"Maria!" Liz yelled from behind as she came alive.

Maria ordered, "Go get the others! Go!" The Skin sent out a power burst that nearly knocked Maria off her feet. "Go! I can't hold on much longer!"

"Sheriff!" Liz cried when she saw him appear. "Careful Sheriff, he's a skin!"

Valenti shot a few rounds but the skin didn't falter, instead he knocked Valenti to the ground so he could make a quick escape.

Maria put down her shield just as Kyle entered, "Dad! Dad! You Ok?"

"I guess so," Valenti replied as Kyle helped him up. "What's going on?"

"That's what we have been trying to figure out," Maria informed them.

Max appeared from the back followed by Tess, then Michael and Isabel helping a now fully clothed Courtney. "We heard screaming from upstairs."

"A skin attacked us," Liz shared with the rest of the group. "If it wasn't for Maria and Sheriff Valenti, who knows what could have happened."

"I fired a few rounds at him, but he wasn't phased by it," Valenti told them.

Max was absorbing all the information, "If guns don't work, how do we kill them?"

Courtney was sitting at one of the booths looking tired and worn, "Take the heaviest thing that you can find." She lifted up the back of her shirt and pulled up a chunk of skin at the base of her spine to reveal a large metal bolt. "And smash this as hard as you can. It breaks the seal in the husk…permanently."

"What about Nicholas? What can he do?" Isabel asked as she nervously played with her necklace.

Courtney answered in a serious voice, "All the things you can…times a thousand. But the thing you should be the most afraid of… is this." She pointed to her head as she continued, "He can get inside of your head and take anything that he wants. Basically he rapes you of your memories and your thoughts."

"We've gotta get everybody to a safer location," Valenti spoke up.

Max had an idea, "The UFO Center. It's a former bomb shelter, so there are no windows and fewer ways in and out. After we get everyone situated, you, me, Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Tess will start picking them off one by one."

"What about me?" Kyle spoke up.

"You're not someone I trust," Max said steely. "Let's move." Michael helped Courtney to her feet as they all made their way to the alley. "There's not much cover, so we should split up into groups."

"Good idea," Sheriff Valenti agreed. "Michael, Kyle, take Courtney. You guys go first."

Max added, "When you're in, we'll send the next bunch."

Kyle and Michael took Courtney by the arms and waited for Valenti's signal. "All right, go!"

"They made it," Maria announced once Michael, Kyle and Courtney made it to the UFO Center. She watched as Michael used his powers to open the door.

"I'll take Tess, Liz and Maria," Valenti suggested. "You two okay bringing up the rear?" Max nodded. "OK, let's go," he said to the girls.

"Okay," Tess said as she took Maria's hand. Maria used her free hand to grab Liz's. They quickly ran across the street to the UFO Center praying that they weren't seen.

* * * "Where's Isabel?" Maria asked Max when he came to the UFO Center alone.

Max looked around, "Where is everyone?"

"Michael is with Courtney in one of the back exhibits, Liz, Kyle and Valenti are in Brody's office, and Tess is right behind you," Maria told him. "Now cut the crap Max, where's Isabel?"

"She went to go find Nicholas," he replied in a low voice.

Maria couldn't believe it, "And you let her! Max, what the hell we're you thinking!" Max kept silent and that made her more furious. "We have to go find her."

"It's too dangerous," he finally spoke.

"Fine, I'll go find her myself," Maria was going to storm off, but something by Tess prevented her from doing so. "Tess! Look out!"

A Skin stepped out and fired a power blast, which knocked Tess to the ground. Maria launched a power blast of her own, which sent the Skin flying across the room. The skin hit the far wall so hard that its seal self-destruct button was broken and the skin turned to dust almost automatically.

"They found a way in," Tess said as Max helped her to her feet. Maria was glad she was talking, because that meant she was okay. "We've gotta go."

Liz and Kyle became aware of the commotion as they came out of Brody's office. "All right," Max decided. "We'll head for the school. It's our turf, get your dad."

"I can't, he disappeared right in front of me," Kyle said in a small voice.

Liz included, "You know, the skins time dimension must be catching up with those of us that are…"

Liz couldn't finish, so Maria did, "Human. Who's next?" She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and found that it was Michael.

"Hey!" Kyle declared holding a postcard in his hand. "That time field is coming from the billboard out by Chaparral Turnout. My dad spotted a green rod stuck through it this morning. We thought it was a prank. I'm heading out there."

"No," Max told him. "We stick together."

"Hey, I've been really nice about following your orders, Senor Presidente, but if I can do something to help bring some people down to ensure that Liz and I live to see another day, I'm gonna do it," Maria never heard Kyle that angry before, and it obviously affected Max.

"Kyle," Max said. "Look…take Bradford alley all the way out of town. It's a straight shot. You can't get boxed in."

Kyle nodded, "Thanks."

"Maria will go with you," Max added looking at her.

Maria was taken by surprise again, "What?! No, you need me."

"Kyle and Liz need you," Max said.

Maria was about to protest, but Max continued in a serious tone, "That's an order Maria."

Maria couldn't believe he used the king card on her, and now she is beginning to understand how Michael felt. She didn't put up a fight instead she gave Michael a quick hug, "I'll see you soon." She then hugged Tess, and then followed Liz and Kyle out of the UFO Center without even glancing at Max.

"OK, it's the four of us on foot. If we stick to the side streets, we can…" Max didn't finish what he was trying to say.

Tess asked, "What's wrong?"

Max questioned Michael directly, "Where's Courtney?"

"I left her in the back," Michael informed them as he went to check on her.

Tess and Max followed him to where he left her and they shared in his surprise when they discovered that she was gone. "I guess no one bothered to check the back door."

"We don't have time for this, we have to find Isabel," Max turned back to the front entrance making his sister his first priority.

* * * "No! I can't leave it like this!" Liz exclaimed from the seat in the back of Maria's Explorer.

Maria asked curiously, "Excuse me?"

"Max," Liz continued to ramble. "No, I walked out on him without explaining what happened between you and me."

"Huh?" Maria had no idea what she was talking about.

Liz cried, "I didn't even say good-bye!"

"Look, you've got a job to do. Max has got a job to do," Kyle consoled her in a calm tone. "When everybody's done with their job you can make nice."

"He'll never know!" Liz seemed to grow desperate and Maria didn't know why.

Kyle told her trying to ease the situation, "He's Max, he'll always know. Right?"

Maria turned around only to find the backseat empty, "Liz? Oh." Kyle pulled up beside the billboard that was in the postcard that he found. "Not Liz," Maria cried. "I need Liz."

Kyle needed her to keep her cool, "Maria, Maria, look, look, look. She's coming back. They all are, all right." Kyle really needed her insight, "Now, Liz said something about generators and electric fields."

"So how does electricity work?" Maria asked, not looking focused.

"Why are you looking at me?" Kyle wasn't the science whiz that was Liz. "I was in the same remedial science class for three years."

Maria began to think more clearly, "Basically, we have to…um, blow its fuse."

"Can't you just blast the damn thing?" Kyle was getting impatient.

"I guess," Maria said reluctantly. "But I don't how much power it will take. There's a chance it could wipe me out…permanently."

Kyle yelled as a skin appeared out of nowhere, "Maria, look out!" Maria quickly jumped out of the way as Kyle flipped the guy over. "Buddha, forgive me, but I'm gonna kick your ass!" He grabbed "the club" from Maria's car and managed a good blow to the skin's self-destruct button.

"Kyle," Maria uttered.

"Maria," Kyle said as he disappeared in front of her eyes.

Maria was all alone, "No, not you too."

* * * "You sure you don't know where Courtney went?" Max asked Michael as they wandered through the hallways of school.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Michael replied thinking only of Maria.

"I've got one," Tess jumped in. "She and Nicholas are probably laughing at how gullible we are."

They turned a corner and they found Isabel on the floor of some lockers. "Isabel!" Max ran to his sister. "Isabel!"

Nicholas knew that they would take the bait, "Ahem!"

Max, Michael and Tess looked around and saw that skins now surrounded them. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Michael couldn't help saying.

"Come on Maria you can do this," Maria tried to convince herself as she tried to figure out what to do. "Protecting Michael and the others requires sacrifice."

Nicholas walked over to Max with a look of satisfaction on his face. "What happened to you, guy?" He smirked as he watched the Royal Four struggles against the pillars he bound them to. "You used to determine the fate of entire armies with the flip of a coin. Luckily for me, you continue to put your faith in the wrong people." He snapped his head towards Isabel. "Does this scene feel familiar Vilandra?" Nicholas walked towards Michael. Michael wished his hands were free, so he could strangle the scrawny kid's neck. "And your trusted second…the boy who spilled the secret of the granolith to one of our exiled members. Rule number one of war: Keep your mouth shut. Courtney knew that. That's why she killed herself before I could get its exact location." Nicholas laughed in Michael's shocked face, "By the way, love the hair hope you win. There's one more thing I need to know before we can all call it a day. Where's the granolith?"

Max said steely, "I'm not telling you."

"Oh…you will," Nicholas threatened, he motioned with his hand and all of a sudden indescribable pain ruptured through out Michael's body. Isabel and Tess also cried out in agony.

"Aah!" was all Max could hear.

"Wait!" Max tried to think. "I'll take you there! Just you and me, this has nothing to do with them!"

Isabel protested, "Max, don't."

"This is too easy. In the old days, I would've been no match for you," Nicholas put his hand on Max's head. "But…now."

Max could feel Nicholas in his head searching through his memories, "Ahh!"

Nicholas taunted at him, "Either way, you're going to die, Max. So why don't you just make this easy on yourself."

"Uhh!" Max knew he had to resist Nicholas's power.

Maria felt Max's pain as she tried to build up her power, but the pain coming from all of them was more than she could bear. "Keep it together, Harding," she said as she tried to gain her composure.

Nicholas took his hand off Max's head, "Ready to tell me now?"

Maria built up so much power that it surged throughout her body. She aimed her hand at the green pulsating rod in the billboard and released as much power as she could. The blast knocked her off her feet and sent her flying through the air where she was completely engulfed in darkness.

* * * Michael didn't know how they were going to get out of this situation, but then he watched Tess use her power to conjure up an enormous fire and released it into the group of skins, which made them all disappear.

Tess questioned when she discovered that her hands were free, "What…what just happened?"

"You saved us," Max announced.

"Oh," Tess said in a small voice.

A shuffling noise drew Michael's attention away from the others; just around the corner was the school janitor sweeping the floor, a human. "She did it," Michael realized.

Max asked Isabel, "Vilandra?"

"I'm going to find Mom," Isabel avoided the question. "I'll see you at home." Isabel quickly left before Max fired any more questions at her.

"Michael?" Tess asked him.

Michael was still trying to process all that had happened, "Yeah."

Tess knew his answer already; "Can you go find my sister?"