Sunday, 20 August 2000
It is evening and Liz, Isabel, Michael, Maria, Alex and Tess are still in the Crashdown having a private party. Isabel uses her powers to play CDs without a CD player and she, Maria and Tess are dancing sexily to the music.
Max is running down the street with a bloody hand print on his chest.
In the Crashdown, Michael is watching Maria dance and Alex is watching Isabel. Maria notices Michael and says to Liz "He's watching, isn't he?" Liz smiles and nods. Maria encourages Liz to get up and dance. She tells Liz she saw the way she looked at Max and asks if she got a flash. Liz smiles and Maria happily says "I knew it!"
Max is running like his life depends on it. He crashes into a table, falls, immediately gets back up and continues running. He gets to the Crashdown, comes through the door, falls to his knees and says "Nasedo's dead". They all rush to him. Liz and Alex help him to a chair. Choking out the words between gasps for breath, he tells them "He came to me... injured. Said... said it was another alien and that we're all in danger. He died... in my arms. He... he died in my arms". Michael says "We have to get Nasedo to the pod chamber, use the healing stones to revive him. Max, where is he? Where's Nasedo?" Max replies "In my room." Isabel gets the keys to the jeep. Liz noticing that Max' face is scratched, cups his face with her hands and says "Oh, Max, you're hurt". Tess steps in and heals the wound. Michael takes charge. Max is reluctant to leave Liz, but allows Michael, Isabel and Tess to lead him to the jeep.
At the pod chamber, Nasedo is lying on the ground. Michael, Isabel, Tess and Max stand around him, holding the healing stones. The stones start to glow and then the light in them dims. They are unable to revive Nasedo. Tess wonders out loud why it's not working. Max says "I think whatever happened to him is... something we can't reverse". Tess is very upset and Isabel puts her arm around her to comfort her. Michael asks Max to tell them exactly what Nasedo said before he died. Max replies "He said that we were all in danger... that the Skins were among us". Michael tells them about finding the piece of skin by the gravesite. Isabel brings their attention to Nasedo's body, which turns to dust before their very eyes. They look on, stunned, then Tess says "What do we do now Max?" and they all turn to him.
Monday, 21 August 2000
At the Roswell Bus Depot, Kyle gets off a bus and looks around. Finally his father pulls up in the Sheriff's patrol car. Valenti says "Welcome home Son" and gives him a hug. He apologises for being late and asks "How was football camp?" Kyle says it was great and points out that he is two hours late. Valenti explains that Nasedo was murdered the night before by another alien. Kyle replies "My strength fails. My vitality exhausted. I cannot find the bull. I only hear the locusts chirring through the night". Dumfounded, Valenti says "What?" Kyle says he's "not looking forward to dealing with all the little green men again". Valenti reminds him that Max saved his life and Kyle says "Damn human of him. Of course, he is the reason I got shot in the first place, but what the hell. No conditions are permanent. No conditions are reliable. Nothing is self" and walks toward the patrol car. Valenti is nonplussed by this new Kyle.
At school, Michael is complaining to Isabel that he is unhappy with Max's decision to have them return to school, where they will be sitting ducks for the Skins to find them. Angry, Isabel slams her locker and chastises him for putting her in the middle of his conflict with Max. She tells him "If you have a problem, take it to Max. He's the leader". He is telling her he thinks Max is going to get them killed when Max comes up to them. The bell rings and Michael uses it as an excuse to leave. Max sensing the tension, tells Isabel they are doing the right thing. Until they know more, they need to just stay low and blend in. Isabel replies "I hope so. I'm too young to be dust" and leaves.
As Max is walking he senses a presence behind him. He stops, flattens himself against some lockers and looks behind him. He sees the door to the storage room closing. He approaches the door with trepidation, turns the handle and swings open the door. He startles the person inside, who turns aiming a lit welding gun at Max. Max instinctively throws his arm out in front of him, creating a force field between them, then, realising there is no real danger, Max immediately removes the force field. The man inside raises his welding helmet and exclaims "What was that?" Max replies "What was what?" The man removes his helmet, looks at Max, then his helmet, then back at Max.
Max is sitting in his history classroom. The teacher is saying "What does it mean to be a leader?" He is telling the class about John F Kennedy in 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis. He says "Now, this week as we study the missile crisis in detail, I want you to think of John Kennedy, the man. Think what it would feel like to hold the fate of an entire nation in your hands. Imagine what it would be like to come face to face with the very real possibility that your next decision could literally mean the end of the world". His words are hitting home to Max.
That night, Max goes to work at the UFO Centre. When he arrives he sees new things being brought in by movers. A man comes up, asks if he is Max Evans, introduces himself as Brody Davis and says Max works for him now as he has just purchased the Centre. Max is incredulous, saying Milton would never sell and never said anything to him. Max asks what the new items are and Brody replies that he is making improvements. He tells Max he is not needed that evening and to go home. As Max is leaving he warns him "If anybody asks, you never saw any of this".
On his way home, Max goes through the park and sees Tess sitting alone on a bench. He goes up to her and asks if she's OK. She replies "No". She says Nasedo tried to prepare her for when he would no longer be with her but she always assumed it would not be until they returned "home".
Maria and Liz are driving down the street in the Jetta. Maria is telling Liz that's it's just a matter of time before she weakens because she loves Max and can not live without him. Liz reminds her that she is the one that walked away "from him, and her and the entire situation". Maria says "Her? There is no 'her'. Max doesn't care about Tess. He's never gonna care about Tess. The only thing he's interested in... (she notices Max walking down the street with Tess) Oh God!" Liz notices too and is devastated. Maria starts to say something and Liz interrupts with "Maria, whatever you're about to say, just don't, OK?"
Max and Tess are outside her home. Max is asking Tess if she remembers their world. She says not clearly just images, impressions and feelings. Nasedo taught her memory retrieval techniques. She offers to teach him. Max hesitates then says "Sure". She counters with "Sure, Tess. As long as you keep your hands off me. It's OK, I know how you feel about me... how everyone feels about me". He tells her it's not that he doesn't like her. She says he doesn't have to spare her feelings, that Nasedo taught her not to get wrapped up in her human side; that it's not who she is and it's not who he is. He tells her it's all he knows. She reminds him that he lived before; a life completely different from this one. Stroking his cheek she says "A life... when you loved me". He gently removes her hand from his cheek and softly, but firmly, says "I don't remember that". She says "I do". They hear something break inside the house and go in to investigate. Max chases an unseen person out the back door. Tess says hopefully "Maybe it was just a burglar". Picking up a large piece of skin from the hedges outside, Max says "I don't think so". The skin disintegrates. Valenti is doing paperwork at the dining table when he hears a noise outside his home. He gets his gun, goes to the door and throws it open, aiming his gun at Max and Tess. He apologises for scaring them. Max says "We need your help".
Tuesday, 22 August 2000
Kyle's clock radio goes off at 7am the next morning. He falls out of bed and immediately begins doing pushups. Leaving his bedroom in his boxers, he sees Tess sleeping on the living room couch in a man's shirt and stops in his tracks. He calls out "Dad!" waking Tess, who gets up, drowsily says "Morning" and walks towards him. He asks "What the hell are you doing here?" She replies "I live here". As she passes she snaps the band on his boxers and says "Calvin Klien, I approve". He is flabbergasted and calls out "Dad!" once again.
Whitaker walks into the reception area of her office and asks Liz "Are there any messages? Did Mr Pierce call?" Liz hesitates then says "No". Whitaker replies "Look at me... waiting for my boyfriend to call. Which one of us is in high school?" then goes into her office. Liz ponders for a moment then decisively goes into Whitaker's office and tells her that Agent Pierce did leave a voice mail saying that he was going away and not coming back, that it was over between them. She tells her she erased the message because it was very harsh and cold. Whitaker is stunned and hurt by the news. Liz apologises and leaves her alone.
Max is once again in history class where the teacher is still discussing JFK and the Cuban missile crisis "Day 4 of the crisis. Kennedy is getting pressure from all sides. The military wants an attack. The diplomats want a blockade. So what is he supposed to do? One thing is clear: he's running out of time. The missiles in Cuba will become operational any day now. Unless he acts... and acts soon, he runs the risk of allowing events to control him. So right or wrong, a choice has to be made, and it has to be made right now".
After school, Max is at work, fixing one of the displays. He is curious about what Brody has behind doors marked "Authorised Personnel Only! Keep Out". So he decides to investigate while Brody is away from the area. He uses his powers to get past the security system. Inside the room he sees several monitors displaying UFO information. He goes to one and presses the enter key on the keyboard. It brings up a star chart with the following information displayed: "Date: May 14, 2000... Pulse detected at 4:33 pm, New Mexico time". Max hits some more keys and it brings him to the location of the pulse - Roswell, New Mexico. Max says "Oh my God". He looks around the room some more and finds a pentagon device. It has symbols on it similar to the ones from the cave wall. He is about to pick it up when Brody comes in and says "Don't touch that!" He asks Max what he's doing in there. He picks up the beeper and asks Max if he recognises it and why he was reaching for it. Max says he doesn't know what it is, he was just curious. Brody tells him "It's over Evans... go home, don't come back. Your fired".
In the reception area of Whitaker's office, Maria is telling Liz she thinks Max was with Tess last night to act as a bodyguard in case the killer was around; he was just walking her home. Liz says she doesn't have to make excuses for him and reminds her that she is supposed to be her friend. Maria says she cares about both of them and she just wants them to be happy and together. Liz asks her to keep her big fat nose out of it. Maria takes the hint and leaves, after making sure Liz didn't mean the big fat nose part.
Liz hears the shredder machine working in Whitaker's office and, curious, goes in to investigate. She finds Whitaker drinking alcohol while shredding the alien files. Whitaker appears to be drunk. She tells Liz she is shredding Pierce from her life. She asks Liz if she's ever been in love and Liz says "Once". They bond over their mutual misery and upon further questioning, Liz admits that she left the relationship when a girl from his past returned. Whitaker refers to her as a bitch and Liz says she's not that bad. Whitaker gets her to admit that she hates Tess. The phone rings and Liz goes to answer it. A much more sober Whitaker puts down her drink and says "Tess!"
Kyle enters his bedroom to find Tess lying on his bed, wearing only his football jersey, flipping through his porno magazines. He says "Hey, this is my room and that's my jersey". She says "Sorry" and starts to remove the jersey. He averts his eyes and tells her to stop. She says "Kind of uptight about nudity, aren't you, for a guy who reads Jugs?" indicating the magazine she's holding. He grabs it saying "Give me that!" She says "Oh, the post-its... nice touch!" He says "OK, listen. I don't know how you do things on planet Vulcan or whatever, but here on Earth we have this primitive human concept called privacy". She responds "Keep talking to me like that and I'll slag you with my death-ray eyes". He is speechless, not sure if he should believe her. She says "Kidding... you Buddhists have like no sense of humour". He closes his bedroom door and says "How do you know about that?" She replies "Buddhism for beginners is also under your bed. How do you think the Buddha would feel about being sandwiched between Hustler and Busty Biker Babes?" He tells her "Look, you can't tell anyone about that". She asks "Why?" and he says "Because I have a certain reputation". Tess replies "Of which, the less said the better". Kyle says "I'm serious". Not buying it, Tess replies "Kyle Valenti, Buddhist". He tells her he got into it over the summer. She sarcastically counters with "At football camp. They're crazy about it". Exasperated he says "Listen! This... this whole aliens-are-among-us thing... it really screwed me up ... made me question stuff... life, reality, my place in this universe... and you don't understand. You... you guys... you people turned my life upside down. I need a little clarity. I need a little peace of mind". Tess replies "No, I don't understand. I'm a girl from another planet. No family, no friends, only three other people like me in the world. And the man I grew up with, the man who raised me, he was just murdered. You're right Kyle, what would I know about needing peace of mind?" She walks out of the room, leaving him speechless. After she's gone he says "Sorry".
On the bleachers at the park, Max, Isabel and Michael are discussing what he found in Brody's room. He tells them the pentagon device was definitely alien. Michael is concerned that an alien device is in the hands of a stranger who is also interested in what happened on May 14th, the day they got the message from home. He is sceptical that Milton would just sell his life's work and he thinks it is possible that Brody killed Nasedo and Milton. Isabel thinks he's jumping to conclusions. He snaps at her "Will you wake up! Nasedo told us before we activated the orbs that we might be telling our enemies where we are". Max interjects, telling him to keep his voice down. Michael sarcastically replies "Yes sir. What do you want to do next, fearless leader?" Max wants to ask Valenti to try to find Milton so they can ask him about Brody. Michael wants to break into the Centre and steal the pentagon device. Max thinks it's too dangerous and would risk exposure to the Skins. Michael wants to put it to a vote turning to Isabel for the deciding vote. Isabel says "Don't put this on me Michael" and Max says "We are not voting on this, Michael. I've made my decision. That is the end of it..." Michael faces him in a confrontational manner and says "You know, Maxwell, I don't remember this other life we're supposed to have lived, but I do know I was your trusted second-in-command, and I am pretty damned sure that you used to listen to me". He walks off.
That evening, Michael breaks into the UFO Centre. He sees Brody and watches him. Brody is walking from his office holding the device when it starts to beep. He stops in his tracks. Suddenly an energy surge emanates from the device, passes through Brody (who jumps slightly but is unharmed) and hits Michael, lifting him off his feet and knocking him momentarily unconscious. Brody hears Michael fall and calls out "Who's there? Stay where you are!" Michael comes to. He is in obvious pain but he gets up and hobbles out before Brody sees clearly who was there.
In Michael's apartment Isabel is touching his ribs saying "They don't feel broken". Michael winces at her touch and says "Yeah, not to you". Max starts to yell at him for what he did and Isabel interrupts saying Knock it off, Max! All right? He's been through enough. He doesn't need a lecture". Michael says "Thank you. Better late than never". Max says he just doesn't want anyone to get hurt. Isabel says that people are already getting hurt, that Michael was almost killed and Nasedo was killed. She thinks they have to kill Brody. Michael, amazed, says "Wow". Isabel points out that he used an alien weapon and says "What human could do that? He's a Skin... whatever that means. And he killed Nasedo and he's been stalking the rest of us. We're at war. It's him or us, and I choose us". Michael agrees.
Wednesday, 23 August 2000
In history class the next day, the teacher is saying "What will he do? An American spy plane has just been shot down over Cuba. The American pilot is dead. There is enormous pressure to strike back, but is it the right move? At the right time? Kennedy has no shortage of advice. His own brother Bobby is doubting him, but in the end, it's his call and whatever course he chooses, history will be his final judge".
Max and Maria sitting at a table outside of school. Max, indicating the book on Kennedy, asks Maria how he knew to be tough with the Russians early but later to hang back and play it safe, even after they shot down the U2. Maria says "I don't know". Max says "I don't either. That's the problem. I'm supposed to be this... this great leader, but I don't know how to make these kinds of decisions. I don't have that kind of insight. How am I supposed to know what's the right course of action?" Maria picks up the book and says "I have a thought". She repeatedly hits him with the book saying "What are you talking about?" Max grabs the book from her. She continues "Here you are giving me this history lesson. You haven't even told me what the hell's going on, Max". He says he knows and apologises. She understands that he's trying to figure out how to be a leader but suggests that he shouldn't use JFK as an example because he cheated on his wife with tramps. She asks how Tess is and tells him she and Liz saw them together. He's distressed to hear this. She asks him to explain and he says it's a long story. She says "Oh, well, I certainly don't want to hear a long story unless there's a Kennedy involved". He reminds Maria that he loves Liz. She advises him to show Liz how he feels and to "please, please, do it now". As for his "Roswell missile crisis" she tells him "Try and follow your heart. I mean, isn't that what the great leaders always do?"
Later that night, Max, Michael and Isabel go to the UFO Centre. As they enter the Centre, Max has flashes of the violent times in his life (Michael killing Pierce, Valenti killing Hubble, Liz getting shot, Pierce torturing him in the white room and a partial image of a being (possibly an alien) seemingly covered in blood). He stops and turns to Michael and Isabel and says "We can't do this... This isn't us". Michael says "Brody's dead. End of subject" and starts to proceed forward. Max stops him and Isabel with the force field. Shocked, Michael says "What the hell?" and Isabel asks "When did you learn to do that?" He removes the force field and replies "A while ago. Just wait here". Isabel asks what he's going to do and he says "Face him... find out the truth". Michael asks "And if he kills you?" Max replies, "Then you can be fearless leader" and goes to find Brody.
Max comes up behind him in the secured room and asks "What are you doing in Roswell?" Brody wants to know if this is one of those ex-employee returns to murder his boss things. Max says he'd hate for it to turn into that. He tells him he knows he's there because of what happened on May 14th. Brody says "You're here because of this" and reaches for the pentagon device. Max grabs his wrist before he picks it up and says "You're one of us, aren't you?" Brody replies "That's right. I suspected we were alike but I wasn't sure". Max asks forcefully "Why are you here? What do you want?" Brody responds "What we all want. To re-establish contact, maybe even to go back". He asks Max to let go of him. Max does but remains on guard. Brody says "Do you remember what happened?" Max replies "Not entirely". Brody tells him that after two years of recovered memory therapy the only thing he remembers of his abduction is the colour of the walls and the smell of burned hair. It happened seven years ago on the Massachusetts Turnpike. They took him, did something to him and the next thing he knew he was back in his car, in West Virginia, two days later. He would have considered the whole thing as an acid flashback accept that he had terminal bone marrow cancer at the time and it completely disappeared after the incident. But you can't tell people you've been abducted by aliens because they will consider you a lunatic. Max has relaxed somewhat with this new information but is still unsure. He asks Brody about the pentagon device. Isabel and Michael are listening outside the door. Brody tells him he purchased it three years ago from someone who deals in supposed alien artefacts. He thought it was a piece of junk until May 14th when it sent out this pulse. He hired a team to check the entire radio telescope network for anything unusual and they found a strange high-energy microwave signal coming from Roswell. He says "Do you know what this means, Max? Aliens. I mean, not like they're walking among us or anything stupid like that, but they're actually making contact with people right here in Roswell... So what about you Max, what's your abduction story?"
Max, Michael and Isabel are leaving the UFO Centre. They seem relieved by the turn of events. As they walk down the street they are being watched.
Thursday, 24 August 2000
At the Crashdown, Max and Isabel tell Alex and Tess what they learned about Brody. Alex asks where he got the money to buy the Centre. They tell him that Brody became a millionaire by helping an Internet start-up company go public. When he started talking about his "abduction" he became a liability and he was bought out for $300 million. Alex and Tess laugh. Tess asks about the attack on Michael. Isabel says "Brody said the device just went off in his hand. It sent out a pulse without warning, so I think it was because Michael was near, but I'm not sure". Alex asks Max "But why would it react to Michael and not to you?" Max replies "I don't know". Kyle comes in and, standing by the door, motions to Tess to come to him. Tess goes over and asks "So, what have I done now?" He tells her that since her living with them is a temporary arrangement, he has cleared his things from his room so she can have it and he will sleep on the couch. That "material possessions only clutter the mind anyway". She responds "You tell 'em Buddha Boy!" He smiles and starts to leave. She smiles and says "Hey, thanks!".
Courtney asks Michael "How do you feel about piercings?" He tells her he's not into pain. Flirting she says "It only hurts once. Then it's about the stimulation". Maria purposely interrupts saying "Table four is waiting". Liz comes in and walks by Max. He gets up and follows her, stopping her before she goes into the back room. She says "Maria tried to explain to me about you and Tess the other night... " He interrupts saying "This isn't about Tess. It's about you and me. You think I'm gonna forget about you or get over it or something, but... but I'm not. I don't... I don't care about my destiny or my planet or anything else. All I care about is you. So just know this... I'm coming for you, Liz". He leaves her and Maria comes over to Liz, who is somewhat stunned, and says "Now that is a great man". Liz goes into the back room. Max returns to his table and Tess says to him "You realise our problems aren't over, don't you, Max? Whoever killed Nasedo is still out there... and he's probably close by".
Courtney asks Maria to cover for her as she goes into the restroom. She locks the door, looks in the mirror and scratches her neck. Then she pulls at her skin, removes an entire layer in the shape of her face, flushes it down the toilet and leaves the restroom.