Max felt strange about splitting up from Liz again. The two were nearly inseparable since leaving Roswell, but he wanted to keep an eye on Zan. When he suggested the groupings split up, he somehow sensed Ava also wanted to stay near Zan. Part of Max wanted to keep one of the four hybrids in each group, but they didn't plan to get too far apart within the small area surrounding the college, and Liz was the only logical pairing with Serena. Since Michael and Isabel kept more in touch with each other than the rest of the group, it also seemed a natural fit that they stick together.
Max noticed Liz and Serena heading inside the general store located in the strip of businesses running along the road that led into the alleyway where the bully confrontation came to a head. He heard Isabel mentioning she wanted to go inside the college to ask around about the bullies. Ava started flagging a student jogging around the park who veered toward his group.
"Damn, Zan," the jogger said, "it never ceases to amaze me how fine your ma is."
His brazenness stunned Max. He noticed Zan looked embarrassingly horrified. Ava snapped her fingers into the jogger's face to direct his attention away from admiring her figure and toward her eyes.
"Hey," Ava scolded, "eyes here when I'm talkin' to you. A few guys on the football team were givin' Zan a hard time yesterday. You seen 'em since?"
Zan slinked behind Max, his face flushed red with his mother getting involved in his social life. Max failed to imagine a scenario where Zan ever attended another class at Northwest Texas Community College, but he could still relate to Zan's conscientious social standing concerns.
"Sorry ma'am," the jogger said politely, "and no I ain't seen those guys around lately. I'm baseball. They're football."
"Still," Ava pressed, "it's possible you could see them, I don't know, in the weight room, inside a classroom…"
The boy started to chuckle but then quickly seemed to find his manners and rubbed the back of his neck. "They don't go to class much, ma'am. Sorry, wish I could help more."
"Thanks, anyway," Ava said.
The boy ran off to continue his workout.
"Mom," Zan started.
Ava shot him a stern look. Max sensed she remained disappointed with how their conversation the previous day went regarding Zan's friendship with Nicholas. Max could relate, as he also felt disappointment that Zan would discuss his alien heritage with Nicholas seemingly without much caution about trusting someone new.
Zan looked a bit defeated after Ava's piercing stare down. "Do you have to just to be sooo…"
Max looked away as Zan dragged out the word "so" and chose his next words delicately. When Max took his attention away from Ava and Zan, he noticed Liz and Serena walking briskly toward them.
"Liz," Max asked as they approached, "what's wrong?"
"I had a vision about Henry," Liz explained. "He's going to be killed later today. It looked like a gruesome head injury."
"Did you see how it happened?" Max asked.
Liz's visions were not uniform and not every vision showed her the same level of detail. Max knew that sometimes Liz witnessed the events leading to someone's death or severe injury, but sometimes her vision showed her only the aftermath. Liz could describe a vivid, realistic sequence for one vision and for the next she experienced something more abstract and nondescript.
"No," Liz answered his question, "I just saw him lying in front of the endcap nearest the restrooms in a pool of blood that looked like it was coming from his head. Sweet Henry… It was awful, Max."
"We probably ought to have someone stake out the store the rest of the day, then," Serena suggested.
Liz didn't appear to disagree and turned her attention to the newspaper.
"That's smart," Ava chimed in quietly to give her approval.
Ava shyly smiled at Serena when the two made eye contact. Serena broke her gruff, serious exterior and smiled warmly at Ava. Then she abruptly looked away and back up at Max.
"It's a good idea," he agreed. "If something's going to happen in there, we should stay close. It's a solid lead."
Liz looked up from the newspaper.
"And speaking of leads," she said, "there's a story here at the bottom of the front page. Three boys from the football team are considered missing after getting involved in a fight near the college two days ago. I think this is them."
"Looks like it," Max confirmed, viewing what looked like yearbook photos of the missing students in the article about them.
Ava walked around behind Liz and peered over her shoulder to take a look too.
"Ah yeah," Ava said, "that guy here, that's freakin' Billy Logan. He's hassled Zan before."
Max recognized Billy as the one who initially approached Zan for admiring his girlfriend.
"Oh…" Serena interjected, appearing to experience a light-bulb-going-off-in-her-head moment, "Liz, remember that smell by the dumpster? I think we know where to start searching."
Max quickly made a risk assessment. If a confrontation would happen at the general store violent enough to result in Henry's death, he and/or Ava needed to stay near to use their powers to intervene and hopefully save Henry in the process.
Max gestured toward Liz and Serena. "You two should go investigate the alley. We'll keep an eye on the store."
Liz nodded in agreement but before walking off toward the alley, she asked, "Where's Michael and Isabel?"
"They went inside the college to ask questions," Max answered.
Liz and Serena retreated to the alley and Max gestured for Ava and Zan to move from closer to the center of the small park to the edge nearest to the general store's location. After the blowout yesterday, the trio didn't converse much. Max didn't know how to approach a conversation. It seemed unproductive to harp on Nicholas more, and he decided they learned everything Zan would reveal. Max hoped that was because it was all Zan knew. Any other small talk felt trivial. Max found himself wishing one of the other groups would return soon, since their stakeout of the general store could last hours.
The trio stood on the other side of the road at the edge of the park directly across from the general store. Max got the impression anyone nearby stared at them awkwardly. Nobody would stand around in that exact spot this time of day because there wouldn't typically be any reason to. He wished the nearby ice cream stand Liz liked was open already, as eating ice cream in their spot wouldn't stand out so much, especially if strangers sat at the nearby bench facing in toward the park preventing their group from sitting there. It didn't help ease Max's uncomfortableness that he worried any passerby could be a shapeshifter in an unassuming identity.
Zan eventually broke the silence. "So are we just going to stand here like this all day?" he asked.
"If that's it what it takes," Ava spoke with a quiet focus, so while the words could've conveyed sarcasm or come across as scolding toward Zan, Max didn't interpret it that way. It didn't look like Zan did, either.
"Whatever fate is meant for Henry, I don't want to see him die," Max added. "I'm sure you two know him and feel the same way."
"Oh, for sure," Zan agreed, "Henry's the best."
"Is this what it's been like for you and Liz," Ava asked, "lots of standing around waiting to stop one of Liz's vision from comin' true."
Max took a couple seconds to think about it. "Yeah," he said simply. He paused a beat and continued. "Not exactly a glamourous life like in the movies or something. But it's all we have. It's our way of trying to contribute something to make the world a better place."
Ava smiled at him warmly and conveyed a look of admiration. Max felt pride in this and it pleased him. It's like a sense of connection between their former lives as a married couple broke through and gave them a kind, sweet moment in the present. Looking back, Max never exchanged a sincere feeling like that with Tess. Based on what he knew, Max suspected Ava never shared a moment like that with her Zan.
A rustling sound coming from the general store followed by what sounded like glass breaking interrupted Max's reflections. They were just close enough, and it was just quiet enough around the park, for them to hear it.
Max ran more on-the-fly risk assessment. While he didn't want anyone to split up, he also didn't think Zan should go in with him and Ava. They couldn't keep an eye on Zan if he waited outside, though. Max turned back to see Ava ready to charge into the store with him, and Zan looked unsure of what to do. It seemed unlikely that a simultaneous attack would occur inside the college and in the general store when Kivar and his forces couldn't know their group would be there.
"Zan, go inside the college and get Michael and Isabel," Max commanded.
Zan instinctively looked at Ava who nodded in agreement. Zan ran back toward the college while Max and Ava went inside the general store.
As Max and Ava entered the store, all seemed calm with not a single person in sight. Nothing in the store looked disturbed so nothing to indicate any kind of altercation. Max feared they might already be too late. Perhaps a shapeshifter saw them outside and snuck into the store to lure them out of the public space, attacking Henry simply for being in the way while working at his store.
"Hello?" Max called out.
"Henry?" Ava called.
Max started to slowly head down the second aisle from the left. He couldn't see any sign of blood at the end of the aisle like Liz described from her vision. Ava went right to look down the other two aisles.
"Hi there," a voice said.
Max looked to his left to see Henry had emerged from a doorway near the center of the far left wall that was positioned at the edge of the four door refrigerator built into the wall that led to the restrooms in far left corner. Max felt relief.
"I thought I heard voices," Henry added. "May I help y'all?"
"We, uh, were walking by and thought we heard some loud crashing sounds," Max explained. "We wanted to be sure everyone was all right."
"That's just me dropping things in the store room," Henry said with a chuckle.
Max looked back at Ava who stood near the edge of the store by the right far wall. She shot him a suspicious look which made Max wonder if Henry's clumsiness, chuckle, tone or all of the above seemed off to Ava, who surely knew him much better than Max. He felt he needed to inspect the end cap area to the left of the aisle where Liz saw the body before he could let his guard down.
Max smiled before turning back to Henry. "Oh, right," he said. "Well, while we're here, and since the ice cream stand isn't open yet, I think I might pick up something for Liz."
Max took a step toward the freezers were which were against the back wall at the end of the aisle but paused when Henry quickly called out.
"You know," Henry sounded flustered, "that little ice cream stand does a number on my sales. I think what's back there may be expired, but I got a fresh supply back here in the store room for ya'll."
Henry gestured for Max to follow him into the storeroom, which would leave Ava out in the main area of the store alone. Beyond wanting to inspect the far end cap, Max felt edgy at the notion that Henry's suggestion happened to involve Max and Ava getting separated.
"That's ok," Max said casually.
Max turned toward the freezers at the back of the aisle. Before he could even take a step, he glanced down and saw the first signs of blood on the floor, entering the aisle from the left. Max knew for certain now that they arrived too late to prevent Henry's attack. He fought the instinct to run over and attempt to heal Henry because that would put in a position vulnerable to attack. He nervously looked back at the version of Henry he reasoned must be an alien.
The man somehow knew his deception got exposed. Suddenly the whole store lit up in a bright, white light. As Max put his arm up to instinctively shade his eyes, he sensed movement from the left side of the store and realized the man leapt over the aisle at him. Max turned to have the man land on him pushing him back against the right side of the aisle. Max then felt the man grab his shirt and leap over the next aisle slamming Max against the shelving running along the far right wall.
As the blinding light subsided, Max recognized Kivar in the form of the intimidating, muscular black man. Holding Max against the wall with his left arm, Kivar waved his right hand over toward Ava before she could get her bearings and raise her hand to attack him. Ava went flying toward the front right corner of the store, crashing against the wall. She looked unconscious.
"Where's the Granolith?!" Kivar snarled.
Max struggled to break free but couldn't.
"I don't know," Max said with a grimace.
"No, no," Kivar contested, pressing him more firmly against the shelving as tools, umbrellas and garden hose sprayers went crashing to the ground, creating more noise. "I know you have it. You admitted as much at The Summit, remember? You never would've lost track of it."
"I…" Max continued to struggle to wiggle free.
"Fortunately, I don't actually need your willing cooperation," Kivar said angrily through gritted teeth.
While still pinning him back against the shelving with his left forearm, Max saw Kivar's right hand rise and felt him place it on Max's head.
Max closed his eyes and braced himself for a mental attack. Since none of the hybrids possessed the ability to troll someone's mind like Nicholas and Kivar, Max could never hone his ability to defend himself against this type of attack. He fought back the best way he knew how.
Max's time in the White Room was one of the most traumatic experiences of his life. While he knew as a captive he could be tortured and dissected, Max felt extremely motivated to resist Agent Pierce so as to not compromise Isabel and Michael. It forced Max to find a toughness and bravery he never knew lied within him. He focused on the pain, the fear and his desperate desire to keep his fellow hybrids from joining him in the Special Unit's captivity. He could feel Kivar's presence at the periphery of his mind, pounding at the gate to get in and probe his memories. But with all his willpower, Max managed to keep Kivar at bay and then…
The pressure on his mind stopped. Max opened his eyes and saw Kivar withdraw his hand from Max's forehead. He heard police sirens outside but barely even registered what that could mean. Fending off the mind attack left Max exhausted, and he knew Kivar wasn't giving up.
"Impressive," Kivar conceded. "But I don't believe you've regained all that you had before I killed you back on Antar. And I've grown even more powerful since then. It's only a matter of time before I break you."
Kivar placed his hand back on Max's forehead. Max closed his eyes once more and tried to focus on the White Room again. He made every effort to re-establish the same level of resistance he fought with moments before, but the initial probe drained him. Max fought through a brain fog as if he took the SATs for 16 hours straight. He struggled to concentrate and focus to the extent he did during Kivar's initial push.
Max sensed Kivar would soon break through his mental defenses.
Then, Max heard the door to the general store open. He opened his eyes and looked over. Everything looked fuzzy, but he saw two figures near the front of the store make their way over to where Ava landed. It looked like they were helping her up.
"Get away from him," someone shouted.
It was Isabel. Max relaxed. He knew the cavalry arrived. That Isabel and Michael must've just helped Ava up and now the three of them would try to fend off Kivar. Max felt Kivar let go of his head. Max could now see more clearly and indeed each of his fellow hybrids extended their hands.
The end cap nearest them at the front end of the store contained large glass bottles of apple cider tonic. The other hybrids used their powers to fling them at Kivar, smashing the heavy bottles up against his chiseled body. Max sensed this ever so slightly stunned Kivar and Max pulled up his right hand and summoned all the strength he could muster and directed it at Kivar.
Max's attack was powerful enough to send Kivar skidding back a few inches to the other side of the narrow aisle.
"Maxwell," Michael shouted, "get down!"
Max crouched to the ground and watched as the other three hybrids simultaneously released waves of energy at Kivar, which pushed him toward the back wall of the store a few feet. They ran up toward Max.
"Max," Isabel asked, as she knelt down beside him, "can you get your shield up?"
"I think so," Max replied, "but barely. I'm going to need you all to help me just to power the defensive shield. We can't attack."
"Fine," Ava shouted.
Isabel helped Max to his feet. The others quickly stacked their hands on top of his. Max felt their energy feeding into him and focused on erecting his defensive shield. Together, they successfully got it up just in time.
Kivar gathered himself and raised his right hand out at them. An amber spot appeared on Max's green shield. Max sensed how almost all of the energy for his shield came from Isabel, Michael and Ava. He knew they needed his strength to fight back, but Max poured all that he had into fighting the mind attack and keeping the Granolith's location secure. He didn't know how long they could maintain the shield.
Max's peripheral vision alerted him to two new figures that entered from the back left of the store near where the restrooms were. One person was taller than the other.
"I'm sorry Your Majesty, but local police will be storming the front entrance any moment now," the taller one, a man's voice, said. "There's nothing I can do to stop them short of using my powers."
The amber spot quickly vanished from Max's shield as this appeared to catch Kivar's attention. Max didn't dare drop his shield yet, but the brief reprieve allowed him to sense a fifth person behind the hybrids. He glanced back and recognized Zan joined them inside the store.
"But they're all right here," Kivar boomed.
The shorter figure who came in by the restrooms spoke next. "We don't need the nuisance of a planet-wide manhunt, even as primitive as this species is." Clearly this was Nicholas.
"Very well," Kivar agreed.
They saw his form move off and Max dropped the shield. Sure enough a policeman stood near the restrooms, no doubt one of Kivar's shapeshifting allies undercover. Nicholas stood next to the police officer. All the hybrids were drained from fending off Kivar, but Max in particular felt like he'd just run a marathon.
As Kivar reached Nicholas and the policeman, the policeman ushered Kivar out of the store.
"Zan," Nicholas baited, "you should come with us. I can give you the answers you seek. You know these people won't be as open with you as I've always been."
Zan shuffled his way to the edge of the next aisle over, the second one from the right. The hybrids remained two aisles away at the front right edge of the store.
"Zan," Ava called out, "you can't."
Zan seemed torn.
"C'mon, we're out of time. You need to come now," Nicholas urged
Zan ran down the aisle next to them to join Nicholas.
"No, Zan," Ava cried out.
Michael held her back from pursuing them, knowing she could do nothing. Max fought the urge to collapse. Without even enough energy to call out after Zan, he saw him reach Nicholas and the two recede out the back. Max fell to a knee and Isabel tenderly knelt beside him. Ava stopped struggling, but Michael kept his arms around her waist regardless in case she felt a renewed urge to charge after them.
As promised by Kivar's undercover policeman, moments later a group of seven police officers charged into the store. They quickly fanned out to determine who else might still be in the store.
"Clear," one of them shouted, marking that there were no threats present.
"We've got a body over here," another declared. "No pulse. He's dead."
Max's heart sank. If given the opportunity, he hoped he could approach a badly wounded Henry and heal him, but the police declaring him dead dashed those hopes. A young, brown-haired woman officer approached Max and the others.
"Are you four ok?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, we're ok," Michael said, taking charge dutifully in place of Max, who still felt mostly incapacitated.
"Do you know what happened here?" she asked next.
"Not sure," Michael replied pensively, "there was a man who attacked us as soon as we walked in."
"Did you see the shopkeeper get attacked?" she asked, sensing that they knew more than that.
"No," Michael answered while scratching above his eyebrow with his pointer and middle fingers, "that must've happened before we stepped in. We just came here to get some…" Michael reached back for one of the items toppled over but still lying on the shelf next to them and presented it to the officer, "…sunscreen."
The officer looked like something felt fishy to her, but she pulled out a note pad and scribbled Michael's statement down in her notes.
Before she could ask more questions, Isabel spoke up to offer more information to their story, "There was this huge guy in here who ran up and started pounding on us."
"He must've heard the police sirens and then run off," Ava added, looking to further corroborate their story.
"Ok," the officer said, still sounding a little skeptical, "let's you get you all outside while we tend to this crime scene. We'll have more questions for you later."
She led them outside where three police cars were parked along the curb next to the store. Crime scene tape formed a perimeter between the general store entrance and the police cars. A small crowd gathered but couldn't approach Max and the others within the crime scene barrier.
The officer recognized that Max seemed worst off and focused her attention on him. "Do any of you need an ambulance?"
Max started to regain some strength and managed to walk out of the store under his own power, though Isabel stayed near him in case he needed her support. He remained visibly fatigued.
"No," Max answered meekly.
"Are you sure?" the officer asked caringly, looking to confirm.
"Yes," Max said, "I just got the wind knocked out of me I guess."
The officer paused a moment. "Wait here."
With the rest of her unit inside the general store, the officer stepped several feet away from Max and the others to get on her radio.
Max began scanning the crowd. He knew Liz would come over once she heard the police outside the general store where her vision saw Henry dead. With confirmation that Kivar and his forces did infiltrate the area, he wanted to see her to know Kivar didn't send anyone to the alley. Panic started to settle in as he scanned every face from left to right and couldn't spot Liz or Serena. He panned the crowd again this time right to left.
"I don't see Liz," Max told the others, "if something happened to her…"
Max couldn't bear the thought, and the fear and concern for his wife's safety helped him find a second wind. He moved forward, ducked under the crime scene tape and shoved his way through the crowd. Once clear, he started running for the alley where Liz and Serena went to look for the bullies dead bodies. He quickly realized Isabel, Michael and Ava followed him away from the crime scene and ran just a couple steps behind him.
Max ran down the alley running along the left of the college. He saw movement and stopped shy of turning the corner to the alleyway running along the back of the college. Max hoped it was Liz but braced himself to activate his powers if a threat stepped out.