Category: Crossover, do I write anything else?
Disclaimer: I don’t own either show.
Rating: PG13
Summary: Starts during Changes. Liz finds out that she is different from others. But when someone shows up in Roswell unexpectedly she finds out that it isn’t because of the aliens.
Note: This story starts at the beginning of Changes so there is some dialog in the story that is the same as the episode. I didn’t write them so don’t sue.
Part 1
Two people, one tall brown haired man and one shorter blonde female, made their way into the lab and stood in front of another older man sitting at a computer terminal. When they entered he looked up to address them. “Good timing, I just broke through the seals about fifteen minutes ago."
“That’s a record considering you only started looking yesterday.” The blonde stated.
“What did you find?” The younger man asked.
“You were put up for adoption when you were one day old. Your parents names were Jeffrey Parker and McKenzie Taylor.”
The blonde could see that the news unsettled him and she put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure they think about you.”
They could see a hint of sadness in the older man’s eyes as he said, “There’s more. According to the file, the night you were born, your mother and father had been in a car accident and it had triggered her labor. She had massive internal injuries and died shortly after giving birth.”
“And my father?” He asked pushing away the thoughts of the mother who had died until he was alone later.
“From what I’ve found out he married eight years after and has a daughter, Elizabeth. He currently lives in Roswell New Mexico and runs a restaurant.”
The younger man nodded, “Looks like I’m headed for New Mexico.”
(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)
Liz sat at the garage Kyle worked at talking to him about the strange things that had been happening. At first she had thought she had been getting the flu but when she had the strange experience in school yesterday she knew it wasn’t just the flu. The flu didn’t make your face disappear when you looked in the mirror then suddenly come back. Max hadn’t even seen it. She had immediately call her doctor’s office and got an emergency appointment. Then the whole experience in the doctor’s office when his voice had been drowned out by static. It was then that she came up with a theory as to what was happening to her and went to the only other person who might understand, Kyle.
“Strange symptoms, shoot.” Kyle stated.
“Umm, fatigue, and total inability to concentrate.”
“Me, everyday.” Kyle commented.
“I've been having some hallucinations.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Well... Like yesterday, I looked in the mirror at school and my face totally disappeared.” Liz explained causing Kyle to laugh. “I mean--No, for real. This is serious Kyle something strange is happening to me.”
“Okay, why are you telling me this?” Kyle asked confused.
“What makes me different from everybody else is the fact that I was brought back from the dead by an alien.” Liz explained.
“Yeah. So was I, and now that you've touched on one of my deepest, darkest fears, lets just assume that what you're going through is stress.” Kyle said before showing her a book. “Buddha, Take Me Away. This book has gotten me through some very tough times. Here young grasshopper, take.”
As Kyle walked away Liz looked at the book before placing on top of a radio on the bench. Liz almost jumped when the radio came on for a second before stopping. She reached to pick the book back up when it came on again but for a longer amount of time. Deciding to further test it she placed her hand on top of it and sparks popped out at her. Static also erupted and she didn’t hear Kyle come up until he said, “Did you just...” More sparks flew just then. “You did. Whoa.”
“Kyle, I think I'm changing.”
“Have you talked to Max about this at all?”
“No, I don't want to tell Max not yet.”
“But he's the one who healed us, he needs to know.”
“I'm scared to tell him.” Liz admitted.
“Why? You go to him for everything.”
“No, he risks so much when he healed me. It's what made me fall in love with him.”
“Yeah, me too.” Kyle joked causing Liz to yell at him. “Kyle!”
“Look, what's going on here is really scary. If I don't lighten the mood, I might lose it.”
“Yeah, I know.” Liz said knowing exactly how.
“If it's too difficult for you, I'll go talk to him.”
“No! Um, sorry. No, um, could you just please respect my feelings.”
“Let the record show, I think this is a bad idea.”
“Noted. I have to go.” Liz said as she got up to leave.
Kyle watched her and said, “Liz. You're not alone in this. If you need anything, call me.”
“Thank you.” Liz said before starting to go again but stopped when a black SUV pulled up. It appeared to be almost new but was smoking bad under the hood. Kyle also saw it, as well as the two people who emerged from the vehicle. “Can I help you?”
“We’re having a little car trouble, we could take care of it ourselves but we don’t have the parts.” The blonde woman stated.
“No problem, I can fix you up but it won’t be ready until tomorrow.” Kyle offered.
“We’ll be staying in Roswell for a few days anyway so that’ll be perfect.” Her tall companion said.
Liz noticed him looking at her like he was trying to place her, like he recognized her. She didn’t know why because she was positive that she didn’t know him. But she didn’t get any dangerous vibes from him. He turned away when he saw she was aware of him staring and asked. “Could either of you tell us where the Crashdown Café is?”
“Yeah, it’s just a block up the road. I can show you.” Liz offered.
“Are you sure that isn’t too much trouble?” The woman asked as the two followed Liz.
“No, I’m heading that way myself. I live there with my parents. I’m Liz Parker by the way.” She said introducing herself. She noticed the man’s eyes widen in surprise as he said, “This is my friend Shalimar and I’m Brennan.”
Part 2
“It’s nice to meet you. Did you come to Roswell as tourists?” Liz asked.
“Umm, Brennan came to see some family.” Shalimar answered when she saw Brennan was still speechless. She couldn’t blame him. They had come to Roswell to find his father and sister and had ended up just running into her. Talk about timing. She could see Brennan just studying his sister, trying to memorize everything about her. Shalimar could see the similarities between the two siblings. They both had thick dark hair, brown eyes, and dark toned skin but it was in more than that. She saw the same friendliness in Liz that Brennan showed even if he didn’t show it to everyone. There were other indescribable things that were similar as well. Shalimar wondered, just like Brennan probably was, if Liz was a new mutant like her brother. Of course, that wasn’t a question they could just come right out and ask.
“Really, maybe I know them.” Liz stated interested.
“I bet you do. Is this it?” Brennan asked finally catching his voice as they walked up to a building with a large UFO sign out side. He hadn’t wanted Liz to ask more just yet because he wasn’t sure how he would answer. After all what could you say? Yeah, you know them because it’s you?
“Yep, this is it. Thank you.” Liz said as Brennan opened the door and held it for her. Once inside she started pointing things out to them. “You can sit at the counter and be waited on by my dad or grab a booth and one of the waitresses will help you.”
Before Liz could say more Maria came whirling by, grabbed Liz, and dragged her to the back. Liz barely had time to wave goodbye before Maria started going on and on about the offer for the recording contract while they climbed the stairs.
(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)
Brennan watched as a hyper blonde girl about his sister’s age pull her away and through a door at the back of the restaurant. He was about to stop her but changed his mind, he should probably talk to his father first, their father. He looked over at the counter and saw the man Liz had talked about. He was a tall man who looked to be weathered by a hard life. Brennan couldn’t help but wonder if some of it might have been by the death of his mother. He felt Shalimar grip his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. He looked down at her and saw her give him a half smile. He was glad he hadn’t fought against her when she had said she was going with him. It helped to have a friendly face. “Go talk to him.”
Brennan headed over to the counter and sat down. It didn’t take long before his father came over and gave them his attention. “Welcome to the Crashdown, can I get you something to drink while you look over the menu?”
“Actually I was wanting to talk to you, you’re Jeff Parker right?”
“That’s me.”
“You don’t know me, my name is Brennan Mulwray, this is my friend Shalimar Fox.”
“Please to meet you.” Jeff said shaking both of their hands. “What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you could help me find out more information about my parents. My mother’s name was McKenzie Taylor and you are my father.”
(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)
After reaching her room Liz started helping Maria go through clothes trying to figure out what looked best on her. She could believe the story Maria was telling her about how her and Michael ‘celebrated’.
“This so does not mean that we are back together.” Maria stated.
“Does Michael know that?” Liz asked pretty positive that he didn’t.
“Well, he knows that I'm not interested in having what we used to have. I've been clear about that. It's a-- it's a boy-girl friendship with a twist.” Maria explained.
Liz rolled her eyes. “It's sounds so romantic. Why don't you try that black pant suit on?”
“The black pant suit. Who are you? My Aunt Maude? This…” But before Maria could continue her voice was drowned out again by static. Her head started to spin from it and she tried to calm herself down. It felt like her energy was heightened and she didn’t know what to do about it. She could only hear small parts of words then it finally cleared up just as Maria said, “Right? I mean, come on.”
“Maria, I have to tell you something.” Liz said but Maria either ignored her or didn’t hear her as she went on. “You know what else I've been thinking? It is not a coincidence that my life started around the time Michael and I broke up. I mean, god, you don't know how liberating it is to be free from all this alien chaos. It's like suddenly my life is like a life.”
“Yeah.” After Maria’s speech she knew that she couldn’t weigh her down with her problems so she just pushed them back and said, “Why don't you try the boots on.”
Maria snagged them and sat down to put them on when there was a knock at the door. When she opened it she saw her dad on the other side looking serious. “What’s up Dad?”
“Can you come out to the living room? We need to talk to you.”
Liz was curious as to what was going on so she agreed, “Just let me tell Maria and I’ll be out.”
Her dad nodded and left. Liz quickly told Maria to take her time because her parents wanted to have a family meeting. Maria didn’t want to interrupt so she just left out Liz’s window and down the fire escape. Liz waited until she was gone before she headed out to the living room. She was surprised to see not only her parents but Brennan and Shalimar. They were sitting in the living room with an assortment of papers strewn about. “What’s going on?”
“Why don’t you sit down Liz and we’ll explain?” Her mom said. Liz complied and her dad started to talk.
“You know that when your Mom and I were in high school that we were friends and that we didn’t start dating until years after, right?.” Liz only nodded. “Well we became friends because of a mutual friend, McKenzie Taylor, who was actually my girlfriend.”
“Yeah, Mom told me about her. I didn’t know her name but Mom said that she was killed in car accident you were both in.” Liz stated. She saw her dad glance over at her mom for a minute before he went on. “But what your mother didn’t tell you was that McKenzie was pregnant and she managed to deliver the baby before she died. I was so distraught over her death that I didn’t think I could take care of the baby so I gave him up for adoption.”
Liz was shocked by what her dad was telling her. A strange thought flitted through her mind that Max and her father had more in common than she ever thought. They both had a son out there somewhere. Then she remembered Brennan and quickly put two and two together. She looked up at Brennan and asked, “You’re him, right? That baby?”
Brennan nodded. “I’ve always known that I was adopted before I split from my parents. But it wasn’t until a few days ago that I told a couple friends of mine who convinced me to let them search for my birth parents. That’s what led us to Roswell. I wanted to meet my father and sister.”
“So you already knew about me?” Liz asked. She was in shock. She was surprised and happy by the news that she had a brother. But finding out her father had given up a child before she was born on top of whatever alien thing was happening to her was almost too much. Not to mention the interview with Harvard coming up tomorrow.
“Yeah, we managed to find a picture but it was kind of old and I didn’t know it was you when we first met. You looked familiar but that was it.” Brennan explained.
Liz turned her attention to her dad. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Liz, I….”
“You should have told me. I wouldn’t even had known about McKenzie if Mom hadn’t told me to get me to understand why you were so strict last fall. You always tell me that you want me to open up about my life and tell you what is going on but here you are being all hypocritical and hiding something huge from me. You kept the fact that I have a brother, something I think I have the right to know so I’m going to be a little upset.”
Jeff knew that Liz wasn’t going to change her mind and only nodded. Liz saw that things were at an impasse with their relationship and looked at Brennan. “I don’t want you to think I’m upset because you are here.”
Brennan just shook his head; his sister definitely had spirit. Liz looked up at Shalimar, “And I’m guessing you were one of his friends who convinced him to look for us?”
Shalimar nodded, “One of them.”
“Thank you.” Liz whispered.
Shalimar looked at her surprised as did Brennan and caused Liz to laugh. “I’ve always wanted an older brother.”
“Why don’t the three of you go downstairs and get something to eat? Nancy and I need to talk.” Jeff stated. Liz led Brennan and Shalimar downstairs, hoping along the way to get to know him better.
Part 3
Liz, Brennan, and Shalimar had just reached the café when Shalimar said, “I think I’m going to explore Roswell and head back to the hotel.”
“Shal, you don’t have to.” Brennan started to protest.
“It’s okay, you two need to talk. Nice to meet’cha Liz.” Shalimar said before she was out the door.
Liz led Brennan over to the back booth as she said; “You care about her a lot don’t you?”
“Yeah, we’re good friends.”
“I think there’s more than friendship there.” Liz said smiling.
“You’ve been my sister for less than an hour and you’re already trying to play matchmaker, great.” Brennan commented. “You’re not going to do that often are you?”
“No, matchmaking is more my friend Maria’s department. She likes to butt her nose into things like that.” Liz stated after her and Brennan ordered.
“Sounds like you are speaking with the voice of experience.”
“Yeah, I am. She went so far one time a few years ago when Max and I were apart to enter my name in a blind date contest. What was worse was that I won. The whole night was a disaster.”
“Max? Whose Max?” Brennan asked curiously.
“My boyfriend. You’ll probably hear Dad say something’s about him.” Liz explained.
Brennan’s eyebrow raised and a slightly mischievous smile appeared on his face. “He doesn’t approve?”
“Not exactly. There was a point where Max was banned from coming in here or even speaking to me but Dad’s relaxed since New Year’s. He doesn’t think that Max is a good influence on me.”
Brennan’s smile got bigger, Liz’s boyfriend sounded like someone he used to hang out with. “And why does he think that?”
“Well.” Liz said as she dipped a fry into the ketchup on her plate. “It has something to do with he and I getting arrested for holding up a convenient store in Utah last fall.” She stopped when she heard Brennan choke on his drink. “We didn’t actually rob it though.”
“Looks like we have another thing in common.” Brennan commented not liking it. He may have just met Liz but he didn’t like the fact that she had gotten into the same kind of trouble with the law that he had. He felt protective towards her already. Maybe their father was right about this guy Max, especially if he had gotten Liz arrested.
“What do you mean?” Liz asked.
“I haven’t made my way through live in the most law abiding ways. When I was younger, the people that adopted me got into some trouble and I got put into foster home. I didn’t last long there and went out on my own. Had to make a living somehow so I started ripping off cars, stuff like that.” Brennan explained. Of course he didn’t tell her that he had boasted the cars by using his new mutant abilities to jump start the cars.
Liz was surprised by what Brennan told her and felt bad. She had just assumed that things had gone well in his life after he’d been adopted but she had been wrong. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I wouldn’t be here if things had gone differently.” Brennan explained. “So tell me something about you besides your criminal history.”
“I love to read and I keep a journal.” Liz said. “I love Shakespeare.”
“Let me guess? Romeo & Juliet?”
“That’s one of them. I like Hamlet and Macbeth too. What about you?”
“I’m a literature fan too. Poetry, Sonnets.”
“Cool, its not often you find a guy who likes poetry.” Liz said happily. She took the time to really study her newfound brother. He vaguely reminded her of some of the pictures Grandma Claudia had shown her of her grandfather. She guessed that was probably where he got his height. Either that or from his mother’s side. He had the same dark hair as she and her father both had and the darker tone of skin. She figured he probably had girls or women falling all over him.
“I’m guessing that you’re really good in school.”
“I try to. I’m in a lot of AP classes and get good grades. I love Science and am possibly trying to get into Harvard.”
“Harvard? Impressive.” Brennan said dumbfounded.
“Thank you. I actually have an interview tomorrow.”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah, I hope I’m ready. I got out of last period tomorrow so I could prepare then I’m coming home to change and hopefully pump myself up then it’s back to school for the interview.”
The two continued to talk and get to know each other. They eventually went back up to the Parker apartment and Liz showed Brennan tons of pictures. Ones of her as she grew up, and their family especially Grandma Claudia, who he was interested in. They even talked to their father a little and Liz began patching things up with him although she was still upset that he never told her about Brennan. Eventually Liz had to go to bed since it was a school night and needed to get up early the next morning. So Brennan told her that he’d come over the next day to see her before the interview and left.
(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)
Brennan walked into the hotel room that he and Shalimar had booked. It was actually two rooms with an adjoining door. “Shal? Are you here?”
“In here.” He heard her yell from the other room. He went in and saw her planted in the middle of the bed with a pizza and the TV on. He grabbed a bottle of water and sat down in a nearby chair propping his feet on the bed next to Shalimar who was grinning at him. “So, tell me everything.”
“I talked to Liz the most, she showed me lots of pictures including ones of my grandmother, Claudia. She was an Indian archeologist. She died a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry Brennan.” Shalimar said when he saw the disappointed in his eyes.
“I’m okay, it’s not like I actually knew her.”
“So tell me more about Liz.”
“She’s amazing, she’s very smart. She even has an interview with Harvard tomorrow.”
“Sounds like her and Adam would get along great.” Shalimar commented.
“I thought the same thing.” Brennan stated.
“Did she tell you if she was a new mutant?” Shalimar asked.
“No.”
“Do you think she is?”
“I dunno,” He said. “Hell I don’t even know if our father is. True, Adam didn’t have any record of him but his records aren’t complete. But if she is, I’m betting she told no-one. But I’m going to make sure that whether she is or not that she’s protected. If the GSA ever found out I have a sister they might get to her or try to get her on their side or -”
“They’re not going to Brennan. None of us would let that happen. And after Adam got into your records he buried them again but a lot deeper so Genomex won’t even find out you have family here.”
Brennan smiled at her in thanks for trying to make him feel better before going into more detail about the family he had just found.
PART 4
The next afternoon Liz retired to the bleachers by the football field to try and mentally prepare herself for the interview. She wished that she could postpone the interview for a few weeks until she could get things to settle down in her life more. After all in forty-eight hours she had found out that she was changing, possibly into an alien or at least a hybrid, started to develop powers or something, and found out she had an older brother. She had always been good at handling pressure but these were not things that normal teenagers had to deal with. But of course Liz’s life hadn’t been normal since the day she got shot.
Liz’s mind wandered away from the interview and to her brother causing her to smile. From what she had seen, Brennan was cool. Maybe a little rough around the edges. Liz had a feeling that he would get along with Michael very well. Maria would also probably love him. She always had a thing for the rebellious bad boy type. She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw Max walking up the bleachers towards her with a book in his hand. “College Interviewing for Morons?”
“I'm gonna help you get into Harvard.” Max said as he opened the book and started to read. “Why Harvard University?”
Liz smiled a little. Brennan had asked her the same question the night before. “Um, well, when I was in ninth grade, I read this really amazing article by Dr. Laura Holt, she's this professor who works in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and it just gave me a totally different perspective on science. It really changed my life.”
“What are your 3 greatest strengths?”
“Why are you helping me? Cuz if I get in... Cambridge is really far away, Max.” Liz asked wondering why he would want to help her to move away from him.
“I know that, but this is really important to you. Uhh, what is your greatest regret?” Max asked.
Liz didn’t know how to answer that question without hurting him. Max noticed her hesitation and asked, “What's wrong? Are you still feeling sick?”
Thinking quickly Liz answered, “Uh, just a little bit. I don't know. I'm kinda worried about all this school stuff, you know?”
She looked at her watch and saw that if she left now that she would get home just as Brennan got there. “You know what? I should be going. My dad is expecting me at the CrashDown. Thanks for your help, Max.”
Max stood up and grabbed her arm. “Liz, wait.” But as he did, she fainted. “You okay?”
Liz did her best to shake off the aftereffects of her fainting spell. “Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I, um, I just think this flu is hitting me. Um, I should go home.”
She leaned onto one of her books and was shocked when it burst into flames. She pulled her hand back and screamed. She felt Max’s arms around her to protect and used his powers to put out the flames. “I didn't do that.”
Liz stared at it in shock, “I did.”
Max just looked at her confused, “It's not possible.”
Liz nodded. “Yes, it is. You healed me and now I'm different.”
Max just looked at her even more confused as Liz asked, “Can you take me home?”
“Yeah, come on.” Max said leading her to the Chevelle. They were both silent as he drove them to the Crashdown. When they pulled up Liz saw Brennan and Shalimar sitting inside at the counter with her parents. Brennan also saw her in Max’s car and smiled at her. She realized that she still had yet to tell Max about her brother but didn’t have the energy to do it just now. She kissed Max on the cheek before climbing out of the car and going inside.
Once she was inside her parents asked about her day at school and she told them that it had gone fine. Shalimar told her that Brennan had told her about the interview and wished her luck. Liz’s mind was on the burnt book but smiled and thanked her. She saw Brennan studying her and wondered if he could tell something was on her mind. She didn’t ask, instead she chatted with them until it was time for her to get dressed. She left shortly after for her interview hoping that it would go well.
(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)
Liz ran out of school as fast as she could trying to get as far away as possible from the Harvard registrations person. She had completely bombed in her interview by freaking out when she had another episode. But this one was different. When she had started to hear the static it felt like she could also feel it, like electricity was coursing through her. She wondered if that was how the others felt when they were developing their powers. She knew she needed to talk to Max but she knew that he would feel guilty about it. She had seen the look in his eyes earlier when she had told him that she was different now because of him healing her. Max had a tendency to take everything on his shoulders regardless if he had no other choice in his decisions.
Liz could see the sign although she was still a good distance away. She could still feel the energy coursing through her as she walked towards home. Then suddenly the energy changed and she felt a sharp pain, like an Electro shock. She looked down at her hands and couldn’t help but scream. Running along her hands and arms like veins were stands of green electricity. They ran all the way to her fingertips where they ended in small sparks. Liz quickly got control over herself and looked around to make sure no one wan paying attention to her. No one was. She hurried back to the alley that ran down the street and to the ladder leading to her balcony.
She climbed up quickly and hopped into her bedroom window. She grabbed her phone and dialed quickly. Kyle answered the phone and she told him what was going on. He told her he was coming over and hung up. Liz had just hung up herself and pulled on a long sleeve top when there was a knock on the door. “Liz?”
“Yeah?”
Her dad opened the door and looked at her with a big smile on his face. “I thought I heard you, how did it go?”
Liz brushed her hair behind her ear, “There’s no easy way to say this, I blew it. I just freaked out in the middle of it and left. I’m sorry Dad.”
She could see the disappointment that he tried to hide from her in his eyes as he smiled, “It’s okay, there are other schools. How are you?”
“I’m fine.” Liz said a little too quickly. “I feel like I let you down though.”
“Don’t worry about it, I think maybe it was just the wrong time with everything going on, I mean you’ve had quite a big shock in the last few days.”
‘If you only knew.’ Liz thought. “Dad, if you don’t mind, I asked a few of my friends to come over to try and improve my mood.”
“I understand. I’ll send them up when they get here.” Her dad said before leaving. Liz plopped down on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chest. It wasn’t long before Kyle arrived and she retold him everything. “I'm sorry, I'm sure there's somewhere else you need to be.”
Kyle just shrugged, “No. Look, I offered.”
“I just didn't have anyone else to call.”
“Maria doesn't know?”
“Uh-huh, not yet. This record deal is like a really huge thing for her. She's given so much of her life for all this.” Liz explained as Kyle sat down next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and asked. “How are you doing?”
“I have no symptoms yet, but you know, Max healed me like a year after he healed you, so maybe I just got this totally cool window of time where I just get to obsess about it. “
Kyle’s sense of humor did the trick as always and she laughed. “Lucky you.”
They both turned when they heard a knock at the window and they saw Max climb in. He looked at her and asked, “What happened?”
Liz didn’t know what to say or how to answer but before she could come up with anything she heard Kyle say, “Show him.”
Liz rolled up her sleeves and her revealed her hands. The currents were still going strong through them. She had actually started to get somewhat used to them even in the short amount of time that had passed since they appeared.
“Does it hurt?” Max asked looking at her in shock.
Liz turned her hands toward herself again and studied them. “It comes and goes.”
She looked at him as he sat down and finally spoke what she was thinking, “Am I going to die?”
Max looked down unable to answer.
PART 5
Later that night after Liz, Kyle, and Max came back from an emotional episode out in the desert where Liz had finally spoken her mind about Max sleeping with Tess and after going out with Maria Liz returned to her room. She was only half surprised when she saw Max outside on her balcony. “Max, what are you doing here? You can't be here.”
“I've been calling.”
Liz knew he had been worried by the expression on his face. “I was out with Maria.”
“I thought something happened.” Max said anxiously. All kinds of scenarios had played through his head when he hadn’t been able to get a hold of him.
“No, it didn't, but my dad is going to be up here in a few minutes.” Liz explained. Max tried to look past her but she blocked his view. “You really…”
Liz was cut off when the energy coursed through her stronger, hurting again. “Max, you have to go.”
“Look, we'll drive to LA. Langley will know what to do. He can fix it.” Max pleaded.
“Max.”
“Maria can cover for you. We can be back in two days.”
“No!” Liz snapped. He wasn’t listening to her and it was making her angry.
“Please Liz.” Max pleaded again as he went to touch her but Liz pulled back. “Everything you said tonight, we just can't pretend it didn't happened. I have to talk about it …” Liz didn’t want to hear anymore so she started to shut the window. “Liz, please don't shut me out. What are we going to do?”
Liz looked at him and almost broke when she saw his tear filled eyes. She could feel her own tears burning in her eyes but she wouldn’t let them fall yet. “I have to figure it out. By myself.”
Liz shut the window as Max continued to stare at her. It was raining but he didn’t seem to notice. He mouthed that he loved her before finally descended down her fire escape. Liz pulled the curtains together and sunk to the floor as she let the tears finally fall. She didn’t muffle the sobs that came from her. She didn’t even hear the knock at her door and was surprised when she saw Brennan’s head pop in.
“Liz, I just…hey what’s wrong?” Brennan asked when he saw Liz’s tear stained face. He pushed through the door and sat down next to her. When he did, what he saw surprised him.
Liz saw Brennan starring at her arms and saw what he was looking at. The streams were still there. She quickly pulled her sleeves back down to hide her arms as much as she could but her shirt wasn’t as long as the jacket she had been wearing so they weren’t completely covered. “So did Dad tell you about how I bombed the interview?”
“Liz, I’m not going to pretend I don’t see it.”
“Umm…” Liz stuttered trying to figure out the best way to explain. “I know this probably looks weird and I know you’re freaking out….”
“No, I’m not freaked out. A little surprised but I’m not running away screaming.” Brennan tried to explain but Liz interrupted him.
“Why aren’t you freaking out? I mean this isn’t something that you see everyday.”
“Liz, watch me.” Brennan said as he waved his hands almost like a magician. Liz’s eyes widened to twice their normal size when she saw a small ball of electricity form between his two palms that faced each other.
Liz suddenly feared that Brennan’s whole story was false and that he was really and evil alien so she jumped up to move away. But Brennan grabbed her arm. “Liz, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.”
There was something in his tone that made Liz believe him. “Brennan how are…I mean are you…”
“I can do it because I’m a new mutant.” Brennan stated.
“A new mutant?” Liz asked with a completely baffled expression on her face. “What is a new mutant?”
“New mutants are people who have a genetic difference than others as a result of experiments. It gives us abilities, like these electric bolts that we both have. There are four different types, Psionic, Moleculars, Elementals like us, and Ferals like Shalimar.”
“Shalimar is like us?” Liz said trying to grasp what he was telling her. Could the changes that were happening to her be because she was like he said and that she was a new mutant? It seemed to explain what was happening to her. And if Brennan had it did that mean that they had both inherited from their father?
“Yes and no. We’re both mutants but different.”
“How can I learn to control this ability like you have?” Liz asked.
Brennan thought it over. “I can teach you. I’ve got an idea that I want to run by Shalimar real quick okay?”
Liz nodded and wiped the tear tracks from her face. Brennan got up and headed for the living room where Shalimar was waiting. His father and Nancy were still downstairs closing up the café so they could speak freely. “Shal, we’ve got a situation.”
“What Bren?”
“You know how we were both curious if Liz had any mutant abilities? Well I just found out the answer, she does. She’s an Elemental like me. Same powers almost exactly as far as I can tell.”
“How did you find out?” Shalimar asked.
“I walked into her room and saw it. It looks like they just recently developed. She doesn’t have any control and I told her I would help her.”
“You want to take her to Sanctuary don’t you?” Shalimar asked reading his mind.
“Yes, I do. She’s got a lot of questions and I think it would help if she talked to Adam. I’m going to contact him but I was wondering if you could go in and try to comfort Liz while I do it.” Brennan asked.
“Sure, I’ll try to do whatever I can.” Shalimar said before heading off in the direction of Liz’s room.
Brennan touched his ring and opened up his COM link to Sanctuary, “Adam, its Brennan. Are you there?”
“Hey Brennan it’s Jesse. What’s up man? Did you find who you were looking for?”
“Yeah, along with some other stuff. Is Adam around? I need to talk to him.”
“Yeah, he’s in the lab, let me tap you through.” Jesse said before Brennan heard a click and then a few seconds later Adam’s voice. “Brennan how are things going?”
“Good, I found my father the first day I was here. But that’s not why I’m contacting you. My sister is a new mutant too. She’s just developing and could use some help. So I was wondering if I could bring her back with Shalimar and I so we could help her.” Brennan waited to hear Adam’s answer. He could hear him sighing as he thought it over. “I hate to ask this Brennan but can we trust her?”
“Yes, we can. I wouldn’t ask but she’s having a tough time here and I don’t think it’s the best place for her to work on her powers. At Sanctuary she can learn more about herself and her new abilities. You should have seen her when she first saw me using mine, she was completely freaked. She had no idea about what she could do.”
“What about your father? Do you think he’s going to let her go?”
“I have a feeling he will. He wants what is best for her and from what he told me he’s tried to get her to leave before.” Brennan explained. He had spent most of the day with his father just talking and found out quite a bit about his opinion on Liz’s life. He found out more about the influence of her boyfriend Max on Liz’s life, that plus the way he had found her earlier made Brennan want to zap him. “And I have a feeling that it’s not a coincidence that Liz and I are both Elementals.”
“So you think he is too?”
“Yes, I do.”
“If you can get things arranged then she is welcomed. After the proper security procedures are done.” Adam stated.
“Thanks Adam, expect us soon.” Brennan said as he sighed off and headed for Liz’s room.
(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)
Meanwhile in Liz’s room.
Liz had moved up to her bed when she heard a small knock on her door, “Come in.”
The door opened and Shalimar peaked her head in. “Hey, Brennan wanted me to check on you.”
“Thanks. He must think I’m going to have a complete breakdown.” Liz said smiling slightly.
“I don’t think so. Finding out about your abilities can be difficult, we’ve all been through it.” Shalimar said trying to offer some comfort. “You’re not alone Liz. There are lots of us.”
“Can you tell me more? About the different types of mutants?” Liz asked.
“Well Ferals like me, have both animal and human DNA. We’re kind of like part of both, which means we have the strength, speed, etc. of animals. Me for example, have feline characteristics.” Shalimar explained as her eyes glowed like a cats. Liz’s eyes widened but she didn’t back away.
“Why couldn’t I be like that? I’m sure that it would be easier to hide it.”
“Being an elemental isn’t so bad, Brennan’s used his abilities several times to help me.” Shalimar stated. “Elementals control energy. Some like you are electrical, others thermal, chemical, sonic, stuff like that.”
“What about the other two? The Moleculars and Psionics?” Liz asked.
“Moleculars can change their bodies from being able to walk through walls, move faster than others, invisibility or become invincible. Psionics have mental abilities. They can read minds or emotions, move objects, or project images that aren’t even there.”
Liz felt her mouth go try at Shalimar’s description. It sounded like a lot of the same powers as Tess. She didn’t think she’d like Psionics much. “Tell me something, is it hard living your life as a new mutant?” Liz asked. She was starting to understand more about how Max and the others felt living their lives.
“It can be but I like who I am. These abilities give me the chance to help people in ways I normally couldn’t.”
“Like how?”
“Well…” Shalimar started not sure of what to tell her. At least until Brennan got back which thankfully he did just then. She saw his subtle gesture that told her that Adam had given him the go ahead.
“You see Liz. Shalimar and I are part of a team called Mutant X. We use our abilities to help out new mutants when they need it. Us along with the rest of our team live in a secret location called Sanctuary. The reason I’m telling you this is because we want to take you there so we can help you learn control. What do you think about that?”
“Uh, I don’t know. I guess that would be okay.” Liz answered. She wanted to do whatever she could to learn control before she hurt herself of someone else. “What about Mom and Dad? How are you going to talk them into it?”
“Let me handle them. I have a feeling they’ll be pretty lenient.” Brennan answered.
“When do we leave?” Liz asked.
“As soon as I go down and talk to them and you get packed.”
“No, I want to be with you when you talk to Dad.”
“Then hurry up so we go.”
“Come on, Liz. I’ll help.” Shalimar said.
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