Alex parked the car across the street. "You know what's going on over there?" he asked a kid on a skateboard.

"Somebody trashed the place," the kid answered. "I think they were stoned and had the major munchies. All these bags of food were ripped open. Wish they'd invited me."

"What about the cashier?" Michael asked.

"Down for the count," the kid answered. "I don't know what they hit him with, but it must have been heavy."

Alex pulled back onto the street. "We don't want to be here. Eventually Valenti's going to start asking everybody what they saw."

"If it was Nikolas and Isabel that-" Michael began.

"If?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, you're right," Michael said. "I don't think they'd hang around town after pulling that stunt. Let's check the cave."

Alex nodded. He drove out of town and sped down the highway, heading farther and farther into the desert. He didn't talk at all, and it was giving Michael the creeps. Alex usually talked constantly. It was like some mutant Alex clone was in the car with him. Michael flipped on the radio just so there would be some kind of noise.

"The cave's off to the left a couple of miles," Michael said. "Do you think your car will make it?"

Alex didn't even slow down. He veered off into the desert. "The ground's pretty hard packed-we'll be okay. I don't want to waste any more time."

Michael heard a mesquite bush crunch under the Rabbit's tires. Alex hadn't even swerved to avoid hitting it. He was on a mission. Michael had always had a hard time believing Alex came from a long line of military men. But not anymore.

"I see Nikolas's motorcycle," Michael announced. "Park here. I want to surprise them."

Alex parked, and they quietly climbed out of the car. They crossed over to the mouth of the cave. Michael swung himself inside, Alex right behind him.

Isabel scrambled up from the sleeping bag in the corner. She quickly rebuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse. Nikolas stood up more slowly. He probably wanted to make sure Alex knew exactly what he had interrupted, Michael thought.

Michael and Alex walked straight over to Nikolas. Shoulder to shoulder, they faced him. Nikolas glanced back and forth between them, his lips curving into a small smile.

"What you did to Liz is not acceptable," Michael told Nikolas.

"I told you-" Isabel began.

"No one is talking to you," Michael shot back. He took a step closer to Nikolas. "From now on you stay away from us," he continued. "All of us. If you don't, there will be consequences."

"I want you two out of here now." Isabel grabbed the back of Michael's jacket and tried to pull him away. He shrugged her off.

"I'm supposed to be scared of you?" Nikolas asked.

"That's right," Alex answered. "You want proof? I'll be happy to give it to you."

Michael glanced at Alex. His aura was shot through with bolts of iron gray and deep crimson. Not a trace of fear. Alex wasn't just talking. He was more than ready to take Nikolas on.

"If this is supposed to impress me or something, Alex, it's not working," Isabel informed him.

"News flash. Everything is not about you, Isabel," Alex answered. "This is about Liz. I don't let anybody hurt my friends."

"While you're so busy protecting them, who's going to be protecting you?" Nikolas asked softly. Then, moving fast, he reached out and touched Alex's forehead. Alex's eyes rolled back in his head and he crashed to the cave floor.

With a little gasp Isabel rushed over and knelt beside him.

"That's it." Michael slammed Nikolas against the limestone wall. "That's the last time you-"

Michael suddenly felt himself flying through the air, flying across the cave. Then hitting the opposite wall with a thump. His teeth came down on his tongue, and blood filled his mouth.

What just happened? Michael thought. What did he do to me?

Nikolas strolled toward Michael, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. "You're not much stronger than a human. That's what happens when you're too careful with your powers."

Michael growled low in his throat. He started to hurl himself at Nikolas-but he was stuck to the cave wall. He couldn't move.

Nikolas laughed. "You must feel like a fly on flypaper right now." He stopped inches away from Michael and studied him. Then he reached out and lightly rested his fingers on Michael's forehead. Instantly a wave of dizziness swept through Michael.

"I think I'll do this slowly," Nikolas said. "I want to enjoy it."

Where was Isabel? Was she just going to watch this happen? Michael shot a glance at her. She was healing Alex, lost in the connection.

Michael struggled against the cave wall. Straining his muscles.

I'm doing this the wrong way, he realized. His thoughts felt slow, as if his brain wasn't working right. Nikolas is using power to hold me in place. That means I have to use power to break free.

Michael closed his eyes. He needed to focus on the power inside him, not what was going on around him. He let the taste of blood in his mouth and the pain in his head fade into the background. He let his fury at Nikolas fade.

Yes. Now he could concentrate on the force field. Now he could feel it against his skin. Slick, and oily, and thin. Very thin.

"Aarrgh!" Michael channeled his power and smashed a hole in the force field. He broke one hand free from the cave wall.

His eyes opened, and he shoved his fingers onto Nikolas's chest. Connect, he ordered himself. And that's all it took. The connection was instantaneous. Maybe because Nikolas was an alien, too.

Michael focused his attention on Nikolas's left lung. He used his mind to crush the cells together.

Nikolas gasped for breath. Michael kept shoving the cells together. He would collapse Nikolas's lung if he had to.

Nikolas kept his fingers locked on Michael's forehead. Michael's head began to pound. Jagged streaks of red light flashed in front of his eyes.

He struggled to keep his focus on Nikolas's lung tissue. Crush it, he thought. I have to crush it. His vision blurred. His hand began to slip off Nikolas's chest. He dug his fingernails into Nikolas's shirt, keeping the connection. And he smiled when he heard Nikolas wheeze as he struggled to pull air into his damaged lung.

Michael gathered his strength and bashed another hole in the force field. Now his head was free. He shook it back and forth, trying to knock Nikolas's fingers off. But Nikolas wouldn't let go.

Michael's vision dimmed. He was going to black out. Nikolas was going to win.

"Stop it!" Isabel screeched. Her voice sounded far away. Outside the connection.

Suddenly her face loomed in front of his. She pushed Nikolas back, away from Michael's fingers. Nikolas's hand slipped off Michael's head.

The connection was broken.

The force field disappeared, and Michael tumbled to the floor. He didn't try to stand up. He turned his healing powers on himself. Dissolving the two blood clots Nikolas had formed in his brain. Repairing the torn blood vessels.

"Okay, let's just call that a tie," Isabel said, her voice harsh. "I hope you've both figured out that there's no way one of us can kill the other-without ending up dead, too."

Michael grabbed Alex's arm and pulled him up off the floor. "Come on, Isabel," he said.

She didn't move.

"I said come on," he snarled.

"You can't tell me what to do," Isabel whispered.

"What the hell has happened to you?" Michael exploded. "This jerk just tried to kill me! He hurt Alex! I am not going to leave you alone with him. Now come on-we're going home."

Isabel's eyes blazed. "No."

Without another word, Michael turned his back and left her there.