Michael saw himself pressed against Maria, pressing against the wall. Maria called out to him when she saw him walk into the room. His other self leered at him for a moment, and then smiled.

“I’ve been expecting you,” The other one said. He turned to Maria. “We’ll have to finish this another time.” He released Maria and sent her flying towards Michael.

Michael caught her in his arms before she had the chance to hit the floor. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

Maria scrambled to her feet; her arms remained in a loop around Michael’s waist. “I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”

“Get out of here,” Michael commanded.

“I am not leaving you.” Maria straightened her back and did her best to look tough.

The other self stood against the wall with his arms folded. “Your concern for one another is really very touching, but can we get on with this?” Michael moved in front of Maria. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

The other self smiled. “Right now, I’m you. But that can get a little confusing, can’t it?” The other self engulfed himself in blinding white light. He reemerged with Ed Harding’s face. “There. That’s better. A lot less confusing.”

“I don’t care who you look like. You stay away from us.” Michael pushed Maria farther behind him. Maria walked back to stand beside him.

“Sorry. I can’t do that.”

With that, Michael was thrown through the air like a rag doll. He landed hard out in the hallway. Michael groaned and stood up again slowly. Maria’s mouth fell open. She charged at Nacedo and promptly found herself flying through the air, landing near Michael.

“I thought you learned your lesson the first time you tried that,” Nacedo said condescendingly.

Michael snatched Maria’s shoulder and pulled her to her feet. “Are you hurt?”

Maria blinked rapidly, then shook her head.

“Good. I told you to leave!” Michael said.

Maria found her voice. “And I said that I’m not going.”

“How about I make this easier for you?” Nacedo interjected. Maria was ripped from Michael’s grasp and sent flying across the room again. This time, she landed in a closet. The door slammed behind her, the lock clicked, and Maria thumped against the back wall. Michael stood there, in shock, and listened to Maria claw at the door.

“There. That’s better. Now it’s just you and me. I can take care of her later.”

Michael found his voice. “If you lay one hand on her--”

“You’ll what? There’s nothing you can do and the other two hatchlings aren’t here to help you.” Nacedo snarled.

“I trusted you. I thought you were our friend.”

“You thought wrong.”

Michael threw himself at him and ended up on the ground again. Before he had the chance to get up, there was a flash of light that pinned him to the floor, and knocked the wind out of him. Nacedo kneeled beside him, smiling.

“You know, I’m getting really tired of this. And you two talk too damn much. I probably would have killed you even if you’d been a member of the true ‘alien’ race; you annoy me so much. It’s a shame you’re all only a bunch of kids. Maybe you’d have been more formidable enemies if you’d been older. I could have used a workout. ”

“Now who’s talking too damn much?” Michael said in a pained voice.

Nacedo chuckled. “You’re right. Anything you want to say to me before I kill you?”

Michael spat in his face.

Nacedo smiled as the slimy glob of saliva slid down his face. “She did that too. She really is a fighter, isn’t she? Should be fun to find out how much fight she has in her after I get through with her.”

Michael could feel Nacedo’s fingers coiling around his throat as he drifted in and out of consciousness. ***

“Michael!” Maria’s muffled scream came over the tinny sound of closet hangers banging into one another. [Gotta get out of here.] She thought. She snatched one of the hangers from the rack and tried picking the lock. All she ended up with was a twisted hanger. [okayokayokay…] she thought. [Gotta try something else.] She leaned against the door and tried to listen to what was going on outside.

She heard nothing.

Maria started hyperventilating. [Gottagetoutnow!] She thought. [Wait… I know…] She counted slowly. “One… two… three…”

She threw herself against the door.

The lock broke and Maria tumbled out of the closet. She glanced around the room and saw Nacedo hovering over Michael.

[He’s turning blue. He’s choking.]

“Michael!” Maria screamed as she ran towards them. She threw herself onto Nacedo’s back and wrenched his hands away from Michael’s throat.

Nacedo jumped back in surprise. Maria was still latched to him and began pummeling him with her tiny fists. “Stay away from him!” She screeched. She reached around and her knuckles dug into his eye.

Nacedo, howling in pain, reached around and flung her off of him. “Stupid bitch!” He cursed. He yanked her up by her hair and struck her across her cheek.

Michael laid on the floor, struggling to breathe and regain consciousness. His eyes were blurry but he could see Maria attack Nacedo. He winced when he saw Maria’s lip split as Nacedo’s fist slammed into her face. “Maria,” Michael croaked. “Don’t…” Michael rose on wobbly legs. By the time he was standing, Maria was already sailing through the air for the fourth time.

She sailed, headfirst, into the wall. She made a little gasping noise when she landed.

Michael wheezed as he scurried to her and sank to the floor beside her. “Maria?” He coughed. He placed a hand behind her head and lifted her a little. Something warm and wet spread through her hair and dampened his fingers.

[She’s bleeding. Oh no.]

She must have been able read his thoughts. “ ‘s okay… ‘s just a little cut. Doesn’t hurt at all…” She slurred. Her eyelids lowered slowly. “Get outta here, Michael… he’ll hurt you… ‘s okay… I’ll be fine…” She went limp in his arms.

Michael shook her gently. “Maria? Wake up baby.”

She didn’t move. Her breathing was soft and ragged, but not as bad as it was when he found her in his apartment that night. The images of Maria’s battered body flodded his mind again. [It’s just a cut… she’ll be okay. It’s not that bad… She just passed out.] He could still hear the shapeshifter cursing softly.

Michael laid Maria down gently and rose to his feet.

Nacedo was still nursing his eye across the room. “Ow… damn it.” He waved a hand over the bruises and they disappeared. He looked up and was nearly blinded by a flash of light that threw him against a wall.

***

Michael’s wrist snapped when his fist collided with the shapeshifter’s jaw. The skin between his knuckles tore as his fists ripped into the enemy’s flesh. His eyes burned with tears. His ears rang with the sounds of his own screams. He repeated himself in his mind. [Maria... Our baby.... I’ll kill him.] He slammed into Nacedo again and again. He threw the liar against the wall. He threw the murderer to the floor. He raised his good hand and prepared to finish it. To make it up to Maria. To make it up to their baby.

He almost did it. But then the killer spoke.

***

“Go ahead.” Blood and saliva seeped from his mouth as he spoke.

Michael was silent. Nacedo hadn’t so much as fought back while he was hitting him. Now he was trying to talk. He eyed Nacedo cautiously. Something made him listen to the man lying on the floor.

“Go ahead,” He repeated. “Kill me. You know you want to.”

Michael’s right arm hung awkwardly by his side. He bit his lip to keep from passing out from the pain. He couldn’t think about his arm right now. He had to think about Nacedo. [Maria... Our baby.... I’ll kill him.] Michael looked down at him.

“Let’s see…” Nacedo’s cuts faded away as he spoke. “I killed your baby. I will kill your lover if I get the chance. I promise you that. And I’ll kill you, your brother, your sister, and the stupid girl whom you thought was your sister, too. Now don’t you want to kill me first?” He asked condescendingly. He hovered over the shapeshifter. Michael’s legs felt strangely heavy, almost as if he was rooted to the floor.

“How about I make it easy for you?” Nacedo asked. Light flashed as he assumed another person’s face. Michael looked down into his foster father’s eyes. “There. Now I’m Hank. I beat you for years. I never loved you, I just used you for the check the state gave me. Don’t you want to get back at Hank, Michael? Don’t you want to kill him?”

Michael could barely move.

“Well… that’s okay. I already beat you to it. Oh!” Nacedo feigned surprise. “Didn’t know that did you? Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag. Not that you care. You were always a worthless pile of shit to him. You’re probably glad he’s dead.”

Nacedo shrugged his shoulders and Michael’s hands dropped to his side.

“Well… how about this one?” Nacedo assumed another face. Michael looked down into Agent Pierce’s eyes. “It can’t be as hard to kill someone the second time around, now can it?”

Michael was paralyzed.

“Go on, boy. Kill me. Again. I dare you.”

Michael felt himself falling.

“Aren’t you a man? Can’t you protect your family? Your species?”

Michael felt his head hit the floor. Nacedo’s words floated into his head.

“Can’t do it, can you?”

Michael saw a flash of light. Ed Harding’s face appeared above him. Ed Harding’s hands were instantly locked around his neck.

“I didn’t think so.”