Max reached for his son, wanting to hold him in his arms. But the boy was still spinning impossibly fast. He was like a little tornado, kicking up grass and dirt in his wake.

This isn't normal, Max thought. Someone will see him. They'll figure out what he is. They'll take him away.

Max sat back on his heels, devastated. This had never occurred to him before. How was he going to protect his son from humans? It was hard enough being a grown-up alien like he, Isabel, and Michael. But his son was just a baby… he wouldn't be able to control his powers. He wouldn't even understand why he should control them. – I'll take him away, Max thought frantically. Now that he's back on Earth, I'll hide him. I won't let anyone see him until he's old enough to understand that he's… he's…

"A freak," Tess said.

Max's head snapped up. His son was gone. Instead, Tess stood there. Her beautiful face was the same as ever, but her eyes were the eyes of a reptile.

"Is that what you're going to teach him, Max? That he's some kind of freak who should hide his powers? Do you

want him to grow up skulking around like you do? Too afraid of his own shadow to take any action at all?"

"What kind of action am I supposed to take?" Max demanded. "Should I kill someone like you killed Alex?"

"You're the king," Tess said. "You should have come back to Antar to save the planet. That was your destiny. Instead you've abandoned your people the way you abandoned our son."

By the time she'd finished talking, her features had melted back into those of a toddler.

Max stared at his son, waves of love coursing through his body. "I didn't abandon you," Max whispered. "You would've died if you'd stayed on Earth. I didn't know what else to do, so I let Tess leave with you."

His son stared back at him with the eyes of a reptile.

Max shot up in bed, beads of sweat covering his forehead. He glanced frantically around the room. Where was his son? Was Tess here? His breath came in gasps.

Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkened room and his breathing returned to normal. "Just a dream," he whispered. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, he thought. He'd dreamed of his son every night since he'd had the vision of the baby being born. The vision that had ruined his date with Liz, and maybe ruined any chance of making things right with her.

His gaze strayed to the clock on his bedside table. It was after midnight. Liz was probably already asleep. He hadn't seen her in two days… she was too busy with her new job. But he needed to see her tonight. Even if it was just to look through her window and watch her sleep for a few minutes…

Max threw back the sheet and climbed out of bed. He would go see Liz. That would make everything better.

"Get down!" Liz whispered.

Kyle ducked, just in time to avoid being seen by the uniformed security guard crossing the hall in front of them. He and Liz were now hidden behind a waist-high cart filled with some sort of scientific machinery. Kyle gestured to the cart. "Torture devices?" he asked.

"Lasers used for precision dissection of cancerous tissues," Liz replied.

Kyle shook his head. "Parker, you are a science nerd," he told her. "But you're a gifted science nerd. How'd you know that guard was coming?"

"I think I've developed a sixth sense for danger," Liz said wryly. "Call it the silver lining of having an alien boyfriend."

"Boyfriend, hmmm?" he teased her.

But Liz didn't smile. She didn't even roll her eyes. "I don't know," she murmured. "Is the security guy gone?"

"Don't change the subject," Kyle said. "I want to hear the dirt on you and Maximus Alienus."

"Kyle, this is hardly the time for gossip," Liz snapped.

Ouch! He had obviously hit a sore spot. Liz and Max were always on and off, as far as he could tell. He didn't know why they felt the need to break up all the time, but since Michael and Maria did the same thing, he figured it was some alien-machismo issue. Luckily, since he'd found Buddha, he was beyond such things. If he was to date someone… even an alien, like, say, Isabel… he would stick to it and not create so much drama all the time.

"Earth to Kyle," Liz was saying.

"You know, that phrase has new meaning to me since meeting the pod squad," he commented. He snuck a peek over the top of the cart. "All clear."

Liz moved out from behind the cart and tiptoed up the hallway. Kyle followed, hoping there really weren't cameras everywhere. If someone saw this little escapade, he'd be out of a job.

"This one," Liz said, stopping in front of a plain metal door. Kyle pulled out his Housekeeping passkey and inserted it in the lock. The door swung open, and they hurried inside.

"You're a lifesaver," Liz told him.

"Yeah, who knew being a janitor would come in handy like this." He glanced around the darkened room. A lab, just like the labs at school. He would never understand how Liz could love these places. They made him think of mad scientists. And chemistry pop quizzes.

"I've looked through all the slides at Dr. Sosa's work station. They're all standard cancer cells, except that one slide I saw before." Liz started through the lab, weaving around tables and large machines.

"So what are we doing here?" Kyle asked, following her.

"Dr. Sosa keeps all the sensitive material in this back room," Liz explained. "He says it's because of corporate spying."

"Huh?" Kyle could think of nothing else to say.

"They're working on a cure for cancer. Every other pharmaceutical company on Earth would like to steal their research and come up with the cure first," Liz explained.

Kyle hesitated. "You don't really think this Dr. Sosa is

going to find a cure for cancer," he said. "I mean, is that even possible?"

"I don't know," Liz said. "But if they've found an alien they think is a cancer patient, it will definitely lead them down the wrong road, research-wise. We need to stop them before they realize what they're actually studying."

"Not cancer, just extraterrestrials," Kyle agreed. "And that is research even the government would want to steal."

"Exactly." Liz stopped in front of another chrome door. "This is where he keeps all the sensitive material. Can you unlock it?"

Kyle pulled out his handy passkey. "Of course. Even secret laboratory closets need mopping, right?"

He stuck the key card in the slot over the doorknob and waited for the beep. Nothing. Kyle turned the key around and stuck it into the slot again. Still nothing.

"What's wrong?" Liz asked.

"I dunno." Kyle tried sticking it in upside down. Nothing. "It's not working." He looked up at Liz's frustrated face. "I'm sorry," he said. "I think you need Max for this."

Liz gave a deep sigh and sank down onto the floor. Kyle, surprised, sat next to her. "What's up?"

"It's Max," Liz admitted. "I don't want to get him involved."

"Uh, Liz, if this is about aliens, Max is involved whether you like it or not. You can't always protect him, you know."

"It's not that," Liz said. "I just don't want… I don't want to see him."

Kyle was stunned. Liz and Max were soul mates, it was clear to everyone who knew them. Something huge must

have happened. "You don't want to see him… ever again?"

Liz shrugged. "I just want to figure out how I feel before I talk to Max. I need to know what I want for myself and my future. As soon as I start talking to Max, it all gets blurry."

"You're only eighteen. Why do you need to know what you want your future to be?" Kyle asked.

"Because Max knows his future. He knows his son is out there somewhere and he has to find him." She leaned her head on Kyle's shoulder. "It's like he just grew up about ten years faster than me. He has a child, Kyle. I don't know if I'm ready for that."

Kyle nodded. "That's a tough one." He didn't know what else to say, but he had a feeling Liz just wanted a friend right now. He slipped his arm around her shoulders. "We'll figure out a way to do this without Max for now," he said. "I'll get Michael to come with me tomorrow and open this lock. Or Isabel."