After about three hours, Max was about to give up tailing Liz and Kyle for the sake of having to get gas when they pulled off the highway. They pulled into the closest gas station but Max continued to the next one down so he could keep them in sight. Max had just started filling up the jeep when he heard Isabel let out a surprised gasp and said, "Oh God, is that Liz? What is she wearing?"
Before Max could ask her what she meant, Maria said, "Yeah, its her but I've never seen her wear anything like that before. Not quite the innocent stuff she normally wears."
Max swung his gaze around to see what they were talking about. When he caught site of her walking out of the gas station, he felt his mouth drop open. Liz was wearing a pair a low cut hip-huggers with a cropped black tank top. The outfit left a good deal of her abdomen bare and her hair hung down just to the bottom of the shirt. Max had never seen Liz wear anything that revealing. It just wasn't something she wore but he had to admit she looked very sexy in it. As Max continued to stare at her, she walked over to the motorcycle and started talking to Zack. He figured she was asking for something because she started hopping up and down like she was begging. After another minute Zack nodded and got off the bike. Liz ran back to the SUV only to come right back wearing a black leather jacket. When she got back to the bike Zack handed her his helmet and walked over to the passenger side of the SUV. Liz jumped on the bike and slipped on the helmet. Seeing Liz start the bike, Max finally came out of his daze. He put the gas nozzle up, grabbed his receipt and got back into the jeep. He pulled up a safe distance behind the convoy before saying, "I guess there is a whole side of Liz that we don't know about."
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Same time-Liz's POV
After Kyle gave her the money to pay for the gas for both vehicles, Liz headed into pay. They had been talking about everything from those last few weeks to whether they were going to tell their friends about them and Liz needed to clear her head. Watching Zack fill up his bike, she got an idea. Thinking of the best way to ask her brother, she walked up and smiled,"You've been driving back and forth from Seattle all night. Why don't you ride with Kyle for a little while and rest. I can drive the bike for you."
Zack looked up and smirked knowing what Liz was trying to do. "I bet you could. You think you can handle it?"
Liz realized her brother was teasing her, she started hopping up and down to show how much she wanted to drive it. "Come on, I've drove it before. Please?"
Zack knew she'd be able to handle the bike with ease. Hell he had taught her. Plus he was tired, so he agreed.
Liz ran back to the SUV to grab a couple things and slip on the leather jacket Zack had bought her last summer before returning to the bike. He handed her the helmet before making his way to the SUV.
Liz was ecstatic. She hadn't been on bike in so long. She had thought about asking Michael if she could drive his but it would have brought up too many questions when she admitted that she knew how to drive it or take care of it. She started it with ease and pulled up to follow Kyle back to the highway.
Part 10:Seattle-Warehouse (Same one in DA AJBAC)
After parking the cars in the loading dock area, Zack lead them into the next room. When Liz entered she saw three people waiting for them. She ran straight to the younger two and yelled,"Krit! Syl!"
She reached Krit first. "Liz!" Krit said as he enveloped her in a big hug. When she pulled away, she took the opportunity to look him over. "You're so tall!" He was at least a foot taller that her. He was very cute and had dark features similar to Liz's.
"No baby sister, you're just short." Liz laughed and turned to her sister. Syl was a few inches taller than her and had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Zack. She reached over to hug her, "I can't believe you guys are here. I missed you."
"Missed you too." Syl turned to hug Kyle. Kyle picked her up and swung her around. "Ky! Put me down!" She squealed.
"Sorry, I'm just glad to see you." Kyle put Syl down and went to hug Krit.
When they were finished, Zack spoke up, "We've got work to do." He walked over to the third person Liz had spotted, who was sitting by a computer and said, "Ky, Liz this is Logan. He's a 'friend' of Max's."
Liz raised an eyebrow at the way Zack introduced Logan. 'Interesting' Liz thought. She looked Logan over sizing him up. He looks like a good guy who would treat her sister well. She reached out to shake his hand before saying, "It's good to meet you Logan."
"You too, Liz. You look a lot like your sister." Logan said with affection. Liz could tell that he was close to her sister. He turned to Zack and said, "I've got the blueprints. They're over on the table. I'm working on mapping the security system and cutting into the camera feed so you can get in undetected."
Zack nodded and led everyone over to the table. They started going over the blueprints and it didn't take long for Zack to come up with a plan. They planned to move out once night fell so there would be the least amount of guards. They still had most the afternoon and evening to wait so it was decided the would use the time to prepare and thoroughly study all the information Logan was getting for them. They all broke up and Liz stood up to stretch. While she did, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Focusing on the window where she saw it, she enhanced her vision just in time to see a couple of heads ducking down.
She looked over at Zack and Kyle and whispered what she saw low enough that only her siblings would be able to hear. He signaled for Syl and Krit to go out and search the perimeter. They were the closest and the only ones heavily armed at the moment. As soon as the meeting was done they had started going through their stash of weapons so they were both holding high-powered guns. Zack and Kyle both pulled out their handguns and trained them on the door that Krit and Syl would come back through. Liz moved over to stand in front and protect Logan. She had her hand behind her poised on the gun under her jacket but had not yet drawn. They all stayed in that position for five minutes until the door opened to Krit and Syl leading a very stunned Max, Michael, Isabel, and Maria in at gunpoint.
"Oh, shit." Kyle griped as he lowered his gun.
Part 11:
Liz stood in shock for a minute until she realized her friends were still being held at gunpoint. She snapped into action, "Krit, Syl guns down. They're not a threat. They're friends." They glanced at Liz to make sure before they lowered their guns but stayed on guard. She walked down the few steps and up to her friends. "What are you doing here?"
Michael was the first one to speak, "Following you. Now why don't you tell us why you and Kyle snuck out of Roswell with some strange guy?"
"We don't have to answer to you!" Kyle said as he and Zack came up behind Liz.
"Kyle! Stop!" Liz said as she tried to figure out what say. "How did you know we were leaving?"
Maria piped in, "You left your jacket in my car. When Michael and I went in to return it, we overheard you and him," pointing to Zack, "talking about leaving. We thought it was strange and you might be in trouble so we called Max. After he heard you talking to both of them he decided to follow you. What's going on Liz?"
She quickly came up with an idea to try and throw off her friends, she said, "Kyle and I decided to come here to Seattle instead of camping when Zack breezed through town. His parents are friends of the Sheriff and invited Kyle here." Liz knew it was flimsy excuse considering all her friends had seen or heard but she had to try. "You guys don't have to worry. We're fine. Go back to Roswell and we'll see you in a couple days." She could tell by the way Max was looking at her that he didn't buy it.
Max held her gaze, he could tell she was lying. "I know you're lying, we heard you guys talking. We know your not here for vacation but for some kind of rescue mission. Please tell me what's going on Liz, I want to help." Max started towards Liz but Zack stepped in between them.
"She said go back to Roswell. Now leave before we make you leave." Zack growled through clenched teeth.
Michael came up behind Max, glaring at Zack as he said,"I would like to see you try it."
Zack shifted his gaze to meet Michael's eyes before saying loud enough for everyone to hear, "What are you going to do Michael? Shoot one of your alien energy blasts at me? Have Max put up a shield?" Zack smiled widely when he saw the shocked expressions on the four Roswellians as well as Krit, Syl, and Logan's faces. When he saw them look at Liz he continued,"Yeah, I know all about you but not from Liz. I was outside that day at the Crashdown and saw enough to make me suspicious. I watched you on and off for a while and figure most of it out. Shortly after Ky found out, I confronted them both and they filled in the gaps." Zack tensed his body, ready to attack and added,"So come on, let's see who wins."
Liz's thoughts were running wild. 'I have to find out how much they know and do damage control.' Liz pushed her way in front of Zack and tried to control the testosterone level. She pushed Zack back, "Zack, that's enough." Looking back at Max she asked, "What all did you hear?"
The question shocked Max. He hadn't expected Liz to continue avoiding his questions. "Enough to know that you're deep in a lot of secrets. We know that Zack and Kyle are your brothers. We heard you talking about weapons and rescuing your sister. Not to mention all about you and Kyle pretending to date as well as acting like you slept together." At the last statement Liz heard gasps from Krit and Syl. She knew she wasn't going to be able to keep her secret from Max and the others any longer. She glanced at Kyle and saw his slight nod telling her to do what she thought was best. Liz took a deep breath, pulled back her shoulders and turned to Zack.
"They know too much. I have to tell them. I should have a long time ago."
Zack stared at his sister for a moment before saying, "I could order you not to."
She looked at the curious faces of her friends and said,"You could but I'm begging you not to. I would just defy it. We're not at Manticore anymore and I trust them with my life."
Zack could see the determination in her eyes and nodded. "Fine, but make sure they know I will expose them if they tell anyone." As Zack finished his conditions, he looked at Max to make sure he knew he was serious.
"We won't tell." Max stated. They all turned to Liz to begin.
Part 12
"First, let me introduce everyone. This is Max, Michael, Isabel, and Maria." Liz gestured to her friends then turned to her siblings.
"That you know is Zack, the others are Krit and Syl, they are some of my siblings."
Maria cut Liz off, "What do you mean some? How many do you have?"
Liz smiled and said, "Thirteen. Seven brothers and six sisters. And over by the computer is Logan. He’s a friend of one of my sisters. Come on. Let’s go up to the table and get comfortable. This is going to take a while." Liz stood watching everyone find some place to sit or lean on. Her friends were on one end of the table while her family was on the other. Turning first to her friends, she started.
"Before I start telling my story, you need to understand that it doesn’t just involve me" Liz pointed to herself and her siblings. "It involves all us as well as our other siblings and it is critical for our survival that no one else knows. And for them to trust you with our secret, I need to fill them in on yours. Logan can also be trusted." Logan looked up surprised. Liz just smiled, "Hey, if Maxie and Zack trust you, then so do I."
Michael started to object but Max stopped him. "Michael, they heard what Zack said. They already know enough." After Michael and Isabel nodded their approvals, Max looked at Liz, "Go ahead."
Liz addressed the others and said, "I’ll tell you the short version. Max, Isabel, and Michael are aliens. Actually they are alien-human engineered hybrids. They are almost completely human except for their powers and bodily fluids. They aren’t evil or anything like that. They just want to live normal lives and not be hunted down for who they are." It was obvious to everyone that Liz cared a great deal for her friends.
Syl asked, "What do you mean powers?"
Before Liz could answer, Max waved his hand and an unopened soda can slide across the table to him. He picked up the can off the table and changed it to a bottle of water. "We can all change molecular structures as well as have individual talents." Michael decided it was time for him to show off and sent a small burst of energy to the bottle and sent it flying off the table. "Any more questions?" They shook their heads no.
"Could have used you about ten years ago." Krit said.
Max looked around and noticed that none of the four who just found out their secret were acting very surprised at their abilities. It appeared that not much surprised them.
"We can fill you in on the rest later." Liz tucked her hair behind her ear before she starting again and focused on her friends, "For you to understand all this I have to give you a little history lesson. Thirty years ago a branch of the army merged with a genetic research company called Manticore. Their objective was to create the perfect transgenic soldiers and assassins through genetic engineering. Imagine the best Special Forces soldier, but born with better reflexes, senses, speed, and brain functions than a normal person. By mixing different DNA cocktails, they started getting the right combinations but the first four groups didn't survive past the gestation period." Noticing that her friends looked a little lost. "Okay let me simplify. They mixed traits from all kinds of DNA, created something like a test tube baby and implanted them in a host mother. The women would be injected with steroids and other things to help the baby's DNA develop to the fullest. They then carried the children full term and after birth the babies were taken away to be raised by Manticore. The fifth set of kids were the first group to survive past birth as you can see."
Her friends’ eyes swept over Liz and then Kyle. Max was the first one to speak, "What are you saying, Liz?"
"We are those kids. Manticore engineered us with Zack being the first and me the last in the X5 series."
Michael scratched his eyebrow in confusion and asked, "X5's?"
Zack stepped in and answered him, "The 5 means the fifth group and the X stands for transgenic. It was our unit designation."
"So the five of you were created to be soldiers?" Isabel asked. The X5's all nodded. "But you are human, right?" Isabel questioned thinking about how she herself had been engineered to be part alien and part human.
"Pretty much. We have some different kind of DNA that gives us advantages."
"What kind of advantages?" Max asked. He couldn't believe what Liz was telling him. Of all the secrets Max had come up, this was not one of them. Liz had always amazed him at how accepting she was at him being different and now he knew why. She knew what it was like to be different.
"Increased hearing, strength, muscles, reflexes, anything to give us a tactical advantage. That is because of some animal DNA mixed into us. Two of the most distinctive is shark and feline. The shark DNA allows us to hold our breath for around four minutes. It also gives us an endurance that makes it so we don't have to sleep much but that varies between all of us. Two of my sisters and I can go for several weeks without sleeping where as Ky and the others can only go a week if we have to. The feline increases our reflexes, vision including night vision. All the notable cat characteristics." Liz lowered her eyes and glanced at Syl before muttering, "Along with some not so great ones."
When Maria noticed Liz blushing, her curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "What are the other ones?"
When Liz blushed even more, Kyle spoke up, "Well you see the cat DNA has an effect on the girls hormones and sex drive."
"In what way?" Michael asked. He was enjoying watching Max and Liz squirm. Zack and Krit threw him nasty glares as they saw how uncomfortable their sisters were talking about this. Plus they didn't like to hear about sex and one of their sisters in the same sentence.
"They go into heat two or three times a year. For about forty-eight hours, their hormones completely crazy and it takes a lot to control themselves around members of the opposite sex."
"Ky, I think they get it now," Zack said sternly. "Like Liz said, we were the first batch of their new soldiers. We were born and raised at Manticore. When we were old enough, we began our training. They taught us anything and everything that we needed to become the soldier they wanted us to be; weapons, explosives, hand to hand combat, mechanics, tracking, even field medicine."
"You see, all the enhancements they gave us weren't enough. We had to be trained like the special forces. The biggest difference was we learned it a lot faster. Another one of our traits was enhanced brain function. We think and learn very fast." Liz said. Liz's mind ran through a series of memories from her training at Manticore. "They made sure we were prepared for every circumstance that we could encounter on a mission or in the battlefield." Before Liz could go on Michael interrupted her.
"Liz, not to put you down but you don't look like a soldier that the army would order out. You're so small."
"But Michael, that's just it. If I were your enemy would you suspect me? They even went as far as giving us different ethnic features. A couple of our siblings have Asian or Indian features. That is exactly why we look the way we do so we can blend in and not be suspected." Liz said.
"Don't underestimate what we can do. We're very lethal if we need to." Zack said as he glared at Michael. "Do you want to give her the opportunity to prove it?"
Michael shook his head and said, "No, I was just wondering."
"Being what you are, I can't imagine Manticore letting you guys stray far from them. How did you all wind up here?" Max asked.
"You're right but we didn't give them an option. Like I said we started training when we were small but that's not all. They tried to brainwash us so that we didn't have any personalities and have no opinion, just follow orders. Lydecker, the guy in charge of us, would demand nothing less than perfection and we were punished if we didn't obey. We didn't even have names we went by the designation numbers on our barcodes." Liz looked at her friends to gauge their reaction to her last statement.
Max's head popped up when he heard what Liz had said, "What do you mean your barcodes?"
"Manticore encoded an individual designation number in each of our DNA's. It appears on us like a tattoo. It is kind of like a permanent name and property tag but with numbers. That's how they kept track of us."
"But where are they?" Maria asked with wide eyes. In all the sleepovers she had shared with Liz, she had never seen one.
Liz moved closer to her friends so that they would all be able to see. As Liz turned and squatted down, she pulled her hair over and revealed her barcode "We all have one in the same spot. The numbers are the all the same for our unit until you get to the last three. I'm X5-435."
They all stared in shock as Liz revealed the black barcode on the back of her neck. As they stared, Liz got up to move back to her previous position. Kyle walked over and squatted down just like Liz revealing his neck as well. There was an almost identical mark as Liz's just as she had said.
"God, Liz. Now I see why you never wanted to get a tattoo. Why haven't you had it removed?" Maria asked.
"We can't. At least not permanently, it's encoded in us. If we have it removed, it just comes back in a couple weeks."
"But how come I've never seen it before?" Maria asked.
"Well as you saw, my hair covers it most of the time. If I have my hair up, I cover it with body makeup like they use at the theatres or in movies. That's how Kyle keeps his hidden." When they didn't ask anymore questions she continued, "Manticore didn't want us to be our own person so they didn't give us names. So we named ourselves. We each chose our own."
"Well we know all your names so what are the others?" Max questioned.
"Well there is Zane, Josh, Jack, Bren, Jondy, and Max who is actually a girl. Kyle's is actually Ky but he changed it to Kyle later. Also Ben, Tinga, and Eva." Liz said with a sad note in her voice.
Kyle noticed the drop in Liz's voice and decided to help her tell their friends, "Manticore was so sure that all the brainwashing had been effective that they never realized that it didn't work. They knew about our names but nothing more. We decided we wanted to live our own lives and be our own person. So we set out to do it."
"How?" Michael asked.
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