He let out an exasperated sigh. If it wasn’t severed, then why couldn’t he feel her?

He felt his knees work against the smooth tile as he kept moving. He couldn’t stop and he suddenly wondered why...

There was something building inside him... something that burned to be released. He grew still as it spread throughout his body- pulsing power in a rhythm he’d never felt before. It was calling to him, from somewhere else, pulling at him, whispering of a delay, a deadline... a destiny... all too important to ignore.

He shook his head and pushed it to the back of his mind. Liz was more important than any destiny.

But the pulses were helping now, feeding him energy. He almost quivered with excitement as it eked out through his fingertips easily. The ropes dropped off his wrists.

YES!

Then he could feel the power continuing on, stretching out in a long, thin line. Liz. His essence was seeking out the connection, searching for her in an invisible lifeline of power. He closed his eyes and gave his mind over to it, letting his body grew numb.

He conjured an image of Liz at the Crashdown, wearing the short uniform and silly antennae. She turned slowly toward the door and her long, dark ponytail glossed over her shoulder. As she saw Max, a smile that promised three eternities lit up her lovely face. The memory was potent. Love and desire filled him, and he reached out to pull her essence to him. Farther and farther his energy-his inner being- was stretched out across distance, across space, across time. He would find her anywhere. A faint, sliding touch made him gasp. It was Liz.

He jumped to his feet, feeling the little pricks of pain as his body fought off the numbness. How long had he been down there? His gaze shot around the room erratically as he tried to fix his mind on where she was, where the energy trail had picked her up.

He walked out in the hallway and turned left. There. The feeling was stronger. He took off at a dead run down the hallway, his bare feet quiet on the white tile.

******

Garrett was hurting Kyle. Tears blinded Joey’s eyes and she launched herself over the console. She put one hand on Kyle’s chest and grabbed Garrett’s arm with the other, to pull him away, hurt him, do- something.

She stilled as images flooded into her mind. FLASH

Kyle watching the guys in plastic at the Crashdown in stupefied amazement.

FLASH

Fear as he told his father the whole truth and worried over Max’s reaction.

FLASH

Fury at Garrett for announcing the presence of aliens.

FLASH

Her own face and the feelings for her that overwhelmed him.

She and Kyle were connected.

*Joey, get out!* He was in terrible pain and she struggled fiercely to share it with him. *He’ll kill you.*

She felt Garrett’s amusement and an increase in Kyle‘s pain.

What do you want, she screamed at Garrett. But suddenly- she knew. He wasn’t after Kyle; this whole thing had been a set-up. Garrett had made the announcement as a last-ditch effort to flush out his real target- Brodaret. Nathan was who he was after.

**Thank you, my dear.**

She’d just confirmed it for him. NO! But Garrett was gone. And he was going to kill Nathan. She was the leader; she had to help. Kyle’s pain was still spiraling through her and she turned her attention to him quickly. Kyle?

*i am in control.
i run the... field.
i own the... ball.*

Joey ignored the mantra and made a quick survey of Kyle’s mind. She gasped as she closed in on the damaged nerves and veins, fighting to keep herself open despite the pain. It took all of her concentration to mend the tiny fibers and the gray matter that had been torn...

Then he was gone. Sunlight was in her face- Kyle- Disoriented, she looked up to see Justin’s face above her, carrying her away from the van. Anger flooded through her and she jammed her elbow in his chest. He convulsed in pain and shock, dropping her. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”

She stared at him for a moment. He just didn’t get it. She pushed past him to go to Kyle.

Justin grabbed her arm. “Hey! He’s just a human.”

She jerked her arm away. “Somehow, I knew that was going to come out of your mouth sooner or later. Touch me again and I‘ll blast you to hell myself.”

He blinked. She turned and walked toward the van. Justin called after her. “There’s more important things going on right now, Joey!”

As she walked, she slowly became aware of two figures to her right. Nathan! He and Garrett were connected- their hands locked on each other’s forehead. Blue eyes were meeting steely silver ones in a fierce battle.

Nathan’s pale face was smooth; Garrett was flushed and trembling with effort. Joey could feel the power used between them growing exponentially, until it blanketed the air around them. She frowned.

Justin reached her side. “And to think this happened while you were in there playing with your pet. I‘m going to help.”

Joey’s lips tightened as she reached out and grabbed his arm firmly. “No, we wait. He’s okay.”

Justin stared at her. “You want to help the human, but let Brodaret get fried? Niiiice.”

Joey grit her teeth. “Just watch.” She could feel it... Nathan was completely in control. He was matching Garrett’s power and one-upping him continually. His control was the reason it was an invisible fight up until now. Nathan must be concerned about witnesses. The air grew heavy with electricity.

Joey’s breath caught in her throat.

An explosion of power sent a shockwave out from the two, sending Garrett’s body flying backwards. Justin jumped in front of Joey and shielded her just as the wave reached them. It passed right through, burning like fire. Joey felt the ache down to her bones and bit her lip to keep from screaming. It was so hard to breathe...

Then it was gone. She took a few deep breaths and looked up to see Nathan on his knees. Garrett was a few feet away, eyes wide open, body glowing ominously.

“Damn,” Justin muttered and ran forward to help Nathan up.

Joey couldn’t move yet. She was stunned. That power had been... enormous. Nathan had said he was the eldest of the twelve, did that mean the strongest as well? Then a movement caught her eye. It was Matpatha, his wrinkled face half-smiling at her. He had been the source of that power, despite the orb’s directive that he leave. She smiled and nodded in grateful acknowledgement.

*The humans have been watching. You must leave.*

Joey heard his thoughts in her head clearly, as though they were connected. And she saw that he was right, there were security guards already gathering around Garrett’s body, but keeping their distance. One of them was looking at Nathan and Justin with a rather nervous air.

Joey looked back over to see that Matpatha was gone. Reporters were making their way out of the hospital. A prickling of fear ran down her neck.

****** Maria would trade in her entire wardrobe, all of her shoes and hell, she’d even throw in her lip glosses for good measure, if her fairy godmother would just fly her sweet little glittery butt down here and give her some fire power to take out these bastards with.

You know, something to back up her big, fat mouth with. Nothing too fancy. Just a little invisibility would be nice. Or maybe a penchant for flame-throwing or mind control could come in handy at a time like this.

Maria had been trying to stop the quivering that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her stomach. Between that and the nervous laughter that threatened to surface at any minute- she could barely focus on the empty, white stairway as it continued on above them.

Okay, yeah, so fairy godmothers don’t usually do alien stuff, but hey, seventeen-year-old girls don’t usually accompany their boyfriends on raids into top-secret government labs, either. The nervous laughter broke free.

Michael jerked around and almost knocked her off the steps. One of his large, warm hands covered her mouth and the other went around her back as she almost fell.

But she couldn’t stop laughing, or crying. It was horrible. She was just TOO TENSE.

“Remember the cave, Maria? Yeah?“ She nodded hysterically. “Okay, this is just like the cave. Give me half an hour. Then you can fall apart-whatever. Just not now.“

Maria felt herself calming under his steady gaze. The cave- where Liz had been dying after being attacked by a bear (or should she say, after being attacked by a shapeshifting guardian posing as a bear because Tess had possessed her.) God, what a memory. It sounded like something out of a convoluted sci-fi movie that no one would ever believe. But then, so did a lot of her life these days. This lab was just one more step down the yellow brick road.

Maria took in a deep breath and nodded. The hysteria wasn‘t completely gone. Hey, he was no fairy godmother. But for some reason, she could control it more if he wanted her to. Just one of the mysteries of love.

His hand was off of her mouth now, sliding around her middle to join the other at her back. His lips brushed hers softly.

Maria felt the familiar warm surge of desire that came with his intimate touches. Oh god, did she love it.

Even here, like this-

“Let‘s go,” he whispered.

She held on to his hand tightly and found that his kiss had washed the hysteria away. A small smile curved her lips.

Let’s see a fairy godmother do THAT.

******

“Are you alright, Joey?” She nodded to the Sheriff as he reached out to take her arm. “We should probably head out.” Their eyes both went to camera man walking closer to the glowing Garrett. Several reporters were on their cell phones. Another Roswell newsbreak.

“Yeah, first, I have to go help Kyle some more.” Her voice sounded weak to her own ears.

Suddenly, the Sheriff’s hand on her arm was helping to hold her up. “I think you need more help than he does. Let’s get you over to the van so you can sit down.”

She shook her head until a warm, familiar body embraced her from the side. “That sounds like a good idea.“ It was Kyle‘s voice, Kyle‘s clean scent that washed over her. She relaxed against him, feeling tears of relief flood her eyes. “You did it, Joey. Thank you.”

She looked up into his baby blue eyes and saw the evidence of the feelings she had felt in him earlier. Love flowed out of his eyes- love and determination.

“We have to get you to Berkeley before the mob grabs Justin and makes an example out of him.” He moved her in his arms so that she could walk and lean on him. “Or, on second thought, maybe we could stay and make that part of our dinner entertainment.”

Joey smiled through her tears, a small part of her agreeing.

Then there was a rush of motion and she turned to see the nervous security guard holding a gun on Nathan. “I don’t know what you did to Dr. Garrett, but you must be one o’ them aliens he was talking about.”

Nathan held up his hands weakly, his gaze shooting to Joey.

“Put down the gun.” It was the Sheriff, and he’d drawn his own gun.

“No sir. I cannot do that.”

“There’s no danger here. Put down your weapon.” The Sheriff moved closer. The cameras were rolling. The reporters were eating this up. And Joey thought she might just pass out.

The guard looked at the Sheriff incredulously. “Are you kidding? He made Dr. Garrett glow. He could probably shoot me with a lazer beam from his eyes without moving.”

Justin looked at the guard scornfully. “Well, in that case, a gun wouldn’t do much good, then, would it?”

Joey gaped. “Does he think that helps,” she whispered to Kyle.

The guard eyed the Sheriff and spoke to another guard over his shoulder. “Get the Feds out here. They’ll know how to contain the situation.”

Joey sucked in a sharp breath.

“I AM containing the situation!” Sheriff Valenti spat out the words just over the rigid arms that held his gun steady. “Put down your weapon or I‘ll be forced to shoot.”

The guard’s eyes opened wider, but then narrowed. He wasn’t backing down. Nathan started to back away toward the van, pulling Justin with him. Kyle cursed and Joey felt him move her in that direction as well. She clung to the idea desperately. Maybe if the Sheriff covered them-

“Stop moving, or I’ll shoot!”

“PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW!”

Joey screamed as two shots rang out.

******

Michael led the way through the door at the top of the stairs and stopped as he felt Liz again. He scanned the white hallway. No one there. Just an unending whiteness that made his brain ache. He focused and thought outward. Liz?

There it was again- a faint pulse of recognition.

Michael moved forward and felt Maria join him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He stared over at her. “What?”

“That beeping. What is that?”

Then he heard it, coming from the first door on the right. It sounded like a heart monitor. “That’s not Liz.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do.”

“What if it’s Alex?”

Michael nodded. “Okay.” He glanced around the empty hallway one more time. “Let me go first.” He tried to ignore the pull of Liz’s connection and turned off to open the door to the room. There was a flurry of motion inside and a dark-skinned guy in a lab coat turned to face them, a handgun turned in their direction. “Do not come in here. We have a patient in need of care. Leave us.”

Michael could just barely see the body behind the doctor.

“Michael!” When Maria grabbed his arm, he knew she’d seen it to. It was Alex, unconscious and pale as death. There was plastic draped over the gurney. Was he that bad off that he couldn’t even be exposed to the freakin’ air? “What the hell did you do to him,” Michael growled.

“On the contrary, I have been trying to save this patient almost all night.” The gun lowered just a hair. “Is he your friend?”

“Yes, he is!” Maria sobbed out and started towards the gurney. The gun jerked in her direction and Michael held out his hand.

The doctor cleared his throat. “Then that would make you...”

“Yes, that would make me an alien, not her. Put the gun down.”

The doctor hesitated, then put it down on the floor.

Maria ran the rest of the way to Alex’s side. “He looks awful. DO something!” Maria’s tearful eyes made Michael want to rip someone apart.

“You heard her! DO something!”

“There is nothing I can do. They have injected him with alien stem cells to transform him into a hybrid. His body is trying to reject the cells, but he has no immune system left to fight with. He is dying.”

“NO!” Maria looked ready to strangle the doc.

“I am sorry. Perhaps he will...” He trailed off. Nice motivating touch there.

Maria was hysterical. “We have to find Max. We have to find him now!” Michael agreed and gestured for Maria to come back to him. She did. Once she was in his arms again, his mind ran down the options. He couldn’t leave Alex or Maria with the doctor. The guy could be lying his ass off. He could be trying to kill Alex. For that matter, he could be the hunter. Michael felt his throat go dry. They had to know.

He pushed Maria a step back and strode to the doctor. The man flung his arms up in terror as Michael approached. “I am a man of medicine, not a killer.”

Michael kept his face blank and reached out to touch the man‘s forehead. He had never been good at this, but being connected with Liz had taught him a little. He opened his mind and pushed his energy into the man‘s head. After a fumbling, he was in. Images of Alex and feelings of helpless frustration dominated the connection. Someone had overdosed Alex and the doctor had been working to protect from further sabotage as well as trying to keep him alive.

Michael pulled away. He strode over and grabbed the gun off the floor. The look on the doc’s face was comical as Michael handed him the weapon back. “Don’t let ANYONE near him. We’ll be back. And I will be pissed if anything’s happened to him.”

“Of course.”

Michael smirked and grabbed the speechless Maria by the hand. They were out in the hallway walking in the direction of Liz’s faint signal when she found her voice again. “You think you’re so bad, don’t you?”

He looked down to see her smiling up at him. Okay, so yeah, he admitted to a little badass attitude. He shrugged. She stood up on her tiptoes and brought her mouth nearer to his. “I think you’re bad, too.”

He smirked and pulled her into him, his lips against hers. Quickly, he lost control of himself. It was supposed to be a quick kiss, but his tongue was sliding against hers and a connection was opening. But he saw no images from her, just felt the jarring pain and confusion as his energy slammed into her. He knew that feeling...

Oh god.

Not now.

******

Isabel ran ahead to the figure strapped on a gurney. It was Max, tied down and in pain. He was dressed in scrubs, awake but very disoriented. He must be drugged. There was no one guarding him?

“Isabel? Oh god...“

Angry tears filled her eyes as she zapped the restraints. Christopher and Tug were there immediately, to help Max sit up.

“How did you find me?”

Isabel smoothed the hair off of his forehead and stared deep into his eyes. He looked- off somehow. “What did they do to you? Did you find Liz?”

“I’m fine. I just- missed you, Izzy.”

As he threw himself into her arms, she blinked and then hugged him back. The others looked around awkwardly and finally stepped away. Isabel appreciated the gesture, but what she really wanted was someone to really look at him with her and confirm what she was feeling.

What she was feeling was-

Oh god- sudden pain ripped through her body.

It was coming from him.

It’s not Max.

******

Max felt Liz’s presence grow stronger by the second. She was here. He stopped, catching his breath. He’d been running around the empty halls for several minutes, not encountering a single soul. His glance rested on a room off to the right. There.

He couldn’t keep from running to the door and throwing it open violently.

He sucked in a deep breath.

The room was empty... except for a metal box in the corner.