Part two: Secrets revealed
Once again, Kyle had a sleepless night. All of his worries were centered on Maria. He was enraged about the things Billy had done to her. He also prayed to Buddha that he be right about his suspicions; Billy was a shape shifter. But why would a shape shifter be interested in Maria? And how was he going to keep something like this from the others? Sweat was pouring down Kyle's face. He felt as though his body was on fire, so he decided to take a long, cold shower to settle his nerves. In Maria's bedroom, Maria was also having trouble sleeping. She hated it when Michael kept things from her, and here she was, keeping a life or death matter away from him. She was also worried about Kyle. Poor Kyle was going through so much pain and there was nothing he could do about it. Not to mention, Kyle had a lot to carry on his shoulders and she added more baggage to his burden. Maria turned her head to take a gander at her alien lover who, by the way, wasn't helping her sleep any better by snoring like a sick Donkey.
"Oh my God! Someone put him out of his misery! He's loud. I'll bet Liz doesn't have this problem." She thought it must be an alien thing, or just a Michael thing. "Well, since I can't sleep, I may as well take a walk." She got out of bed, got dressed and headed out the door.
"Aww! What a beautiful night. I'm glad I came out." She loved the country air. But little did Maria know that, as she was enjoying the fresh breeze, someone else was enjoying the sight of her presence, all by herself. Maria closed her eyes for a moment.
*Flash* A lurking shadow followed her.
+ "What the heck was that?" She asked herself, catching her breath as
she ran back home as fast as her small feet would carry her. She
slammed the door behind her and locked it. The slamming of the door
awoke Michael from his peace-disturbing slumber.
+ "Hey! Where'd ya go, Blondie?" Michael appeared from behind her.
+ "What the?" She panicked, and kicked Michael in the groin.
+ "Oh, Michael, Don't scare me like that!" She yelled with fright.
Michael noticed the shakiness in her voice.
+ "What's wrong, your sweating, are you all right?" He asked with deep
concern in his tone. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Don't lie to me!" Michael's eyes flamed with rage.
"No, really I just kinda spooked myself out there." She lied.
"What time is it?" Michael looked at the clock above the counter. "It's past 4am, what were you doing out at this hour?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. C'mon, let's go to bed." Maria could tell Michael was worried, so she worked up a little white lie. "Oh Michael don't worry, here's the truth, I'm just a little on edge after watching 'The Ring.' a few nights ago." Maria changed back into her PJ's. Michael knew that she was lying to him. He didn't know why or what it was about, but he'd find out sooner or later, since Maria couldn't resist his manly charm for long. He thought about nagging it out of her, but it was pointless. Maria finally fell a sleep around 6am in Michael's arms, the only place she felt totally 100% safe.
The next morning, everyone arrived at Kyle's house as planed. They gathered in the living room and Isabel served coffee.
"Alright Lizzy-pooh, would you take notes for..." Max looked up to find his sister and friends laughing at him. "What?" He asked the room of giggling friends. They all answered
" Lizzy-pooh!" Max blushed.
"Anyway, Kyle, here's the thing. I think it's best if we see how far your powers will expand. We could teach you how to use them. Don't worry, I mean, we're not even sure if you can use them yet." Max got this experimental look in his eyes, like he was about to take apart a Buick to see how it runs. This set fear in Kyle's mind.
"Look, now that I been pulled into this alien abyss, just leave me alone and let me figure this out by myself." Kyle snapped.
"Don't go all Michael on us, Kyle!"
"Kyle, don't get upset, okay? Look at Liz, her powers come and go, and maybe your's will do the same thing. We just want to be positive, K?" Isabel rubbed his back to try and help him calm down. Max placed a small,yet heavy, rock on the table in front of him.
"Okay, now try to levitate it." Max ordered, showing his leader-like side.
"I'll try, but there's no guarantee. Just one question." Kyle scratched his head.
"What's that?" Max was annoyed.
"I don't even know how to use these cursed powers of mine."
"Well, here, let us teach you how to use them, then control them. You need to get your powers in check before we unleash you into public." Isabel teased.
After 3 hours of intense training, Kyle learned how to use his powers. He finally got it, but he still struggled, as Michael had for so long. (Growl) "I'm never going to get this." Kyle whined. Liz was impressed that Kyle could complain almost as well as she could.
"Oh Kyle, don't say that. Would you like some cheese with your whine?" Maria joked, encouragingly.
"Kyle, you must be patient. This is just like when you went through puberty. Speaking of which, I recall a time about four years go when you were staring a bit too intently at Isabel. Remember when you had to set your books upon Kyle Jr. to hide your excitement? Then you..." Liz was interrupted by Kyle's voice.
"Whoa, whoa, hold it! This is more serious than strange bodily functions to me. Picture this: me walking though a department store, children screaming as my body emits green light, kids heads exploding as I walk through the building, unable to control myself." He explained.
"Kyle, stop! Maybe comparing this to your puberty experiences was a little overkill." Isabel added sarcastically.
"Since your alien powers come and go, and we have no idea what's in store for you. Perhaps you should take a notebook and write down any Czechoslovakian things you think you might be experiencing. Then we'll know for sure what's going on here and figure out how to deal with it." Max went about this very professionally.
"It'll be sooo cool. I wanna know what powers you have. Kyle, it's just like a wonder ball. You don't know what's inside." Michael popped in.
"Oh I wonder wonder what's in a wonder ball!" Maria sang the chorus to the wonder ball commercial. "Mmmm...chocolate." * Kyle gets another flash of Michael's dream* Everyone's standing around Maria's body. We see Alex glow a deep white. Suddenly the enemy vanishes. "Kyle, Kyle, are you okay? Kyle!" Maria started shaking Kyle's shoulders. Kyle swooshed back into reality, to see all of his friends looking at him with concern. "Huh, oh I'm fine, I haven't been able to sleep the past few days." He replied groggily. "What, afraid of growing fangs?" Kyle just smirked at Isabel's comment.
"Hopefully they'll be as sharp as yours, Isabel. Although, your teeth are in need of a brushing." He finished his sly quip, but then he quickly returned his view to Maria. He just couldn't look at Isabel at the moment, after what Liz had just shared about him and his puberty. Maria was his safe base. "So Liz, what are you and Max up to tonight?" Maria asked her best friends, trying to divert the attention away from Kyle. "Oh, you know, probably staying home. We still got a lot of stuff to unpack, as we all do." She somewhat lied. Yes it was true that she was going to unpack. Unpack her sexy bedroom teddy for a very good reason... so she and Max could do a little mattress dancing, as the Dixie Chicks say. After all, they are newlyweds. "Oh, yeah we all have a lot of unpacking to do yet. How's your unpacking going, Iz?" Maria asked. "Oh it's coming along. Although I will say this, I love being an alien when it comes to packing and unpacking." Isabel wiggled her finger. Having alien powers really helped her in moving things, especially when she didn't want to ruin her freshly polished fingernails. All she had to do was sit back and point her finger. "Well, I guess one more day of procrastinating won't hurt anyone, will it? Come on, Liz. Let's just sit back and relax. We could order a pizza and watch a movie or play a game, whatcha say?" Max asked the group of outcasts. He was in a sunny mood, almost perky. He wanted to enjoy the time he had with his friends. The past few years had been really hard on him, as it had been for everyone else. But if he were totally honest with himself, he wouldn't change his life one bit. They were finally home, done with running from shape shifters, skins, FBI agents and whatever else was running amok in this world. "Max, is something on your mind? You're not normally this pleasant in a crisis." Remarked Isabel. Max always got on everyone's nerves when danger was near them and here he was, Mr. Chill, waning to hang back and relax. That wasn't like him, he was Mr. Serious. He was even on edge when Timmy fell down the well in a Lassie rerun. "Maybe this isn't a threat." Isabel thought to herself. "Maybe Kyle turning into one of us isn't so bad." She now understood why Max was so calm. She was glad that her brother had finally found peace. "No it's nothing, come on! Pizza's on me." Max reached for the phone and called pizza planet. Later, when the pizza had arrived, Max paid the pizza guy and satisfied him with a decent tip.
"Max, you do realize that you tipped him 35%? Why don't you just hand him you wallet? We need to watch our finances now!" Liz hit Max in the arm and sat on the couch. Isabel smiled at this little fight. It was their first. It reminded her of Jessie. Oh how she missed him! "So who's up for some shower scene from How to lose a guy in 10 days?" Asked Kyle. He just couldn't get enough of it. Some people are just sickening. Isabel thought. "Kyle, how many times is it now that you've actually seen that movie since yesterday, five times? It doesn't show all that much anyway. Get over it, buddy." Michael was annoyed. He couldn't believe how pig headed Kyle was. He was worse than he was. And coming from him, that was one heck of an insult. "Hey, don't dis the shower scene!" Kyle defended, hugging his pillow. "Kyle, get a life." Everyone yelled in unison. That night, Kyle forced everyone to watch How to lose a guy in ten days. As the night rolled on, everyone grew to the point of leaving Michael's and going home to unpack their stuff. "That's it! I'd rather watch Bozo the clown than this movie again. Kyle, stop rewinding the tape to the shower scene and go bathe, relive the memories in the comforts of your own tub!" Maria shouted.
In Isabel an Kyle's place, Kyle hadn't brought that much stuff to his new home, so it didn't take that long for him to unpack. Isabel, on the other hand, had brought enough stuff for ten armies, most of it clothes. Kyle reclined in front of the television. He sat there thinking about what he should do. Michael's dream was disturbing, but what could he do about it? He got out his journal to record his experiences from the past night. Maybe he would tell Max or Isabel. He couldn't very well tell Maria, because it was about her and he couldn't tell Michael for he was the one who had the dream. Then there was Liz, but Liz was best friends with Maria. She'd squeal on him. Then he took a second to think. He couldn't tell Max; he was married to Maria's best friend. He couldn't force Max to keep something like this from own wife. Isabel was the only one he could turn to... again. But could she keep a secret away from her brother? This was going nowhere. He wished his dad was around. He really needed him right now. "Kyle, how do you like the room?" Isabel asked taking a seat next to him on the sofa. She had spent the majority of the day decorating the place with her finger. It took her a long time, even with her powers. The walls were pink, with flowered border. She figured Kyle would object to the feminine livingroom. "Oh, it's nice." Kyle didn't bother noticing the girly walls or the lip shaped couch he was sitting on. Isabel knew something was direly wrong with him. Either he was having trouble coping with something, or he and Christopher Lowell had become best friends. She knew he was going to lie if she asked what was wrong, she could see right through him. You see, the funny thing about Kyle is that you can read him like an open book, even if you don't like what you're reading. "Kyle, if you're worried about your unhuman status, don't freak out. Really, what's so wrong about turning into one of us?" She asked trying to stay calm and considerate. "Look, Isabel." Kyle began. He suddenly jumped at the sight of Isabel's face looking like it came right out of The creature from the black lagoon.
"You get an instant Halloween costume with a snap of your finger, or a click of the heels if you like, Dorothy." Isabel tried to humor Kyle, but he seemed uneasy at this gesture. "I'm over that identity crisis thing now. You see, here it is. Can you keep a secret? I mean you can't tell Max, Michael, anyone, especially not Maria. There's not enough cedar oil in the world to repair her if she finds out. Can you keep it on the down-low?" Isabel nodded her head up and down after transforming into her old self. "All right, let me start from the beginning." He told her everything he had experienced the previous night. Everything, that is, except the whole Maria and Billy in NYC thing. Later that night, in Maria and Michael's house, it was nearing midnight and they had finished unpacking everything, but it was laying out everywhere with things scattered from here to there. Maria was cooking dinner, which was a scary thought. She was wearing a "Kiss the Cook" apron. She not being the best cook was an understatement of the century, but she wanted to give Michael a break since he had looked so tired the past few days. He was lying down in the bedroom watching the hockey game. She loved Michael and she felt so bad about how she had treated him the past few months. Dinner was almost ready. She pulled it out of the oven. "Wow!" She thought. "I didn't burn it." It was a frozen casserole she had bought from the grocery store. She took out two paper plates and served some pop and walked into the bedroom to find the TV off and the room lit in candles with soft music orchestrating in the background. "Hey there, hungry Spaceboy." She set the drinks and casserole on the dresser. "You bet, but not for what you would assume." He said, giving Maria a deep and passionate kiss. She returned the smooch, and laced her fingers through his long wavy hair. "You're horrible, you know that? I tire myself out by cooking and you don't even take a bite of this delicious food." She said grabbing a forkful of casserole and holding it up to him so he could take a bite. "You just take advantage of a poor defenseless damsel." She teased, playfully. "You're anything but defenseless. That's one heck of an arm you've got there. I know I've been smacked with it more times than I care to remember." With that remark he earned himself a playful swat and, in return, he pinned her to the bed. He was on top of her, so she couldn't free herself, with his hand clenched around her small wrist. She giggled through the whole experience. "Hmm, kiss the cook? I don't mind if I do." He went to kiss her. As their kiss lingered, Maria received a flash, but she didn't know that it was a flash at the time or if it had come from Michael. She gasped for air and pushed Michael off her. *Flash* Her body was surrounded by Courtney, Nicholas, Khivar, Pierce, Vilandra, Rath, Zan, Ava, Alex and Tess on each side of her, with sad expressions on their faces. Tess and Alex were having a conversation. But she couldn't make out what they were saying. *End of flash* "What the hell was that?" She asked, more to herself than anyone else. Maria stared at Michael. "What's wrong? You're no stranger to my better half!" he chuckled, getting off of her. "I saw a flash, I think. Michael it was horrible." He knew what she had seen right away. He wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "It's okay, shhh." He told her. "Maria, I have a confession to make, well let me ask this first.The flash you just had, was it of you with old friends and enemies standing around you, was that it?" He asked. "How'd you know?" "Because that's a nightmare I've been having lately." He said with a touch of sadness in his voice. He wanted to hurt himself for letting her see such a horrible thing.
"That must be what has been upsetting him the past few days." Maria thought to herself. "Oh it's okay, Michael. I'm not going anywhere." She hugged him. While in Max and Liz's apartment, they were having a little too much "fun," if you know what I mean. That night, Michael was cursed with the same nightmare he had had every night for a week. He was standing behind a group of familiar faces that surrounded his earth girl. But this time he could make out what Alex and Tess were discussing. ~Dream~ "We were too late, we failed." Alex seeded a tear. "We did what we could, it's not our fault. He didn't understand." Tess put an arm around Alex. "She was my friend, she didn't deserve this. It's all because of him." Alex replied as he and Tess turned to come face to face with Billy, who had blood smeared all over him. ~End of dream~ Michael shot up out of bed. He didn't know how much longer he could take these dreams. He looked to his left to find a peaceful sleeping Maria. Sometimes he found it hard to believe at how sweet and innocent she looked when sleeping, but that would all end when she awoke and opened her mouth. Michael silently slipped out of bed and walked into the kitchen where the phone was. He called Max. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* "Come on and pick up the phone already." He yelled in frustration. *Ring* With five rings, Michael was about to give up when... "Hello!" an exhausted Max answered. "Hey Max, I need to talk to you ASAP." Michael tapped his foot cause he was getting impatient. "Michael, can't this wait 'til morning?" Max was annoyed. They left Roswell to get away from all their worries. And now, even after they are in a new place, he still acted as thought they're being watched every minute of the day. "No, no it can't. Meet me on the roof in 15 minutes. He hung up. Max just stared at the phone in his hand. Some things never change. He got up without disturbing Liz from her peaceful state and headed up to the roof. "All right, what's this all about, Michael?" Max asked him."You know, Michael, I need 8 hours of beauty sleep, my skin needs to radiate. Does it look like it's radiating to you?"
"Come on, Max this is serious. Anyway, for that soft alien glow, try that new Neutrogena moisturizer that Maria raves about all the time." Max stood there in his "thinker" pose and considered Michael's advice. "Speaking of Maria... Max, something is going to happen, something big, I can feel it. I keep having these dreams, they are haunting me. It starts out that I'm looking at a group of people that look all so familiar and then it his me." Michael explained to Max. Max was beginning to understand why Michael was so upset. He just got Maria back and if these dreams were real, he could lose her again. "Michael, let's not lose our heads here. Maybe these dreams are just a subconscious fear. You finally melt the ice with Maria and you fear of losing her." He explained. He knew Michael better than anyone, next to Maria, that is. But the point is, Michael was the "take action" kind of guy and, if Max didn't think of something fast, Michael would take charge of the situation and screw it up big time. "If that's true, then why did Billy appear? I mean, I don't fear losing Maria to him anymore. I don't think so anymore." Michael lied. Of course he feared Billy. "It's all so strange." Michael dropped his head into his hands and sighed. "Take it from me, don't worry. We'll figure something out. Now can we please go home and get some sleep?" He followed Michael to the door. "But if it makes you feel better, maybe we should both keep an eye out for Maria and everyone else. When she's not with you, I'll have my eye on her." "Thanks, Maxwell. I knew I could count on you." "No problem. Oh, and Michael, let's keep this between you and I. I. I don't want anyone panicking." With that, they departed to their rooms for a solemn night of sleep. **THE NEXT DAY** In Max's apartment, Isabel was helping her brother move in. "So, where do you want this butt-ugly picture, Liz?" Asked Isabel, holding up a picture of Beetles playing poker.
"Liz do you have any taste whatsoever?" "Hey, I happen to like that picture." Liz said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Liz, marriage is starting to take its evil toll on you! This is getting us nowhere." Isabel complained. While back at Michael's, Maria had just finished stocking the kitchen up. Michael had had his eyes on her all day, which made her uncomfortable. He wouldn't let her out of his sight. "Michael, what is your problem?" Maria asked staring to get annoyed. "What do you mean?" He asked, while really knowing that Maria didn't want to feel like a showcase on "The price is right." "You know exactly what I mean; I don't want to deal with this right now. I'm going out." She walked off toward the door. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked her as he pulled her back into the apartment. "I'm just going out to get the mail. Chill out. I'm not a china doll." What is up with him? She thought. Out at the mailbox, Maria had gotten three letters from her mom and one from Kyle's dad. They sent all their letters to various people and places until no one could track where they came from or where they were going to. Along with the four letters and bills mixed into the mail, nothing else came. How the heck are we going to pay these off? She thought quietly. Michael had gotten a job at the cheese factory and that didn't bring in much revenue for the house. Maria, on the other hand, held choir lessons at the church, which, considering the job, brought in a decent amount. Maria entered the apartment to find Kyle sprawled out on her couch. "Hey there, country boy, don't ya have a place of your own?" Maria asked walking up behind Kyle. "Yeah, well, you know, Isabel went to help her brother." Kyle grinned.
"So she took away the keys so you couldn't snoop through her underwear drawer. That's understandable." Maria giggled, then sighed. "What's wrong, sis? He snickered ripped a big fart.
"You look a little fumed!" He added "Kyle, you're impossible." She responded, covering her nose. "Hey, what's going on in here? Eww! What died?" Michael entered the room and gagged. "Apparently Kyle had beans again." Maria said.
"Oh, Kyle, Isabel just called. She said that she was done over at Max's and wants you home like, yesterday." He reported. "Really, well, gotta get home to the little lady." Kyle nodded and headed out the door. "You know, this place sure is starting to look like a home."
"But it smells like a kennel. Next time you come over, we'll be armed with Lysol and pooper scoopers!" "Bye Kyle!" Maria scooted him out the door. After he was well out of earshot, she turned to Michael. "Did Isabel really call?" She asked. "Technically, no." He simply added. She just smiled at his childish behavior. "Michael...I know at first I wasn't sure about us moving in with each other, but I'm really glad we did." She smiled. She was just so happy lately...
"Come on Spaceboy! Time for some grooming." Maria dragged Michael to the closet in their bed room.
"Why, are we going somewhere?" Michael asked.
"Oh, my God." Maria raved, she couldn't believe Michael forgot that they were going to the new Mexican club that had dancing. "Tell me you didn't forget, please!" Michael just shrugged his shoulders. "Oh Michael." she sighed, Michael instantly felt guilty.
"What is it, it's not your birthday, it's not our anniversary, is it?" Maria nodded no.
"No Michael, it isn't. When is our anniversary, dearie?" Maria cleared her throat. "Um um of course I know when it is." "Then when is Because it's not today." Maria steamed. She could not believe this, how she can be so light on her feet with him and then all of sudden to come crashing down.
"Relax, my little pixie." Michael kissed her on the check. "I know you've been looking forward to this night on the town. So, my little Mexican club gold digger, why don't you go get ready? I can handle myself, you know, now that I've been upgraded to pull-ups training pants." He pushed her out the room. Maria was always babying him.
Maria walked into the bathroom connected to their room. She took out her make-up bag, which had little green aliens on it with little pink and red hearts. It was a remnant from her mother's awful alien scam. Maria had chosen a black modern sun dress with white daisies on the front. Michael always said she looked sexy in black. Of course, he said she looked sexy in her birthday suit but that didn't mean she was going to wear it out.
"Alrighty then," She said looking though her makeup bag."Which color would go best? Fire red, brick red, flower bud, burgundy or...? Here it is! A rose pink, perfect." She applied the lipstick. She checked her reflection in the mirror.
"What on earth am I going to do with this hair of mine? Where's Isabel when you really need her?" He talked to herself as she plugged her curling iron in. When the iron was warmed up, she went to pick it up, but it wasn't where she set it.
"What the heck, where'd it go?" Maria looked up to find the curling iron floating above her head, along with all her makeup that had spilled out of her bag and now floating in the air. Maria began to panic.
"Michael!" she screamed. She gave new meaning to the saying "scared stiff." Michael rushed into the room seconds later.
"What the hell?" He said as he took in the scenery around him. He looked down at Maria to find her holding her hands tight against her chest.
"Maria let me see." He said grabbing her hands. He couldn't believe it when he saw it. This isn't happening. He thought. It couldn't be, Maria had never been healed, had she? He gazed at her hands that flashed lightening rods of all colors. It reminded him of Liz's but much more extravagant.
"We gotta talk." He said. She nodded. He just sat there now. His presence alone would bring some comfort to her.
"Michael please don't tell Max. Please." She pleaded.
"What! Why not? He could help." He asked in an angry tone.
"NO!" She wiped her hands away from his faster that the speed of light. "Michael, ever since Kyle came forward about his new found ability, Max has been treating him like a lab experiment. It's like he's gone from Dr. Jekyl to Mr. Hyde and he hurt Liz so much when he tried to help her. I don't want to go though that!"
"It's going to be okay, shh." He comforted her. "Maria when did you ever get healed?"
He asked.
"It was ..I mean I haven't."
"Maria." He said in a stern tone.
"Michael I can't."
"Maria please, tell me how can I help you."
"If you really want to help here what you really should do.."
(TBC)
So did you like it? E-mail me at [email protected] and to reach my partner in crime you can e mail her at [email protected] . Alabama has help bring humor and character to the story. Review for us we love to get reviews and mail.
Once again, Kyle had a sleepless night. All of his worries were centered on Maria. He was enraged about the things Billy had done to her. He also prayed to Buddha that he be right about his suspicions; Billy was a shape shifter. But why would a shape shifter be interested in Maria? And how was he going to keep something like this from the others? Sweat was pouring down Kyle's face. He felt as though his body was on fire, so he decided to take a long, cold shower to settle his nerves. In Maria's bedroom, Maria was also having trouble sleeping. She hated it when Michael kept things from her, and here she was, keeping a life or death matter away from him. She was also worried about Kyle. Poor Kyle was going through so much pain and there was nothing he could do about it. Not to mention, Kyle had a lot to carry on his shoulders and she added more baggage to his burden. Maria turned her head to take a gander at her alien lover who, by the way, wasn't helping her sleep any better by snoring like a sick Donkey.
"Oh my God! Someone put him out of his misery! He's loud. I'll bet Liz doesn't have this problem." She thought it must be an alien thing, or just a Michael thing. "Well, since I can't sleep, I may as well take a walk." She got out of bed, got dressed and headed out the door.
"Aww! What a beautiful night. I'm glad I came out." She loved the country air. But little did Maria know that, as she was enjoying the fresh breeze, someone else was enjoying the sight of her presence, all by herself. Maria closed her eyes for a moment.
*Flash* A lurking shadow followed her.
+ "What the heck was that?" She asked herself, catching her breath as
she ran back home as fast as her small feet would carry her. She
slammed the door behind her and locked it. The slamming of the door
awoke Michael from his peace-disturbing slumber.
+ "Hey! Where'd ya go, Blondie?" Michael appeared from behind her.
+ "What the?" She panicked, and kicked Michael in the groin.
+ "Oh, Michael, Don't scare me like that!" She yelled with fright.
Michael noticed the shakiness in her voice.
+ "What's wrong, your sweating, are you all right?" He asked with deep
concern in his tone. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Don't lie to me!" Michael's eyes flamed with rage.
"No, really I just kinda spooked myself out there." She lied.
"What time is it?" Michael looked at the clock above the counter. "It's past 4am, what were you doing out at this hour?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. C'mon, let's go to bed." Maria could tell Michael was worried, so she worked up a little white lie. "Oh Michael don't worry, here's the truth, I'm just a little on edge after watching 'The Ring.' a few nights ago." Maria changed back into her PJ's. Michael knew that she was lying to him. He didn't know why or what it was about, but he'd find out sooner or later, since Maria couldn't resist his manly charm for long. He thought about nagging it out of her, but it was pointless. Maria finally fell a sleep around 6am in Michael's arms, the only place she felt totally 100% safe.
The next morning, everyone arrived at Kyle's house as planed. They gathered in the living room and Isabel served coffee.
"Alright Lizzy-pooh, would you take notes for..." Max looked up to find his sister and friends laughing at him. "What?" He asked the room of giggling friends. They all answered
" Lizzy-pooh!" Max blushed.
"Anyway, Kyle, here's the thing. I think it's best if we see how far your powers will expand. We could teach you how to use them. Don't worry, I mean, we're not even sure if you can use them yet." Max got this experimental look in his eyes, like he was about to take apart a Buick to see how it runs. This set fear in Kyle's mind.
"Look, now that I been pulled into this alien abyss, just leave me alone and let me figure this out by myself." Kyle snapped.
"Don't go all Michael on us, Kyle!"
"Kyle, don't get upset, okay? Look at Liz, her powers come and go, and maybe your's will do the same thing. We just want to be positive, K?" Isabel rubbed his back to try and help him calm down. Max placed a small,yet heavy, rock on the table in front of him.
"Okay, now try to levitate it." Max ordered, showing his leader-like side.
"I'll try, but there's no guarantee. Just one question." Kyle scratched his head.
"What's that?" Max was annoyed.
"I don't even know how to use these cursed powers of mine."
"Well, here, let us teach you how to use them, then control them. You need to get your powers in check before we unleash you into public." Isabel teased.
After 3 hours of intense training, Kyle learned how to use his powers. He finally got it, but he still struggled, as Michael had for so long. (Growl) "I'm never going to get this." Kyle whined. Liz was impressed that Kyle could complain almost as well as she could.
"Oh Kyle, don't say that. Would you like some cheese with your whine?" Maria joked, encouragingly.
"Kyle, you must be patient. This is just like when you went through puberty. Speaking of which, I recall a time about four years go when you were staring a bit too intently at Isabel. Remember when you had to set your books upon Kyle Jr. to hide your excitement? Then you..." Liz was interrupted by Kyle's voice.
"Whoa, whoa, hold it! This is more serious than strange bodily functions to me. Picture this: me walking though a department store, children screaming as my body emits green light, kids heads exploding as I walk through the building, unable to control myself." He explained.
"Kyle, stop! Maybe comparing this to your puberty experiences was a little overkill." Isabel added sarcastically.
"Since your alien powers come and go, and we have no idea what's in store for you. Perhaps you should take a notebook and write down any Czechoslovakian things you think you might be experiencing. Then we'll know for sure what's going on here and figure out how to deal with it." Max went about this very professionally.
"It'll be sooo cool. I wanna know what powers you have. Kyle, it's just like a wonder ball. You don't know what's inside." Michael popped in.
"Oh I wonder wonder what's in a wonder ball!" Maria sang the chorus to the wonder ball commercial. "Mmmm...chocolate." * Kyle gets another flash of Michael's dream* Everyone's standing around Maria's body. We see Alex glow a deep white. Suddenly the enemy vanishes. "Kyle, Kyle, are you okay? Kyle!" Maria started shaking Kyle's shoulders. Kyle swooshed back into reality, to see all of his friends looking at him with concern. "Huh, oh I'm fine, I haven't been able to sleep the past few days." He replied groggily. "What, afraid of growing fangs?" Kyle just smirked at Isabel's comment.
"Hopefully they'll be as sharp as yours, Isabel. Although, your teeth are in need of a brushing." He finished his sly quip, but then he quickly returned his view to Maria. He just couldn't look at Isabel at the moment, after what Liz had just shared about him and his puberty. Maria was his safe base. "So Liz, what are you and Max up to tonight?" Maria asked her best friends, trying to divert the attention away from Kyle. "Oh, you know, probably staying home. We still got a lot of stuff to unpack, as we all do." She somewhat lied. Yes it was true that she was going to unpack. Unpack her sexy bedroom teddy for a very good reason... so she and Max could do a little mattress dancing, as the Dixie Chicks say. After all, they are newlyweds. "Oh, yeah we all have a lot of unpacking to do yet. How's your unpacking going, Iz?" Maria asked. "Oh it's coming along. Although I will say this, I love being an alien when it comes to packing and unpacking." Isabel wiggled her finger. Having alien powers really helped her in moving things, especially when she didn't want to ruin her freshly polished fingernails. All she had to do was sit back and point her finger. "Well, I guess one more day of procrastinating won't hurt anyone, will it? Come on, Liz. Let's just sit back and relax. We could order a pizza and watch a movie or play a game, whatcha say?" Max asked the group of outcasts. He was in a sunny mood, almost perky. He wanted to enjoy the time he had with his friends. The past few years had been really hard on him, as it had been for everyone else. But if he were totally honest with himself, he wouldn't change his life one bit. They were finally home, done with running from shape shifters, skins, FBI agents and whatever else was running amok in this world. "Max, is something on your mind? You're not normally this pleasant in a crisis." Remarked Isabel. Max always got on everyone's nerves when danger was near them and here he was, Mr. Chill, waning to hang back and relax. That wasn't like him, he was Mr. Serious. He was even on edge when Timmy fell down the well in a Lassie rerun. "Maybe this isn't a threat." Isabel thought to herself. "Maybe Kyle turning into one of us isn't so bad." She now understood why Max was so calm. She was glad that her brother had finally found peace. "No it's nothing, come on! Pizza's on me." Max reached for the phone and called pizza planet. Later, when the pizza had arrived, Max paid the pizza guy and satisfied him with a decent tip.
"Max, you do realize that you tipped him 35%? Why don't you just hand him you wallet? We need to watch our finances now!" Liz hit Max in the arm and sat on the couch. Isabel smiled at this little fight. It was their first. It reminded her of Jessie. Oh how she missed him! "So who's up for some shower scene from How to lose a guy in 10 days?" Asked Kyle. He just couldn't get enough of it. Some people are just sickening. Isabel thought. "Kyle, how many times is it now that you've actually seen that movie since yesterday, five times? It doesn't show all that much anyway. Get over it, buddy." Michael was annoyed. He couldn't believe how pig headed Kyle was. He was worse than he was. And coming from him, that was one heck of an insult. "Hey, don't dis the shower scene!" Kyle defended, hugging his pillow. "Kyle, get a life." Everyone yelled in unison. That night, Kyle forced everyone to watch How to lose a guy in ten days. As the night rolled on, everyone grew to the point of leaving Michael's and going home to unpack their stuff. "That's it! I'd rather watch Bozo the clown than this movie again. Kyle, stop rewinding the tape to the shower scene and go bathe, relive the memories in the comforts of your own tub!" Maria shouted.
In Isabel an Kyle's place, Kyle hadn't brought that much stuff to his new home, so it didn't take that long for him to unpack. Isabel, on the other hand, had brought enough stuff for ten armies, most of it clothes. Kyle reclined in front of the television. He sat there thinking about what he should do. Michael's dream was disturbing, but what could he do about it? He got out his journal to record his experiences from the past night. Maybe he would tell Max or Isabel. He couldn't very well tell Maria, because it was about her and he couldn't tell Michael for he was the one who had the dream. Then there was Liz, but Liz was best friends with Maria. She'd squeal on him. Then he took a second to think. He couldn't tell Max; he was married to Maria's best friend. He couldn't force Max to keep something like this from own wife. Isabel was the only one he could turn to... again. But could she keep a secret away from her brother? This was going nowhere. He wished his dad was around. He really needed him right now. "Kyle, how do you like the room?" Isabel asked taking a seat next to him on the sofa. She had spent the majority of the day decorating the place with her finger. It took her a long time, even with her powers. The walls were pink, with flowered border. She figured Kyle would object to the feminine livingroom. "Oh, it's nice." Kyle didn't bother noticing the girly walls or the lip shaped couch he was sitting on. Isabel knew something was direly wrong with him. Either he was having trouble coping with something, or he and Christopher Lowell had become best friends. She knew he was going to lie if she asked what was wrong, she could see right through him. You see, the funny thing about Kyle is that you can read him like an open book, even if you don't like what you're reading. "Kyle, if you're worried about your unhuman status, don't freak out. Really, what's so wrong about turning into one of us?" She asked trying to stay calm and considerate. "Look, Isabel." Kyle began. He suddenly jumped at the sight of Isabel's face looking like it came right out of The creature from the black lagoon.
"You get an instant Halloween costume with a snap of your finger, or a click of the heels if you like, Dorothy." Isabel tried to humor Kyle, but he seemed uneasy at this gesture. "I'm over that identity crisis thing now. You see, here it is. Can you keep a secret? I mean you can't tell Max, Michael, anyone, especially not Maria. There's not enough cedar oil in the world to repair her if she finds out. Can you keep it on the down-low?" Isabel nodded her head up and down after transforming into her old self. "All right, let me start from the beginning." He told her everything he had experienced the previous night. Everything, that is, except the whole Maria and Billy in NYC thing. Later that night, in Maria and Michael's house, it was nearing midnight and they had finished unpacking everything, but it was laying out everywhere with things scattered from here to there. Maria was cooking dinner, which was a scary thought. She was wearing a "Kiss the Cook" apron. She not being the best cook was an understatement of the century, but she wanted to give Michael a break since he had looked so tired the past few days. He was lying down in the bedroom watching the hockey game. She loved Michael and she felt so bad about how she had treated him the past few months. Dinner was almost ready. She pulled it out of the oven. "Wow!" She thought. "I didn't burn it." It was a frozen casserole she had bought from the grocery store. She took out two paper plates and served some pop and walked into the bedroom to find the TV off and the room lit in candles with soft music orchestrating in the background. "Hey there, hungry Spaceboy." She set the drinks and casserole on the dresser. "You bet, but not for what you would assume." He said, giving Maria a deep and passionate kiss. She returned the smooch, and laced her fingers through his long wavy hair. "You're horrible, you know that? I tire myself out by cooking and you don't even take a bite of this delicious food." She said grabbing a forkful of casserole and holding it up to him so he could take a bite. "You just take advantage of a poor defenseless damsel." She teased, playfully. "You're anything but defenseless. That's one heck of an arm you've got there. I know I've been smacked with it more times than I care to remember." With that remark he earned himself a playful swat and, in return, he pinned her to the bed. He was on top of her, so she couldn't free herself, with his hand clenched around her small wrist. She giggled through the whole experience. "Hmm, kiss the cook? I don't mind if I do." He went to kiss her. As their kiss lingered, Maria received a flash, but she didn't know that it was a flash at the time or if it had come from Michael. She gasped for air and pushed Michael off her. *Flash* Her body was surrounded by Courtney, Nicholas, Khivar, Pierce, Vilandra, Rath, Zan, Ava, Alex and Tess on each side of her, with sad expressions on their faces. Tess and Alex were having a conversation. But she couldn't make out what they were saying. *End of flash* "What the hell was that?" She asked, more to herself than anyone else. Maria stared at Michael. "What's wrong? You're no stranger to my better half!" he chuckled, getting off of her. "I saw a flash, I think. Michael it was horrible." He knew what she had seen right away. He wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "It's okay, shhh." He told her. "Maria, I have a confession to make, well let me ask this first.The flash you just had, was it of you with old friends and enemies standing around you, was that it?" He asked. "How'd you know?" "Because that's a nightmare I've been having lately." He said with a touch of sadness in his voice. He wanted to hurt himself for letting her see such a horrible thing.
"That must be what has been upsetting him the past few days." Maria thought to herself. "Oh it's okay, Michael. I'm not going anywhere." She hugged him. While in Max and Liz's apartment, they were having a little too much "fun," if you know what I mean. That night, Michael was cursed with the same nightmare he had had every night for a week. He was standing behind a group of familiar faces that surrounded his earth girl. But this time he could make out what Alex and Tess were discussing. ~Dream~ "We were too late, we failed." Alex seeded a tear. "We did what we could, it's not our fault. He didn't understand." Tess put an arm around Alex. "She was my friend, she didn't deserve this. It's all because of him." Alex replied as he and Tess turned to come face to face with Billy, who had blood smeared all over him. ~End of dream~ Michael shot up out of bed. He didn't know how much longer he could take these dreams. He looked to his left to find a peaceful sleeping Maria. Sometimes he found it hard to believe at how sweet and innocent she looked when sleeping, but that would all end when she awoke and opened her mouth. Michael silently slipped out of bed and walked into the kitchen where the phone was. He called Max. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* "Come on and pick up the phone already." He yelled in frustration. *Ring* With five rings, Michael was about to give up when... "Hello!" an exhausted Max answered. "Hey Max, I need to talk to you ASAP." Michael tapped his foot cause he was getting impatient. "Michael, can't this wait 'til morning?" Max was annoyed. They left Roswell to get away from all their worries. And now, even after they are in a new place, he still acted as thought they're being watched every minute of the day. "No, no it can't. Meet me on the roof in 15 minutes. He hung up. Max just stared at the phone in his hand. Some things never change. He got up without disturbing Liz from her peaceful state and headed up to the roof. "All right, what's this all about, Michael?" Max asked him."You know, Michael, I need 8 hours of beauty sleep, my skin needs to radiate. Does it look like it's radiating to you?"
"Come on, Max this is serious. Anyway, for that soft alien glow, try that new Neutrogena moisturizer that Maria raves about all the time." Max stood there in his "thinker" pose and considered Michael's advice. "Speaking of Maria... Max, something is going to happen, something big, I can feel it. I keep having these dreams, they are haunting me. It starts out that I'm looking at a group of people that look all so familiar and then it his me." Michael explained to Max. Max was beginning to understand why Michael was so upset. He just got Maria back and if these dreams were real, he could lose her again. "Michael, let's not lose our heads here. Maybe these dreams are just a subconscious fear. You finally melt the ice with Maria and you fear of losing her." He explained. He knew Michael better than anyone, next to Maria, that is. But the point is, Michael was the "take action" kind of guy and, if Max didn't think of something fast, Michael would take charge of the situation and screw it up big time. "If that's true, then why did Billy appear? I mean, I don't fear losing Maria to him anymore. I don't think so anymore." Michael lied. Of course he feared Billy. "It's all so strange." Michael dropped his head into his hands and sighed. "Take it from me, don't worry. We'll figure something out. Now can we please go home and get some sleep?" He followed Michael to the door. "But if it makes you feel better, maybe we should both keep an eye out for Maria and everyone else. When she's not with you, I'll have my eye on her." "Thanks, Maxwell. I knew I could count on you." "No problem. Oh, and Michael, let's keep this between you and I. I. I don't want anyone panicking." With that, they departed to their rooms for a solemn night of sleep. **THE NEXT DAY** In Max's apartment, Isabel was helping her brother move in. "So, where do you want this butt-ugly picture, Liz?" Asked Isabel, holding up a picture of Beetles playing poker.
"Liz do you have any taste whatsoever?" "Hey, I happen to like that picture." Liz said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Liz, marriage is starting to take its evil toll on you! This is getting us nowhere." Isabel complained. While back at Michael's, Maria had just finished stocking the kitchen up. Michael had had his eyes on her all day, which made her uncomfortable. He wouldn't let her out of his sight. "Michael, what is your problem?" Maria asked staring to get annoyed. "What do you mean?" He asked, while really knowing that Maria didn't want to feel like a showcase on "The price is right." "You know exactly what I mean; I don't want to deal with this right now. I'm going out." She walked off toward the door. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked her as he pulled her back into the apartment. "I'm just going out to get the mail. Chill out. I'm not a china doll." What is up with him? She thought. Out at the mailbox, Maria had gotten three letters from her mom and one from Kyle's dad. They sent all their letters to various people and places until no one could track where they came from or where they were going to. Along with the four letters and bills mixed into the mail, nothing else came. How the heck are we going to pay these off? She thought quietly. Michael had gotten a job at the cheese factory and that didn't bring in much revenue for the house. Maria, on the other hand, held choir lessons at the church, which, considering the job, brought in a decent amount. Maria entered the apartment to find Kyle sprawled out on her couch. "Hey there, country boy, don't ya have a place of your own?" Maria asked walking up behind Kyle. "Yeah, well, you know, Isabel went to help her brother." Kyle grinned.
"So she took away the keys so you couldn't snoop through her underwear drawer. That's understandable." Maria giggled, then sighed. "What's wrong, sis? He snickered ripped a big fart.
"You look a little fumed!" He added "Kyle, you're impossible." She responded, covering her nose. "Hey, what's going on in here? Eww! What died?" Michael entered the room and gagged. "Apparently Kyle had beans again." Maria said.
"Oh, Kyle, Isabel just called. She said that she was done over at Max's and wants you home like, yesterday." He reported. "Really, well, gotta get home to the little lady." Kyle nodded and headed out the door. "You know, this place sure is starting to look like a home."
"But it smells like a kennel. Next time you come over, we'll be armed with Lysol and pooper scoopers!" "Bye Kyle!" Maria scooted him out the door. After he was well out of earshot, she turned to Michael. "Did Isabel really call?" She asked. "Technically, no." He simply added. She just smiled at his childish behavior. "Michael...I know at first I wasn't sure about us moving in with each other, but I'm really glad we did." She smiled. She was just so happy lately...
"Come on Spaceboy! Time for some grooming." Maria dragged Michael to the closet in their bed room.
"Why, are we going somewhere?" Michael asked.
"Oh, my God." Maria raved, she couldn't believe Michael forgot that they were going to the new Mexican club that had dancing. "Tell me you didn't forget, please!" Michael just shrugged his shoulders. "Oh Michael." she sighed, Michael instantly felt guilty.
"What is it, it's not your birthday, it's not our anniversary, is it?" Maria nodded no.
"No Michael, it isn't. When is our anniversary, dearie?" Maria cleared her throat. "Um um of course I know when it is." "Then when is Because it's not today." Maria steamed. She could not believe this, how she can be so light on her feet with him and then all of sudden to come crashing down.
"Relax, my little pixie." Michael kissed her on the check. "I know you've been looking forward to this night on the town. So, my little Mexican club gold digger, why don't you go get ready? I can handle myself, you know, now that I've been upgraded to pull-ups training pants." He pushed her out the room. Maria was always babying him.
Maria walked into the bathroom connected to their room. She took out her make-up bag, which had little green aliens on it with little pink and red hearts. It was a remnant from her mother's awful alien scam. Maria had chosen a black modern sun dress with white daisies on the front. Michael always said she looked sexy in black. Of course, he said she looked sexy in her birthday suit but that didn't mean she was going to wear it out.
"Alrighty then," She said looking though her makeup bag."Which color would go best? Fire red, brick red, flower bud, burgundy or...? Here it is! A rose pink, perfect." She applied the lipstick. She checked her reflection in the mirror.
"What on earth am I going to do with this hair of mine? Where's Isabel when you really need her?" He talked to herself as she plugged her curling iron in. When the iron was warmed up, she went to pick it up, but it wasn't where she set it.
"What the heck, where'd it go?" Maria looked up to find the curling iron floating above her head, along with all her makeup that had spilled out of her bag and now floating in the air. Maria began to panic.
"Michael!" she screamed. She gave new meaning to the saying "scared stiff." Michael rushed into the room seconds later.
"What the hell?" He said as he took in the scenery around him. He looked down at Maria to find her holding her hands tight against her chest.
"Maria let me see." He said grabbing her hands. He couldn't believe it when he saw it. This isn't happening. He thought. It couldn't be, Maria had never been healed, had she? He gazed at her hands that flashed lightening rods of all colors. It reminded him of Liz's but much more extravagant.
"We gotta talk." He said. She nodded. He just sat there now. His presence alone would bring some comfort to her.
"Michael please don't tell Max. Please." She pleaded.
"What! Why not? He could help." He asked in an angry tone.
"NO!" She wiped her hands away from his faster that the speed of light. "Michael, ever since Kyle came forward about his new found ability, Max has been treating him like a lab experiment. It's like he's gone from Dr. Jekyl to Mr. Hyde and he hurt Liz so much when he tried to help her. I don't want to go though that!"
"It's going to be okay, shh." He comforted her. "Maria when did you ever get healed?"
He asked.
"It was ..I mean I haven't."
"Maria." He said in a stern tone.
"Michael I can't."
"Maria please, tell me how can I help you."
"If you really want to help here what you really should do.."
(TBC)
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