Chapter Twenty ~ Something Old, Something New

Michael stared blankly at the empty jail cell, his brain refusing to come up with anything other than a large blue screen and a flashing error message. He had felt the block on Max snap earlier that morning, just after a surge of power he had yet to determine the origins of, and had known even before the sheriff started frantically knocking on his door that he was gone. What he was supposed to do about it, or even if there was anything they should do about it, he had yet to figure out. Stepping forward, he touched the cell door, left open with no sign of tampering just the way the deputy had found it. The flash hit him before he even began to concentrate.

"Close your mouth, Max. The goal here is to try not to look like an idiot," Tess said scathingly, her voice dark with sarcastic humor as she watched him, gently cradling a baby in her arms.

Max's jaw shut with an almost audible snap as he leapt to his feet, the anger that had been brewing in him for weeks finally finding a target. "What are you doing here, Tess, traitors aren't welcome!"

"You don't look so welcome yourself there, Maxie," was her only response as she gestured to the jail cell, one eyebrow raised mockingly at him.

"It's your fault!" he ground out. "If you hadn't made me sleep with you then –"

Before he could finish Tess began to laugh, a cold clear sound that echoed off the metal bars. "I made you? That's rich. I had given up on you entirely until you kissed me. I didn't force you to do anything you didn't want to do Max. Don't go blaming your mistakes on me; I have enough of my own to deal with. It's time you started doing the same," she stated, her voice mocking at first before settling into a deadly serious tone that caused Max to take an involuntary step back away from her.

Tess stepped forward, not letting him escape. "Starting with this," she finished forcefully, holding the baby out to him. When he just stared, face blank, she pushed the baby into his arms. "His name is Zan."

Max held the child loosely for a moment before tucking his arm more securely beneath him. His eyes closed in concentration and then snapped back open, staring at Tess. "I don't understand, his powers are not developed. How has he been contacting me?"

Tess just shook her head. "Really, Max, did you honestly think that our infant son was contacting you from another galaxy? That was Khivar, trying to lure you into doing something stupid, maybe even making it back to Antar so he could kill you." Eyeing him with disgust as she took Zan from him, she added "Clearly the first part of his plan worked."

While he gaped, she looked at him more closely and chuckled. "So the General finally discovered his potential. Good, now he can kill Khivar for me." Stepping forward, she rested her palm on Max's chest before he could stop her, sending a bolt of emerald energy through him.

He fell to the floor gasping, then held up his hand and created a small white light. "How did you?"

Tess smirked. "Yes Max, I unlocked your powers. I'm powerful, more powerful than you, which is why you're going to do exactly as I say." Waving her hand, she opened the cell door before stepping closer to him, taking his hand with hers, a Shard clutched between them. "We're leaving."

Then they were gone in a flash of emerald light and Michael was gasping as he let go of the bars, almost stumbling as he stepped back towards the anxiously waiting sheriff. "Tess came back, she took him. I don't know where they went."

Hearing the sheriff curse under his breath, Michael's lip curled up into the barest of a smile at the usually composed man's display of anger – he knew how he felt.

Their situation was already so complicated, so full of questions that adding Tess to the mix was enough to make his already sore brain wince with the added load. What the hell did she want? She mentioned Khivar, him killing Khivar, did that mean Khivar was on his way here? Shuddering, Michael hoped not, at least not yet. They had enough unknown enemies here without adding more that had the additional menace of spaceships and their inevitable array of weaponry.

He had to tell Isabel, she had to be prepared for when the sheriff contacted her parents to inform them of the breakout. Especially since the only explanation for his escape besides special alien powers, was inside help. The door was open and untampered with, to any regular investigation that spelled someone on the outside with keys letting him out. "I need to leave; there are things that need to be done," he stated, turning to the sheriff, an apologetic smile on his face. "Also, I have a favor to ask."

The sheriff nodded and clenched his jaw, clearly wary.

"Could you hold off on telling the Evans for about half an hour? I need time to prepare Isabel."

Letting out a breath, the sheriff nodded, clearly relieved at the simple nature of the favor. "That's fine, it will give me time to fill out all the paperwork and have our least talented forensic man go over the scene." Cocking his head to the side, he looked at Michael questioningly. "There isn't anything to find, right?"

Michael shook his head. "Nothing, and thank you. I wish Max hadn't put us in this position, but I, we all, deeply appreciate your help."

"No problem, Michael. Now get out of here before I have to explain your presence at the scene of the crime."

Michael grimaced and nodded before turning to leave – just what they needed, one more complication in their lives. Standing outside the police department, he glanced up at the window he broke into sophomore year and couldn't help a tiny smirk. He was no longer that angry, defensive teenager with Max swooping to the rescue and damn if he wasn't glad about that.

As soon as he reached the parking lot, he sent his mind questing for Isabel's. She was awake, having sensed the same energy surge he had, and was about to leave for his apartment to find out what he knew. Touching her mind gently, he told her to stay where she was, sending her the images he had seen in the cell. Shocked silence filled her mind, and then grieving acceptance, followed by the agreement that she would stay home with her parents, who would need the support of their only remaining child.

He respectfully withdrew when he felt her place a wall over her thoughts and emotions, reminding himself to send the midget over there later once her parents had a few moments to process. The sheriff would inform Kyle, possibly before he intended to given Kyle's new abilities, so that left the crew in California. He didn't think Tess would take Max anywhere near Liz, but you could never underestimate Max's stubbornness, and she needed to be warned in case either of them came looking for her.

They didn't know what Tess's plans were, but on the off chance they included revenge, Liz and the others needed to know that she was here, with Max and her son, and worst of all, a Shard. Hopefully her only plans involved avoiding any other aliens, including them, but they couldn't count on that being the case. Not to mention the unknown quantity of Zan. Tess's words indicated a maternal bond, and he had to believe that despite his current instability, Max would protect his child. It might not be right to leave an innocent with those two, but he also didn't see how they had any other choice.

Thanking the stars that he no longer needed sleep to contact Liz, he quickened his pace, aiming for the privacy of his apartment. He took the steps two at a time, idly noting that he'd been doing that a lot lately, before wrenching open his door and heading for the sofa as it closed behind him with a bang. Collapsing onto the worn but still comfortable couch, he reached out with his mind for another that was growing quite familiar.

The first few moments of contact were spent in silent mental embrace, the two of them still reveling in the newness of their relationship, even as the frustration of not being able to actually touch started to build. After those moments, he reluctantly withdrew just enough to give distance.

'What happened Michael?' Liz asked, clearly feeling the stress in his mind.

Instead of replying with words, he projected the memories of everything he had seen, including the emotions he had felt, something he was unable, and unwilling, to do with Isabel. He felt the shock hit her mind for the barest moment before she moved on to analyzing.

'What did Tess mean when she said you could kill Khivar for her? Do you think he's coming here?'

'I don't think so. I think Tess would have shown a lot more fear and urgency if he was. If she came back, it's because something happened there, and if Khivar came here, I doubt it would be to welcome her back with open arms. But we should be careful, given this and what that asshole from the future told you, he must be coming here at some point, and our enemies here might become more active now.'

He could feel her mind sorting through the possibilities, and when she finally reached a conclusion, he almost jerked out of her in mind in shock. 'You want us to what?'

Her mental tone was very firm when she replied. 'We need to find Tess. She knows more than we do about the situation on Antar. Also, if you're right, then she has a Shard. Ava only knew about seven Shards and they are all here on Earth. We know Tess didn't have one when she left, or she would have used it, therefore there is at least one more Shard that she now has. What if there are others? What if Khivar gets a hold of them? We need more information and she's the only one who has it.'

Michael couldn't refute her logic, but the thought of Liz, his Liz, going anywhere near Tess, made him want to revert to his random object blowing up days.

'I'm not going to go near her, Michael, not if I can help it. I don't want any of us to go near her, or him.'

His muscles relaxed and the anger drained out of him at her words. He didn't want Tess near her, and, if he was honest, he especially didn't want her near Max, not after that stunt he'd pulled on the dream plane. Not that her safety was his only fear. Despite seeing them in the future and knowing, in the way only mental contact allowed, that she wanted him, and not Max, he couldn't help his old insecurities from whispering that she would choose Max over him if she could.

Suddenly she was in his mind again, closer than ever before, showing him just how much she cared for him and not Max, never Max again. They were both silent for several minutes, just enjoying the closeness as the walls Michael had possessed since his rather unusual birth crumbled just a little bit more.

Liz gently disengaged from the intense closeness with one last caress, reluctantly returning to the subject at hand. 'I have a plan, and with any luck, we won't even have to see her to pull it off.'

Michael listened to her plan and a slow smile spread across his face. If only he'd had Liz in their past life, maybe they would have won.

A week later and they were ready. He and Isabel were lying on their backs next to each other on his bed, their hands both clenched around the Shard he had found in the desert. Kyle was sitting in a chair next to Isabel's side of the bed, watching them with worried blue eyes. He hadn't liked the plan, especially the part where he wasn't participating, merely monitoring to make sure nothing went wrong, but he had been unable to come up with a better idea.

Several states away, Liz and Ava were lying in a similar position on their living room floor, Alex hovering worriedly over them. As neither Isabel nor Tess had any idea that he even existed, he too had been forced to just watch, and was just as frustrated by that fact. Liz and Ava joined their minds together and then pulled on the power of the Shard, a warm golden light infusing their bodies.

Back in Roswell, Michael and Isabel were also glowing, their light the rich chocolate brown of Michael's aura. Michael reached out to Liz, bringing her and Ava into their group mind and joining the power of the two Shards. The light around the four bodies had grown so blinding that both Kyle and Alex in their respective apartments were shielding their eyes from the fierce glow.

'Ready?' The Liz portion of the mind asked. 'Yes.' They all replied and the Isabel portion took control, sending their joint consciousness spinning into the dream world. They located Tess's orb quickly, her hybrid nature drawing them like a magnet. It was a mottled emerald color and it flickered constantly as if in great turmoil. The group mind studied it, each portion offering their own commentary before the Michael portion and the Ava portion surged to the forefront. Drawing on the power that the four of them had gathered, they wove a shield around the orb. The shield was not to protect it from the outside, but to protect the occupant from leaving before they were finished. It was hoped that the shield would also bind her powers while in the dream world, but if not, they were confident that their combined powers would be enough to overwhelm hers.

Gathering themselves individually, the joint consciousness entered the orb, Liz's mind taking the forefront as the others masked their presence to give the impression that Liz and Tess were alone.

Tess was standing in the middle of black, empty space. There were faint pin pricks of glowing stars visible around her, and in front of her were two planets. One was the familiar blue-green of Earth; the other was a red-brown color that the three alien members of the consciousness recognized as Antar.

Liz approached the former Queen, stepping on nothing as she drew closer to the fixated blonde. Tess was clearly unaware of anything other than the two planets before her, and several moments passed before she jerked around, sensing her presence. Her eyes dilated in shock before narrowing with calculation. "Oh how lovely. The new Queen, here to gloat over my fall?"

Only the collective minds of her companions were enough to stop Liz from screaming furiously. What the hell did all these people know that she didn't? Drawing on their inner strength, she calmed herself, replying coolly. "Why would I care who the Queen is? What makes you think I'm here for any other reason than to punish you for the death of my best friend?"

Tess was unable to stop herself from retreating backwards in reaction to the cold menace in Liz's voice. Visibly gathering herself, she opened her mouth to speak before pausing, a small and not completely cruel smile crossing her face. "You don't know."

Liz's fists clenched involuntarily, the faintest flicker of green energy running through her before the group managed to calm her once again, fighting to continue the concealment of their presence. "I don't know what?" she ground out, part of her reveling in the fear that had flashed through Tess's eyes when her power spiked.

The blonde cocked her head to the side, studying Liz intently before the anger seemed to drain out of her. She waved her hand and suddenly they were in her old house in Roswell, standing in the entryway. "It all started here." She turned, and suddenly there were two of her, they were watching her memories of her first arriving in Roswell and Liz's fateful visit to her house. "I was already too late; I didn't know it, but our destiny had already changed."

"I don't understand," Liz said softly, not quite trusting this new Tess.

The other girl sighed. "Why would you? None of us did, and I at least knew the history. Even Nasedo didn't realize just how much had changed. He was a fool."Lifting her gaze, she met Liz's dark brown eyes with her pale blue ones. "Let me show you."

With another wave of her hand, they were at the Crashdown and Liz was lying on the floor bleeding with Max hovering over her. "A choice was made here, three choices really. Max chose to heal you, Michael chose to let him, and you, you chose to accept it." Turning to meet Liz's eyes once more she gave a faint smile. "I wonder if you would have if you had known what was to come?"

Before Liz could answer, Tess shook her head. "It's not important. The point is that with those three choices you were marked. I was Queen in our first life by marriage only, not by right, and as much as Nasedo tried to convince me otherwise, I was not guaranteed the position of Queen in this life. The qualifications for Queen were twofold. First, the King had to select the individual as their partner, their mate. By saving your life, Max did that – he cared about you enough to risk his life, his family's lives, all for you, and that completed the first part of the process."

"The second part, required the Granilith to accept you as worthy of being Queen, a factor very few Antarians realize still holds true." Tess gave her a wry smile. "That's where things went south, for me anyways. If Max had selected some random bimbo with no emotional depth or integrity, my claim would have been safe. But no, he had to choose you, the wonder child of self sacrifice with enough intelligence and determination to make you sick." The hybrid's eyes took on a bemused, faraway look as she continued. "In that moment it was over. Your presence as potential Queen meant that I failed to win Max over, which led to me accepting Nasedo's deal, and thus betraying the rightful King and losing the Granilith's benediction. You were the only choice left, and the day I left this planet, is the day you became Queen Elect of Antar."

Liz was reeling from all of Tess's revelations and those last four words echoed in her mind with all the ferocity of a hurricane. Suddenly feeling a surge of power, she looked down to see the royal seal glowing on the inside of her right wrist.

"You accepted it," Tess said quietly. "You had been chosen then, but you hadn't accepted it until right now. No one can challenge your right to the throne now unless you are dead."

The brunette's eyes widened and she took a step backward, the thought that Tess had been waiting for this moment to do just that crossing her mind.

The look the former Queen gave her was bitter, but not angry. "I don't want it, not anymore." Seeing the look of disbelief on Liz's face, she held up her hands as if to show innocence. "I wanted Max; I wanted our life the way I was raised to believe it should be. But this life isn't like that, that life wasn't even as perfect as Nasedo would have had me believe. Zan loved me then, in this life he met you first and I will always be second. In that life, I truly believed Zan deserved to be King. In this one, someone else deserves that title." She shot Liz a shrewd and knowing glance. "And even he chose you as his partner. I'm done fighting."

Her face grew fierce and she unconsciously reached down and touched her stomach. "I have a son now, and you might not believe me, but nothing in my life is more important to me than his safety. Removing myself from this war is the best way to assure that."

Liz hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "I believe you," she said, ignoring the mental shouts from her companions as they too recovered from their shock at everything they had learned. "But the others are not going to accept leaving you alone quite so easily." Her voice suddenly hardened. "I still hate you for Alex, I always will, and if it wasn't for the fact that I don't think you're worth becoming a murderer over, you would be dead already. I know how to kill you here." Seeing Tess pale and flinch, she gave her a cold smile. "I want information. You are going to give it to me, and I will make sure that unless you give us further reason, none of us will try to find or harm you. That is my word as Queen." Liz hesitated over the last words, before invoking her authority for the first time, and felt a pulse in her wrist as her right to do so was confirmed.

The other voices in her head were silenced by that proclamation, and they all waited as Tess nodded her agreement. "I can't guarantee that Max won't come looking for you, but I won't, and I'll do my best to keep him with me."

Liz nodded her acknowledgment. "I will be back tomorrow, and I may bring others with me, but I have one more question tonight. Is Khivar on his way here?"

Tess shook her head in the negative and they all breathed a sigh of relief. "No, he's dealing with rebellion on Antar and isn't planning on coming here unless his agents on Earth are unable to deal with the 'Royal Problem' on their own."

"Thank you," Liz said, her voice softer. Gathering her power, she was about to retreat out of Tess's orb when Michael revealed his presence, appearing beside them.

He strode forward until he was only inches from Tess. "I will respect the Queen's words, but I do not trust you, and if you or betray us or her in any way, I will hunt you down and make you wish I just wanted to kill you."

Tess swallowed, hard, before nodding, unable to meet his gaze.

"Good." Michael stated coldly before stepping back to take Liz's hand, the two of them disappearing as the blonde alien watched them with a half fearful, half wistful gaze.