Laura Burns - Quarantine

I've got to focus on something else, she thought. I'm here at Meta-chem, and there's only me. No aliens. Nothing to worry about.

Her gaze fell on Dr. Sosa's work station. He'd put everything away before leaving Liz alone, but she'd seen where the most recent samples were kept. Maybe she could take a peek at some of the mutated cells he was working with. It wouldn't do any harm… these were just basic samples. The important materials were kept under lock in a small chamber at the back of the room.

Liz pulled open a long, flat drawer at Dr. Sosa's workstation. Inside were several small boxes of slides. One box was labeled PATIENT X and dated yesterday. Liz opened the box and removed one of the slides inside.

"Okay, Patient X, let's see your cancer cells," she whispered, putting the slide under the microscope. She leaned in, brought the slide into focus, and saw large, five-sided cells. Green cells.

Liz's mind flew back to that day two years earlier when she'd first learned the truth about Max's alien nature. She'd swiped some cells from his cheek and looked at them under the microscope in the high school lab. His cells hadn't looked like hers. They hadn't looked human. They were large, and shaped like little pentagons. They were green.

They were the same as these cells.

Liz's head spun. These cells, here in Dr. Sosa's lab. These cells weren't human.

Did Meta-chem know about the aliens?

Kyle sloshed the mop around in the pail of semi-sudsy water. With a yawn, he lifted the mop out and splashed it down onto the already-spotless floor of a Meta-chem hallway. He'd mopped about seven identical halls since he'd started his shift. His basic plan was to work his way down to the employee kitchen, where he could finish his night by raiding the fridge.

"Working for the man," he sang in a falsetto voice. "Yes, I am wor-kmin!"

"Kyle!" a voice broke into his wail. Kyle, mortified, spun toward the doorway behind him. He was shocked to see Liz standing there. "What the hell?" he cried. "It's midnight! I thought 1 was alone."

"I need your help," Liz said. "And I already know you can't sing."

"Okay then," Kyle replied. "What's up?"

Liz glanced around suspiciously. "Do you think there are security cameras?" she asked.

Kyle sighed and stuck the mop back into its bucket. "So it's that kind of problem, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Liz asked.

"I mean it's a drop-everything-and-risk-getting-arrested-to-save-the-aliens kind of problem," Kyle explained.

Liz nodded, biting her lower lip. "Sorry," she murmured.

"No problemo," Kyle assured her. "Let's go talk in the kitchen. If there are cameras, it will just look like we're stealing food." He led the way down the hall. "Why are you here so late, anyway?"

"Because I needed to see you," Liz said. "I told the security guard that I'd forgotten something in the lab, so I don't have much time. I'm sure eventually he'll come check up on me if I'm gone too long."

Kyle pushed open the door to the employee kitchen. He gestured for Liz to take a seat at the small Formica table, then he opened the refrigerator and peered inside. "So what is it?" he asked.

"I was snooping around in Dr. Sosa's lab."

Kyle rolled his eyes and reached for an apple someone had left in the fridge. "Don't you run into enough trouble without going around looking for it?"

"I didn't think it would cause trouble," Liz protested. "He has me doing such boring stuff! I just wanted to get a look at what he's actually working on. You know, real scientific research material, not just stacks of inventory."

"Whatever," Kyle said. "What did you find?"

"Alien cells," Liz whispered. "In his cancer cell slides."

"No way," Kyle whispered back. "Are you sure?"

"I've seen way too many alien cells in my life," Liz pointed out. "I know what they look like."

"Fair enough. But what are they doing here? Do you think Meta-chem knows about our aliens?"

Liz shrugged. "They were labeled 'Patient X.' I thought maybe Dr. Sosa had stumbled across a cancer patient who'd turned out to be an alien."

Kyle thought about it. The aliens they knew of were the so-called Royal Four; Nasedo, who was dead; and the Skins, who were also dead. Was there another one? "I don't think I can take another new alien," he murmured. "What if it turns out to be like Tess?"

Liz fixed him with a hard stare. "You mean an evil, murdering bitch?"

Kyle looked down at the table. "I wish I could think of her that way," he said. "But it's not that simple."

"She killed Alex. It is that simple," Liz said.

"Not to me!" Kyle exploded. "None of you even think of how it is for me, do you? I trusted her. She was like a sister to me, she lived in my home. And she totally betrayed me."

"I'm so sorry," Liz said quickly. "I didn't mean… "

"No," Kyle cut her off. "I don't want to hear it. Everyone just takes it for granted that and my dad and I are on board with the whole alien thrill ride. But none of you ever think about what it cost us."

"Kyle… "

"We took her in, we loved her. She became like family to us. And then she used her powers on me without even asking. She made me… she made me carry Alex's body." Kyle tried to swallow the painful lump in his throat. He tried not to think about Alex. Even now, he never felt sure which

memory to trust… the one Tess had planted in his brain, or the one he knew was real. Tess had mindwarped him into thinking he was carrying a duffel bag out to the car, but really he'd been lugging the dead body of his friend. How could he ever forgive her for making him do such an awful thing?

Liz reached across the table and took his hand. "Kyle," she said softly.

He focused on the warmth of her fingers entwined with his. He was so angry at Tess that he could taste it… but he shouldn't take it out on Liz. He blinked back bitter tears and looked up at Liz. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes, as well.

"I'm sorry, Kyle," she said. "I've spent so much time thinking of how Tess ruined everything for me, I've never realized how much she hurt you. But I should have. I've been a terrible friend to you."

Kyle squeezed her hand. "Nah," he said, trying for a jokey tone. "You got screwed over too. You have every right to think about yourself."

Liz gave him a small smile. "I was trying to forget about all the alien stuff," she told him. "I was going to devote all my energy to Meta-chem."

"But all you found was more alien stuff," Kyle said. "Typical."

"Yeah." Liz pushed back her chair and stood. "We'd better get going before that security guard comes looking for me."

Kyle stood and followed her back out into the hallway. "Where are we going?"

"To break into Dr. Sosa's lab."

"Daddy! Look at me!" The little boy spun in a circle, his dark hair flying. "I'm spinning!"

Max watched him, hardly able to breathe through the intense love he felt. It was his son, his baby, right here in the Evanses' front yard. The boy spun faster, faster, his features becoming a blur, his hair whipping about so wildly that Max couldn't follow it with his eyes.

"Daddy… " The voice must have come from the little boy, but Max heard it inside his head, as if his son was speaking directly into Max's mind. "I've come home, Daddy. I'm right here on Earth."

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…