Standard stuff:
Title:Touch of Death {cryptic huh}
Author: Kathryn C.
Disclaimer: Me No Own.
Distribution: You want it, you take it, just give me
the URL.
Feedback: Send it, or I don't feel like writing.
Well, maybe for some of you, you might want
that.SEND IT, SEND IT, SEND IT. I won't
stop writing, so I can't threaten that, but please
send it. Let me know you're reading. Actually. I
Lied, I am threatening to quit writing.
Rating: Uh, pg-13/14a?
Spoilers: Well, it's mostly speculation based on
spoilers mentioned. But, spoilers for Sexual Healing
and the whole "T" person storyline.
********
They stared at him in amazement. He didn't say anything, just looked back at them with an even expression.
"Kyle?" Alex finally managed to choke out. "I mean, what...where....Kyle?"
"She was right the first time," the deputy said, jerking his head towards Liz. "Kyle Valenti isn't in town. I have no idea where, so I'm assuming the basketball thing is true."
"Who..what are you?" Maria asked, grabbing Michael's hand.
He shrugged, but didn't answer. He turned to Max. "Are you going to tell me what you did with Tess now?"
Max opened and closed his mouth. "I repeat Maria's question. Who the hell are you?"
The man sighed. "I might as well say. I mean I did just change in front of you all. I'm here to find out what happened to my daughter."
"You're Nasedo?" Michael asked in a pointed voice. The man turned to look at him.
"I see you've contacted RiverDog. Not that I'm surprised. Haven't seen that old guy in years."
"He can answer our questions." Michael said, in a voice that showed about as much enthusiasm as Michael could muster. "He can tell us where we're from."
"There will be time to answer your questions later," Nasedo said, looking at Michael. Then he turned back to Max. "Providing I get the answer to mine. Where the hell is my daughter."
"She's dead," Max said stoicly, staring him straight in the eye.
"I see," Nasedo said slowly. Michael couldn't tell whether he was in any emotional pain. His eyes were like bottomless pits.
He turned away from Michael, "How did it happen?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Max began hesitantly, "She kissed me. After that, I'm not sure what happened. I saw all that she was and felt all that she felt, and I discovered what had been done to me. I was so angry, and I could just feel all that anger flowing into her. When she finally broke apart, she was hurting. Then she just fell back and vaporized."
Nasedo turned back to him. "What do you mean? How did that happen?"
Max shook his head desperately, "I don't know. I honestly don't. I mean, it's not like it's happened before."
"Is it the last time you're going to kill as well?" Nasedo asked in a bitter voice.
"I didn't mean to hurt her!" Max exclaimed. "I was angry, but I wasn't trying to hurt her. I'm not a killer."
"Why should I believe you?" Nasedo said, striding over to Max, "She threatened your security, how do I know that's even how it happened?"
"I'm telling the truth," Max said, calmly but firmly. "I didn't do it on purpose. It just happened. I would never kill someone else, on purpose."
Nasedo shook his head, "She was my daughter for God's sake. With the exception of you 3, she was all I had on this earth."
"Why are you so attached to her!" Max exclaimed. He still remembered the flashes from Tess's pass. "You abandoned her and her mother when she was just a baby. Don't pretend you were the ever devoted father."
Nasedo's eye flashed, "Don't preach to me boy."
Max shook his head, "That's the reason she was why she was. I saw it all in her, and I can't forget it. You ran from her, and you never came back."
"Don't tell me what I did wrong with her," Nasedo hissed, "I did all I could under the circumstances."
"By abandoning her, and not even coming back when her mother died? Not coming when she began to see that she had developed powers? Not even trying to rescue her from the FBI agents?" Max came back.
"What was the point if they captured me to Max? Huh? What good would that have done. I was protecting her by staying away. If I stayed around, it would have just screwed up her life more."
"I find that hard to believe," Max said in a deadly voice.
"She was your enemy, not me," Nasedo said, "I was not hunting you, I've been protecting you since you were children. Who the hell do you think took care of Michael's father when he learned the truth? Who do you think has been protecting you from inside the sheriff's department?"
"We didn't ask for your protection, and she needed it. You were the reason she turned out the way she did. I'm not excusing her actions, in fact I hate her for them, but she's not completely to blame here." Max said.
"Trust me, you needed my protection more than she did," Nasedo hissed, "My daughter or not, she was only a half-breed. And you guys were full-blooded aliens. Besides, what even those ignorant aliens didn't realize, is that she and I were shape-shifters, and you all are something completely different."
Max forgot his mission to lecture Nasedo on his parenting. "What do you mean? Aren't we from the same planet and all?"
Nasedo shook his head, "I don't owe you any answers. I'm going now."
Michael strode forward and grabbed Nasedo's arms, "You're not going anywhere. Max told you what happened to Tess, and you give us some answers. That was the deal. Besides, you owe us a lot of answers."
Nasedo just stared at Michael, who stared back with unflinching eyes. He finally looked away. "We're from the same planet," he said finally, "But, think of it this way. There are different races of people here on earth, and it's that way on the home planet. Just, the differences go farther than skin color."
"Where's the planet?" Isabel demanded carefully, "Where do we come from?"
Nasedo gave a careless shrug, "As you have been, I have been wondering all my life. I've found more info, but I don't know for sure."
"How did you learn anything?" Michael asked, "I mean, any physical stuff left over from the crash? Visions, what?"
"Visions," Nasedo said hesitantly. "I found out what of most I know from visions?"
"Yours?" Max asked quietly.
Nasedo turned to stare at him, "No," he admitted softly. "Melissa's. She was Tess's mother. She had visions when we were, when we were.....intimate. She told me all about them. I told her as little about myself as I could. She never knew I was an alien."
"Unlike you guys," he said, indicating the aliens, "I have more sense than to put my fate in the hands of humans."
"We would never betray them," Maria said in a deadly voice. "They can trust us?"
"Really?" Nasedo said skeptically. "You really think that? What if the FBI threatens you and the ones you love? What if they revert to the old ways and use any means necessary to force you to talk. They can do it."
"There's laws against....," Maria began.
Nasedo shook his head, "The FBI can be above the law. They can do whatever they want, and nobody can stop them. I should know."
"How?" Michael's question was a single word.
Nasedo averted his eyes from them all. "Melissa. They had there suspicions about me. They came to her, and put her through unbearable pain in an effort to get to me. She was pregnant, and nearly lost the baby. But, you see, she didn't know anything, so they had to let her go."
Max heard the pain in his voice. He felt bad for attacking the man for abandoning Tess and her mother. It was obvious that he had at least cared.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, then Isabel asked, "Um, you said you were a shapeshifter. Are you you? I mean, is this your original form?"
Nasedo gave a short laugh. "To be perfectly honest, I don't remember. This is just one of the many forms I've had in my life-time. I'm not what the real me is any more."
"Nasedo, sir?" Alex said nervously. He looked as if he wanted to raise his hand like in school. "I mean, obviously you're on these guys side and all, but there's something I want to know. Those dead people? You know, the ones you supposedly killed? What about them?"
Nasedo turned on him, "For God's sake, don't call me that ridiculous name. I disliked it enough coming from River Dog, I don't need from all of you. Call me George, it's the one I've used the most."
"The dead people?" Maria asked, raising her eyebrows.
George {nasedo} shook his head. "Don't you dare go passing judgement on me. You guys have only had a taste of reality for what it's like being hunted for exposure with that ignorant sheriff of yours. I did what I had to do. They found the truth in some form, and I had to get rid of them. Why do you think I killed Hank for all of you?"
"You killed Hank?" Michael asked in a soft voice.
George turned to him, "What did you think I meant when I said I took care of him? He knew about you, and had to be exterminated. Unless of course you wanted your face on the National Enquirer?"
Michael didn't respond to that, just looked steadily at George, "He didn't deserve to die."
"You're saying this?" George exclaimed, "He abused you, gave you a horrible, said nasty things to your friends and was going to expose you for the alien that you are, and you say he didn't deserve to die?"
Michael nodded, "For all that he was a bastard, he had the right to a life."
George shook his head in disbelief, "Do not even tell me that everyone is not better off without him. He's gone anyway, deal with it."
Michael didn't say anything, just shook his head as he stared at the man.
"Listen," George said finally, "I'm leaving now. It's been nice chatting and all, but....."
Isabel shook her head, "No way, we have a millions more questions....."
"....That are going to remain unanswered," George said firmly. "I'm leaving. I might hang around town for awhile, but I might not. I may get in touch with you guys again if I feel you ever fully appreciate all that I've done for you."
Without even saying any goodbye's, he strode out of the Evans house. The teens just watched him go.
"Will he really go?" Liz finally said. "If he's been around here all this time....."
Max shrugged, "Who knows right now? Hell, we won't even know if he's gone. He can turn into anyone at any time."
"Creepy," Alex remarked, rubbing his arms.
"Why the hell were you bugging about abandoning a girl that was trying to get us? I mean, this was not the guy to piss off here Max." Michael said firmly.
Max shook his head, "All I could remember were the feelings is Tess's visions. It contributed to who she became Michael, we can't completely blame her."
"I want some more answers," Isabel said forlornly, "I mean, we don't know a hell of a lot more than we did before."
"Well, we likely won't be getting anymore from him," Michael said grimly.
***********
Monday at school, Liz was there bright and early. She had a biology project to do a little work on before class. There was only a handful of students at the school this early.
She heard the principals voice talking to someone rounding the corner of the hallway. She looked up to see him talking to a blonde who was listening intently too him.
The principal noticed Liz at her locker, who was staring at the pair in complete shock. He stopped with his companion by her.
"Miss Parker, we are incredibly lucky. Our absented guidance counselor has decided to come back after her extended leave of absence."
"Hello Liz," Miss Topolski said in a sickeningly sweet voice.
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