Then it was streaming toward the rest of the group on the floor, amid shouts and cries. Michael pulled back off of Liz and helped her sit up gently. He could feel the pain still echoing through her. But she was okay. Her wide, brown eyes looked up at him.

*Thanks.*

No problem, he thought back to her. Although I think the fire house mascot over there did more good than I did.

Liz looked over at Alex, and her smile gave Michael the okay to get up. “I’m going to check on the others,” he said as he stood. “Maybe you should go help Alex.”

*Ya’ think?*

Michael looked over to see Alex being jerked around by the hose, all the while furiously trying to control the direction of the stream.

“Guys... I need a hand, guys,” he was yelling.

“On second thought,” Michael muttered, then jogged over to Alex. Of course, the spray immediately hit him full force as Alex turned in his direction. Michael fell flat on his back, hearing yelled apologies as he hit the floor.

Then the water stopped. Michael raised his dripping head off the floor to see Liz taking the hose from a very shaky Alex. She was examining his hands and healing them. He must’ve gotten cut from the hose somehow.

“Sorry, guys,” Alex called out. “I can’t do that mojo-wave-the-tentacles thing, so that was all I could come up with.”

“Thanks, Alex,” Max called out from the other side of the hallway. Michael turned to see Max standing unsteadily to his feet. He looked like he’d just been hit by a truck. What the hell had that guy done to him? Isabel was also standing, but gripping onto Max as if the floor might just suddenly toss her back down.

“Are you guys okay,” Liz voiced Michael’s concern as Alex ran over to Isabel. He put an arm around her and pulled her in close.

“Yeah,” Isabel said shakily. “Look, the hunter could wake up at any moment. Shouldn’t we worry about getting rid of him first?”

Liz and Michael nodded as they walked toward the two bodies still on the floor, the hunter and the girl.

Joey.

Michael looked over at Liz, who nodded to show he’d heard her thoughts clearly.

She’s Max and Isabel’s sister?

Again, a nod from Liz.

Whoa.

Michael looked back down to see Max on his knees beside Joey. He reached out and touched her forehead gently. Michael wondered what he would see as he connected with her. Why hadn’t they known about her before?

Max immediately tensed up. There was lots of power being used to heal her. Michael could feel it. Must’ve been bad...

Isabel met his eyes tensely. He knew she was thinking that they should have come over to check on Joey sooner. Did she know who the girl was? He didn’t think Izzy would be standing there so calm if she realized that was her sister.

A sudden stirring off to the side pulled Michael’s attention and he was at Isabel’s side in three steps.

The hunter was waking up.

Michael took Isabel’s hands, already shaking with fear and looked into her almond-shaped brown eyes. He saw determination there behind the fear. And then they connected.

Images flooded into his head, scenes he knew by heart from their childhood, then adolescence, where the pictures got more interesting, but he just ignored them. She was probably trying to shut off the same kind of crap from his mind.

*Focus.*

They reached out with their minds, finding the familiar energy radiating from them. It whirled and amassed with a vengeance, quickly becoming more powerful than they could hold. Michael gritted his teeth as they attempted to reign it in.

Time for some serious butt-kicking, Izzy. That guy was hunting your sister.

Her gasp left him little doubt that this was a surprise.

*Sister?*

She was reeling from the information. Use it, Izzy, to kill him. This may be our only shot, or someone’s gonna’ die.

She wavered at his words, and he sent her an image of Max bending over Joey. That clinched it. Isabel’s anger was like a flame heating their power until it was white hot.

Michael’s body throbbed with the feel of it and he opened his eyes to find their target. In a flash, the hunter was on his feet and the crackle of power made Michael’s blood run cold. Those menacing blue eyes held him captive as the hands drew circles in the air in front of him and the strange power grew.

“Get down,” Alex yelled from somewhere beside them, and Michael knew he had thrown himself at Liz. Michael waited until she was out of the way, and then let loose the flaming stream. The power felt like it scorched his entire body as it left. He had no idea what it would do. It bit through the hunter’s power shields like a knife through butter and the blue eyes widened in shock. Then it flamed through him, leaving nothing behind. One second he was there, the next, the air was wavering with the heat of his evaporation. He was gone.

******

“Kyle, son, I don’t know what to say,” his dad’s voice was brittle with anger. Not that Kyle blamed him. This was the stupidest thing he’d ever done.

Kyle shook his slightly at the memory until his face came to rest in his hand. He would never forget the sight of her body vaulting over the hood of his car...

Amy was going to kill him.

Liz was going to kill him.

And Guerin... oh man, he didn’t even want to think about dealing with him.

Kyle slammed the cell phone in his hand closed as the ambulance doors shut. He couldn’t get in touch with anybody. So much for the alien contingent. Looked like Deluca was going to have to heal the normal way.

The long, painful, normal way.

Kyle groaned and covered his face with his hands again.

“Looks like you realize how stupid this was,” his father added. “And hopefully you realize how lucky you were to not have killed somebody tonight. Although... after Amy finishes with you, you may not feel like too lucky. And, of course, your car is shot to hell.”

Kyle looked over at where his Dad was idly fingering the dented hood of the Mustang. “I don’t give a damn about the car, Dad,” Kyle surprised both of them by saying. “But Maria-”

His Dad looked up at him in surprise as he choked off. He knew he shouldn’t have even tried to say it. Tears welled up in his eyes and he turned to yank the door to the SUV open. He jumped in and slammed the door before his Dad could say something that would completely force Kyle to lose it... and what was left of his ego.

At this point, he could practically feel the testosterone oozing out of every pore no matter how hard he tried to keep it in. The tears were only stopping because he shoved them down so hard it hurt.

Kyle cursed himself roundly. When had he turned into such a pansy? And a stupid, sister-crunching pansy at that.

The radio suddenly sprang to life beside him and Kyle jumped.

Great. That means Dad will be right in. “This is vicon 471. We have a report of a disturbance over at the high school. Several bright flashes of light and what has been described as an explosion of some type. Calling for a-”

Kyle grabbed the CB in a blind panic. “Yeah, this is Kyle. Ten-four. I’ll let Dad know. Over and uh... out.”

“Uh, Kyle,” Deputy Hansen’s voice sounded hesitant. “What are you doing on the radio?”

Kyle rolled his eyes and motioned to his Dad that it was nothing important. The Sheriff turned back around to his inspection of the car. “I’m eighteen, Hansen, not six. Dad was just... helping me with something and he’s letting me handle the radio. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him what you said.”

“Uh, okay-”

Kyle flipped off the radio and leaped out of the SUV without another thought. He glanced at his Dad, now talking to Larry Trilling and stopped short. Now there‘s something to give you nightmares, especially if you‘re of the Czechoslovakian kind. He wasn’t sure what his Dad would do if he ever found out the truth about Max Evans, but Kyle didn’t think he wanted to find out.

He forced himself to cut out and run, hoping it would be a while before his dad would realize the radio was off and that he and Larry‘s conversation would stay on irresponsible teenagers and bad luck.

******

Max finally sat back on his heels and took a deep breath. He had no idea how long the healing had taken, but he was aware that he had missed the heat of the battle with the hunter. Joey was still unconscious, but he knew she’d be awake as soon as her body had recovered sufficiently.

A wave of weariness overtook him and he moved to lean against the wall, the very wet wall. But it wasn’t like he was dry, anyway. He looked up to check on Liz and saw her a few feet away in the shadows conversing with Michael. Not that they were using words anyone could hear. But the intense stares told him they were probably arguing about something.

A small smile crossed his face. For a while, he’d been jealous that Michael was in such close communion with Liz. But it hadn’t taken long to see the drawbacks. Just because you can read someone’s mind doesn’t mean that you agree with them.

“What’s wrong, Liz,” Max heard Alex ask as he joined them, interrupting heedlessly.

Liz turned to him with a tight smile. “Alex, I appreciate you trying to protect me, but I do have powers and I would like to use them to help the others occasionally, WHICH I cannot do while you are on top of me.”

Alex just nodded, unperturbed. “Uh-huh. Yeah. Great. I’ll take that under advisement.”

“Alex,” Max called over to them. “If you're taking my advisement, ignore her. It’s much more important that she stay safe.”

Liz immediately headed over toward him, anger and concern fighting on her face.

“Gotcha’,” Alex nodded and turned back to Isabel, who had reached his side.

Max smiled at Liz’s outraged expression as she stood over him.

“Don’t you even want to know how Joey is,” he asked her, expecting the very contrite look that won out over the other emotions and settled on her face.

“Yes, of course, I do. But are you okay,” she knelt in front of him and held her hand to his cheek. He felt the warmth of it to his bones.

“Yeah. And Joey is fine. That hunter had really messed her up, though,” he admitted seriously. “Lots of internal damage. Lots of cleaning up to do.”

Liz nodded, her eyes full of love- for him. “You look exhausted.”

Max took her hands in his own. “Are you okay? I couldn’t even see what that guy did to you, but it sounded...” He pressed his lips together as the memory of her scream pierced through his consciousness. He never wanted to hear that sound again. Before she could answer, he dropped her hands and pulled her into his chest. She settled in between his legs, her warmth soaking through their wet clothes. She felt solid and real... and okay.

He rested his chin on top of her head and heard a long sigh come from deep inside her. His tension and worry left him...

Another long moment of sheer bliss holding Liz. One day there would be enough moments like this to satisfy him. At least he hoped so.

But for right now, it just made him wish for the wedding like crazy. Even forgetting the other physical stuff... just to be able to hold her as long as he wanted, until he actually grew tired of it, if that was possible...

When Max opened his eyes again, Isabel was bending over Joey with tears in her eyes. Max suddenly realized she knew that Joey was her little sister, too. His eyes met Isabel’s watery ones and they shared a smile.

Max rested against the wall and let his thoughts ruminate for a while, hoping that Joey would be awake enough soon to answer all of their questions.

******

Joey floated toward consciousness slowly. She could hear them first. Voices that were vaguely familiar, but strange at the same time. Then one deep voice struck a chord.

Max.

Her brother.

She fought to open her eyes, trying to remember why she was so cold and wet. And why her insides felt spongy and... weird.

She opened her eyes and was immediately struck dumb by the crowd of faces over her. Max, Liz, the beautiful blond, a tall, skinny guy and a guy with wild, brown hair that looked like he either wanted to throw up or run away.

“Joey,” Max’s voice pulled her eyes back to him. She smiled a little half-smile in spite of herself at the look of worry in his familiar eyes. It was like looking into a mirror, sort of. “Are you okay?”

“What did he do to you,” the dark brown eyes of the blond girl were pooling with tears. Strange...

“Who are you,” Joey asked the girl, feeling struck by her display of emotion.

To her surprise, Max took over as the blonde choked up completely. “Joey, this is your sister, Isabel.”

Sister.

She stared at Max for a moment, but there was no mistaking his seriousness. Then she struggled to sit up, finding hands reaching to help from all around. Her first instinct was to pull away, but she fought it. Then she looked into Isabel’s face and felt tears prick her own eyes.

A brother AND a sister. Max and Isabel.

She shook her head in amazement, and then found herself embraced fiercely by both of them. After a moment, she threaded her arms out and around both of them. Her older brother and sister. It made no sense to her, but she knew that it was the truth. A sudden connection flowed in and around them, filling them with warmth and a feeling of rightness. This was her family.

She was home.

At last.

******

Liz knelt, a hand covering her smiling mouth as it trembled with emotion for them. Max and Isabel had embraced Joey in a three-way hug. Liz glanced over at Alex and saw him beaming with joy for them.

But Michael...

Liz stood up and looked over in his direction.

Still alone.

She would have walked over to him, but knew that the emotions whirling inside of him were not to be acknowledged in public. She had at least learned that much from their past arguments.

“Liz,” a voice rang from the doorway. It was Kyle.

“Over here, Kyle,” she called back and walked in his direction. “We found her.”

But as he ran toward her, further explanations died. He was winded and... scared?

“Kyle, what is it,” Liz asked fearfully.

He halted in front of her, taking just a moment to breathe and glance at the others before looking her in the eyes again. “There’s been a report and you guys had better get out of here,” he began in between breaths. “I tried to get here before my Dad, but he’s probably on his way. This has to be cleaned up now.”

Liz turned to see Michael already working on the water, evaporating it with an outstretched hand. Max had pulled away from the girls, who were still in an embrace, and was taking care of the scorched mark on the floor.

“There’s something else,” Kyle’s voice brought Liz’s head back around quickly. His nervous glance toward Michael made Liz feel immediate fear. Maria was the only one of the group not there and Liz suddenly wondered why.

Of course, Michael was there in a heartbeat. “What is it, Valenti,” he growled.

Kyle actually took a step back and glanced nervously at Max. Max took the hint and came over to position himself between Michael and Kyle.

“What’s going on, Kyle,” he said lightly.

Kyle looked around at the group and crossed his arms in front of him before beginning. “Dammit,” he muttered, and Liz was amazed to see how emotional he was. Her throat tightened until she couldn’t even ask him again what was wrong. “I was driving too fast,” he began quickly. “I rounded a corner and Maria ran in front of me. And... I hit her.”

Michael’s fury exploded in Liz’s head and it grew louder and fiercer until she raised her hands to her ears in weak defense. “Valenti, you’re DEAD,” Michael bellowed as he charged forward.

The thoughts flowing from him were mind-numbing. Liz fought against it for a moment, then she launched herself at Kyle from the other side. Alex’s arms quickly pulled her back, for which she was internally thankful for, even though she was giving him a good cussing on the outside.

“Michael, Liz, stop it,” Max ordered as he forced Michael back against the lockers with a choke hold.

Liz felt the anger settle into a seething hate and though it scared her, it was easier to control. Her breathing steadied and she gave Alex an embarrassed look. He grinned and promptly let go of her arms.

“Kyle,” Max continued in a tense voice. “How bad is she?”

All eyes turned to Kyle as he looked down and forced the words out. “Broken leg, concussion, lots of scrapes and bruises,” he paused before continuing in a broken voice. “I tried to stop. I swear.”

Liz felt so bad for him underneath the anger still spilling into her from Michael.

“We have to get out of here,” Isabel’s voice reminded them. She and Joey had finished the cleaning. “Is she at the hospital, Kyle?”

“Yeah,” he whispered, eyes still downcast.

“Well, if Max will get the hell off of me, I’ll go,” Michael spat out, his eyes meeting Max’s with venom.

Max just released him and met his gaze evenly. Liz knew Michael just needed someone to buck against right now. Max probably knew that, too. Michael was already out the door and after a quick, desperate attempt to finish the clean-up, everyone ran to follow.

It drove Liz crazy to think of Maria in pain. But at least she was alive...

Poor Maria.