Liz, Serena and Isabel sat in three outdoor folding chairs positioned under an awning extending from the camper. Liz and Serena sat across from each other while Isabel positioned a chair between them with her back facing the camper.
Prior to taking their seats, Isabel had pulled Liz aside for what became a brief conversation. She expressed concern in the level of detail in what to reveal to Serena, but Liz pointed out how Max's healing let the cat out of the bag and gave an abbreviated version of her visit from Future Max. Liz also shared what Serena definitely knew from her investigations of their powers: the signal from Max and Isabel's mother in Roswell, and the remnants of The Skins in Copper Summit. Isabel reluctantly agreed to let Liz openly share it all with Serena in order to get back in return hopefully some information to help them survive the crisis at hand with Kivar and some of his forces on Earth. Isabel ultimately conceded that a single human apparently unaffiliated with the government posed a significantly lesser threat than Kivar. Liz got the impression Isabel would've firmly insisted on not telling Serena anything if not for Kivar's presence.
Liz smiled warmly at Serena. "I know a lot's happened before we've had this chance to talk through everything," Liz began. "I'm really sorry for that. I know you must have a lot of questions."
Serena nodded. "I do, but I think one of the biggest ones has already been answered. I never knew who exactly was here or what their agenda was. Your husband saved my life and for that I'll be forever grateful. So I know you two and Max and Ava are good."
"It's the least we could do," Liz said, "especially after I'm the one who invited you along into what turned into such a dangerous scene."
"But you didn't know what you were walking into," Serena acknowledged. "Now this Kivar…"
She paused at the name like she wanted to verify she pronounced it correctly. Liz instinctively looked toward Isabel and Serena looked over at her as well. Isabel nodded to confirm Serena got it right.
Serena continued, "…He's definitely not one of the good ones, but I get the impression he's a newcomer just since the crash. Are there other enemies of yours out there?"
"We better start at the beginning," Liz offered.
Liz explained what the signal in Roswell was and how it drew some of The Skins to Roswell. Then, she covered the deadly showdown in Copper Summit, and how it was Michael and Courtney who destroyed The Skins' harvest and Tess who finished off the rest of them in Roswell except for Nicholas. Liz also shared the story of the dupes and how their Zan was confirmed dead, their Lonnie and Rath are presumed dead and that their Ava is who Serena met. Liz explained Max's relationship with Tess and how that led to their son. Then she recounted the deal Tess made with Nasedo, why it was rejected by Kivar and how Tess returning to Roswell with baby Zan led to a government manhunt which finally caused them all to leave Roswell for good. Finally, Liz told the story of how her own powers developed, how the gang lived after leaving Roswell and how only Liz and Max remained on the road.
"Wow," Serena said, "you've all lived incredible and in many ways remarkable lives. After devoting much of my life to investigating all of this, you don't know what it means to me to finally have all the answers. It's an honor to meet of all you."
"Thank you," Liz said warmly and then turned a bit more serious. "We might need your help next."
"I'll assist you however I can," Serena offered.
Liz heard shouting coming from within the camper and suddenly wondered how Max and Ava fared in their discussion with Zan. The shouting provided some indication that charged emotions played a part in what Liz anticipated would be a difficult conversation. But she understood that Max needed to deal with Zan, and she could best help by connecting with Serena.
"You said you attempted to approach the crash site from both directions earlier," Liz prompted.
"Yes," Serena confirmed, "and I know I never got to finish. I'm sorry to say there isn't much more to share. The government's in full force, but I can show you on a map where both government checkpoints are. It stands to reason the crash site is somewhere in the middle of those two boundaries."
"Kivar probably retreated to his ship after we wounded him," Isabel speculated.
"I agree," Liz said.
"Do you all want to try to go there?" Serena asked. "I can see that you have some amazing abilities, but do you really think you can sneak past a heavily secured government barricade like that?"
"It wouldn't be the first time," Liz reminded her. "It's something we've pulled off before when we needed to."
"Oh, right," Serena remembered, "with the crashed ship Tess returned in."
"And when Max got captured," Isabel added.
"Have you encountered the government's alien Special Unit during your investigations?" Liz wanted to know.
"I have," Serena said, "but it may interest you to know that they've given me the distinct impression that they've become more interested in observation than capture lately. Of course, they always try to shoo me away if I encounter them." She smiled, "But I've usually learned almost everything I need before they make it to the scene."
"Is that what you and Max have found, too?" Isabel asked Liz.
"I think so," Liz replied, "we've become so good at evading attention that it's been a while since we've had a truly close call. But the last few times we suspected a government agent, we just spotted them watching us. We never got close to a confrontation or a chase. We thought maybe we managed to withdraw before they could call in reinforcements and pursue."
"But the Special Unit is surely in El Quarterlejo now," Isabel thought aloud.
"I imagine that's a pretty safe bet," Serena agreed. "Have you seen anything suspicious that could be Special Unit agents, Liz?"
"No," Liz answered, "we didn't notice anything remotely suspicious until my vision of Zan's attack yesterday."
"Even so," Serena posed, "are you sure you want to go into the heart of the lion's den of your alien enemies and slip by your government enemies to get there?"
Serena started to become more assertive, especially with that last comment. Liz observed that was her natural personality. She guessed that Serena's near death experience and all the revelations Liz sprung on her left Serena in awe to some degree. But now that she started to become more comfortable with everything, her natural personality traits began to take hold once more.
"We can't just sit around here and wait for Kivar and his allies to come find and kill us," Isabel shot back, "unless you have a better idea."
"I would think you'd want to get your hands on whatever Kivar is looking for," Serena explained.
Liz and Isabel exchanged an odd look blending unease with impressiveness regarding Serena. Liz intentionally chose not to share anything about the Granolith both from back in high school or that it spurred Kivar's return. She'd shot Isabel subtle looks at any opportunity, but even in wanting to trust Serena, Liz's instincts told her to keep the Granolith need-to-know. After all, she knew how easily someone could extract the info from Serena's mind if Kivar or his allies captured her.
"What makes you say Kivar's looking for something?" Liz asked tentatively.
"Investigative instinct," Serena explained crassly. "I understand why you'd hesitate to share those details with me. But the fact is it doesn't make sense that Kivar would wait this long to chase Zan to Earth. My guess is that he wants an object of some kind. Something he didn't always think he needed but that he's now decided is critical for him to have."
"That's…" Isabel looked wholly uncomfortable but appeared to fight it because of agreeing to bring Serena into the fold as an ally, "very insightful."
"By now Kivar knows you and Max landed in Roswell," Liz reasoned, "but he doesn't know whether the Granolith is still in Roswell or if we have it on us. And he doesn't know where in Roswell it would be."
"Oh, so this is about the Granolith," Serena remarked. She clearly recognized the name.
"You've heard of the Granolith?" Isabel asked.
"I have, actually," Serena said.
Just then, the camper door flung open and Zan stormed out alone, slamming the door behind him. Liz faced west, her back facing the camper door so she turned around to see Zan as he walked off headed east. Again, Liz and Isabel exchanged a look, knowing one of them needed to react to that. Isabel sat up and ran after Zan leaving Liz alone with Serena.
"I wonder what that's all about?" Liz questioned aloud.
"Hard to figure how that conversation would go well," Serena reasoned. "Liz, I hate to be the one to say this, but… I can see where you're all still a little cautious about fully trusting me, which seems reasonable enough. I would be equally careful about trusting Zan, though, and I don't just say that because of his friendship with Nicholas. There's something else about him…"
They heard the roar of a sports car engine approaching them from the west. It squealed to turn into the trailer park. Liz rose to her feet and Serena did too, turning to look as the car approached their camper. Isabel and Zan made their way back over by the camper too, as a red Ferrari 458 Speciale with two white racing stripes and a black stripe between them ran down the hood skidded to a stop nearby.
The door flung open and out stepped Michael. He wore his hair shorter than at any point in high school but it had gel in it and it was long enough to comb straight back. It was similar to how it looked the last time Liz saw Michael four years ago, not the buzz cut look Kivar adopted for his ruse.
"Hey there," Michael greeted with a smile, making eye contact primarily with Isabel but also Liz a bit as well. He didn't seem concerned with Serena or Zan but of course didn't know them.
"Michael," Isabel announced, a little surprise evident, "you certainly got here quickly. And that is not your car."
Michael answered bluntly, "Well you said to get here as fast as possible so I kind of just…"
"You stole it," Liz finished, with a hint of a slight, appalled smile. Even the more risk-averse version of Michael could be so brash at times.
Michael shrugged. "Isabel said it was an emergency."
"That's a fast car," Isabel said, "but coming from Flagstaff…"
Liz saw where she was going with this and quickly ran through the math in her head before speaking up.
"That Ferrari can go about 200 mph, so using his powers to keep it at top speed without breaking down… Yeah, he could get here in about 3 hours," Liz reasoned.
Isabel started to smile but caught herself. "Wait, what's your daughter's name?"
That was smart, as Max likely filled her in how Kivar looked blank when Liz mentioned Maria and Michael's baby in the alley.
"Amy," Michael said without hesitation, "after her grandmother. What's this all…"
"Oh, Michael," Isabel exclaimed, "it's really you!"
She ran over and gave him a hug. As they walked back toward the rest of the group under the awning, Michael hugged Liz too.
Michael looked at Serena and offered a friendly smile, "Hi, I'm Michael. And you are?"
"Hi there, Michael," Serena said, almost feeling relief that she wasn't greeted with an abrupt demand to identify herself, "I'm Serena. It's nice to meet you."
"Oh, sorry," Liz said, "yes, Serena's our new friend and this is Max's son, Zan."
Michael stepped forward to shake Zan's hand. "I bet Maxwell about fell over when he realized you were here," Michael mused.
Zan looked a bit thrown by hearing Maxwell for the first time. Michael turned his attention back toward Isabel.
"What was with all those questions just now?" Michael asked.
Isabel replied, "We had to be careful. It looked like you were here earlier, but it was actually Kivar who shapeshifted to look like you."
Michael's posture stiffened. "Kivar's here? And he can shapeshift? You better get me up to speed."
"I'll go get Max," Liz said, as she headed into the camper where Max and Ava remained even after Zan came out looking agitated minutes earlier.
Liz entered the camper to find Max seated beside Ava at the sofa with his arm around her shoulder. It immediately put knots in her stomach. After a second or two the rational part of her brain quickly reminded her that she had no good reason to worry about Max. She also noted that Ava looked like she was crying, which all tracked. The heated shouting she heard while they talked to Zan followed by Zan storming out of the camper indicated a contentious conversation. Max's compassionate nature would spur him to console anyone in tears like that. But Tess would always register as Liz's number one nemesis. Seeing Ava, a fellow clone of a human who once lived named Jolene Skarrstin, with Max like, Liz couldn't help but feel uncharacteristically hurt and jealous at the initial sight of Max with his arm around Ava like that. Liz made every effort to mask those feelings as she addressed Max and Ava.
"Michael's here."
Max got up, looked back at Ava and walked toward Liz. As they walked outside and started going down the steps, Max immediately established that he recognized Liz may feel weird about him putting his arm around Ava.
"Liz," Max started, "that was just…"
"It's ok, Max," Liz said with a smile, "you don't have to explain yourself. Ava's our friend. I just hope she's ok."
"I think she will be once we…"
Max trailed off as he now made eye contact with Michael.
"Michael," Max said with excitement, "is that really you?"
"It is," Isabel verified, "we made sure of that this time."
"It's good to see you, Maxwell," Michael greeted him with a warm smile as Max walked over to hug him.
"There's so much to catch you up on," Max explained, "I don't know where to start."
"Well," Michael started with a sigh, "I just learned a shapeshifting Kivar's here. That's who crashed, I take it." Max nodded. "And I met Zan," he continued, waving at him as the full group formed a half circle around Michael now.
"Those are two of the big highlights," Max affirmed. "It's been a whirlwind couple of days. Kivar's here, but he didn't come all this way just to kill us. I think it's a coincidence that his ship crashed where Zan and Ava live. He came to Earth for…" Max hesitated. "Well, I might as well share this with all of you…"
"Max," Isabel cautioned, trying but failing to subtly glance to Zan and Serena, "are you sure?"
Max thought a moment before continuing. "Yes, it's ok. What you all need to know is that the Granolith wasn't the ship Tess took back to Antar. It's a staff with a gemstone on it. Ava says it's the equivalent to a crown in a human kingdom. But Nicholas is also here, and he made a point to befriend Zan. Kivar may be here for the Granolith, but he needs our help to find it. And I don't see why he won't kill us all if he gets it."
Liz noted that Max didn't specify the location of the Granolith. That information was especially sensitive, so she wasn't surprised Max chose not to reveal that info to Zan or Serena. Ava didn't know the location either but remained in the camper.
Michael took a moment to take it all in. Liz recognized the familiar look on his face pulling him back into their alien lives. In high school, Liz never expected Michael would let go of his alien heritage because he grew up with the least humane circumstances. But he found a good life with Maria and for so many of their years on the road he seemed most concerned with staying safe and being a person.
While Liz and Max never fully escaped from the consequences of Max's alien heritage like Isabel and Michael got to, she knew even they couldn't run from this latest development with Kivar. And now that Isabel and Michael joined them in El Quartelejo, all of them, including Ava and Zan, needed to face their alien enemies head on. Serena could leave at any time under no threat of pursuit, but Liz sensed Serena intended to ride out the crisis with the rest of the gang.
"Do we have a plan?" Michael asked simply.
Max looked pensive.
"Out here, we were talking about how to slip past the military barricades to get to the crash site," Isabel stated boldly.
Michael and Isabel looked to Max for approval. Liz knew he didn't want them to treat him like the king ever since they left Roswell, but in the worst situations, everyone continued to look to Max for leadership by default. He always rose to the occasion.
"There's nowhere to run anymore," Max reasoned, "so it's probably better to confront them on our terms."
"Plus, we discovered a new ability this morning," Isabel reminded Max and told Michael.
Michael smiled slightly, "Well, it's been a while since I did combat drills. Do we know how to approach the military?"
"I got an idea 'bout that," Ava said.
Liz turned somewhat surprised to see Ava a few feet away from the circle standing at the base of the steps. Liz got so caught up in their discussion with Michael that she didn't even notice Ava open the camper door.
"There's an army surplus store across town," Ava continued. "They got authentic uniforms and such—stuff you're not supposed to sell. The guy who runs it's got a huge crush in me, so I can probably distract him while someone grabs a few uniforms."
Liz couldn't help but take a peek in Zan's direction. He looked embarrassed and a bit disapproving at the notion of his mother flirting her way to steal military uniforms.
Meanwhile, Michael shrugged, "Yeah that should work. Should the four of us get to work on practicing this new ability?"
"Soon," Isabel said, "But first I want to know how you came to hear about the Granolith."
She spoke to Serena, who dropped the bombshell that she previously heard of the Granolith just as Michael pulled up.
"When I went to Roswell to investigate the signal, I spent several months at the Mesaliko Indian Reservation," Serena explained. "There, I met someone named River Dog."
"Wait, River Dog knew about the Granolith?" Michael questioned to no one in particular.
"He never said anything about it to us," Max told Serena.
"I know," Serena confirmed. "River Dog had a loyalty to Nasedo and the deal he made with him, but he's also… I guess you could say loyal to humanity. There were several things Nasedo shared with River Dog that weren't part of their agreement to guide you all. It took me weeks to build trust, but he admitted that he chose not to share everything he knew with you."
"I can't believe that bastard was holding out on us," Michael commented.
"Serena, did River Dog give you the location of the Granolith chamber?" Liz asked.
"No," Serena replied, "but apparently Nasedo took River Dog there. He described it to me in impressive detail. Given what I know, I have some ideas of where this royal staff could be hidden."
"Wait," Max cautioned firmly, "don't tell us."
"Max," Isabel reacted with a disapproving big sister tone.
"It's safer if none of us have all the information," Max explained. "If we all make it there together, then we can still find it, but if one of us is compromised, it might take Kivar longer to get it."
Liz wondered if Kivar knew the layout of the Granolith Chamber and could extract the Granolith easily once there. However, something compelled her not to question Max's reasoning. On the road, Liz and Max shared a true partnership, and she spoke up with speculative theories like this. But with Michael and Isabel back in the fold and Kivar on Earth, circumstances were much different than their life on the road. Max always approached alien affairs with caution. While they hadn't dealt with strictly alien business in quite some time, Liz recognized the Granolith as Max's responsibility, even if he didn't want to be king anymore. Liz felt like Max should get to approach the situation his way this time.
"Agreed," Michael dutifully supported Max.
From what they knew, this happened a lot in their former lives on Antar, but on Earth they often argued over the best course of action. That reassured Liz that it was a good decision not to question whether it mattered to try to compartmentalize information in this way.
Everyone looked over at Isabel who seemed ok with Max's reasoning backed by Michael. Liz noted how the three of them—Max, Isabel and Michael—still relied on each other. Ava's thoughts weren't considered or asked for.
"Ava doesn't know the location of the Granolith Chamber, either," Max said. "You should share your ideas with her."
"All right," Serena agreed.
"Ok," Ava said softly and she smiled.
As the two made eye contact, Liz observed a spark of mutual sexual attraction. She encountered more people in her life than she ever imagined, and the non-verbal cues were easy for her to spot. Liz didn't know enough about Serena to assume anything, but she knew Ava and her Zan were together, so she wouldn't have guessed Ava would be attracted to other women. Liz hoped that after surviving the crisis, Serena and Ava finding each other could go down as a positive repercussion.
"We should practice this new ability," Michael reminded Max as Serena and Ava distanced themselves from the group to talk.
"I think around back will be good," Max said, referring to a location. "Between the trees and camper blocking us, the light from our powers should go undetected."
"So, Zan," Liz asked him, "how are your culinary skills?"
"Excuse me?" Zan reacted politely.
"While your mom and dad practice with Michael and Isabel, I'm thinking you and Serena can help me prepare something to eat," Liz shared.
"Oh," Zan said, understanding now, "sure."
Serena finished speaking with Ava and then joined them. They went into the camper to begin preparing a simple meal with groceries Liz and Max had on hand. Meanwhile, Max, Isabel, Michael and Ava practiced manipulating Max's energy into offensive projectiles.
At dinner, nobody discussed their plans for stealing uniforms from the surplus store and sneaking past the military or what they would do at the ship. They established all of that as much as they could plan for and dinner gave everyone a chance to socialize more casually. Max, Michael and Isabel spent much of the meal catching up on their lives since going in separate directions. Ava and Serena struck up a conversation, which Liz didn't pay much attention to. Zan seemed distant like he quietly reflected on the recent events of the past couple days. Liz mostly listened to Max, Michael and Isabel visit, chiming in occasionally with details from one of her and Max's adventures or a question for the others. She felt mentally exhausted and simply seeing Max so happy as he reunited with his hybrid family gave her joy, although she did wish Maria could've joined Michael because Liz missed her best friend.
After eating and cleaning everything up, the group was ready to retire and get some sleep. They decided two people would sit outside the camper in two hour shifts to be on the lookout for any trouble. Despite being so tired, Liz volunteered for the first watch because she liked the idea of getting a stretch of uninterrupted sleep after. Isabel volunteered to join her and the two stepped outside as everyone else sorted out where they were going to sleep.
Liz thought she could make it through the two hour shift no problem, but she quickly began fighting to keep her eyes open. Isabel made no effort to strike up conversation. Liz knew doing so could help her stay awake, but she struggled to think about how to start a dialog. Perhaps more fatigued than she wanted to acknowledge, Liz's mind felt mushy. Instead of starting a conversation, she felt her eye lids grow heavier as she allowed her breathing to slow.
FLASH
Liz saw Max, Michael, Isabel and Ava collapsed on the ground at the military checkpoint lying in a puddle of blood. Liz, while trying to run toward them, was also shot, three times in the chest. As she fell to her knees in pain, she heard a boom behind her and felt a wave of heat wash over her from that direction. She looked back to see Serena's van engulfed in flames. Serena and Zan were inside, screaming and burning, with no way to escape. Liz felt the blood rush out of her chest and her head crashed to the ground, losing the strength to hold herself up. Paralyzed and unable to move, Liz felt her own life force draining out of her.
WASHOUT
Liz's eyes shot open, and she sat up abruptly. While a lot of her reactions to her visions became so subtle nobody could guess anything occurred, Liz didn't often see herself and her loved ones in the role of victims. That made this vision a much more frightening, frenetic sight to experience.
Isabel quickly took notice of Liz's startled awakening. "Did you have a vision or just a nightmare?" she asked.
"We can't try to get past the military's checkpoints," Liz said, knowing the statement would answer Isabel's question indirectly.
"Why?" Isabel asked, "What did you see?"
"If we go to the military checkpoint, we're all going to die," Liz replied grimly.