Isabel Evans and Alex Whitman sat at their normal booth in the Crashdown Cafe, waiting for Michael Guerin and Maria DeLuca to finish their shift. They sat in silence; happy the school year had just ended, yet afraid, for every day Max seemed to be drifting further and further away from them. Ever since...ever since Liz had disappeared. The queer thing was that at first it seemed that Max blamed Tess Harding for everything, for loosing Liz. He would avoid her at all costs. Whenever she would enter the same room as him, Max would exit. But lately, lately it seemed Max had had a total change of heart.

Instead of loathing encounters with Tess, he would rejoice in them, look forward to them. How many times this past month had Isabel, Michael, Maria, or Alex seen Max making out with Tess when they thought no one was watching? Holding hands, going on dates? At first Isabel and Michael thought he was trying to accept his destiny, or was just going berserk over Liz's disappearance, but after a couple of months, they decided this was just weird.

Unlike Max and Tess, Michael and Isabel had taken a totally different approach on destiny. Alex and Isabel went out every night; both growing closer than they ever had before. Michael went over to Maria's later that fateful week back in 2000 and apologized for ever pushing her away. Maria and Michael were then as inseparable as Max and Tess had become. Though Maria and Alex were cautious about interfering with the alien's destiny, after Liz never came home tonight, the group just bonded. Max became a stranger though, and it had seemed Kyle had taken a new place in the group.

Michael and Maria took their seat across from Alex and Isabel. Kyle Valenti, the Sheriff's son quietly entered the restaurant and took pulled a seat over to the table. Ever since he was shot, and then healed by Max, followed by Liz's tragic department, Kyle had become part of the group. He had taken back all of his previous thoughts and assertions about the aliens and in a way, started anew. Like the others, he was concerned about Max, once his worst enemy, now once of his closest friends.

None of their appearances had changed drastically over the past two years. Isabel was still tall, with long blond hair and deep brown eyes, and beautiful. Michael kept his spiky dirty-blond hairdo and his face was worn in a smirk almost every day. His features had grown stronger and sharper and his alien brown eyes were piercing. Maria decided to keep her hair cut short and was still the smallest in the group, not as bouncy or full of life as she once was before. Alex was considerably much less wiry and had seemed to grow into his frame, green eyes always cautious and caring, very dark reddish brown hair curling across his head. Finally Kyle had grown a bit taller, not much more than before. All had changed inside though, since that June.

Alex was no longer his carefree, yet serious self. He hardly ever cracked a joke and became almost overly cautious to his friends. Maria wasn't the same chatterbox she once was. Every night, she would cry a few minutes for Liz, missing her greatly. Kyle had lost whatever toughness he used to hide under, quietly staying out of their way, until someone had decided to let him in. Michael was still as blunt as ever, but he did tend to keep to himself a lot. Killing Pierce had shaken him up, until Maria came to comfort him. All signs of Isabel's ice princess act had vanished, only her sensitivity shone through.

"I think something's wrong with Max," Isabel said, looking at her watch, "He's late. Max is never late."

Alex placed his arm around her. "Don't worry Isabel," he said, "He'll be here soon."

"I don't know what's wrong with him. The guy has just lost it. I don't know which one I preferred: the moping go-through-the-stages Max Evans, or the Maxwell who is in love with Tess." Michael commented.

"Definitely the moping, go-through-the-stages Max," Maria added in. "Tess doesn't deserve him, even if he is meant to be with her."

"If only Liz was here," Kyle whispered, knowing that his former girlfriend had cast a spell on Evans since the third grade. It wasn't until their sophomore year of high school, did Liz finally notice this and returned his love. Kyle was jealous and angry, but after the events of that June, quickly realized he was wrong. Liz would have been able to get Max through anything, Kyle thought, she was like that.

"Well Liz isn't here," Alex snapped. He and Maria had been hit second hardest, aside from the Parkers and Max, by the vanishing act Liz had pulled. Everyone believed she was dead, even though the Sheriff said no one is considered dead unless they had been missing seven years. This only offered the Parkers hope. As for the others, because of the enemies the group had accumulated that past year: the FBI or evil aliens, or even maybe Nasedo himself, all those choices meant a grim reality. One of them must have gotten Liz.

"We have to do something about this," Isabel begged, "I can't stand to see Max like this, going out of his way to do anything for Tess, someone he previously hated."

"Maybe..." Michael began, stretching his arms out over the chair.

"What?" Isabel looked at him desperately.

"A couple of years ago. Remember, Max had kissed Tess." Michael looked at the others. Maria nodded; remembering how Michael had sent her to Liz's that night to comfort her. "Well, Max came to me afterwards, wet from the rain. He came, and he told me he kissed her. But he also said that he wasn't willing, that it was like someone was controlling him."

"Tess," Alex said.

"That's what Max had thought. Though then he couldn't figure out why or how. After discovering what Tess was, Max also developed a theory about the daydreams he had been having."

"Daydreams?" Kyle asked, confused.

"Daydreams of him and Tess. Together." Isabel said quickly, recalling the dreams of Michael that hit her at night every spring.

"Oh, so he thought Tess was causing those too?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah." Michael replied.

"And since we now know that Tess can make people see what isn't there...." Alex let the thought hang in midair.

"But why would Tess try to control him now?" Maria inquired. "Liz isn't a threat to her anymore. None of us are," she silently added in.

"That's what we have to find out," Alex replied.

Isabel glanced at her watch. "He's not going to show up. Come on, let's go home."

*~*~*~*~*

"Permission to address Supreme Leader Howi Jabbah Chort," Tess demanded over the phone in her small apartment.

"Granted." The soldier on the other line replied.

"Ah, Agent Tess Nashira Taygeta," a deep, menacing voice replied.

"Howi," Tess greeted him.

"Tess, Tess, Tess. How is everything going? I want a full update from my second in command." Howi replied.

"All is going as planned. Max is 'falling' more and more in love with me each day. Liz Parker's disappearance two years ago had really worked towards our advantage. You were correct in using his state to manipulate his feelings. That first year, it was difficult, but I have finally broken through."

"I am always correct Tess," the Supreme Leader of the Subrarians corrected, "And now?"

"Now he is convinced that he loves me. Max Evans will do anything I want. Tonight, I convince him that he could only trust me, that his sister Isabel and friend Michael are out to kill him. Then he will be ours. Much wiser than just trying to kill Prince Allioth Naos Kiltalpha again."

"I am pleased with your progress. I look forward to your arrival home," Howi cut the transmission.