'Not to me!' Kyle exploded. 'None of you even think of how it is for me, do you? I trusted her. She was like a sister to me, she lived in my home. And she totally betrayed me.'
'I'm so sorry,' Liz said quickly. 'I didn't mean… '
'No,' Kyle cut her off. 'I don't want to hear it. Everyone just takes it for granted that and my dad and I are on board with the whole alien thrill ride. But none of you ever think about what it cost us.'
'Kyle… '
'We took her in, we loved her. She became like family to us. And then she used her powers on me without even asking. She made me… she made me carry Alex's body.' Kyle tried to swallow the painful lump in his throat. He tried not to think about Alex. Even now, he never felt sure which
memory to trust… the one Tess had planted in his brain, or the one he knew was real. Tess had mindwarped him into thinking he was carrying a duffel bag out to the car, but really he'd been lugging the dead body of his friend. How could he ever forgive her for making him do such an awful thing?
Liz reached across the table and took his hand. 'Kyle,' she said softly.
He focused on the warmth of her fingers entwined with his. He was so angry at Tess that he could taste it… but he shouldn't take it out on Liz. He blinked back bitter tears and looked up at Liz. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes, as well.
'I'm sorry, Kyle,' she said. 'I've spent so much time thinking of how Tess ruined everything for me, I've never realized how much she hurt you. But I should have. I've been a terrible friend to you.'
Kyle squeezed her hand. 'Nah,' he said, trying for a jokey tone. 'You got screwed over too. You have every right to think about yourself.'
Liz gave him a small smile. 'I was trying to forget about all the alien stuff,' she told him. 'I was going to devote all my energy to Meta-chem.'
'But all you found was more alien stuff,' Kyle said. 'Typical.'
'Yeah.' Liz pushed back her chair and stood. 'We'd better get going before that security guard comes looking for me.'
Kyle stood and followed her back out into the hallway. 'Where are we going?'
'To break into Dr. Sosa's lab.'
'Daddy! Look at me!' The little boy spun in a circle, his dark hair flying. 'I'm spinning!'
Max watched him, hardly able to breathe through the intense love he felt. It was his son, his baby, right here in the Evanses' front yard. The boy spun faster, faster, his features becoming a blur, his hair whipping about so wildly that Max couldn't follow it with his eyes.
'Daddy… ' The voice must have come from the little boy, but Max heard it inside his head, as if his son was speaking directly into Max's mind. 'I've come home, Daddy. I'm right here on Earth.'
Max reached for his son, wanting to hold him in his arms. But the boy was still spinning impossibly fast. He was like a little tornado, kicking up grass and dirt in his wake.
This isn't normal, Max thought. Someone will see him. They'll figure out what he is. They'll take him away.
Max sat back on his heels, devastated. This had never occurred to him before. How was he going to protect his son from humans? It was hard enough being a grown-up alien like he, Isabel, and Michael. But his son was just a baby… he wouldn't be able to control his powers. He wouldn't even understand why he should control them. – I'll take him away, Max thought frantically. Now that he's back on Earth, I'll hide him. I won't let anyone see him until he's old enough to understand that he's… he's…
'A freak,' Tess said.
Max's head snapped up. His son was gone. Instead, Tess stood there. Her beautiful face was the same as ever, but her eyes were the eyes of a reptile.
'Is that what you're going to teach him, Max? That he's some kind of freak who should hide his powers? Do you
want him to grow up skulking around like you do? Too afraid of his own shadow to take any action at all?'
'What kind of action am I supposed to take?' Max demanded. 'Should I kill someone like you killed Alex?'
'You're the king,' Tess said. 'You should have come back to Antar to save the planet. That was your destiny. Instead you've abandoned your people the way you abandoned our son.'
By the time she'd finished talking, her features had melted back into those of a toddler.
Max stared at his son, waves of love coursing through his body. 'I didn't abandon you,' Max whispered. 'You would've died if you'd stayed on Earth. I didn't know what else to do, so I let Tess leave with you.'
His son stared back at him with the eyes of a reptile.
Max shot up in bed, beads of sweat covering his forehead. He glanced frantically around the room. Where was his son? Was Tess here? His breath came in gasps.
Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkened room and his breathing returned to normal. 'Just a dream,' he whispered. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, he thought. He'd dreamed of his son every night since he'd had the vision of the baby being born. The vision that had ruined his date with Liz, and maybe ruined any chance of making things right with her.
His gaze strayed to the clock on his bedside table. It was after midnight. Liz was probably already asleep. He hadn't seen her in two days… she was too busy with her new job. But he needed to see her tonight. Even if it was just to look through her window and watch her sleep for a few minutes…
Max threw back the sheet and climbed out of bed. He would go see Liz. That would make everything better.
'Get down!' Liz whispered.
Kyle ducked, just in time to avoid being seen by the uniformed security guard crossing the hall in front of them. He and Liz were now hidden behind a waist-high cart filled with some sort of scientific machinery. Kyle gestured to the cart. 'Torture devices?' he asked.
'Lasers used for precision dissection of cancerous tissues,' Liz replied.
Kyle shook his head. 'Parker, you are a science nerd,' he told her. 'But you're a gifted science nerd. How'd you know that guard was coming?'
'I think I've developed a sixth sense for danger,' Liz said wryly. 'Call it the silver lining of having an alien boyfriend.'
'Boyfriend, hmmm?' he teased her.
But Liz didn't smile. She didn't even roll her eyes. 'I don't know,' she murmured. 'Is the security guy gone?'
'Don't change the subject,' Kyle said. 'I want to hear the dirt on you and Maximus Alienus.'
'Kyle, this is hardly the time for gossip,' Liz snapped.
Ouch! He had obviously hit a sore spot. Liz and Max were always on and off, as far as he could tell. He didn't know why they felt the need to break up all the time, but since Michael and Maria did the same thing, he figured it was some alien-machismo issue. Luckily, since he'd found Buddha, he was beyond such things. If he was to date someone… even an alien, like, say, Isabel… he would stick to it and not create so much drama all the time.
'Earth to Kyle,' Liz was saying.
'You know, that phrase has new meaning to me since meeting the pod squad,' he commented. He snuck a peek over the top of the cart. 'All clear.'
Liz moved out from behind the cart and tiptoed up the hallway. Kyle followed, hoping there really weren't cameras everywhere. If someone saw this little escapade, he'd be out of a job.
'This one,' Liz said, stopping in front of a plain metal door. Kyle pulled out his Housekeeping passkey and inserted it in the lock. The door swung open, and they hurried inside.
'You're a lifesaver,' Liz told him.
'Yeah, who knew being a janitor would come in handy like this.' He glanced around the darkened room. A lab, just like the labs at school. He would never understand how Liz could love these places. They made him think of mad scientists. And chemistry pop quizzes.
'I've looked through all the slides at Dr. Sosa's work station. They're all standard cancer cells, except that one slide I saw before.' Liz started through the lab, weaving around tables and large machines.
'So what are we doing here?' Kyle asked, following her.
'Dr. Sosa keeps all the sensitive material in this back room,' Liz explained. 'He says it's because of corporate
