A/N- I don't own anything. I'm just playing here.

Chapter 4- Letting Go Part 1.

Michael had been carefully watching her thoughts and had been shocked by her reaction to Max. He had a split second warning before he was bombarded with her hurt feelings and emotions. 'HOW DARE HE DO THIS TO ME?!' was the single thought going through her mind in outrage of Max's ownership of her through his words and actions. She sent one warning to Michael- 'Duck, NOW!'. He listened and sent up a mental shield just in time for her to explode. She went to stand up and fell back, Michael pushing her back up, giving her some of his strength. 'Where had the stubborn brunette who had stood up to him and refused to back down got to? Max had cowed her into submission?' 'Yep'. He looked down at her, startled that he was right.

She was looking directly at Max. ''How DARE you do THIS to me MAX! You KNOW the truth. I've NEVER slept with Kyle! I've told you THAT and now you don't trust me with Michael, who may I remind you due to Maria, is off limits anyway, just as you would be to her?!'' Her tone was quiet but she was yelling at Max, always a bad sign for anyone. Her hand reached forward, as she took a step away from Michael and prodded Max, who had walked towards her to calm her down, in the chest hard. They were toe to toe now and in a fully fledged fight. Michael had never seen them like this before, ever.

Liz wasn't even hearing him. Max was yelling back at her now, pointing at her. ''You STILL lied to me Liz and you STILL won't tell me why! I THOUGHT we could tell each other EVERYTHING! NO SECRETS!'' Liz was quiet for a moment and through the chaos of her thoughts, he sensed she was suddenly being careful and gently pushed him out of her mind for the moment with a nudge and put her wall up to block him with a feeling of apology. With what she was about to say, she HAD to be extra careful. Michael stumbled back and looked at her in disbelief. She was pointing back at him now.

''You know Kyle and I didn't even kiss, we just talked! Yet you were the one who kissed Tess behind my back after telling me you love ONLY ME, slept with her when you WERE a couple, got her pregnant and then LET her- a traitor- LEAVE THE PLANET WITH YOUR SON(!) AS HER BARGAINING CHIP FOR YOUR ENEMIES!'' She laughed bitterly. ''By doing so, YOU took AWAY any justice for Alex and YOU KNOW IT!'' ''MY SON WAS DYING LIZ!'' ''And HOW did YOU know that THAT fact WASN'T a MIND WARP?!'' Max paled at that thought. Liz was bitter at that.

She went deadly quiet. She looked down and back at him. She thought for a second and then spoke. She was quiet when she spoke and Michael knew she was about to lose complete control at that look on her face. 'CRAP! GO PARKER!' was his only thought as she finally exploded. A feeling of pride went through him, as he watched her finally find her backbone and erase door mat from her forehead in one fell swoop. She blasted Max off his feet. Max fell to the floor stunned.

Looking down at him and pointing at him, she said ''Are you honestly telling me Max that you let that traitorous bitch go, trusting her word, even after she had mind warped ALEX TO DEATH?! Honestly and I thought I was STUPID! You put me down in front of her, humiliated me to the point of tears- in front of Kyle, when I was just asking innocent questions to see what abilities other aliens could have (remember the Skins share yours) and you degraded me when I was TRYING to help! Then when you tried to stop me in school and hurt my arm, using intimidation to try to stop me instead. On the way to the airport, you cut our friendship off as a threat to stop me.'' She bitterly laughed again, holding back the tears.

Max carefully got up and Michael couldn't believe what he'd heard. He knew it was the truth from the look on Max's face. Liz was desperately trying not to cry. Max reached out to her and she reacted. ''NO, she blasted him back again, you've hurt me too much Max. You let justice for one of MY BEST FRIENDS, A MUSKETEER(!) go for the sake of your SON, who YOU reminded me of less than 5 minutes AFTER she left with him.''

''Then you somehow, don't ask me how now, decided to let me go along with you in YOUR quest to find him, didn't see how wrong it was for me to face jail time for you, put a gun in my hand- I hate guns- and then later when it came to finding the ship, nearly got on it without even phoning me! You hung up on me Max! As King, you could have ordered me NOT to go and I was so in love with you, I would have done it.''

She burst into tears. ''You even said it was Tess in jest! Didn't you even see the look on her face when you said it. Don't you even care that she left a bomb behind in Las Cruces that could have killed Maria, Michael and myself. We could have died Max and NOW you want to help me? Seriously, every time you have mentioned your son, it's hurt. Don't you get the fact I broke up with you tonight?!'' She was trying to get him to understand but he wasn't listening.

At Max's stunned face, she sighed, wiping her tears away.

''That was a break up?'' was his quiet reply. Liz's back had been to him - Michael had moved away from them to give them space and she turned around at that to Max. ''Yes, Max, when a girl shuts a window in your face, tells you to go and you need to leave her alone to deal with things herself, that's not a break, THAT IS A BREAK UP!'' Max was reacting immediately. Michael's jaw dropped at the scene in front of him. Did Max not see the truth here. Liz was done and he was STILL fighting for her.

Max was pleading with her to stay with him. ''Liz, please don't do this, please?'' Liz was crying again. Michael winced, as he watched Max rip her heart out. Then he said the worst thing possible. ''I love you.'' His heart was in his eyes, pleading for her to say it back. She shook her head. ''No Max, I'm done. Please leave me alone!'' She was begging, her hands out in front of her, pleading for him to listen to her . He had reduced her to begging. Michael winced and looked away, not wanting to add to her misery. 'Had they always been like this since Tess?' he wondered.

Liz had turned to leave Max when he put his hand out on her arm to stop her. ''NO!'' was his firm response. Liz was gasping, in shock or pain or both. Michael turned his head to see Liz cradling her arm after ripping it out of his grip, it was red. ''Liz, please stop this, we're soul mates.'' Max was pleading with her using his longing look. ''Soul mates don't do this.'' Liz wanted out of this NOW. She couldn't take anymore. He watched Max reach out to Liz to shake her and Liz snapped at him ''I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE MAX. NOW PLEASE LET ME GO!'' She had stepped away from him. He followed her. ''I CAN'T!''

Before Michael could step in, Liz punched him hard. He went to blast her in defense at her attack and she blasted him back twice as hard, her shield surrounding her, as Max's blast nearly hit her. Michael honestly couldn't believe it.

This wasn't a fight anymore, this was a physical attack at each other now instead. Max's shield was up too now. 'How the heck had things got this bad without him noticing?' She had been stonewalling everyone from the truth and this was the truth. He swallowed. He didn't know how much more she could take. She was running on pure anger and adrinaline right now. Even her shield was weak. She had forgotten he was there and going on pure instinct.

They were just standing there, looking at each other. Their shields disappeared, as they calmed down. In a whisper, Liz told Max to go to the bedroom. He nodded and went. Liz crumbled into a pile on the floor, all her fight and energy gone. The door closed. Michael acted fast. He got to her side and picked her up. She resisted, thinking he was Max.

''It's me, Michael, whispering in her ear, now come on, lets get you to the couch.'' She nodded, exhausted, resting her head on his shoulder, letting go of her fight instincts. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. That had been horrible. He was glad her wall was still up but she needed to take it down again eventually. Lying her on the couch, he noticed she'd passed out again.

He checked her arm, grimacing at the red marks Max had left on her. A second time it had happened it seemed. It was then a memory hit him, Max stopping her in school that day, he hadn't seen her arm but she had covered her arms in the days since. He swore at himself. That had been a give away on her part. She had avoided using that arm when working and wincing when she had used it. She hadn't said a word. She'd been on autopilot. Back in Las Cruces, she had finally come out of it. Her reaction after he had gone to stop her in the lab now made perfect sense to him. Her telling him he couldn't tell her what to do was her act of rebellion.

She hadn't just been on autopilot and in denial, she was defensive because Max had hurt her and she'd kept her mouth shut. She hadn't mentioned the Granolith once. Yet Max had told him she knew of it but wouldn't say how. 'What was she hiding?' he wondered. Damn, this was messed up. How could this even be fixed? That look on her face when seeing that bomb still haunted him. She had honestly believed she was going to die and had accepted it. The question burning in his mind was 'WHY?'.

Liz was waking up. She sat up with a start.''Where's Max?'', her voice quiet. ''In my room'', his voice tinged with an angry calm. She laid back down in relief. Michael wasn't sure what to say to her. ''Why didn't you tell me things were that bad? Does Maria know?'' She shook her head. ''No.'' ''Why not?!'' ''I didn't want her to, just like with my powers, her demo is important to her. I couldn't hold her back.'' He HAD to make her see sense. ''Damn it Liz, what about you? Aren't you important too?'' ''But so are you!'' was her quiet response but clapping a hand over her mouth. She'd said too much. Michael was floored. 'What in the heck did THAT mean?'