Pausing mid-stroke, he thought about the question. "My mom."

Smiling, she asked, "Is she a masseuse?"

"No, but she just has this natural ability to give amazing massages. I think I inherited her gift."

"Absolutely. You can come over and rub my back any time." Grinning lazily, she flipped herself over so that her back was on the bed and she was looking up at Alex. "Or any other part of my body you feel inclined to rub for that matter."

Grinning right back at her, he leaned a bit closer to her and pressed his forehead to hers. "Oh? And what parts would you like rubbed?"

"Kiss me and maybe you'll find out."

"Gladly." He pressed his lips to hers, and she buried her hands in his hair, pulling him as close as possible. A noise invaded their bliss.

Isabel tried to ignore it, but the tapping got increasingly louder, until she was forced to pry herself away from Alex. Sitting up, she looked toward her window. Michael stood just outside, desperation written all over his face.

Standing, she hurried over and pushed the window up. "Michael? What's wrong?"

Breathing heavily, he tried to form a sentence. "Isabel... Something happened. Something bad."

Grabbing his arm, she tried to drag him inside, but he resisted. "I can't stay," he panted. "It's not safe for us here anymore. We have to leave. Now."

"Michael, what is it? Where's Max?"

Tears formed in his eyes as he looked at her. "Isabel, Max is... dead."

"What?" she gasped. "Michael, you're wrong! Max can't be dead. He's not dead! You're lying!"

Alex sprung from the bed at her outburst and gathered her into his arms. Wiping away her tears and rocking her like a baby, he whispered, "Shhhh, Is, it'll be okay." He looked outside to Michael. "What the hell happened Michael? Where are Maria and Liz? Do they know?"

Gulping hard, Michael tried again to control his breathing. "It was just like any other night... Max & me were going out back to the alley to meet Maria & Liz. But then Kyle showed up. He saw me climbing out of Maria's window this morning. He wanted to fight me. I tried to back off, but he pushed me. Max jumped between us, and then Kyle started yelling at him because he stole Liz. He said Max needed a beating as much as I did, and then he punched him. Max's head slammed against the light post, and oh god, there was so much blood…" Michael tried to choke back his sobbing, but he broke off, unable to control himself.

Isabel sat up in Alex's arms, wiping the tears from her face. She had calmed enough to ask, "Michael why didn't you heal him? I know you've been working on using your powers. Why didn't you do something? How could you let Max die?"

The tears were flowing freely down Michael's face now as he continued the story. "I tried, Izzy, I swear I tried. But Kyle saw what I was doing, and he started screaming that his dad was right, that we were Aliens. I got distracted, and the healing reversed itself."

Isabel wiped at her face, and leaned out the window to hug Michael. "I'm sorry, Michael. I know you tried. You would never have let anything bad happen to Max if you could help it."

She rubbed his back as he cried on her shoulder. Alex let them be for a minute, but a thought occurred to him. "Michael, we have to shut Kyle up- he'll tell his dad, and they'll come for you and Isabel."

Michael picked his head up off of Isabel's shoulder. "Kyle won't tell anybody anything."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because... I killed him, Is. I killed Kyle."

~~~~~~~

Maria lay in her bed, immobile. She hadn't spoken since the cops had come running down the alley. She was in complete shock. Max was dead. And so was Kyle. And Michael had killed him. He had to have done it- the silver handprint... Max had too much control to kill. But Michael... he was a mass of raw emotion. And he wasn't very good with his powers. How could he? There had to be an explanation.

She blinked as her door opened slowly, her mom appearing. "Maria, honey? Are you awake?"

Maria simply nodded. Amy walked into the room and sat down on the bed where her daughter lay. "Honey, I know you've had a really bad night, but there are some officers who want to ask you some questions. Would that be okay?"

"I don't want to talk to anyone."

"Maria, I know it was a shock finding Liz's boyfriend and Kyle like you did, but they just want to figure out what happened. Can't you answer a few questions?"

Suddenly, Maria sat up straight in bed. "Mom. Where's Jim?"

Amy sighed deeply, a tear flowing from her eye, as she related that her husband had gone down to the crime scene. To identify the body.

"Oh god, mom, he'll see it. He'll see the handprint! He'll know what it means." Maria jumped out of her bed. "I have to make a call."

Amy looked at her daughter, confused. "Maria, what are you talking about? Who are you calling?" She watched as Maria punched numbers into the handset of the phone in her room.

"Isabel. She has to know."

"Honey, I'm sure the police will notify the Evans' about Max..."

"No, Mom, I have to warn her."

"Warn her about what?"

"That they know about her. That they'll be looking for her."

"Maria, I don't understand..."

She looked deep into her mother's eyes. "Mom, just trust me on this one. I need a little privacy." Her eyes begged her mom to understand. Amy only paused for a minute, before heading to the door.

"Okay, honey, if you want to talk to Isabel, go ahead. She probably needs to talk to a friend now anyway." Her mom closed the door behind her, and someone finally picked up the other end of Isabel & Max's line.

"Hello?"

"Alex, is that you?"

"Maria? Where are you?"