Connections 24

Later that evening, Liz sat in the Evans' living room, more peaceful than she had been for a year. She was seated in a chair inside Max's arms. Across from them sat Maria and Michael on the couch with Kareena and the Evans'. Isabel and Alex sat on the floor in front of the couch and the Valentis on an opposite couch.

"So Nasedo is still inside of you?" Isabel asked her. Max's arms tightened around her some and Liz nodded.

"He has been controlling my actions and powers the whole time I've been gone. His connections with me enables him to suppress my powers and send shock waves to my mind whenever he finds that I am acting in a suspicious way. I was eventually able to create an image of myself to fool him with, but it has deteriorated now. He knows where I am."

"So, he'll be coming here soon then?"

"Yes, and when he comes into contact with me, he'll stop the damage I've been able to do to his connection with me. I have been able to start breaking it down, but I can't use all my powers cuz he still controls most of them. I don't really know how to use them on my own anyway. He's been supporting them and not allowing me to develop them out of thinking I'd be able to get away from him then."

"Is there any way that you can break the connection before he gets here?" Michael asked her.

"I can't do it. I've been trying ever since I got there and found that the image was breaking up. I'm not strong enough, and I don't know how."

"I do though sweetheart." Kareena stood up slowly. " I couldn't do anything earlier when I tried to connect with you because I didn't know what I should be trying to do, but I do know how, Max does too."

Liz's head snapped up and her eyes grew wide. "You can do it, just like that? Like right now?"

"I can't, but Max can. He has a strong enough bond with you to be able to get in. " When Liz nodded her head enthusiastically, Max turned the both of them in their seat and gazed into Liz's eyes.

"You know what to do..." Liz nodded and kept eye contact with him as he began to connect with her.

Max saw flashing lights that blinded him in their brightness. He was flying through the stars just before he ended up in a sequence of flashes.

~Liz riding her bike down the middle of the street across from her house~

~Maria and Alex at a birthday party with Liz playing tag while the parents watched~

~A war movie with Kyle that he liked~

~Looking up into Max's eyes from the floor of the Crashdown~

~Watching the crash festival~

~The first kiss~

~Out in the desert, a beeping filling Liz's ears~

~Walking into Valenti's office asking for help~

~Holding Max in a tipped over van~

~Walking away~

~Shawn's look as he took over everyone's minds~

~Max asking Liz to marry him~

~Maria fainting~

~Nasedo gripping her arm in her father's form~

~Walking up to a strange high school~

~Doing an Internet search when Nasedo suddenly enters her mind~

~Sitting at lunch apparently alone to any observers, but Nasedo ever present in her mind, reminding her to behave~

~Nasedo breaking a wall in their house, then putting it back together with his powers, just to scare her into submission, and to remind her of how strong he is~

~The plane taking off as Liz closes her eyes and concentrates on the image she was producing~

~Michael and Maria eyeing her as she walked into class~

~Max, Michael, and Maria watching her as she walked away at lunch~

~Max holding he and changing her hair and eyes back to normal~

~The love Liz felt every time she saw Max~

Max opened his eyes and saw relief in Liz's eyes burning brightly. A switch had been cut off inside her brain and now she was free of the alien who had entered her thoughts so long ago. Max leaned on Liz a little out of exhaustion and Liz cradled his head in her hands. She softly kissed his lips, leaving the rest of the room behind until Alex cleared his throat loudly.

Liz smiled, and then turned to the room. Maria and Michael stood up and crossed the distance between themselves and their friends.

"We should be going now, it's getting late," Maria said and she reached down and hugged Liz tightly, "I'm so glad you're back. Nothing was the same without you hun." Michael flashed a smirk at Max, then steered Maria out of the Evans' home.

The Valentis all left next. Apparently after Nasedo had killed the parkers, and Liz had disappeared, the Evans' and Amy had been told about the aliens. Liz was glad. There wouldn't be any hiding from people they could trust.

Philip and Nancy got up and went to bed soon after, followed by Kareena, leaving Isabel and Alex talking quietly to the other couple.

Alex kept grinning like a Cheshire cat and Liz laughed. The four of them stayed up late catching up on everything. Liz found that both of the other couples had waited to get married until they found Liz or they graduated, whichever came first. Now that she was here, they would all tie the knot, and then go up to the station.

"So Nasedo will be here soon then Liz?" Isabel asked.

"I think so. He knows where I am, and since the connection is broken, he knows that he only has a short while before we leave. In his mind, he cannot accept that."

Max continued, "He will probably be here tomorrow, but we won't know him, because he will take on another form. We're all going to have to be careful."

Soon, Alex and Isabel left and Max and Liz lay out on the couch in the living room together. They talked for hours about anything and everything. They could feel each other's love for the other and knew that everything was right. Liz knew she was home, and whatever tomorrow and the rest of the future brought, it would work out somehow.