"Several weeks ago a possible future Max Evans. . .I'll call him Max II. . .traveled back in time. That act of time travel, in and of itself, was a violation of protocol that threatened the extinction of the universe. Max II talked to Liz Parker. Did she tell you about it?"

"No."

"He told her Earth had been, will be. . .verb tense breaks down in the face of time travel. . .invaded by the evil hordes from his home planet and he needed her help to prevent the extinction of humanity. That was what the thing with Kyle Valenti was all about. What Max II didn't tell her is that we came because the vast majority of humans begged us to save them from you."

"Maybe you're just lying because you're afraid I'll take the throne from you."

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You can't be our leader. You're not even a member of our species anymore. It's a one-way street, Max. You can never go back to what you were. By the way, I am not a king like you were. I am the elected representative of the people."

"So what do you want. . .the granilith?"

"It's a religious artifact of no value to anyone who does not share the faith. It inspired the faith of millions of people who died to end your reign of terror. It would be a nice gesture if you returned it but I don't expect you to do so."

"Then what do you want?"

"You say you want to be an ordinary person. Then do it. Stop meddling in interstellar politics. Finish high school. Get a job. Marry Liz Parker. Adopt some kids. And above all else. . .stop trying to remember your past. . .believe me, you don't want to know."

"And if I don't?"

"You can't kill me, Max, but I can kill you. You won't know where and you won't know when, but someday I will kill you. I can be anyone. I can be Liz Parker. I can be Sheriff Valenti. I can be your mother. The only way you will be safe is to become a hermit. I have to go now. Goodbye."

She blinked and said, "Where am I?"

"You're in Roswell," said Max.

"Where's that?" she said.

The next afternoon Valenti came into the Crashdown Cafe and sat down with the three teen aliens. Liz brought him a cup of coffee. Valenti's coffee was on the house these days. They all wanted to stay on his good side now that he knew the secret.

"She's on a bus back to St. Louis," he said. "She didn't remember me. She didn't even remember our e-mail. She just used me to get at you."

"What did you tell her had happened to her?" asked Max.

"I told her she'd had amnesia," said Valenti. "That's close to the truth."

Liz sat down to join them.

"She had all of us fooled. She caught on to the routine here quickly enough. She's obviously worked as a waitress before."

"When the aliens possess someone they must have access to their skills and knowledge as well," said Max.

"Maybe they could possess one of us," said Isabel. She sounded alarmed.

"I don't think so," said Max. "If Kivar could have possessed me, he would have forced me to commit suicide."

"We're going to have to do something about Kivar," said Michael.

"There's nothing we can do. We're here and he's there. Anyway that's not what worries me," said Max.

"What then?"

"What if the things he said about me are true?" asked Max.

"Max, they couldn't be true," said Isabel.