Kivar swirled his chair around. "Kaitlyn is here?"

Tess nodded her head. "Yes, although she's going by her nickname, Katie. Probably a futile attempt at making us think she wasn't the heir."

"Why would Max send his daughter back in time to save his wife?" He contemplated. "Why would he put her in that kind of danger?"

"Maybe he didn't think you had succeeded in duplicating the Granolith." Tess suggested.

Kivar shook his head. "No no no. Max isn't that stupid. He knows we have it."

Tess shrugs her shoulders. "Well then why else would he send his beloved daughter to save the day? That isn't Evans' style."

Kivar got up from his chair and looked out of the small window of the deceased Congresswoman Whitaker's office. "Maybe that is precisely why he did it."

"Does this complicate anything?"

Kivar turned to face her. "No more than you blowing your cover did."

"I did not blow my cover!" Tess insisted. "Besides you're from the future, you knew that Kaitlyn would blab my secret to them. Hell she's probably doing it right now."

Kivar sat back down in his chair with a frustrated 'thud'. "Look doll, we don't have much time. What exactly did Miss Princess say she intended to do?"

Tess rolls her eyes. "I told you already. She said she was going to destroy the base, eliminate the special unit, stop the harvest, and kill you to top it all off."

"The kid's covering her bases." He nodded in approval. "Very much like her father."

"Do you think she will succeed?" Tess asked.

Kivar crossed his arms and put his feet up on the desk. "She may accomplish her FBI tasks.... but she'll never stop the harvest." He said with a confidence that was bone-chilling. "And she will not kill me."

The door to the office swung open, and a young boy walked through. This action made Kivar stand up and smile. "Well.... if it isn't mini-me."

--------------

It was dusk when the jeep came to a slow halt beside a chain fence just outside the base. Katie and Max hopped out of the vehicle, and Katie quickly grabbed the black backpack from the backseat.

"What should we do about the jeep?" Max asked in a low voice as he looked around suspiciously. "Someone could see it."

"Oh, don't worry about that." Katie replied, and waved her hand over the jeep, making it slowly disappear.

He was so amazed, he didn't know what to say, so he just nodded his head in approval.

Katie quickly slipped her hands through the loops of the backpack and looked at Max. "Let's go."

Getting over the fence was no problem. But as soon as their feet hit the ground on the other side, the reality of the situation hit them, making them feel very vulnerable. The two rushed over to the side of the building, putting their backs against it.

Katie quickly pushed a button on the side of what seemed to be a watch, and a monotone beep pulsated from it.

"What's that?" Max whispered.

"It's a communication device. It has a small camera inside of it. It'll relay what we see back to the computers at the pod chamber so Stan can get us through security checks." Katie whispered back.

But before Max could respond, a door suddenly opened up beside them and an agent carrying a bag of trash walked out of it and towards a dumpster near the fence.

Katie quickly grabbed the door before it closed and rushed through it with Max right behind her.

They quickly ran into a deserted room and caught their breath.

"That was a close one." Katie breathed, desperately trying to get her heart rate down.

"Too close." Max stated and sat down with his back against the wall. "What do we do now?"

Katie sighed. "We have to wait for Stanley to link the computers at the pod chamber with the camera on my wrist so he can navigate us through the facility." She paused and looked over at him. "We can't afford to get lost."

"That's right." A voice agreed from behind them. "You definitly can't afford that."

-------------

"What's taking so long?" Maria asked, peering over Stanley's shoulder to look at the computer screen. "Why is there just fuzz? I thought we were supposed to see everything they're seeing."

"I'm working on it, I'm working on it." Stanley mumbled and typed on the keyboard ferociously.

Isabel stood behind the group with her arms crossed. She examined her son from the back. He was built just like Alex, tall and thin. She could also tell he had Alex's brains.... he was obviously the resident computer genius. But when it came to personality, it was identical to hers.

Isabel tingled with happiness. She would have it. After they helped their future kids save Liz from being killed, she would have her normal life. A life were she doesn't have to worry about alien beings and fitting in. She would have a husband that she loved more than anything and that loved her back with the same intensity, she would have a handsome young man as a son, and a life were all she feared was how to get a ketchup stain off of a t-shirt. It was just within her grasp, and she'd do anything to attain it.

But she wasn't doing this solely for the purpose of having all her dreams come true. The fact that the future Liz was dead made her shiver. She won't admit it, and if you ask her she'll deny it till death, but she had begun to like Liz Parker. She didn't know exactly when it started to happen.... maybe in a way she'd always liked Liz, but never realized it until last summer. While Liz was away, she saw how tortured and alone Max was.... and she felt a piece of herself wish Liz was back, too. She'd begun to think of Liz as..... a friend. Sure she was plain..... not very spontaneous..... hell she was downright boring sometimes in Isabel's eyes, but she was probably the most caring person she'd ever encountered.

Isabel looked around and her eyes rested upon the object of her thoughts. Liz was sitting on the table and her hand had a death grip on a peice of paper.

"What's that?" Isabel asked her curiously.

Liz seemed to a in deep thought because she jumped when she heard Isabel's voice. She looked up to see Isabel staring at her, obviously waiting for her response. "Oh! Ummm.....yeah it's nothing."

*Or everything...* Liz's thoughts told her. She instinctivly squeezed the paper harder. *I hope everything's okay....*

"Alright." Stanley's voice announced. "I think I've almost got it." He punched a few more buttons and suddenly the moniter lit up with a picture.

"It's about time." Michael grumbled and looked at the screen. Maria rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the stomach.

Liz hopped down off the table and turned to look at the screen. "Why is it white?"

"I don't know....." Stanley's voice trailed off, puzzled. He punched a few more buttons, then let out a confused sigh. "This is what they're seeing."

"I don't get it." Michael stated.

"Not that you would anyways..." Maria retorted and Michael warned her with a glare.

"Is there any audio on this thing?" Isabel asked.

Magnolia shook her head. "No, we didn't attach any audio sensors on it. Just a camera."

"Great." Michael rolled his eyes.

Magnolia scoffed. "Good god I'm sorry. We were kind of in a hurry."

Michael turned to face Magnolia. "Was I talkin' to you?"

"No." She looked him straight in the eye. "But you are now."

"What's that?" Liz interrupted them by pointing at the screen.

Everyone turned to face the screen, which now had something semi-visible on it.

"Oh god...." Stanley murmured and punched a few buttons, enlarging the view of the picture.

An image of a man in a suit appeared, then the screen went black.

---------------

Things were not going quite as planned. *Why did I think this was going to be easy?* Katie asked herself as she stood in the white room by Max staring at the agent in front of her.

She brought her hands up to clutch the straps of her backpack. *If only the agent knew what was in here.* She thought to herself and smiled amusingly.

As if he read her mind, the man looked over at her and pointed a gun. "Open the bag."

Max looked over at her and shook his head. So Katie looked back at the agent and shook her head. "No."

"No?" The agent said, amused. "What the hell do you mean 'No'? You'll do what I say! Now open the bag!"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Fine. You wanna see what's in the bag? Go ahead."

Max gave her an incredulous look and Katie gave him a slight, reassuring smile. *Don't worry, pops. I know what I'm doin'.*

Max's body jerked at the sound of Katie's voice in his mind. *I can hear you..... in my head?*

Katie's face remained blank. *Yeah. It's another one of those 'soul circle' effects.*

Max nodded his head a little, and the agent walked in between them suspiciously.

"What are you two doing?" He asked.

"Talking to each other with our minds." Katie said simply.

The agent's eyes widened and he walked over in front of her. "You mean you're..... telepathetic?"

Katie could help giggle a little, then when she saw the agents face darken she forced a frown. "Telepathic.... you mean. And yes we are.... sort of."

*Why are you giving him all this information?* Max asked her in his mind.

*Because Max, the guy should at least know a little of the truth. After all we're about to destroy the place he works for and when he realizes he's out of a job, they'll probably send him to an insane asylum to shut him up.* Katie replied and Max heard a hint of guilt in her voice. What they were doing was right, but the fact that they were hurting people so they could live a normal life haunted him.

*Don't feel guilty Max. That's just how things work.... unfortunately* Max knew what Katie said was true. He shouldn't feel guilty. After all he went through in the white room he knew deep down that what he was doing was right.

"Stop doing that! The doctors are going to be here any minute, then the fun can begin." The agent cocked his gun and pointed it at Max in the face. "Now open the bag and lay out the contents on the floor."

Katie assumed he was talking to her, even though he was looking at Max so she knelt on the floor and opened the bag. A few personal items fell out. A few small cd-type things, a magazine, a bracelet, and a picture. But there was one unusual object that caught the agent's eye.

"What's that?" He asked, motioning towards a black object. It was about the size of a person's fist. And it appeared to have a very smooth surface, yet looked hard as a rock.

Katie picked it up and admired it. "This? Oh it's nothing." While the agent looked at it, Katie reached out for Max in her mind. *When I say 'Go' hit the guy. Okay?*

*Are you su--* Max started, but before he finished, he heard a loud 'Go!' in his mind and he swung his fist and hit the agent in the jaw.

Katie brought her arm back and threw the black object at the wall as hard as she could. Max looked at it, amazed when it didn't break the wall. Instead as soon as it came into contact with it, four silver legs came out of it and attached themselves to the wall.

"We've got two minutes to get out of here." Katie told him as she grabbed all her things and shoved them into her backpack.

Max held up his hand, causing the glass to shatter. "We'd better hurry."

---------------

"There's still no picture?!" Liz heard Maria shriek.

She had walked out of the pod chamber and into the darkness of the night a few minutes ago. It had been about 30 minutes since they had lost communication with Katie and Max. 30 excruciating minutes of not knowing if they were okay.

Well, it's not like she didn't know they were okay. She knew they were still alive. She could almost feel them... like they were standing beside her. She loved this connection. She felt so close to Max all the time.

She looked down at the note she held in her hand. "I should probably save this for later incase something bad happens..." She reasoned. Then unfolded it. "Maybe next time." She smiled and walked away from the pod chamber door to have a little privacy. Sitting down on a rock she slowly began to read the letter, gently touching his handwriting.

Dearest Liz,

When I got home after seeing you tonight, I remembered what you'd said a few weeks ago about your journal. You said that you wrote down how it felt when I touched you because you wanted to remember. I guess that's what I'm doing, because what I felt tonight compared to nothing I've ever experienced in my entire life.

Ever since that day in the Crashdown I haven't stopped thinking about you and it scares me. It scares me because... what I am could hurt you and it's not fair. I've always wanted a normal life. A normal life were I could have the freedom to do whatever I wanted.... not caring about the sheriff or aliens or anything. A normal life were I could be with you. That's all I've ever wanted and tonight, for the first time in my life, I had one. Kissing you made me feel alive. More alive than I've ever felt.

I meant what I said earlier, about us being together. I would give up everything, without a second thought, to be with you. And I know.... somehow, that something is going to happen later on. But I just want you to know that I love you. I've always loved you. From the day that I walked off the bus and saw you for the first time, till right this very second.

I don't know if you'll ever read this. Maybe I'll give it to you someday. Just know that that whether we're together or apart, I will always love you.

Max

Liz was in tears by the time she read his signature. He was so sweet. The nicest person she'd ever come into contact with. And to know he felt the exact same way about her as she did him.... was incredible. Everything he felt that night, she had felt too.

She sniffed and put the note in her jean pocket. She couldn't wait to see him again. To put her arms around him and just kiss the living daylights out of him. It had been too long... way to long. They had to make up for lost time.

"Good thing we have the rest of our lives to catch up." A voice she quickly identified as Max's whispered into her ear. She smiled as she felt his arms encircle her waist from behind. "Mission one.... is accomplished."

"Katie okay?" Liz asked him, leaning back into his embrace. She felt him nod his head and then felt his lips on the side of her face.

"What about the other missions? Disabling the special unit, killing the leader of the skins, and stopping the harvest?" Liz asked as Max kissed her jaw.

She felt him smile against her skin and he turned her around. His smile faded as he saw the tear tracks on her face. "What's wrong?"

Liz smiled at his tenderness. He didn't care about anything except taking care of her, and making her happy. "I'm fine I just..... read your letter."

Max smiled slightly and wiped the tear stains off her face with his hand.

"Guys!" A voice suddenly broke into their moment and Max turned to face a freaked out Maria. "The Granolith is going crazy!"