought, but Liz felt confident Max would help her.
"Let me see," Max said, as he arrived at Serena's side.
Serena clutched the wound with both hands. Max gently lifted Serena's hands away from the area so he could take a closer look.
"Is it bad?" Serena asked weakly.
"Just try to lie still," Max instructed.
"You have to help her, Max," Liz pleaded.
"Are… are you a doctor?" Serena asked.
Max ignored the question and looked up at Liz. She nodded to affirm that this needed to happen. Zan, Ava and Isabel stood a couple steps back observing Max in action.
"This is going to hurt," Max warned Serena.
In one swift motion, Max pulled the shard of wood out of Serena as she groaned in agony. Serena's hands made a move to clutch the wound once more, but Liz caught them and held them until she placed them down at her side.
Max put his hand over the wound. Liz sensed Serena may lose consciousness from the pain. Max looked her in the eyes.
"Stay with me," Max instructed.
A white aura surrounded Max's hand, providing some illumination to the surrounding area, though not nearly to the extent from when Kivar shapeshifted. Max stayed locked in eye contact with Serena, his face intensely focusing, until finally he pulled away.
Serena sat up abruptly, a jolt of energy and adrenaline surging through her in the sudden absence of pain from her wound.
"You just…" Serena started, too awestruck to finish her thought.
Max smiled slightly. Liz knew using his healing ability weakened him some and that caused his lack of energetic reaction more than modesty.
"Yeah," Max acknowledged.
Serena, sitting up now but still on the floor, turned back to Liz, who also sat on the floor.
"He just…"
Liz smiled and nodded, "Yeah," she said.
"Sorry, but I can't do anything about the blood," Max said, gesturing toward her bloodied cream colored top and gray shirt beneath.
"Oh, jeez," Serena squawked, looking down at her bloodied clothes.
"I can," Isabel interjected, as she stepped forward.
Isabel waived her hand over Serena's right hip area where the wood shard struck her and in an instant all the blood as well as the rips in the fabric vanished. No evidence remained that Serena ever sustained an injury.
"Thank you," Serena said exuberantly.
With the healing complete, Ava stepped in toward the kitchen. She extended her hand and used her powers to reconstruct the wall, the counter, the cabinets and the drawers. It all reformed in just 15 seconds and erased any sign of damage. Ava stepped forward to return to the group and addressed Isabel.
"How'd you know how to do that?" Ava asked.
To Liz, this was a revelation that Isabel converted Max's defensive energy into an attack against Kivar. Liz assumed Ava knew to do that because Isabel—or any of the Royal Four she knew for that matter—never did anything like that before.
"I don't know," Isabel admitted, "it was instinct, I guess. I just hate Kivar so much and remembered the last time he came to Earth through a telepathic vessel and ruined my honeymoon. I thought all this was behind us, Max."
Max consoled her briefly. While none of them battled other aliens in a long time, Max and Liz continued to face danger and use their powers more than Isabel. Liz knew that Max understood he couldn't afford to help Isabel cope with the fallout from this encounter right now.
"We can't stay here," Max declared.
As if on cue, Liz heard police sirens blaring in the distance, undoubtedly headed their way.
"Isabel, call Michael and tell him we need him in El Quartelejo as soon as possible," Max commanded.
Isabel pulled out her phone and distanced herself from the rest of the group to make the call.
"We need to move to a safe location," Max continued, looking at Liz, relying on her to produce a solution.
"The camper," Liz said, "we haven't been there since before Zan was attacked, so Kivar doesn't know where we parked and no one in town has any reason to find it suspicious."
"Ok, good," Max agreed.
"Can't take my car," Ava noted, "not after what we did to Nicholas. We dunno who might've been watching."
"Nobody should have any reason to flag my van as suspicious," Serena offered.
Isabel rejoined the group, "Same with my rental car."
Max finished doling out his instructions. "Ok, then. Liz and Serena will go in her van and the rest of us will go in Isabel's rental car. Let's move."
Everyone started filing out of the house.
"You've just been through a lot," Liz told Serena as they neared her van, "are you ok to drive?"
"Yes," Serena stated, "and, frankly, I kind of need something I can be in control of right now."