Max and Liz stood with their arms wrapped around each other, each letting out a deep breath.

It was somehow impossible to believe that he was gone. That their combined powers had been strong enough... were strong enough... to kill.

Liz shivered at the thought and Max pulled her in closer.

"He's gone," Max whispered.

Liz nodded. It had been necessary, she reminded herself. He would kill or be killed. And in spite of what had just happened, she felt peace washing over her.

"It feels so good to hold you again," Max whispered as he kissed her gently on the top of her head.

She smiled and looked across the plateau.

Michael and Isabel, still holding hands, walked slowly over to them. Behind them, the horizon was lightening to an azure blue. Only moments until dawn.

Four pairs of eyes met as Max and Liz pulled back from each other.

They stood squared off, regarding each other seriously. Then the three fixed their eyes on Liz.

There had been some information exchanged during their connection, but Liz felt the unanswered questions that hung between all of them.

There were just as many questions in Max's eyes as the others. And she understood that.

Who knew what Max was thinking if he had caught flashes of Michael kissing her in her memories?

She looked at Michael, who nodded slightly.

"Max... Michael is my brother now. We can... sense each other."

Max stood still, his expression almost fierce in his desire to understand.

Isabel's mouth gaped open.

"So the kissing Alex told us about was just.... just what?"

"I think that was to form a connection so the orb could use Michael's DNA to change me. I seem to be able to connect that way more strongly," Liz added with a slight blush.

Max looked at Michael, his jaw tightening. Then he broke eye contact and his voice was light as he said, "Brother and sister, huh?"

Michael met his eyes without hesitation as they returned to him, "Yep."

"And the kisses were completely motivated by the orb?"

"An icepick through the skull is not exactly my idea of fun, no matter who I'm kissing," Michael smiled sardonically. "But from what I understand, you should be thanking me. I think this will probably make the honeymoon a lot more fun."

Liz rolled her eyes, relieved at the responding twinkle in Max's eyes. Just then, the sky behind Michael and Isabel burst into flaming reds and purples. Dawn.

Liz found herself smiling at the breath-stealing beauty.

"Wow," Max breathed beside her.

Michael and Isabel turned to see it as well.

In the quiet stillness of the dawn, awe stole over them as the colors morphed from blues into light ambers and yellows. Finally, the sun broke over the horizon and the colors faded.

After a minute of reflection, Liz's voice broke the gentle silence.

"Actually, from what I understand, this transformation made the honeymoon possible," Liz intoned softly but emphatically. "Which is a warning to you two. I don't think we were compatible until now."

She jumped when she felt Max nuzzle her ear.

"Yep, you sure feel compatible to me now," he growled. "I guess all those dreams I've been having weren't so far off base."

Liz ducked her head coyly, keeping her voice low, "And which base would that be?"

"Home plate, of course," he whispered.

Liz laughed gently, revelling in the feel of his arms around her. Oh God, it felt good to have answers for once. She leaned her head back and looked at the bright sky with delight.

Of course, turning into an alien wasn't exactly what she had wanted as an engagement gift from the powers that be. Something more along the lines of a nice, quiet wedding and and no life-threatening situations for at least a year was what she had been wanting.

Well, besides Max, who at the moment, was driving her insane with kisses...

"Could you two please get your minds off the 'horneymoon' for just a sec," Isabel's irritated voice pulled Liz's mind back to the present. Max's lips stopped on her neck.

"Besides the fact that I just found out I'm physically incompatible with almost every male on this planet, which, by the way, really, really ticks me off, didn't I see something from you two about other alien hunters in the connection back there?"

Liz pulled back and gazed into Max¹s suddenly serious eyes. He had seen it, too.

"Yeah," Michael¹s voice came hesitantly across to them. Liz hated to hear him so unsure of himself. "There are more of us, and more of them: one hunter per alien. I don't know how many total."

Liz tightened her grip on Max and searched out his eyes.

"So there won't be more coming for you, right?"

"I don't think so. We killed Doug and there isn't a replacement, as far as what I saw in his mind. Apparently, it's a high stakes gamble. If a hunter kills his prey, he is allowed to go home with great rewards. Otherwise, he is terminated. And these hunters are not the pillars of society. This is their punishment for crimes on our world. They become exiled."

Liz could feel waves of fear rolling off of Isabel, and an equal amount of anger an frustration from Michael.

"So, we're sitting ducks, right," Michael finally spat out. "We have no idea who these guys are. And sometimes they win. I mean, Tess' hunter got to her before we even knew about her."

"But I thought she died in a fire," Isabel started, then understanding dawned. "Oh... god, it was arson, wasn't it?"

Max nodded. "Doug knew the hunter that did it. He was very envious that Tess' hunter got to go home. Poor Tess."

Liz looked up in surprise, not used to thinking of Tess as a victim.

"She didn't have a chance," Michael agreed softly. "And that's why Liz was transformed, to take her place."

They looked at each other across the square they now formed, a feeling of guilt shared between them. If they had just know about Tess...

No going back, Liz chided herself.

"We can't change the past," Max echoed Liz's thought. "But we know how to deal with them now. The four of us can take them on and win every time."

"If we can just find them first," Michael voiced their shared doubts.

Silence prevaded for a moment.

"Oh, wait. Doug said that this had happened before," Liz suddenly remembered. "That a human had been transformed. That means there must be at least one more alien who was killed."

"And one more foursome," Max added.

Liz blinked, but realized that she knew it to be true. She now made up their fourth.

The aliens' powers were made to be used in fours.

"How will we ever find them? Did you see anything from Doug's mind about the others," Isabel asked Max.

"No, nothing specific. Just that they were out there, being hunted, same as us," Max's eyes were serious as he looked around at the group. Then a smile crept up on his face.

"You know, Michael, it's a good thing you have the orb to blame this all on. I think that's probably the only explanation that could get you out of the pounding I was fully intending to give you. And congratulations," Max looked down at Liz with a twinkle in his eyes. "You happen to be related to the sweetest girl in the universe."

Sweet? When Max looked at her like that, Liz felt anything but sweet...

Michael's voice interupted her thoughts, "I just hope Maria finds this as amusing as you do."

Liz sucked in a breath suddenly, "Kyle!"

The three looked at her.

"Yeah, he knows everything," Max added. "I healed him."

******

The Evans' kichen was completely still.

After a moment, a sandy-brown head popped up over the island in the center of the floor.

Kyle's blue eyes narrowed as he watched the group frozen in front of him.

"No change," he said, glancing down at Maria and Alex. They were holding hands tightly, Maria leaning into Alex like he was the only thing holding her up.

"But hey," Kyle continued with a smile as he walked around the island and surveyed the still figures. "Atleast there's no more glowing, the Indian guy's gone and dog-boy is bleeding out the ears. I'd say that calls for a party."

"Okay, Kyle, yeah, you do that," Alex's voice came floating from behind the island.

"Throw a big party around the alien ice sculptures over there, and Maria and I will just stay here and wait for the happy thawing time like we're supposed to, okay? Thanks a lot, you've been great."

Kyle nodded.

"All I'm just saying is that it looks like good triumphed over evil, and what can I say," he grinned sardonically. "I'd like to do a line dance to commemorate. Is that so wrong?"

And... no laughs from behind the island.

Tough crowd.

But if the truth be known, even though Kyle still felt like he¹d just had a labotomy, with Betty by his side, he felt a little bit better about taking on the unknown.

That is, until a noise startled him.

"Down, get down," Kyle yelled.

He was back behind the island listening in a flash. That rustling... was it Doug getting warmed up for more kill-Max-or-anybody-who-happens-to-be-acquainted-with-him action? Should Kyle try and shoot him at close blank range?

"Kyle," a tremulous voice called his name.

"Liz," he popped up from behind the island without thinking.

And there were the four teens-formerly-known-as-icecicles, looking completely... normal.

Although Kyle knew better than to believe that one.

So he approached more slowly as Maria flew by him and into Michael's arms.

"Liz, you alright?"

He could see that she was confused, and her gaze was locked on the gun in his hand.

"Kyle," she said softly. "Did you, did you... shoot me?"

"Oh god," came Maria's muffled voice from within Michael's arms.

Now this should be good, Kyle thought as he loosely gestured to Maria.

******

Liz looked over to Maria just as Max clapped Alex on the back.

"You do good work, Alex. Thanks for watching out for her."

His tone was light, but his gaze steady.

Alex pulled away from Isabel in surprise, keeping one arm around her as he faced Max.

"Good work," he exclaimed. "Not only did Nasedo get to Liz innumerable times and give her God-knows-what, but Michael practically assaulted her, Doug kidnapped her and all I did was follow her around like some Scooby-Doo detective. In fact, I've decided to go legal with it and just change my name to Velma."

"You're too hard on yourself, Alex," Isabel said low in his ear. And her kiss made him completely forget the subject of conversation.

"She's right," Max agreed. "But I think she'll be better at convincing you of that than I will."

He laughed at the smile of contentlment on Alex's face as Isabel pulled him closer.

Then he turned to see Maria and Liz hugging.

"Maria, now what's this about you shooting Liz?"

Maria wiped at her eyes, laughter choking her voice, "It was some dumb instinct of mine telling me to kill that bastard when he started connecting with Michael. The bullets went right through him and into Liz. It was really dumb. I'm just glad you healed her in time."

Liz and Michael exchanged a look.

"Yeah," Michael said softly. "Um, Maria, we need to talk."

She looked up at him seriously. "Okay."

Max looked back over at Isabel, who was wiping away tears.

He sighed and turned to Liz. They met each other's glance and came together automatically. Things were not going to be easy for the other couples with this new information. But there had to be a way for them.

He sighed.

They were all going to need each other so much in the future.

Max shifted his thoughts as he felt the surprising electricity growing between he and Liz again. He smiled into her dark, silky hair.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"You know, I really don't care, as long as we never get ourselves back out," she kissed him lightly, then turned serious again as she pulled back. "So. What do we tell your parents when they wake up? And mine when I go back home?"

Max blinked.

Parents?

******

"Sorry to surprise you like this, Mom."

Diane Evans' face was pale, but a smile somehow managed to survive the news.

"You're getting married when," she asked politely.

"At the end of the summer," Max answered. "I guess the shock must have really gotten to both of you. Either that or the shrimp po-boys at the airport."

"Yeah, you guys both fainted dead away," Isabel added innocently. "I told Max he shouldn't spring it on you like that, at your age and all."

"Our age," Diane repeated, still looking a little lost. Phillip Evans hadn't even joined in the conversation yet. He just sat on the couch motionless, looking from Max to Isabel and then back at Max again.

Max and Isabel exchanged tense looks. They had been easy to wake, but the effects from Doug's touch hadn't worn off.

"Maybe we should talk about this later, after we've all gotten more sleep," Max ventured. Diane and Phillip immediately stood and nodded.

"Fine, son," Phillip said with a yawn as he clapped Max on the back. "But just so you know, this hasn't taken us by surprise. The Parkers have been over several times since you've been gone. We're convinced it would be good for the two of you. If we had objections, we would have voiced them way before now. But Nancy, well she's a different story. Be thinking about that."

Max watched his Dad walk down the hallway after his Mom.

Liz was on her way home with the others now, and Max hoped that her disappearing act tonight didn't make things worse.