Chapter 9
"What is this?" Tess asked from where she was standing.
"Congress Whitaker asked me for the granolith, I can only guess this is what she wanted," Isabel told her as she stepped into view, the black alien machine came into view with Michael and Max standing on the other side of the females.
"Must be pretty important if they wanted it," Max stated as he let a hand reach out and touch the machine, it hummed slightly.
"Do you think it can hear us?" Tess asked, curiously and Max shrugged.
"Who knows," Max informed as he stepped away from it. "We better get to school," Max told them. "We'll keep this hidden as best as we can."
Everyone just nodded as they followed Max out of the Pod Chamber and headed over to the jeep to head back to school.
Isabel paced the empty classroom; Alex opened the door and stepped in with Maria following her.
"Hey," Maria greeted as she moved over to a table and sat down on it while Alex went behind her and sat on the chair. The door opened once more, revealing Michael, Max and Liz.
"Hey, does anyone know what this is about?" Liz asked as she moved over to the teacher's desk and everyone shook his or her head.
"I got a message from Tess telling me to meet her here," Isabel stated and everyone nodded in agreement as Max sat on the teacher's desk while Liz stood between his legs, leaning into him.
The door opened once more and Tess stepped through.
"Sorry I'm late, my teacher held me behind," she told them before moving over to the TV and switched it on, she grabbed the remote and changed the channel till the news came on and turned up the volume.
'We have this story just in. A controversial New Mexico congresswoman is dead. We'll have that story in just a minute,' the new report stated and everyone looked at the TV in a stunned shock. 'Widowed just 6 months before her husband John Whitaker's upcoming election, she took his place on the ballot and won the election by a higher margin than any Democrat in 15 years. But all that ended yesterday, just outside her hometown of Copper Summit, Arizona, where a tragic single-car accident cut short a life of public service," the news informed and Maria arched an eyebrow.
"A car crash?" she asked.
'In other national news, the Department of Transportation took...' the news trailed off as Tess cut the mute button while everyone turned to Isabel.
"She died 2 weeks ago. I was there," Isabel protested.
"We were all there," Max agreed.
"How could she be in a car accident if she's dust?" Michael asked.
"So who's conveniently covering up her death for us?" Alex asked.
"Naseco said the skins were among us. Skins, plural. Maybe other skins created a fake car accident to keep the Feds from looking too closely into Whitaker's background," Max suggested and everyone looked at him.
"Max...what do we do?" Maria asked and Michael scoffed.
"Uh, let me guess. Nothing," Michael sneered and got glares in return while Max looked at Liz.
"Liz." Liz looked up at him and nodded, understanding what he wanted.
"Yeah, we...we're in total shock. No, we haven't set a date for the memorial service yet. Yes, I will let you know as soon as we do. Of course. Ok," Liz stated as she hung up the phone and ran a hand through her hair. "The phone's been ringing off the hook for the past hour," she informed them as Max, Tess, Isabel and Michael raked through the office and sighed in frustration. "What do you guys expect to find?" she asked and Max shrugged.
"Anything that'll tell us who she is contact with," Max explained and Liz nodded before something came to her.
"That reminds me, Congress Whitaker received a letter, I thought it was weird," Liz stated as she raked through her desk and finally located the letter, she lifted it up and handed it to Max.
"Look at this. The postmark says Copper Summit. It's from something called the Universal Friendship League," Tess stated, noticing the post mark and Liz nodded in agreement.
"That's what weird, Whitaker never mentioned it," Liz explained.
"What the hell is the Universal Friendship League? Could it sound any creepier?" Isabel demanded.
"Its Marked personal," Max stated before opening the envelope and read the contents out loud.
"Dear member: Your failure to report as scheduled violates protocol. We must receive word by the 25th of this month or terminate your membership, effective that date," Max read out and Isabel looked at the calendar.
"The 25th was yesterday," Isabel pointed out.
"That's when they say she died," Tess added.
"Sincerely, T. Greer, senior coordinator, Vilandra project," Max finished and Isabel looked at him.
"Vilandra?" she asked and Max looked at her.
"Does that mean something to you?" Max asked and Isabel shook her head.
"No. We should call," Isabel, stated, Liz took the envelope and looked at the phone number, she picked up the phone, cradled it between her ear and shoulder before punching in the number and took the phone back into her hand. Everyone watched her as she did so.
/Yes/ A male voice stated.
"Hi, um, is this the...the Universal Friendship League?" Liz asked.
/Who is this/ The male voice stated.
"I...I'm calling from Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker's office. We just, um, opened this letter this morning and...I wanted to call and apologize for not responding sooner," Liz explained.
/Yes/ The voice prompted.
"We just wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, Congresswoman has passed away," Liz informed.
/Thank you for calling/ the male stated before hanging up and Liz pulled the phone away from her face and stared at it.
"Jeeze, rude much?" she muttered before hanging up the phone and looked at the others. "They just hung up," she explained and Max nodded.
"We're going to Arizona," he told them and Michael opened his mouth to protest and Max waved his hand. "You can stay behind," Max informed and Michael nodded, he had some suspicious about Courtney and wanted to see if they were valid. Max turned back to Liz. "But we do need you to come with us, Liz. You're the only one of us who has a legitimate connection to Whitaker," Max told her and she nodded.
Liz cricked her neck slightly from where she was sitting in the driver's seat, driving the jeep. Max sat next to her while Isabel and Tess were asleep in the back of the jeep, Liz looked in the rear-view mirror at the two blondes, she couldn't help but feel something was off about Isabel but everyone brushed it off, saying that she was having a hard time coming to terms that she killed Congress Whitaker but Liz had a feeling that it went much deeper than that.
She smiled slightly when she felt a large hand on the back of her neck, massaging it.
"Thanks," she whispered as she cut her eyes over to Max, who just nodded.
"You okay? You looked pretty deep in thoughts a minute ago," he explained and Liz nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she promised him and he nodded as he sent through some healing powers through his hand into her neck, Liz's eyes fluttered close briefly as the warmth ran through her body, he pulled his hand away and rested himself back into his seat and, contently, watched his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye.
The Jeep arrived at the town, Max steered the jeep close to a building and a man came out.
"Excuse me," Max called out.
"Help you?" he asked.
"Yeah, this is Copper Summit?" Isabel asked.
"Yee-haw," the man stated and Liz stifled a smile when she heard that, Tess looked at her, curiously but didn't let it show.
"Where's the main drag?" Isabel asked.
"Lookin' at it," the man stated and Max looked at the building before looking at the man.
"The tour guide made it sound like..." Max trailed off and the man nodded.
"That must be an old tour guide. 46 miles from the interstate, 63 from the nearest Ho-Jo's. This town's dead as a doornail," he explained and Max nodded.
"Actually, we're looking for the Universal Friendship League," Max told him and the man nodded.
"Here for the harvest, then?" he asked and Isabel arched an eyebrow.
"Harvest?" she asked and the man blanched slightly.
"Uh, Friendship League's a members-only outfit. Very hush-hush. They don't like outsiders, especially with all the press around here these days," the man told her.
"Actually, we've been invited," Isabel stated and the man raised eyebrow.
"That right?" he asked and Isabel nodded.
"Yeah," she told him and he nodded.
"It ain't hard to find. Big old building," he told them.
"Stay on this street?" Max asked.
"Well, I did say this was the main drag, didn't I?" he asked and Max nodded.
"Thank you," he told the man before putting the jeep into gear and drove away, the local moved over to a phone.
"4 on the way. Non-members," he informed before hanging it.
The jeep came to a stop outside an old building; Liz looked out of the window and wrinkled her nose slightly.
"Some place," Liz told them.
"Okay, Iz and I are going to have a look around, you two stay here," Max told them as he and Isabel got out of the car.
Tess and Liz sat in the car, Liz watched as Max walked over to the building then looked back at Tess, she was still confused about her and Michael's relationship.
"So," Liz started and Tess looked at her. "How are you and Michael? I haven't really seen much of you since we've come back," Liz told her.
"We're okay," Tess told her and Liz nodded.
"That's good, is Michael getting his powers under control?" Tess nodded.
"Yeah, I had him blowing up rocks over the summer, he has better control." Liz smiled.
"That's good, Michael was always worried and I knew that Max and Isabel were worried that something would happen to him," Liz told her and Tess nodded. "So, how did you and Michael get together?" Liz asked and Tess looked at her. "I'm just curious, you know, considering Max and I were away," Liz explained and Tess shrugged.
"It was during the summer, we were working on controlling his powers, we got talking and things kinda went from there," Tess told her and Liz nodded.
"As long you're both happy, that's great," Liz told her.
"Thanks," Tess told her and Liz smiled as Max and Isabel walked back over to them.
Max and Isabel made their way over to the Universal Friendship League and knocked on the door, an elderly man opened it.
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to bother you. We're looking for a Mr. Greer, the senior coordinator?" Isabel stated.
"Yeah, that's me. T. Greer. Welcome to Copper Summit. "All kidding aside, it's a wild ride," he informed them and Isabel nodded.
"Could we come in for just a minute and talk to..." Isabel started but was interrupted.
"Uh...we're a private organization. Members only," Greer explained.
"What exactly is the Universal Friendship League?" Max asked.
"The friendship league is a private organization, and we ask all our valued visitors to avail themselves of all the tourist opportunities here in Copper Summit and to grant us our privacy," Greer explained.
"Coming through town, it seemed like all the tourist attractions were closed," Max explained.
"Then maybe the best thing to do is just head on down the highway. Try Tombstone. I ought to be going," Greer informed them.
"What's the Vilandra project?" Isabel asked.
"I wouldn't know," Greer stated.
"We were friends of Congresswoman Whitaker's. Before we leave town, we'd like to pay our respects to the family," Max told him.
"That'll be the Crawfords. 2 blocks down, turn left, red mailbox," Greer directed. "Appreciate it," Max told him and Greer closed the door as Max and Isabel made their way back over to the jeep.
They pulled up outside of a house where an elderly woman was standing there with a mailman. The mailman nodded to the woman before coming down the stairs where he met up with the kids.
"Excuse me, is this the Crawford's?" Max asked and the mailman nodded as he pointed to the house. "Thanks," Max told him before turning to Liz. "You're on," he told her and she nodded as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Ms. Crawford?" Liz asked and the elderly lady turned to face her. "Hi, I'm Liz Parker. Vanessa's assistant. We talked on the phone?" she asked and the lady nodded.
"Oh, sure. Liz Parker," Ida stated.
"I'm really sorry to hear what happened to your daughter. It's so terrible," Liz told her and Ida nodded.
"Oh, thank you, dear. What are you doing here?" Ida asked and Liz pulled out a package from the jeep.
"Oh, um, I just wanted to drop off some of your daughter's personal effects," Liz told her as she moved closer to Ida and handed her the package.
"Oh, honey, that is so sweet. Well, you didn't have to come clear up here. My gosh, it must be 400 miles! Walt! Visitors! Did you kids work for Vanessa?" Ida asked as she looked at the others.
"No, not exactly," Isabel told her and Liz introduced them.
"This is Max, Isabel, and Tess," Liz told her as an elderly man came out of the house.
"Walt..." Ida called out and he looked at them.
"Hmm?" he asked.
"These young people drove all the way up here to bring home some of Vanessa's things," Ida told him.
"Why didn't they just send them?" Walt asked and Ida shot him an incredulous look.
"What a thing to say! After they went to all that trouble," she shot at him before turning back to the kids. "You must be so tired and hungry after that long drive. Come on in the house. I want to make you something to eat," Ida told them and Liz turned to face Max, he nodded slightly and the three girls entered the house with Ida.
Max is walking up when Walt turns to him.
"I guess you're the man in charge," Walt stated to Max before entering the house, Max just smiled weakly before his expression turned to one of worry and distrust.
They found themselves in the house, Max and Liz sat on the couch with Max's arm over the back of the couch behind Liz while Tess sat on the other side of Liz, Isabel took up the chair.
"Here you go," Ida stated as she came out with cookies and lemonades. "I hope you like it," she informed them and they took their glasses, Liz took a sip of hers and winced slightly and sat it down.
"Sweet," Liz told Ida and she smiled.
"Yeah, sorry, we like a lot of sugar," Ida explained and Liz smiled as she nodded in reply, the rest didn't really take notice as they drank the whole thing.
"Walt, did you hear that?" Ida asked and Walt turned to face his wife.
"Hmmm," Walt asked.
"They came all this way for her service," Ida stated.
"Huh."
"Well, we felt like...like we should come. You know, the congresswoman, she was very...she was special...to all of us," Liz told her and Ida nodded.
"Like a mother," Isabel stated, causing everyone to look at her.
"Really?" Ida asked and got sheepish grins in return when Isabel noticed a boy standing near the doorway.
"Hi," Isabel greeted and Ida turned to face her then turned in her direction and noticed the boy.
"Nicholas, there you are! Come on in here. Come on, say hello," Ida told him.
"No, ma'am," Nicholas told her before leaving.
"Nicholas!" Walt shouted after him while Ida shook her head.
"He took it real hard. He and his sister were very close," Ida explained and Max nodded.
"Maybe we'd better just find a hotel," Max told them.
"There ain't but one," Walt warned.
"All four of you? At that old Motor Inn? I won't hear of it! You're all gonna spend the night here, and then tomorrow we can go to the memorial service together," Ida informed them and Liz looked at her, unsure.
"Are you sure?" Liz asked and Ida nodded.
"If Vanessa was like your mother, we're like your grandparents. We'll treat you just the way Vanessa would have wanted. Well, ok, let's eat up, there!" Ida stated with finality in her tone.
"Get you one of those crispy treats there," Walt stated with enthusiasm.
"Yeah, and I made all those gherkins myself. The crispy treats and the..." Ida trailed off as she headed into the kitchen, leaving the kids alone, wondering what they had gotten themselves into.
Tess walked into the living room after dinner, she noticed a picture of Congress Whitaker and moved over to it, she picked up and tried to use her powers to gleam some information when Ida showed up, breaking her concentration, she turned to Ida and asked for information about her.
Isabel was going through her bag when Nicholas showed up.
"Oh, Nicholas. Come in. I don't bite," Isabel, told him when she saw him, Nicholas just stayed near the doorway.
"This used to be her room," Nicholas explained and Isabel nodded.
"I'm so sorry about your sister," Isabel told him.
"I was gonna visit her in Washington next year. We were gonna spend 3 days just at the Air and Space Museum," Nicholas told her.
"Did you get a lot of time with her, growing up?" Isabel asked.
"When she'd visit, she'd make time. She always told me there's this whole wide world out there. She didn't want me stuck in Copper Summit for the rest of my life. She used to tell me stories about this planet in another galaxy, how there was this war going on, like a revolution," Nicholas told her as he moved in closer.
"True stories?" Isabel asked and Nicholas looked at her.
"How could they be true?" Nicholas asked and Isabel nodded.
"Did she ever mention Vilandra?" Isabel asked and Nicholas looked at her, startled.
"How do you know about Vilandra?" he asked.
"Vanessa told me some stories, too," Isabel told him as they both stared at each other; it broke when Tess walked in.
"Hey. Oh, sorry," Tess apologised.
"I have to go," Nicholas told them before leaving and Tess moved over to the bed and sat down across from Isabel.
"I've been looking all over the house for you. I was worried. I just found out that Whitaker was adopted. Ida told me," Tess explained.
"That means that Ida, Walt, and Nicholas could be human," Isabel pointed out and Tess nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. And the Universal Friendship League? It's supposed to be a civic organization, like the Elks. Ida says they've been handling all the arrangements for the funeral. She and Walt haven't even seen the body," Tess told her.
"Because there is no body."
"Right, but as long as the League handles everything, nobody has to know that. What about the kid?" Tess asked and Isabel shook her head.
"I don't know. You came crashing in before I had a chance to start a real conversation," Isabel explained.
Max and Liz were already in bed; Liz was facing Max as the covers covered her nude body. Max just laid on his side, his head propped up on his hand as he trailed his index finger over Liz's arm. He loved looking at her when she was asleep. He let his fingers trail over her back, causing Liz to shiver slightly.
"Hm," Liz sighed as she snuggled closer to Max. Max just smiled as he bent down and kissed her cheek, revelling in the soft skin, he pulled away and stroked back her dark locks, encouraging her to stay in her deep slumber.
His thoughts turned to the couple they offered their home to them, he was confused about his gut instincts were telling him, he didn't have a complete good instincts that Liz had. He knew that Liz thought it was weird that they liked a lot of sugar in their drinks but it could be nothing as a lot of people like a lot of sugar in their lemonade. Add in the fact that Whitaker had been adopted, it could mean that she was the only one but something was nagging at his gut that he should be on his guard, especially with Liz around. He never knew what they could do to Liz as she was human but as he thought this he looked down at her once more, there was something more to her than he was seeing. He knew that she was human; he saw her being born to her mother.
He thought back to all the time her gut instincts were right, Toloposky, Tess, Naesco, when Toloposky came back, the fact that they could share visions together. Max didn't even compare the visions that he had with Tess with Liz, now that he knew Tess could mind warp, it explained the visions that she placed in his head. Add in the fact that he healed himself through her, he never been able to done that before and he did it with Liz.
He leaned down beside Liz and let his fingers dance, lightly, over her face as he looked at her, wondering just what secret she had hidden that she didn't even know herself.
The next morning, Max, Isabel, Tess and Liz were attending to the funeral service; they stood near the door as everyone walked in to the building.
"I don't get it. What's the point of putting on a big show like this?" Tess asked as she looked around.
"That's exactly what this is. A big show. After this, there won't be any questions about what happened to Whitaker," Max explained. Isabel looked around and saw Nicholas staring at her before he walked off.
"I'll be back," Isabel stated as she walked off.
"Isabel," Max called after her before shaking his head when she ignored him. She followed Nicholas to the back of the Stagecoach Museum and she stepped into the building. She looked around when she saw the rows of glass chambers with the people from the UFL inside of them.
"Nicholas?" Isabel called out and Nicholas stepped out.
"Hi," Nicholas greeted and Isabel took a step back.
"Oh, God, Nicholas," she whispered.
"I'm glad that you're here," Nicholas told her before he waved his hand and a blast took Isabel out.
Isabel opened her eyes and looked around, she saw two rows of the bodies inside of them. "Hello, Vilandra. It's been a long time," Nicholas stated as he stood in front of her.
Max, Liz and Tess made their way over to the casket where Whitaker's body was resting; they looked in only to be stunned when they saw her body.
"Good-looking pile of dust," Tess commented and Liz shook her head.
"This just can't be possible," she told them before reaching out and touching Whitaker's hand only for her fingers to break through, Max and Tess stared at her in a shock while Liz panicked and looked around. She re-arranged the flowers so that they covered Whitaker's hand before turning to Max.
"Let's go," Max told them and they started to make their way up the aisle.
"Friends, we are gathered here today..." Greer started while Max, Liz and Tess looked around only to see the people started peeling off their skins.
"Look, look," Tess hissed.
"...To remember our sister, Vanessa Whitaker..." Greer continued.
"This place is crawling with them," Liz whispered to them.
"...She never sought fame and fortune, but when destiny called..."
"There's no way they're going to let us get out of here," Tess told them.
"...She answered the call of public servant," Greer finished, he watched as the trio made their way toward the door and pushed the flowers away from Whitaker's hand and saw the crack, he looked back up. "Leaving so soon?" Greer called out as he raised his hand, the door slammed shut as Max, Tess and Liz crumpled to the ground, Greer used his hand and formed it into a fist before pulling his arm back, causing Max to go sliding across the floor.
Liz and Tess looked at each other before looking at Max.
"You mustn't be in such a hurry to leave us. It appears our long search for the royal four has finally ended. How convenient of you to deliver yourselves to us," Greer stated, both girls got up and Max hurried back over to them.
"The king and you must be the bride," Greer stated as he looked at Tess.
"We'll just leave," Max told them.
"Leave?" Ida asked. "I'm afraid you can't," she told them as she looked at Liz. "Pretty girl isn't she? It's a shame we would have to kill her, I'm pretty sure that boys would like to have some fun with her," Ida informed them and Max pulled Liz so that he was shielding her with his body.
"Don't even think about it," Max told them, causing Ida to laugh.
"Looks like King Zan has a mistress," Ida teased.
"You won't remember me, but I remember you. This is a moment I've waited for a long time," Greer stated as he shot a yellow energy blast at Max, who brought up his shield. "How long do you think you can hold out against all of us?" Greer asked with a sneer and Max glared at him.
"As long as I have to," Max stated.
"It's taken 20 years, nursing them from spores to maturity. Now, they're almost ready to harvest. Don't worry. You're safe here with us, Vilandra," Nicholas told her and Isabel glared at him.
"My name...is Isabel," she shot at him.
"For the moment. But when I looked into your eyes, it was Vilandra who looked back," Nicholas told her.
"No," Isabel denied.
"Your destiny is with us. With Khivar. He's waiting to hear that we've found you," Nicholas told her.
"I don't even know..." Isabel started but Nicholas interrupted.
"Who the hell Khivar is? The royal four. If only the people could see you now. Clueless teenagers groping for their own identities. You'd lose some of that legendary aura that's sprung up over the years," Nicholas stated, smugly.
"What do you want?" Isabel groaned out.
"It's what you want. You just can't remember. I'm here to take you back to him, Vilandra. The leader of the rebellion. The man who currently sits on your brother's tarnished throne. The man for whom you sacrificed a kingdom. Your lover, Khivar," Nicholas tempted and Isabel shook her head.
"No." Nicholas waved his hand once more and Isabel's back slammed itself against the glass. "You're not going anywhere. You know, on our world, I was considered to be something of a ladies man. I even remember you giving me the eye now and again. But after spending 50 years as a teenage misfit, having all the women laugh at me, I've grown far less tolerant of the female sex. Where's the granolith?" Nicholas snapped.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Isabel exclaimed.
A Jetta appeared outside of the Stagecoach Museum and Michael, Maria and Courtney stepped out of the Jetta and hurried into the building.
Max groaned when he felt his shield weakening under the combining powers of the skins, Liz hurried over to Max, she slipped her arms around his waist before lifting one hand and fitting it over his, that was creating the shield. The shield expanded itself, strengthening itself. The skins took a step back when they saw this.
"Max…" Liz trailed off as Max shook his head, stunned. First he could heal himself through Liz, now Liz could help him strengthen his powers, there was something more than Max just healing her going on.
Just as the skins stepped forward, a huge explosion came, distracting them. Max dropped the shield and hurried the girls out just before the building they were in exploded itself.
Liz groaned from where she hit the ground, she stood up and hurried over to Max. "Oh god!" Liz whispered as she helped Max up, Max just wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they stared at the burning building.
"We gotta get out of here before anyone comes here," Michael stated and they hurried to their respective cars.
Nicholas and a group of skins came out of the building and they watched the cars make their getaway.
"It's over, we've lost the harvest," Greer stated and Nicholas snorted.
"It's not over, yes we lost the harvest but I will be damned if I don't take down that king myself," Nicholas stated and the rest of the skins nodded in agreement.
TBC