"Um, hi. Um, can I come in?"

He stepped aside and motioned her in.

"I just, um, needed to talk to you. You know, about something private."

He walked over to the sofa that doubled as his bed and sat down. "Shoot."

"Well, it's just something that has to stay between us. Just us." She said as she sat.

Intrigued, he looked down at Liz's earnest face. She looked right back at him. "Whatever it is, you can trust me. I mean, you've been there for me and Max and Isabel so many times that I guess we owe you, huh?" He smiled at her.

She took a breath. "The last week and a half or so, I've been seeing Max ... with Tess. They've been on a couple of dates, and... holding hands, and he... he was kissing her."

Already not liking the direction this was going, he began to frown. Max hadn't said anything to him about him and Tess being together, but then, they hadn't exactly been close these past weeks, either. "Liz, I'm sorry." He reached over and took her hand in his.

"And today, in the CrashDown, in the back, I heard them... talking." The memory of what she overheard was still so hurtful it stole her voice. Knowing it wasn't real didn't make it seem any less real at the time.

"About what." He was dreading hearing whatever could have put this look of pain on Liz's expressive face. Already he was planning to rearrange Max's face the next time he saw him.

"He was telling her that he had to talk to me to make sure that I knew we could never get back together..." She paused, and her eyes filled with tears. "After what had happened last night. Between them. Then he kissed her, and touched her... and it hurt so much" The tears rolled freely now.

He pulled her into his arms. It felt so nice to have strong arms comforting her that the hurt and loneliness of the past suddenly took over her soul, and she began sobbing. At a loss, Michael could only hold her and stroke her hair as her shoulders shook with the force of her tears. Beheading was too good for his best friend, he suddenly decided. After a few minutes, she made an effort to pull herself together. He handed her a box of tissues Maria had brought over and left one day. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Don't mention it. The next time I see Max..."

"No, no, I haven't told you the worst part."

"There's more?" What else could have possibly have happened? Did they elope?

"I was so confused, I needed to call Isabel. You see, she came in the CrashDown just the other day and told me that Max missed me. I wanted to talk to her... to tell her... But Max answered the phone."

Not getting the implications, Michael sat there looking into Liz's wet eyes. She was obviously expecting some kind of reaction, but wasn't sure what one to give her. Max answered the phone all the time. "Max answered."

"Yeah. The same Max who was downstairs kissing Tess in my kitchen was at home answering the phone when I called."

"There are two Maxes?" His eyes search hers, attempting to figure out what Liz was trying to tell him.

"Yeah."

Still not getting it, but on full alert now, "Nasedo?"

Liz shook her head. "Tess."

"Tess?"

"Yeah, Tess has been making me see her and Max everywhere. Together, kissing, touching. I thought that Max was getting on with his destiny, but all along it was Tess playing games with my head." Liz jumped up and began pacing. "She's been manipulating me, playing with my emotions for two weeks."

"Liz." He was filling with righteous indignation on her behalf. In the months he had gotten to know this petite girl, he'd found so many things to admire about her. He still smoldered when he remembered some of the things he'd read in Liz's journal. Though he'd die before admitting it to him, he was jealous of Max. It had become a defense mechanism to hold Liz at arm's length so that neither she nor anyone would ever guess the level of emotions she stirred in him. That Tess would be waging this emotional warfare against this one person who least deserved it pissed him off. He began planning how to make Tess regret every one of the tears Liz had shed tonight. "I'll talk to her. I'll make her stop."

"If you talk to her, Michael, I'm afraid it'll make things worse." She paused. "Look, I know you were happy to find Nasedo, but the day he kidnapped me..." she shuddered.

"What happened that day? You never really got a chance to talk about it."

"He's evil, Michael. I mean, I know his job was to protect you guys, and considering who and what he was up against I could understand using extreme measures, but he thinks nothing of taking human life. In fact he didn't think much of humans at all. He was planning to kill me when it was over and he'd killed Pierce. And he would never have given me a second thought. Not even the merest regret."

Thinking back to the afternoon when he stood by in disbelief and watched Nasedo kill an innocent man, Michael said, "Yeah, I got that impression, too."

"Ok, so Tess was raised with that kind of thinking. To her, I don't matter. Maria, Alex, any human doesn't matter. If she thinks I'm standing in her way, she'll just run me over, and never look back."

Michael stared at Liz while he thought of what she was saying. "I'm not going to let her win, Michael. I will not let Max be stuck with someone like that, destiny or no destiny. Not as long as I'm alive." Coming from anyone else, Michael would have written off that last remark as grandstanding, but coming from Liz, he knew she meant every word of it. Liz would literally lay down her life for Max. "But if I don't give him up, it'll mean standing up to her." Liz stopped pacing and looked up into his face. "How can I fight her, Michael? She won't just give up. Eventually she might decide to take desperate measures, just like Nasedo. She could kill me and make it look like an accident and no one will ever suspect it was she. It would be so easy for her."

"Easy?"

"Yeah. She can make me see things that aren't real. I could walk off a ledge, drive off a cliff, fall from my balcony, or step in front of a car, never knowing until it's too late that I'm in danger. The only way to be safe is if I get a blindfold."

With a sigh, she sat back down on the sofa. Propping her elbows on her knees, she hid her face in her hands. "I'm scared, Michael."

He propped his hips against the breakfast bar and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He could see that she'd thought this through, and he conceded that she probably was in the right to be afraid. He remembered the few times Max had tried to talk to him about the things Tess was doing to him, and he wrote him off. He remembered, too, that Tess had somehow forced Max to kiss her one night. Max had come here dripping wet, and scared. He didn't know what was happening to him, and insisted that it wasn't him. 'So, Tess can not only make you see things, but she can make you do things against your will,' Michael thought. 'Liz is right, if she is going to butt heads with Tess, she doesn't stand a chance.' "You came here asking for my help. What can I do?"

"I need to see if I can detect when she is doing stuff to me. If I know it's happening, maybe I can find a way to fight it. Isabel said someone awake could fight her dream-walking, maybe I can fight off Tess, too."

"Hmm. Yeah, I see what you're saying. Ok. So what can I do?"

"I want you to use your powers on me..."

"No way! Out of the question."

"But Michael, it's the only way."

"No! Don't you remember what happened last time I used my powers? I killed someone. Do you want me to kill you? Save Tess the trouble?"

"It's the only way."

"No. Get Isabel to do it. Or Max. They aren't likely to blow you up."

"Michael, I can't. I came to you because I trust you. I can't tell Max. What if Tess finds out? Plus, he'll do something... say something to her. Max will put himself in danger to protect me. I can't let him do that. I can't take that chance." She looked earnestly into his eyes. "I can't trust Isabel to not tell Max. It has to be you." Michael was shaking his head. "It has to be. Please." She got up and walked over to him. She reached out and touched his arm. "I trust you. I know you won't hurt me. What happened to Pierce was an accident, but I'm not sorry it happened. If I had a weapon, I would have killed him, too. I would have shot him dead to protect you... all of you. Please, Michael. I need you. I need you to do this for me."

She could see him start to waiver. "I trust you," she said again. "You would never hurt me. I will never hurt you. This is your destiny, Michael. Remember what the orbs said? You must learn to use your skills if you are ever going to go home and free those who are waiting for you. Only you can do that, but I want to be with you as you learn so I can learn how to sense when your powers are active. When they're being used against me."

"Please Michael. I'm begging you. It's the only way."

Despite much trepidation, he finally conceded. He asked her what exactly she had in mind.

Liz asked him what he can do... what were his powers. "Well, I can melt locks, manipulate molecular structures of things, and shoot energy blasts out of my palms. Oh, and I can change my fingerprints, which probably falls under the category of molecular structure manipulation."

"Change your fingerprints?" Liz was intrigued.

"Yeah, that's how I was able to pass through the security door to rescue Max from Eagle Rock Military Base."

"Wow." She smiled at him. "I promise not to tell Valenti that one."

"Thanks."

"What else?"

"I don't know. Nasedo implied there were lots of things I could do, like scan things into my brain and stuff."

"Too bad there isn't a book laying around to give us a list of possible alien powers."

"Yeah." Michael paused, and looked at Liz with interest. "Human. Not alien."

"What?"

"When we were at Eagle Rock, Nasedo told me that all of the things we can do are not alien, but human. He said our brains were designed to be a couple of centuries ahead of human evolution."

"Really? But that means there might be a book. Maybe if we do some research at the library on the paranormal or unexplained, we might get a better idea of what might be possible for you."

"Liz, I'm not sure I want to try something new. Maybe we should stick to what I know."

"It's your destiny, Michael. Besides, I don't want you giving me the itchies." She smiled as she said it, and he joined her in a laugh. Michael's retaliation against humans who annoyed him was to infect them with a harmless but irritatingly itchy rash.

"What if I just recolored all of your clothes?" He reached out and put his hand on her sweater. It changed from black to red. "You look good in red."

She dropped her eyes. "Thanks. Um...how about while you're working tomorrow, I'll go to the library and do some research. I'll meet you back here at eight?"

"Make it five, if you don't have to work." Michael was already eager to begin, and was planning to tell his boss tomorrow that he wouldn't be available for as much overtime in the future.

"Five. Ok. Well then, um, I should be going. It's getting late and you've got to get up in the morning." She headed for the door. With her hand on the knob, she stopped to look at him. "Thank you, Michael."

"Sure."