PART ELEVEN

Max knew who stood behind that mirror, pushing the button that was sending agonizing impulses of pain through his head. It was also he who was the perpetrator of the torture Liz was about to experience.

"No!!!" his mind cried out. She would *not* go through what he had all of those years.

Desperately, impulsively, he pushed the pain in his head away as he focused his blurry vision on Liz. Her head turned, as if sensing him, and their eyes met. He concentrated fully on her fearful gaze, and his body shook with tremors at the effort.

Liz....

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Liz saw the whirring blade coming closer to her chest. Her heart was racing, her body trying to prepare itself for the impending trauma. As if beckoned, she sensed Max's gaze, and turned her head toward him. She reeled a bit as she felt the blade slice her skin, and then she met his eyes and all went black.

*flash*

Slowly light filtered into her consciousness. A warm wind blew softly through her hair as she stood at the edge of a precipice overlooking the most beautiful valley she had ever seen. Yet it was like nothing she'd ever seen.

Spread before her were crystalline trees far below. They looked as if they were made of ice, yet the grass that sprung up around them was the deepest shade of green, and the warm breeze that blew here told her the trees were composed of something else.

Rainbow prisms reflected from the tree branches, where the rays of the blue sun above her filtered through them.

Suddenly aware that she was no longer in the compound, her hand flew to her chest, expecting the razor-like pain from the blade, but she felt nothing.

How did she get here?

Turning slowly, she saw Max standing quietly behind her, his face a picture of extreme concentration.

She reached out her hand and he took it, an immediate sense of calm and a sense of great effort washing over her from him.

"Am I dead Max?" she asked quietly.

"No," he said, his jaw tightening in concentration.

"What is this place?" she asked in wonder.

He looked around slowly.

"It's a place I used to dream about. It's a place created it in my mind when I was young," he said wistfully. "It's like it's always been there, in my head, for as long as I can remember," he said.

Her face dropped as she thought about their circumstances.

"The doctors Max...." she said, breaking off.

"They can't hurt you here," he said with effort, the wind rifling his hair.

"I don't understand," she said, searching his eyes.

"I brought you here. They can't touch you here," he said.

"Is this....is this where you'd go when they did what they did to you?" she asked, troubled.

"No," he said quietly. "This is the first time I've tried this awake," he said.

"How did you do it, Max?" she asked. "The collar...."

"The collar inhibits my physical abilities....molecular manipulations, energy bursts, things like that. But it can't completely inhibit my mind. That's why I can still feel the others, even now," he said, looking at the ground.

"I don't know why it worked. I've never been strong enough to do anything like this with the inhibitor," he said.

She turned again and looked at the valley, noticing it had become inhabited. It was as if it was creating itself in front of her. Far below, she saw dwellings made of the most beautiful marble, the sun's blue rays reflecting marvelously off of the stone. Small vehicles hovered over the ground. She saw figures moving in the valley, their features indistinct with the distance. She was in complete awe of the beauty laid out before her.

She turned to Max, her eyes sparkling, ready to tell him what a beautiful world he'd created.

But that thought flew from her head as she looked upon him.

He swayed before her, his breathing labored, as he struggled against some unknown force.

"Max, what's wrong?" she said, catching his arm as he slid to the ground. His skin had become deathly pale, a sheen of sweat breaking over his body.

"They're almost done," he gasped, struggling to remain conscious.

"Only a little longer...." he said shakily, and she realized what this was costing him. He'd brought her here to escape the pain they were inflicting on her, but the physical toll in doing this for her was great.

"Max, forget about this," she pleaded. "Let me go."

"No!" he said fiercely, his golden eyes flashing. "It's my fault you're in there. I can't bear for you to feel what they're doing to you."

She watched his breath hitch erratically as he struggled to keep the fabric of his dream world woven.

"Max, I don't want this. Not like this. It's killing you," she pleaded.

His eyes shut in concentration as he ignored her plea.

"Just a little longer," he grated.

"Max, look at me," she said forcefully, grabbing his chin. The heat that radiated from his body was intense.

A small smile flickered over his face as he slowly opened his eyes.

"It's....over," he gasped, his eyes meeting hers.

She bit her lip as she saw the exhaustion in his face, and tears sprung to her eyes.

"Thank you...." she whispered, as the dream world around her faded, his eyes the last thing to remain.

Again she was on the steel table, her head turned, her eyes locked on his. She felt the prick of a needle in her arm. Through the glass she heard his muffled groan as he fell to the floor.

"Max," she croaked desperately, before everything went black.

*%*%*%*%*%

Pierce had watched with interest as the hybrid and the girl locked eyes, and her screaming ceased. For endless minutes they stared at each other unblinking as the hybrid became obviously stressed, his breathing erratic. Taking a reading with the remote from the collar, he noted that the hybrid's heart rate increased exponentially.

What was he doing?

He can't use any of his abilities with the collar.

His gaze switched back and forth between the two as the surgeons took organ and tissue samples from the girl. They could have put her out, but what would have been the fun in that?

Soon enough, they were done and stitching her.

As they did the clean up, the hybrid suddenly broke eye contact with the girl and fell to the floor, unconscious.

Interesting, he thought. The hybrid must have performed some mental manipulation on the girl. Something to take note of. He'd never tried that before with the inhibitor on. He must have been really desperate to do it. He must really care for this girl. Something to else to take note of.

He had obviously worn himself out with that little stunt, and soon enough, within a week or two, they would have their answers concerning the girl. If the hybrid kept this up, he might kill himself with the energy he expended.

Pierce could only hope. They had the other two, so if this one died of "natural causes", it would be of no great loss to him.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*

Slowly, Liz became aware of her surroundings. She opened her eyes and blinked against the bright whiteness of the room.

The turned her head and noticed she was still lying on the metal table in the center of the cell. She moved her uninjured left arm, and felt the light slap of plastic tubing against her arm.

An IV had been inserted at the crook of it. Turning her head to the right she saw the glass wall separating her cell from Max's. And then she saw him crumpled on the floor next to the glass.

"Max, she whispered, reaching her hand out toward him ineffectively. He didn't move.

Gasping at the burning from the incision in her chest, she lay there for a long time, trying to get the strength to move. Finally, she turned her body gingerly and slid off the side of the table, hitting the floor hard. She whimpered as her body hit the cold cement.

Grabbing onto the IV stand for support, she dragged it as she crawled slowly across the floor toward the prone body splayed on the other side of the glass.

"Max," she said as she reached the glass, slapping it.

"Max, wake up," she said shakily.

"Please, don't leave me here alone. You have to wake up."

His dark lashes framed his cheeks, an unhealthy pallor dominating his features.

A wave of weakness washed over her, and she slowly lowered herself to the cement, her face at the same level with his.

"What did you do Max?" she asked sadly.

Her shaky fingers touched the glass, tracing his features through it.

"I'm here Max," she sighed sadly.

"Thank you...."

*%*%*%*%*%*

It had been a week, and no sign of Liz or Max. The blood had been confirmed as Liz's, but the police didn't know where to turn.

Maria kept up appearances, working her shifts at the Crashdown, but working near Liz's parents had been torture for her. A thousand times she had thought of telling them about Max and the tape, but she and Alex had agreed to let Uncle John work with his contacts first. One more week was the limit, and then they would have to make a decision, and it would be a difficult one.

Which was worse, knowing that Pierce had Liz and waiting on Uncle John, or turning over the tape and possibly siing her death warrant?

Maria didn't know what they were going to do, but she knew they'd have to make a decision soon.

Uncle John's contacts had so far turned up nothing, and Maria was losing hope that they were going to.

Uncle John had made a lot of connections with his "don't ask, don't tell" medical policies. They'd had a false sense of hope those first few days when one of his contacts got in touch with one of his friends, who was a guard at the Eagle Rock Base, which was where they'd taken Wilkes. The guard confirmed that Wilkes was brought in, but had never heard of Pierce, nor had Max or Liz been seen. None of it boded well for Liz and Max.

But if anyone could find something, it would be Uncle John's contacts.

Taking her antennae off her head, she sat heavily on a stool at the counter. She missed her friend. She missed their talks, and their giggles. She even missed sharing shifts at the Crashdown. She hadn't been able to sleep well since she'd found out that Liz was gone. She couldn't help but think about how scared she must be.

She rubbed her eyes wearily as she heard the bells on the front door.

She swung around to see Alex walking toward her.

"Your shift over yet?" he asked. He'd taken to coming to meet her after she got off work, to make sure she got home safe.

"Yeah, as soon as I get the garbage out," she said.

"Need help?" he asked, raising his brow.

Maria smiled at him gratefully.

"Now I remember why I love you, Whitman," she said, giving him a small smile.

He snorted and she got up and he put an arm over her shoulder as they walked through the kitchen.

"Any word from Uncle John?" she asked hopefully.

He shook his head.

"His contacts haven't been able to dig anything up yet," he said.

"What are we going to do Alex?" Maria asked worriedly.

"We wait, for now," he said, picking up a garbage bag.

"I can't take much more of this," Maria said, picking up one of the other bags.

"Maria, we have to give this a chance first," he said.

"I know, I know," she said opening the door to the alley.

"It's just that-"

She froze.

"Maria," Alex said and she held up her hand to silence him, motioning to the shed.

Alex glanced over just in time to see a middle-aged man in a suit slipping into the shed.

He jabbed his finger toward the dumpster, and they both moved silently behind it. Maria looked at Alex in panic. Was he an FBI Agent?

All was quiet in the shed as they watched it from their vantage-point behind the dumpster.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light exploded from the shed and they ducked to the ground in fear.

A minute later, they heard footsteps heading their way in the alley. The moved as far as they could behind the dumpster, knowing that if the man walked past the dumpster and happened to look to his left, they would be seen.

The footsteps came closer, and suddenly he was in their view. As Alex saw Maria's eyes widen, he quickly put his hand over her mouth, for standing in front of them was Agent Jeffrey. He looked at what appeared to be a photo in a wallet he was holding for a long moment, before putting the wallet away in his pocket. He started down the alley again, his footsteps fading slowly away. Alex held his hand over Maria's mouth for a full minute after Jeffrey had left the alley, not daring to let go.

Finally Maria yanked his hand away from her face.

"Oh....my....God!! We are so screwed!," she hissed, standing up. "I thought you said he was dead!"

Alex yanked her back down behind the dumpster.

"Shut up!" he mouthed, motioning to the shed, and Maria looked at him fearfully. She'd forgotten about the other guy in her shock at seeing Jeffrey.

"I'm going to try to follow Jeffrey," he said. "You stay here to make sure that other guy comes out," he whispered. "If he does, pretend you are rummaging through one of the bags for a customer's glasses or something."

Maria nodded.

"I'll be back," he whispered.

He half-crawled over to the door of the Crashdown and went in, cutting through the restaurant.

For long moments, Maria waited for the middle-aged guy to come out of the shed, but it remained eerily silent.

It seemed like forever until Alex came back, but she heard the door squeak behind her.

He looked at her questioningly, and she shook her head.

"Hey Maria," he called pointedly, any idea where the small step ladder is?"

"Uh yeah," she said, pretending to go through a bag, "it's in the shed."

Alex walked toward the shed.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door, and walked in.

Maria watched apprehensively and thirty seconds later, he came out.

"No one's in there," he said.

"But that can't be," Maria said, getting up and going over to the shed. She walked in and looked around. He was right. It was deserted, and the only way out was the door.

"I don't get it," she said, looking questioningly at Alex.

"Jeffrey, or whoever he is went into the hotel down on Main Street," Alex said.

"Where did the other guy go?" she asked.

"He didn't leave, I would have seen him...." she faltered, as she saw the look in his eyes.

"Maria, that flash of light...."

"No, that isn't possible," she said, her mind unable to grasp it.

"I think we have to take a ride to the desert," Alex said.

%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Three hours later, Alex was digging while Maria stood by in revulsion. Suddenly, he stopped as the shovel hit an object with a muffled thump.

Alex choked, a gag reflex, as he climbed out of the hole.

"He's there," he croaked.

"But he can't be," Maria said, shaking her head, the truth that was staring her in the face seemingly impossible.

"Maybe it was a mask," she said weakly.

"That wasn't a mask, and it sure as hell wasn't lightening-fast plastic surgery either," Alex said quietly.

"I think there's a lot more going on with Max than we thought," Alex said.

"What are we going to do?" she said.

"Tail Jeffrey, or whoever the hell that body-snatcher is," Alex said.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

A week had passed and Max had not regained consciousness. The incisions on Liz's chest had started to heal, but her heart hadn't.

The tech had left Max on the floor that first night, and Liz had laid on the other side of the glass, keeping vigil, willing him to wake up. Hours later, she dozed off for a short time, until she heard the hiss of the door to Max's cell hiss open.

She struggled to sit up as they dragged Max over to his cot, dropping him roughly onto it. After checking his vitals, they left the room.

She'd called out to him softly again.

"Max?" she said shakily, but received no answer.

Liz used her legs to push herself into the corner where she could still see Max, her hand clutching her chest, trying to block out the burning razor-like sensation she was feeling now that the painkillers they'd given her in the injection had worn off.

Suddenly, the door to her own cell swished open, and she pressed herself into the corner she occupied as she saw Pierce enter the cell.

He walked slowly and deliberately over to stand above her, towering with his impressive height.

"Hello Ms. Parker," he said non-chalantly.

She looked up at him with a mixture of hate and fear.

"Cat got your tongue?" he leered.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

Pierce slowly paced in front of her.

"I don't think you know exactly what you've gotten yourself into Ms. Parker," he said matter of fact.

"You're a monster," she grated.

"Is that what you think?" he asked menacingly, crouching to eye level with her.

"Yes," she said. "What else could you be to keep a boy prisoner all of his life, torturing him because he has gifts?" she asked.

"How could you? How can you live with yourself?" she asked.

"Gifts," he chuckled. "Is that what he told you?"

Liz's jaw tightened as she lifted her chin defiantly.

"How deluded you are," he said, and the intercom interrupted him.

"Agent Pierce," a voice paged. "You're needed in 647. 94643 is yielding results."

Pierce's eyes gleamed as he stood up.

"You'll find out the truth soon enough, Ms. Parker," he said standing up, "and believe me, when you do, you'll see me in a whole different light. I just hope for your sake that he hasn't altered you. There's no telling what he was capable of without the inhibitor."

With that, he turned on his heel and left the cell, leaving her alone to wonder at what he'd said.

She didn't believe a word of it. She knew in her heart that Max wouldn't hurt her.

Turning to look at him, she put her hand up to the glass. She needed him to wake up. She needed him to tell her that everything was going to be ok.

But for a week she waited and nothing had changed. Techs came and checked her vitals and took her blood, and Max was put on an IV drip.

From the murmured discussions she'd heard coming from the techs in Max's cell, something was very wrong. She'd heard talk of a change in brain-wave patterns, possible cellular damage. His cells had mutated, something they'd never seen before. He was unresponsive to stimuli. As each day passed, his breathing became more sluggish, and there was talk of putting him on a ventilator.

More than anything, she wished she could get through the glass. She wished she could touch him, comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be ok, like he had done for her by taking her to his dream place.

Two days ago, she'd heard them talk about Pierce's suggestion of warehousing him if he'd shown no further improvement.

She felt an insistent urge to be near him, but the glass wall wasn't going anywhere, and so she comforted herself by talking to him through the glass, telling him inane things about school, the Crashdown, Maria and Alex.

She told him about the trip she took to Florida to visit her Aunt, and how beautiful and exciting Miami was.

She told him about her Grandma Claudia, the sweetest soul she had ever known, who had always told her to follow her heart, wherever it might lead her. She told him she'd followed her heart when she decided to help him, and she knew that despite everything she'd made the right decision because Max didn't deserve the life he'd been forced into. She told him that her Grandma Claudia would have been proud of her, and that she would have like Max. She just knew it.

She talked until she was hoarse, but no response came from Max. In her head she held the slim hope that someone had found Pierce's recorder, and that it held some clue for the others to find them.

But it was unlikely, in fact almost impossible, she knew. They were in an underground facility ten miles down the road from the Eagle Rock Military Base. How could anyone find them here?

It was hard to keep track of time in here, but she glanced at the tech's watch when he came in to take samples, or to check her vitals, and by her last guess, she'd been in here seven days. It had seemed like a lifetime to her, and she couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Max. This was all he knew.

This thought was interrupted as the very air around her seemed to incinerate.

Alarms blared as the fire seemed to spring up from thin air against the wall opposite the glass.

Liz cried out as the wall of fire roared from across the room.
Her door banged open, and she was grabbed by a tech as the flames threatened to engulf the room. She was roughly carried out as more men rushed in with fire extinguishers as the sprinkler systems finally kicked in.

The tech stood in the hallway, confused, with Liz draped over his shoulder.

She watched as Max was wheeled out of his room on gurney.

"What do I do with her?" the tech barked to the man behind the desk.

"Put her in Block 9 with 88647 for now. There's a cell there still intact.

"God dammit!" the men yelled from her cell, as the extinguishers flared to life.

"Bastard," the man behind the desk muttered.

"I told Pierce we should have gotten rid of him. He's the worst of the three. Pierce hates that one," he motioned, pointing to Max's vacant cell, "but the other one is more dangerous. He destroyed all of the cells in the block, except for his and the girl's," he said, as Max's cell was engulfed.

Girl's? Liz noted, confused.

More men rushed into his cell to put out the flames.

"This won't last long. You know the drill," the man said. "He can only keep up the short bursts of power. I don't know why they haven't replaced his chip yet. They have him restrained, but you saw what happened to the wall last week. They're still picking up pieces of concrete."

"They did replace it," the tech said. "Must be a defective batch."

"I don't know, but they'd better do something soon, or he's going to blow this place to high hell. Better get her out of here," the man behind the desk said, and Liz saw that the flames were already receding and the men were starting to get the flames under control.

The tech carried her down the hall and through a set of double doors to a new wing. She watched as they passed various offices until they came to the end of the hall, and the tech punched in a code on a keypad next to a heavy metal door.

He opened the door, and roughly set her down on her feet before closing the door behind him.

She turned around and saw Max, still lying on the gurney, and rushed over to him.

"Max!" she said, her hand shaking as she touched his cheek. Whatever that other had done, she was grateful to be close to Max again. She took his hand with her free hand, and felt the curious warmth in her chest, the warmth she hadn't felt since she'd been in here.

As her fingers wrapped around his, she felt his cold palm turn warm.

*flash*

A bitterly cold wind hit her face as she shivered. The valley that had been before her was covered in ice, the blue sun obliterated by darkness, leaving a dim murk in which she could barely see.

She slowly turned, knowing this place, knowing who created it.

"Max?" she called into the wind. Peering into the murk of the rock wall behind her.

And there he was, huddled against the rock.

She ran to him, dropping to her knees next to him.

His hair was frozen with little pockets of ice, his breath billowing out of his mouth in white puffs.

He was shivering uncontrollably, and she grabbed his hands, which were blue with the cold.

"Max, tell me what to do!" she said frantically. "How can I help you?"

"I....I don't know," he said, shivering uncontrollably.

Panicked, she watched as his body literally shook with the cold.

"What do I do? What do I do?!!" she asked herself frantically.

A sudden overwhelming instinct, overtook her, and she grabbed his hands, holding them to her chest, where he'd healed her.

He dragged in a sharp breath as a burst of light exploded from his hands, radiating from both of their bodies. A large halo of light projected itself into the sky, burning through the clouds, and they were enveloped with it, as the sun broke through, illuminating the crystalline trees below with it's warm rays. And the light grew brighter as she looked into his eyes, his features becoming indistinct in the blue glow of energy surrounding them, until only the golden glow of his eyes were visible to her....

And then she was standing next to him in the cell, leaned over him, holding his hands against her chest, both their breath in ragged synchronicity.

His eyes seemed back-lit by a golden sun, though they did not move.

And then he blinked.