“I can’t believe they took Bambi,” Kyle muttered. His precious, darling sugar baby was gone. Taken by aliens, no less. What if she was in trouble? What if she needed him right now, and he couldn’t be there because SHE WAS STOLEN?

“What’d you call your car?” asked Isabel, with that unmistakable Ice Princess tone.

“She’s not just a car. She’s a beauty. God’s gift to… well, god’s gift to me. And I must cherish my baby everyday, like she’s my very own child. Wait… she is my child, my baby.”

“It’s a hunk of metal, Kyle,” Isabel commented, distastefully. “Get over it.” Kyle stared at Isabel in complete disbelief. His mouth was literally hanging limply from his head.

“It-it… I… s-she,” stuttered Kyle. He narrowed his eyes in anger. “If you’re damn boyfriend didn’t steal my baby, I wouldn’t have to be stuck in this goddamn car with a bunch of ALIENS! Stuck-up, bitchy-”

“HEY! Cool it!” Michael roared from the front. He turned around in his seat and found what he thought he would. Isabel eyes narrowed in complete rage, and seething furiously. Kyle was about half a step from becoming an utterly scorched human to the point where not even dental records could identify him.

“Kyle,” Isabel growled. “I’m going to-”

“Hey, Michael said cool it, so that includes you too, Isabel,” Max’s commanding voice called. He glanced in the rear view mirror and saw Isabel retreating at his order, simmering in her own corner of the jeep. Max let out a sigh. At least she wasn’t going to kill Kyle any time soon. At least not when Michael or he was around. She could be so difficult.

Max was silently boiling inside too, but flying off the handle wasn’t going to help him any. And he knew Maria and Alex well, so he knew that they were leading him to Liz anyways. It saved him a lot of time from driving aimlessly across New Mexico since neither Maria nor Alex would tell him where Liz was. Of course, Max didn’t have solid proof that they knew where Liz was, but he didn’t need any. Liz had connected with her best friends, and if anything, she would tell them where she was. It was Liz, and Max knew Liz, and he knew that she would want to tell someone. Of course, she would tell Maria and Alex. Max was trying to resist the urge to feel hurt for not being told.

“I don’t get it,” Michael said, irately. “Why would they just up and leave by themselves, especially after what happened to Maria yesterday. Considering that with Liz being gone, we’re screwed as it is. What the hell is wrong with them?” Michael clenched and unclenched his balling fists. In frustration, he extended his arm out the jeep and blasted a nearby sign to smithereens. Well, no one would be going to the town of Glover Hill any time soon.

“Michael, you can’t use your powers like that,” lectured Max. “We may be in a complicated situation, but we have to be careful all the time. You know that. Letting our powers go at leisure is something we can’t risk.” Max checked his rearview and side mirrors again. That paranoia was kicking in again.

“Max, I really don’t give a damn. I just want to get Alex, Maria and Liz back, take care of Khivar and go home.” Michael paused for a moment. “And I want to know why the hell they keep running from us.”

“Maybe Alex and Maria got sick of your pathetic alien loving and got it on between the two of them,” Kyle suggested. Two pairs of alien eyes struck Kyle viciously, both baring their ferocious anger and irritation. “Or not.” Kyle slouched in his seat to escape the invisible death rays obviously being shot at him.

“Kyle,” Max called out, with a slight smirk on his face. “If you really want to live a long life, you may want to stop harassing these two. They do have alien powers.” Kyle nodded silently, retreating further back to his corner and becoming silent.

“Besides, Michael, they wouldn’t leave without a good reason,” Max continued. “Maria and Alex are too smart to play it dangerously. I just wish we knew why-” Kyle’s cell phone ringing cut off Max. Max glanced in the rear view mirror to see Kyle answering his phone.

“Hello? Hanson! Hey… Yeah… Oh, we’re just going to go get it… Uh huh… Well, like I said before, I got drunk last night, and for some reason I got my buddy who lives out in the country to drive Bambi home… Right, better than her getting stolen at a party… She’s good, a real smooth drive… Oh sure, one day I’ll take you out in her… Yup… Tell Dad I’m going to spend the night out in the country with a couple of my buddies… Thanks, Hanson. Oh, and thanks for tracking my Bambi down… Yup, we headed out north on highway- oh, ok, well, have a good day, Hanson. I’ll talk to you later.” Kyle hung up his cell and put it back in his pocket.

“Wow, you can actually be a decent human being,” Isabel spat.

“You know, Ice Princess, at least I am a human being. And if I weren’t here, you wouldn’t have a clue as to which direction Maria and Alex are heading. You wouldn’t be able to get Hanson to track down my car without getting suspicious so you’d probably be stuck in this jeep with Max and Michael, cruising around in circles like lost monkeys. So either take out a blow dryer and defrost or continue your ice parade without making nasty comments.” Kyle finished his short rant with a hard glare and then turned to stare outside. Isabel was, well for lack of better terms, speechless.

Max and Michael on the other hand, were biting their lips from the risk of bursting out in laughter. Kyle had balls for standing up against the Ice Princess herself. Then again, they felt bad for him. He was going to pay for it later. Big time.

“So if we continue down this highway, where will we end up?” Michael asked, breaking the silence and ice.

“Well, Hanson said that this highway leads straight to some town called Sunny Oaks. There’s a bunch of side roads on the way, but Hanson said Bambi has been heading straight down this highway.” Kyle shrugged.