Chapter 59 The ressurection of an old soul

Maria was searching for Michael. She already looked everywhere, she even went into the mens bathroom and discovered that a few of the soldier were built really nicely. Years of hard training had steeled their bodies at the right places and they weren´t to shy to show that. Whereas women started to scream as soon as a man saw them naked, men grinned and enjoyed the attention. Unfortunately she wasn´t there to stare at them, she had another mission. So with a quietly mumbled sorry she closed the door again and walked briskly towards her room. On her way she stumbled across Tess and Isabel, who were regarding their new wardrobe on each other. Since they were stationed at an army base, they had to dress like everyone else. Which meant beige cargo pants, beige t-shirts and black boots. And now the two girls had to see who looked better in it, which was a tough question. But Maria managed to satisfy both with her answer before asking them if they knew where Michael was. Tess immediately told her that he was on his way to her to apologize for his behaviour. Thankful about the information she continued her way to her room. Close to her destination she was held up from Hanson, who said that she had a visitor. Excitedly, knowing that her news would change everything, she opened her door and stepped inside. Michael was sitting on the bed with the nice white blanket, his eyes were immediately shooting in her direction. A little scared she stumbled back from the cold expression on his face. Something strange was going on here and she could feel it. Carefully she tried to not let him see her reaction and yet she stayed in sight of the door.

" I already looked for you all over the base. I have to tell you something".

Michael eyed her with a mix between disgust and anger. His jaw was moving under the skin and his hands were clenched tightly into a fist. " Really? What could you possible have to say to me?".

Maria was stunned to hear the edge in his voice. That was not the Michael she knew, it was like he transformed into Nicolai. Instantly a bad thought popped into her mind. But she threw it out as soon as she remembered that her half brother didn´t have the power to shapeshift. " I found something out. About the babies".

" Don´t mention those bastards in my presence", Michael had jumped so fast on his feets and pinned her on the wall with his elbow at her throat, that she didn´t even have time to react. His face was pretty close to hers and she could see his black eyes. " I loved you and I would have done anything for you. Hell I even sacrificed myself to save you. But you just dumped me to be with this scumbag".

Maria was taken aback from the attack. Struggling against the pressure on her air supply, she was afraid for the first time, afraid that the most important man in her life had turned into her worst enemy. " Please, you´re hurting me", she tried to cut through to him, because she was sure that it wasn´t him. Something was controlling him. But all she got in return was that he pressed harder. " I don´t know what you think, but there isn´t anything between Lykus and me. There could never be anything as long as I still love you".

Michael shook his head. He wouldn´t believe her lies any longer. She had just been using him all this time, because there couldn´t be other explanation to why she was doing that to him. " Do you think I believe this bullshit? How gullible do you think I am? He, answer me!".

" I can´t...breath", Maria noticed her vision was getting blurry and panic was slowly setting in. Fearing that her children could get hurt she took her last energy and blasted Michael off of her. He dashed with full force through the air and crashed against the wall with a loud bang. She winced slightly when she saw him sliding on the ground, worrying that she had severly hurt him. Slowly she moved closer to him, all the while holding her throat and healed the almost crushed windpipe there. " What has gotten into you? You could have really hurt me".

Michael looked up at her and his eyes were the normal hazel color again. He even lost this angry expression he had sported moments ago. It was like whatever had possessed him to act like that was gone and now it was only him again. " I´m sorry. I didn´t want to cause you any harm", then his eyes took on the black color again. " Just your babies", with that he jumped to his feets again.

Maria startled when he leaped towards her and stepped back. Unfortunately her foot got tangled up with the leg of the bed and she fell on the floor. Afraid she tried to stand up, because she knew that she would be in disadvantage lying there. But her luck ran out and before she could lift some body part Michael was already sitting on her legs and pressed her hands besides her head. Trapped under his weight she felt tears spilling from her eyes. " What´s going on with you? Tell me so that I can help you".

" I don´t need help. I just have to get rid of the children. Then you will come back to me", Michael concentrated on her wrist and within seconds her hands were bound with an invisible cuff on the floor. As much as she wanted she couldn´t move her arms anymore. " I love you so damn much that I would do anything to get you back were you belong. You belong to me and nobody else", his hands trailed down her t-shirt until he came to the hem of it. Then he shoved it upwards to reveal her still flat stomach. Just a hint of a swelling was showing that two babies were resting in there. For a moment he eyed the spot before he put his hands on it.

Maria realized what he wanted to do and kicked out with her feets. Desperate she wriggled with her whole body and tried to rip her arms from the grip holding her prisoner. " Please. Don´t do it. Don´t kill your children".

Michael stopped what he was doing and glanced at her stunned. Did he hear her right or was this a trick to spare her? " What? Say that again".

" They´re yours. You can check it if you don´t believe me", Maria calmed down slightly as soon as she noticed that his hands lifted from her belly and he was staring from it to her face and back again. She just hoped that he really believed her and didn´t decide to continue what he started.

Michael was torn between hoping that she told the truth and the thought that she could just play a game with him. It was like he was two person in one body and they both seemed to battle for dominance. Rubbing his face he struggled with himself to which voice he should listen now. " That´s a trick. You just want to save your children".

Maria used his distracted state to push all her strength in releasing her arms. Seconds went by and nothing happened. Then suddenly she felt it, something was sliding from her wrist. Immediately she shoot up with her torso and shook her hands, which were a little sore from the pressure on it. " I want to save our children".

" No that can´t be. I saw it", Michael was still fighting out to whom he should listen. It was almost driving him insane. His head felt like it wanted to split in two and his powers seemed to go crazy. Little things around them exploded or floated in mid air.

Maria knew that she had to do something fast. She wasn´t as concerned about herself as she was with him. He was acting strange and she feared that she could lose him to his blind rage or worse he could hurt himself with it. Taking his face in her hands she made him look at her. Surprised she noted the swirling emotions in his eyes. " Calm down and let me in. I can help you", she waited until she had his whole attention before sending him a little of her inner serenity. As soon as she realized that he wasn´t so all over the place anymore and was steadily staring in her eyes, she withdrew one hand. Gently she grasped his hand and guided it to her belly. Then she started to open her mind to let him see what really happened with Lykus.

Flash

Lykus was remorseful apologizing to her. He said that he acted like an ass and that he didn´t want to hurt her in any way. He could admit to be jealous about the love she had for Michael and had been having for Rath. But he would never interfere, even if it appeared that way. Although it were his children growing inside her, he knew that there wouldn´t be more between them, ever. Maria was glad to hear that and she accepted his apology with an embrace. After that he wanted to touch her belly to see how his kids were doing. As soon as he came near her skin an electric shock went into his hand and hurt him. A really good sign that he wasn´t the producer. Finally she had proof that Michael was it, because if a woman was pregnant the only male allowed to touch the belly was the father. Happily she had threw her arms around him and even kissed him, she had been so happy to knew that now. Everything would be going right again. Excitedly she said goodbye to Lykus to went searching for Michael to give him the good news

End Flash

Maria saw tears in Michaels eyes and felt relieve flooding her body. His features softened again and the confusion in his glance had finally disappeared. She had thought she had lost him. Thankfully their bond had been so strong that he remembered who was in front of him. " Do you believe me now?".

" Oh my god! What have I done. I´m so sorry. I don´t know what came over me", Michael scrambled to his feets and darted across the room to the door in a haste. He just wanted to be far away from her as he could in case he would attack her again. But unfortunately his exit route was blocked from a stuck door and all his efforts to open it didn´t help anything at all. Panicked he pounded on it.

Maria held the only way out shut with her powers. She hadn´t meant to make him feel like he did something wrong, which was big coming from her after she got almost killed from him. But she had seen in his eyes that it wasn´t entirely him in there. Something or someone had been controlling him from afar. With wobbly legs she stood up from the ground and went to him. " It´s okay. Nothing happened. I´m fine and so are the twins".

Michael flinched back when he saw that she wanted to touch him. He didn´t want her near him, he was a monster, something she had to get out of the way before he caused her anymore harm. She was the only person apart from his family he wanted to protect from everything bad. " Let me out please. I can´t trust myself anymore".

" I don´t want you to go", she cupped his face lovingly, afraid to push him deeper into his guilt, but more afraid to let him leave in this condition. The last time she had seen him that devastated, she had been there for him. Now she wanted to do the same again, after all it wasn´t his fault what happened. " That wasn´t you, something made you act so out of control".

Michael tried to get out of the hands holding him. Didn´t she understand that he would never forgive himself if he hurt or even killed her? He didn´t want to be there to see what it would do to him and the others. She was too important to him. " And. It won´t change anything. I can´t be near you in case something like that happens again".

Maria almost laughed, thinking about the exact situation months ago between them. Just that the roles were reversed and she was trying to protect him from herself. But this time neither of them did something wrong. She had felt something in his mind when she connected with him and it was gone now. Either she had scared it or she had destroyed it. " It won´t. I took care of it".

" How can you be so calm? I tried to kill you just a few seconds ago!", he wanted to shake her to make her realize that it wasn´t just a little fight they had, he had wanted to get the babies out of the way. His own flesh and blood. The thought alone was making his stomach turn.

Maria smiled reassuringly at him while she caressed his cheeks with her thumbs. If she would have felt the hate coming from him was really his emotions, she would have reacted differently. But she knew that it wasn´t him. Besides he had said that he loved her and that after all the shit behind them. " You could have easily let me kick the bucket. But you didn´t do it. Some part of you was still hesistant about using your powers to hurt me".

Michael felt his nerves coming down from the high they had been on. His head was clearer now and his heart was beating normally again. The uneasy feeling in his chest was gone,too. He didn´t know how she managed to calm him down, but she made it. She always knew the words he needed to hear in such moments. Kissing her forehead he looked into her eyes. " The next time something like that happens, don´t hesistate to do everything to defend yourself, okay? Even if it means to kill me".

" Let´s hope it won´t come to that", Maria was glad to know that her words got through to him and he even heard them. She hated to see him suffering in any kind and then because of something so stupid nontheless. " How did that happen in the first place?".

Michael thought back at the spying he did on her and Lykus. The blinding rage crawling up in his spine and the searing pain to lose her to someone other. His emotion were already heightened, but the words from. Oh damn, he was so dumb. " It was Hanson. He said that I was out of the picture and I should kill the babies to get you back".

Maria was shocked to hear that. She knew Hanson for five years now and he never made any indication to not like her. He was always so helping towards her and he threatened Lykus more than once with arrest if he should just as much as laying a finger on a wrong place. She thought of him like a really good friend. " That can´t be. I know him, he wouldn´t do that".

" I have to find him and then I will rip his heart out of his chest and let him eat it", Michael pushed her softly aside and opened the door. Startled he came face to face with the bastard he was looking for. Angrily he grasped the other man at the shoulder and pulled him into the room. If he would kill someone he didn´t want any witnesses. And Maria didn´t count. " Just the son of a bitch I wanted to see".

Hanson smiled innocently at the pair which didn´t match the cold eyes staring at them. Something was definitely wrong with him and they both wondered why nobody already noticed anything in that regard. It was so obvious, at least when one looked closer. " Don´t start with calling names. I just did my job. Don´t take it too personal".

Michael was on the brink to rip the scumbag apart. He was just hindered from doing something foolish in the form of Maria holding him back with her hand grasping his arm. She was almost in the same condition as him, but seemed to have more control over her emotions because nothing was appearing on the outside. " Personal! Because of you I almost killed my wife! I take that very personal!".

" She´s not your wife and she won´t ever be", Hanson reached around with his right arm and pulled something from the waistband of his cargo pants. Scared the other two saw it was a dangerous looking knife glinting in the light. " I´ve got orders to kill her and because you wasn´t man enough to do it, I have to get my hands dirty now".

Immediately Michael pushed Maria behind him and planted himself in front of her like a wall. If someone wanted to harm her had to go through him first. Nothing and no one was touching his family. " You won´t come near her. Before you even can lift a finger I will snap your neck so that you can see your ass".

Maria wasn´t so comfortable with him playing her hero again. The last time he died at that and she couldn´t save him. She didn´t want to see the same happen again. Fearless she stepped around her bodyguard and confronted the man she had thought was a friend. " What have you done to Hanson?".

" Oh, you´re not so dumb like Nicolai made you out to be. I´ll have to remember to tell him that after I´ll bring your worthless carcass to him", the Hanson imposter scratched his left temple with the knife while he regarded her properly. Too bad that she had to die and to bad he didn´t like to screw dead girls. But maybe in another life. " Reshak is not alive anymore, obviously. But he gave a good cover for me".

Maria struggled against the arms trying to pull her back. She couldn´t give up now, this guy knew things and maybe he could be still useful for them. Although she hated the thought that they trusted the enemy for so long. " How long?".

The guy in the Hanson disguise sprouted off a strange laugh, it sounded kinda eerie in the quiet room and it seemed to bounced off on the walls like an echo. " I think it´s almost 3 years now. It had been so easy to kill him, really. Piece of cake. I took his position and nobody noticed the difference, not even his half brother, the great Larek".

" You bastard. You´re the mole", Maria couldn´t control herself any longer and punched him hard in the face. Satisfied she saw blood sprinkle from his nose and down his chin. The knife in his hand forgotten she lunged for it.

Unfortunately she didn´t see Michael moving at the same time and both collided with each other. Together they fell forward in the direction of the bleeding traitor and knocked him on the ground with them. The knife dropped out of his hand and skidded across the floor. In the midst of tangled limbs and injured body parts Maria tried to get out of her position sandwiched between the two males. She stretched her arm as far as he could reach towards the weapon while her legs kicked the weight off of her. Finally managing to escape the human knot she took the knife in her hand and jumped to her feet. When she turned around with the deathly weapon pointed away from her, she noticed too late the body coming her way. Before she could react Michael crashed against her and the knife impaled itself in his belly. Shocked she looked into his wide opened eyes, feeling something wet and warm tripping on her hand. For a moment she was thrown back to the day when she was in the same position with Rath. He was staring at her the same way he had then. This stunned and scared expression, like he couldn´t believe what happened. With tears in her eyes she tried to hold him upright, already thinking about dragging him across the dark halls towards the hospital wing of the base and getting him help. But he was too heavy for her and they both landed with a loud thud on the ground.

The Hanson imposter laughed loud, liking this twist and pitying Nicolai for not witnessing this great moment. " I knew it. You´re a killer. Everyone around you dies because of you", having said his piece he walked to the exit to get the hell out of here before someone noticed anything. Sadly the moment he held the knob in his hand the door opened.

" What is going on here?", Sean tried to step into the room and watch what games had been played here. The noise had aroused his attention when he walked by to get to the food hall where the others were already waiting for him. Surprised he saw his cousin sitting on the ground with a bleeding Michael laying in her arms.

The cheater was startled for a second before pushing the boy out of his way and running out of the room. Maria knew they couldn´t let him get away. " Sean catch him".

Sean didn´t ask questions like usual and dashed after the bastard in a hearbeat. On the way he screamed for the soldiers and that a traitor was among them and he needed help tacking him down. Thankful for the years of running away from the law he strained his legs to go faster. Just before he was close enough to tackle him, a few soldiers guarding the entrance stepped in the way and stopped the getaway. Knocking him out they dragged him after them towards the interrogation room while a slightly out of breath Sean watched after them, cursing his smoking habit.

Meanwhile Maria had made Michael more comfortable on the ground as much as it was possible in the situation and kept his face in sight. She would see there first hand how bad his condition was really. His eyes were still open, but the blood pouring out of his mouth was alarming. " I´m sorry. I didn´t see you. Please don´t die on me again", with shaking hands she ripped his t-shirt open, always the knife in her view and eyed the wound closer. Choking back a sob she saw the many blood dripping on the floor beneath his body and making a big puddle around him while the offending things was sticking almost until the hilt in his flesh, which meant it was pretty deep. " Oh god, I didn´t want that", close to tears she looked into his eyes, seeing the calmness in it. The last time she had witnessed it he had been on the brink to die. Stroking his cheeks with both hands she tried to think about a solution. She knew he wouldn´t survive the way to find help and she wasn´t sure if she had enough energy to drag him around for that long anyway. Straining her brain cells to the maximum an idea came to her. She wasn´t sure if her powers would manage to heal such a wound, but she would try it for him. " Michael you have to hold on for a little longer. I´ll try to heal you, but you have to help me do it. Do you think you can manage that?", after she got a tired nod she took place besides him and gripped the knife with one hand. " On three I will pull the knife out, okay", counting to only two she took all her strength and got the weapon out of the belly with a loud cry of pain coming from Michael. The bleeding intensified immediately and Maria pushed her hand on the injury to exert pressure on it and maybe get it under control. Then she looked into his eyes. " Clear your mind and concentrate on me", slowly she noticed the panic leaving her body and making place for peace. Breathing in and out evenly was easing her mind and before she knew what happened she felt the connection between them springing to life. Seconds later her hand started glowing red and the healing began. Tissue for tissue, vein for vein she repaired every damage done. Mending vessels and even a punctured liver she worked her way through everything. Until she noted her energy level was on the low and she had to stop the healing. Feeling worn out and slightly dizzy she was back in her body. Almost fainting she sensed hands cupping her face and turning it around. Surprised and a little startled she saw in the hazel eyes of Michael. " Oh my god, you´re alive", relieve flooded her being and she threw her arms around him. Tears of joy were falling down her face.

" Hey, don´t be so shocked about that", Michael held tightly onto her. He always knew that she could do more than she realized and he was glad that he was right. It wasn´t nice to see his life passing in front of his eyes and knowing that he hadn´t done anything special or knowing he would leave the most important persons behind. From now on he would live differently.

Maria couldn´t still grasp the things happening in the last few minutes. It was like she was in some kinda trance. " I´m sorry. I saw you too late and then everything was already over and I saw the many blood and the knife sticking from you belly and I panicked and I was afraid that you would die again and I couldn´t do anything against it".

Michael caressed her head tenderly. She had to calm down, it wouldn´t be good for the babies if she stressed so much. Besides everything had been having a good ending, nobody died and Maria could finally prove herself that she could make a difference in this life. " Shhh. It´s over and I´m still here. Nothing happened".

" I almost lost you through my hands. I could have killed you", Maria didn´t want to let go of him ever again. She didn´t care about the war or food or sleep. She just wanted to sit here with her arms around her lover and forgetting the world outside.

Michael thought about the irony of this situation. A few minutes before he got stabbed he had been trying to harm her. No wonder they never found a partner, they both were made for each other and nobody else would have survived their attacks. " Then I suggest we call it quits".

Maria chuckled slightly through her tears. The shock had been gone and all her nerves had shifted down a gear. She hadn´t even felt how tense her body had become when she healed, but now she noticed them relaxing and it was the best feeling in the world. " I´m absolutely alright with that".

" Then you can release me. My butt is getting sore from sitting on this hard floor", Michael had nothing against the idea to hold her all day long. But he wasn´t comfortable with his seating arrangement and he felt a few bumps sticking at strange places.

Maria finally let go of him and kissed him heatedly on the mouth before parting from him completely. She watched him standing up on his own, with a few moans and groans in between. Happily she eyed the spot where the knife had been and saw a small scratch. " Oh damn, I have to get you to the hospital ward after all. I left something behind".

Michael looked down at his body, past his torn t-shirt and the blood on his belly. Touching the small wound he felt a slight tear, but other than that nothing. She had done a really good job. Except for the visible evidence of the attack nothing else was to see anymore. " This small thing? Leave it".

" No. I didn´t save your life to lose you because of an infected scratch. We´re going", at least after she could trust her legs again, because right now they felt like pudding and were shaking like crazy. And her stomach had time to settle down.

Michael finally realized that he had a conversation with her sitting on the ground the whole time. Confused he searched her eyes for any sign of discomfort. Kneeling down he cupped her face and eyed her properly. " Are you feeling sick? Is it the babies?".

Maria smiled soothingly at him to take away the worry. She was fine, just a little worse for wear, after all she didn´t save a life everyday. Add in her pregnancy with the constant nauseau feeling all day long and everyone would need a little breather after what she went through. " Don´t worry. I´m just shaken up. I need a few moments and then I´m as good as new or even better".

" Should I carry you? After all you´re my hero", Michael would feel better when he knew that someone checked her. She had to have been using much powers to heal him and with the babies demanding more than half of her energy it couldn´t have been too good for her or the twins.

Before Maria could open her mouth to ease his troubled mind, the door to her room almost flew out of its hinges and startled the pair on the ground. Both took on immediately a fighting stance with their hands outstretched and pointing with them at the intruder. Annoyed they realized it were just their friends plus a few soldiers.

Michael dropped his arm and tried to cover his exposing torso with crossing his arms over his chest. " Did you hear something about knocking before entering? If not I can give you a lesson".

" Oh my god. It´s worse than I thought", Tess pushed everyone, including her boyfriend out of the way and went to her brother. Worriedly she looked at the still bleeding wound and touched the sore spot softly. Sean had already informed them about what he saw and about Hanson on the way here. She couldn´t believe what she heard and what consequences would follow.

Michael counted quietly to ten before he stepped aside to be away from the poking finger. He knew his sister meant well, but she was slightly hurting him. And he felt so damn uneasy to be the center of the attention. He didn´t like to be looked at like he was an animal in the zoo. " It´s alright. Maria already healed everything. It was just a small accident and nobody died".

Kyle, seeing his sister sitting on the ground with her t-shirt and her hands smeared with blood, stepped around the sibling and walked towards her. The fact that she wasn´t standing up was worrying him immmensely. Bending in front of her he checked if she was hurt or even showed a tiny sign of exhausting. " How are you feeling? All body parts still intact or should I get you replacement".

" I´m a little tired, but otherwise unhurt", feeling slightly better she stood up with a bit of help from her brother and was relieved when she noticed that her legs carried her weight. Breathing deeply to get the nausea under control she rubbed her belly comfortly. She hoped that her pregnancy would get better with time, this eating and puking was driving her crazy. It was like she had bulimia. When she realized that everyone was staring at her concerned she shook her head. " It´s just a queasy feeling. Nothing unusual".

Sean, who kept himself in the background, finally appeared from behind two soldiers and regarded his cousin with a curious glance. Something bad had been happening here and she was making the impression like it was normal to sit on the ground with a bleeding male in her arms and screaming orders. " What had been going on here? I never saw you so scared before".

Maria exchanged a questioning look with Michael, asking permission to tell them the whole truth with her eyes. She didn´t want to say something that could hurt him or put him in the wrong light. Grinning he gave her a barely recognizable nod. They made a deal about being honest from now on and they had to keep that. So she turned back to the others. " Can we let someone check Michael first before I tell you everything? I couldn´t heal everything".

" Okay. But you have to promise to let you check, too", Kyle stayed at his sister side in case she would crash every moment when everybody stepped out of the room and walked towards the hospital wing of the base. His inside was still in knots, because she had opened their sibling connection and he had felt her panic and fear.

Sean and the guards were trailing at the end and just heard the gist of everything. That Hanson wasn´t Hanson. That he was the mole in their midst, that Michael was the father of the babies, that he tried to kill her in blinding rage. The last statement was followed with shocked expressions and a few angry glares until Maria said that he wasn´t himself in that moment. But despite that Kyle was still unsure to let the mentioned person not out of his eyes in case he would try to attack her again. Tess in return kept her boyfriend in her sight, fearing he could punch her brother. Thankfully everything stopped as soon as they stepped into sick bay and the military doctors spotted the strange group of people entering, which two seemed to be pretty hurt according to the bloody clothes. Instantly one of them called for a nurse and walked fast in their direction while another was already there to see after their patients. Before anyone could react Michael and Maria were lying on cots and were checked properly. The others stood around and watched everything from the sidelines.

The doctor treating Michael looked confused at the wound and the torn t-shirt with the many blood on it. Scratching his head he did the same again with the same result. " Something doesn´t add up. It looks like you were stabbed, but you just have a small injury".

" I had been stabbed, but my girlfriend healed most of it", he refrained from rolling his eyes. Why did he always got the genius? Great, now he had to answer many questions and everything he wanted right now was to be somewhere else with Maria hopefully at his side.

A snort was heard followed from a quiet chuckle. Everybody turned to the girl sitting on the cot now, after being declared healthy. " Girlfriend? You wish buddy. We´re still broken up".

Michael faced her with a small smile. She could say whatever she wanted, that kiss she gave him was anything but this of an ex girlfriend. That had been a kiss from the future wife and mother of his children. " I don´t think so. We´re expecting children now and that binds us together if you want it or not. Besides you almost ravished me after you healed me".

" Firstly, we´re in the millenium, which means we don´t have to be together to raise a child or even two. And secondly I did not ravish you. I just had been relieved that you survived and nothing more", Maria felt glad to get into the friendly banter with him again, it was distracting her mind from everything happening. She had missed this side of him the last few days and the way he made her feel.

Michael raised an eyebrow in her direction, clearly not believing her logic. But he was happy that she wasn´t treating him like a stranger anymore and that she hadn´t lost her wit with all the strokes of fate in her life." Oh really? Funny way of showing it. I almost needed a cold shower".

Maria glared at him, regretting to ever met him in both lifes. He was as charming as annoying, a deathly mix. She was amused and irritated together, which was often when he was near her or just close by. She was tempted to poke into his open wound, but the young doctor had just healed it. " Nothing new. You´re a man, you get horny watching wet paint dry".

" Damn, who told you that", sitting up on the cot he noticed his vision slightly spinning around him. Gripping his head with both hands he waited until the room stopped circling. In the meantime he felt two presences at his side. Obviously worried about him. " Don´t. I just got dizzy for a moment. I stood up too fast that´s all".

Tess was regardless of his words staying with him when he got on his feet. She had been so afraid when she heard what Sean told them. She could have lost her brother and she wouldn´t have been there for him. And now she wanted to make amends. " Be careful".

That were the last words coming from her before all hell broke loose, because as soon as the sentence was finished Michael just crashed on the floor and started convulsing with his complete body. His sister and Maria were straightaway kneeling besides him and tried to keep him down on the floor before he could hurt himself. A few seconds later Kyle and Sean joined the girls and helped them to hold the wriggling boy under them. Liz and Max screamed for the doctors again.

" What is going on here? What is happening to him", Tess had problems holding her brother. He was extremely strong. The noises coming from his throat were alarming and scared her.

The young doctor was the first one arriving and checking Michael´s eyes and even the inside of his mouth. Laying a hand on the boys forehead he felt a heat emitting from the skin. Not a good sign, confused he turned to the girl having healed the major part of the wound. " Are you sure you didn´t left anything hurt? Did you heal everything inside?".

Maria thought about the healing and the way she went through every injury step by step. She was thoroughly with that, because a small tear could get infected and be more painful. " Yes. Everything except the scratch. My powers stopped at this point. Why? Do you think I oversaw something?".

" Could be. He has a fever, his pupils are dilated and his tongue changed the color", the young man mulled that over. If the boy had an infect inside his body it wouldn´t show immediately like this. There was something else there. Something they missed the first time. " Help me get him on the cot again".

Sean, Kyle and even Max lent a hand and hefted the body of their friend on the provided place. They had to keep a strong hold on him because the shaking was still there although it wasn´t that bad anymore. Tess hadn´t let of her brothers hand the whole time and tears were streaming down her face. " What is it?".

The doctor took a small black object from a table near them. Everybody from Antar recognized the thing at the first glance. It was a scanner the healers took to check their patients for any kind of intern damage. Slowly he slid it over the body, up and down and back again. Then suddenly something beeped. " Oh shit! It´s poison. He got poisoned", worriedly he looked around him, seemingly searching for something. " Where´s the weapon? I need that knife. Now!".

" Sean, you and Kyle go into my room. I threw the knife on the floor. Bring it", Maria had to do something or she would finally loose her head. And she knew it wouldn´t be a pretty sight, for everyone. Besides she was used to giving orders, even if she did that just with her friends and family.

While the two boys stormed out of the room the others felt helpless standing around and watching their friend fighting for his life. Max, having listened to many hours to his medicine professor, remembered something he could told in the first few courses. Try to get a fever down before everything else. " I´ll get ice to get the temperature down".

Maria wasn´t so comfortable with this idea that he went alone. She didn´t trust anyone anymore, except for her friends. The reason why she wouldn´t let anyone wandering this dark halls without someone at their sides all the time. " Take Liz with you. I don´t want anyone alone right now".

" Got that", Max took the hand of his girlfriend and disappeared with her in a hurry. They both knew time was wasting and they probably hadn´t even enough of it at the moment.

Isabel, feeling left out and slightly out of place, stepped besides Maria to see what she could do. Seeing Michael lying there and knowing you can´t do anything had to be hard for the other girl, especially in her state. " What can I do to help?".

Maria was tempted to say that she should turn back the time and let her forgot the pain, but she knew that nobody had the power to do that. And even if she knew someone capable of doing that, she would never ask, because it wasn´t right to interfere into the circle of life. Every meddling would entail consequences and sometimes they would be worse than the thing they changed. " Stay with Tess and keep me updated about his condition", she turned to one of the soldiers and took the walkie talkie out of his belt without asking for permission. Switching the thing on and tuning it to a frequence, she gave it her friend. " I´m on line 2. Just push the red button. If anything goes wrong, call me immediately".

" Where are you going? What are up to?", Isabel wasn´t exactly content with the assigment, fearing that the other girl would do something stupid or dangerous or even both. And she was afraid that Michael would maybe really don´t make it through this. The thought alone was tearing her apart.

Maria faced her friend with a emotionless expression. She was so sick to get beat on. Now she would be the one doing the beating and she would do it properly. This time she wouldn´t play fair or even nice. She was done being the weak one. From this moment on she would play the game after their rules. " Don´t worry. I´m just talking to someone and maybe getting a few informations".

Alex, listening quietly to the conversation felt the hair on his neck standing up. A sense of doom was climbing up his body. He didn´t know much about transformation or shapeshifting, but he knew that the person in front of him wasn´t his best friend anymore. " Don´t get yourself in trouble. I don´t want to lose you, too".

" I´m being careful, I promise", Maria let a tiny smile appear to take the fear from her friend. Then she turned around, grasped the arm of the nearest soldier and dragged him behind her through the door out. They both had something to do. Something that would decide between making or breaking.

Isabel and Alex watched after her with worriedly before paying attention to the boy lying in front of them. Tess was still gripping his hand painfully tight and tear streaks were marring her face. She seemed not to have noticed the conversation around her nor that a few people were missing. Both hoped that the nightmare would end soon and everything would get normal again.

Meanwhile Maria and the young soldier, who was keeping his mouth shut the whole time they had wandered through the long hallways, finally came to their destination. A heavyly watched door made out of steel. Three guards with big weapons were standing in front of it and instantly tensed as soon as they saw them approaching. But when they spotted her, they stepped aside and lowered their guns.

" We already expected you. But you are the only one allowed entrance", the older one told her looking directly in her eyes. He flinched for a moment when he saw the barely concealed rage in her glance and the pulsating vein at her throat.

Maria ignored that comment. Like she needed someone at her side to do some damage. She was more than dangerous enough alone. Besides she didn´t wanted any witnesses when she did what she had to do. She wasn´t exactly a teamplayer at the moment. " All right. Keep the door locked and just open it when I tell you to. I don´t want to be interrupted, except if you have news about Michael. But other than that, it´s best to not listen".

The young soldier who came with her noticed for the first time why she had been choosen as commander and why everybody on this base feared her. She was one scary chick, despite her small size and the doll face. With growing unease he watched the petite girl disappearing behind the thick steel and the door closing with a loud clang. He hoped that she knew what she was doing and he prayed that whatever had been creating them would show mercy on her sinful soul.

Interrogation room

Maria strode confidently towards the man sitting bound in the middle of the big room. It wasn´t really a room, because there was no floor and the walls were just rocks, just the inside of a cave without an opening in the desert. There was no window, now air shaft and nothing except a lonely chair with the traitor held prisoner on it. A small light bulb was hanging over him and was creating strange shadows on his scared face. His eyes lost the arrogant glimmer and everything cockily was stipped off of him now. Slowly she bent on his level to stare him down. Satisfied she saw him swallow afraid.

" You can probably imagine why I´m here, can´t you?".

The Hanson impersonator nodded hesistantly. His view never wavered from her, because he was scared that she could kill him as soon as he didn´t pay attention. He had felt her the moment she stepped into the room and he knew that this wasn´t entirely Maria. She wasn´t that cruel. " The poison. You´re wondering about a cure".

Maria patted his head tenderly before taking his face in her hand and squeezing his jaw painfully hard. The grin on her face didn´t fit the cold eyes. " Good boy. But that´s not everything I want to know. I will ask you a few questions and I want true answers to that or else you will regret it".

" I can´t tell you anything, Khivar will kill me if I start spilling my guts", the man pleaded desperately, hoping that a small part of the nice girl was still in there somewhere. Besides his king was far more dangerous than she could ever be.

Maria released her grip on him and pushed his face away from her. Looking around her she searched for something. But after she found just rocks and more rocks, she decided to let her powers do the work for her. Concentrating on the wall to her right she put a little energy into the structure. Seconds later a small part of stone was breaking away and fell on the ground. Lifting it up she put her strength into turning the rock to long metal rod. A small nudge further and the tip was glowing red, colored from the heat. " I´m so glad you just said that".

The traitor saw the burning stick in her hand and he knew that she would use it to torture him. Wriggling his body to get out of the bonds holding him, he tried to find the right words to stop her. " Don´t do it. The Maria I know wouldn´t do that".

" Maria probably not", she smiled diabolic while her body changed. She was getting a little bit taller, her hair was changing to a darker blonde and got longer, her eyes twinkled in black, her features defined her face more and she looked more stronger with all the small muscle appearing on her arms. " But Marianna"

TBC