She gasped for breath and fought to hold it all in...

TOO MUCH!

She was going to burst-

*I’m sorry, Liz-*

An instinctive urge took over and Liz pulled her own energy inward and shoved outward against the pressure.

She had to.

Immediately, Max shifted and relief spread throughout her body. He was gone. She could feel him out there vaguely, but couldn’t hear his thoughts.

Why am I still asleep?

******

The disorientation was severe. He saw lights, equipment, gurneys moving all around him. Somehow, he was there, in the lab.

Fear crept in and he pushed himself to his feet. The room was tilting crazily. He swung his gaze around and grabbed onto a gurney beside him.

It was Liz- and she was glowing like a... like a little goddess. The warm, chocolaty color lit up the whole room.

Max just stared at her as she slept. It was impossible. The whole thing was just impossible. But then again, Nasedo had the power of the orb at his disposal. Maybe matter transference wasn’t as complicated as it seemed. But all the things that could have gone wrong...

Max shook away his thoughts before he could obsess over how disastrous this journey could have been.

Somehow, he was here, clothes, body and brain intact. He bent over the still, glowing form with a small smile. He reached out a hand to cup her face and felt a jolt of pleasure run through him as he made contact with her skin.

Whoa.

After the wave passed, his thoughts became clearer. He was in Berkely, in the CDC lab that had been torturing and experimenting on his beloved. He pulled his hand away and looked up. Oh god. There was a camera in the corner. With a sinking heart, he reached upwards and disabled it. It was probably too late.

Weakness hit him and Max was on his knees in an instant. His power was really low. He bent over and just breathed for a minute. He needed to see if there was another camera in the room. These people were monsters; there was no telling what they’d do to Liz if they saw her glowing like that. He shook his head and tried to stop remembering the flashes he’d gotten from Liz when they first connected. They were violent, desperately fearful images of her arrival at this place... and his body began to tremble at the memory.

A light beeping behind him caught his attention and Max turned to see another gurney behind him. Max pulled himself up on its metal armrails with great effort.

It was Alex. Max’s gut twisted. Alex looked barely alive. His skin was mottled and pale and he was breathing so shallowly.

No.

Max quickly looked up and saw another camera. He reached out his hand and disabled that one as well. The surge of energy that left his body almost took his consciousness with it. When he was aware of himself again, he was slumped over Alex’s body. He raised his head and pushed himself up straight. Then he reached out a trembling hand and touched it to Alex’s forehead.

He closed his eyes and focused. They had never connected before, but he knew Alex better than almost anyone did. He was sure that if he concentrated... hard enough...

Pain ripped through him.

He was in.

FLASH

Holding Liz in his arms on the balcony as Max and Michael drove away- fearful but determined to help Liz.

FLASH

At Max’s funeral, watching the media circus and trying not to think about how much he missed Isabel.

FLASH

Watching in horror as a plastic-suited man raised a stun gun and shot at him.

FLASH

Becoming enraged as Liz was dragged naked to the platform and put in the damn restraints.

Max roared in rage at the last image, forcing himself to stay connected. Deep breaths. Revenge later. Focus on Alex. There was a muttering...

*GOT to survive. Got to SURVIVE. For Isabel. Liz. Max. Maria... GOT to survive.*

Alex?

Max grit his teeth against the pain.

*Got to surVIVE...*

Alex didn’t even recognize Max’s presence. His body was in agony, fighting not to give in to impending death. Max took heart from Alex’s determination. There had to be something he could do. He searched Alex’s memories for anything about the procedure.

Sorry, buddy. Got to do it to help you.

After a minute, he came up with the answer. It sickened him. They were killing off Alex’s immune system so they could replace it with alien cells. They wanted him to become a... a hybrid like Liz. The thought stunned him. Liz was a hybrid? And the stem cells had come from another female alien in captivity- one who was already dead.

Max groaned. It had to be Kate. He shook his head and concentrated on Alex. The chemicals had already done their job; his immune system was shot. Shouldn’t they have him in a better protected area than this? With no functioning immune system, he wouldn’t be able to fight anything off...

Max felt his mind growing fuzzy. What could he do? There was hardly anything left for him to give. And even at full power, he couldn’t give Alex white blood cells or anything like that. There was a gash on the back of Alex’s head. Max concentrated and felt the tears in the skin and blood vessels there. He slowly knit them together...

There. Whoa.

Another wave of dizziness hit him. The only other thing Max could do was to give him some energy, some of his own lifeforce. If Alex’s body had enough energy, it could build another immune system... probably.

Max bit back a desire to blast somebody, anybody. Didn’t they know how dangerous this was, to mess with someone’s body this way?

His anger painfully stirred up the last remnants of power within him and he simply let it leak out into the connection with Alex. He wasn’t sure exactly what it would do, but it had to help.

He was able to hold the connection about a minute longer, but then he was on the floor, fighting for consciousness.

He was so- weak.

Eventually, he realized that he was still conscious. He could hear footsteps coming down the hall- several different people, coming very quickly.

******

Joey jerked her hand back and broke the connection to Nathan. What he’d shown her was the same vision that Justin and she had seen earlier in the morning. Except this time, she felt what Nathan felt when he saw it.

“You recognized it, didn’t you?” Joey was watching him with amazement.

His blue eyes met hers with fervor. “Abso-bloody-lutely. That’s our home.”

So many questions flooded Joey’s mind, but most of them she was afraid too ask. “The vision- Justin and I had that same one this morning. Does it mean that we’re going home?”

A slow grin spread across his face. “Unless we muck about too long.” He hesitated. “Do you know where the others are?”

“Almost everyone. Right now, Max and the others are trying to find Liz.”

“Eh up,” Nathan said incredulously. “She’s one of the twelve?”

Footsteps made them stop for a moment. Nathan jumped up from the couch to look out the observation window in the door. “Just a nurse,“ he said quietly and walked back over to stand in front of Joey. “Liz Parker’s one of us?”

“Yes,” Joey nodded vigorously. “She is. But we think she’s been taken.”

“So that’s what all the hullabaloo was about. I had no idea. Poor thing, hasn’t she been through enough with that manky wedding and Max’s funeral?” He sat down, shaking his head. “What a terrible row that was.”

Joey stared at him. “Were you there?”

“Oh yes, you might not have seen it, but they interviewed me and showed the whole bloody thing on the telly- Insight Nightly. There I was, like a tossbag, spouting off about what a great man Max was. I had no idea who I was talking to, or I would have at least dropped the accent.”

“Yeah,” Joey perked up. “You didn’t sound English at all when we first talked. You can just lose it when you need to?”

“It’s necessary when you’re trying to blend in. I wasn’t sure who you were at first, even though you looked familiar. Now I know, you’re Millamalinka. And this Justin chap, he’s your mate?”

Joey blushed, to her complete embarrassment. “No, I don’t have a mate. But yes, he’s my... partner or whatever.”

Nathan smiled with empathy. “It‘s strange knowing that, but having no emotional ties to the person you‘re linked with, isn‘t it?”

“Definitely. And it‘s very confusing. I mean, I know that you’re in my foursquare, right?”

“Foursquare.” Nathan shook his head. “I’m not sure. I only remember being paired- me with Krysnasetsa, you with Magrasettah. They were brother and sister, from the second royal family.”

Joey felt her heart sink. It must have shown on her face, because he started to look very concerned.

“What is it?”

“Krysnsetsa has been missing for over a year. Her name here was Kate, and Justin hasn’t been able to find her. I’m sorry.”

He kept his face emotionless. “Like I said, I feel no emotional ties to her. I remember her face- dark, dark eyes and brown hair. I had hoped to find her...”

Joey shifted uncomfortably at the emotion in his voice. He was lying. Grief was written all over his face. She watched him struggle for a moment and then reached over to awkwardly give him a hug. She was new at this comforting thing, but that was what Max did when she was hurting. An ache filled her at the thought of Max. She missed him.

Nathan hugged her back briefly and then pulled away to speak. “Well, that’s that. If we don’t have all of the twelve, then I don’t think we can go home.”

She studied him silently. “Don’t give up yet. The orb has already transformed two humans into aliens to fill the missing spaces. Who’s to say that it won’t do it again?”

Nathan regarded her seriously. “Well, it had better do it soon. I believe we’re running on a tight schedule.”

Joey nodded. “I think you’re right. Have you got a car?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go get Justin. He’ll be able to tell us what Max is up to. I left him with strict instructions to stay by the phone for Max‘s call. Hopefully, they’ll know something by now and we can catch up to them.”

A gleam appeared in Nathan’s eyes. “The action man, himself, eh? I can‘t wait to meet him.” Joey just smiled.