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 Michael popped "Braveheart" into the DVD player and turned the TV volume up. It was his favorite movie, but he wasn't keeping body counts tonight. He thought about what Zandra, Martin and John said. He could be king. He could be "Braveheart," fight the good fight, be all that he could be ... all of that trite, meaningless crap ... and all of it he believed. He had the desire to be king and he wasn't afraid to be king. After years of being an "also ran," the pieces of the chess board were his to move. Michael picks up the phone and dials.
"I'm in," he says.
 Max felt totally out of his element. He now knew what it felt to be a pawn on a chess board. He had no control and he hated it. This underground had been manipulating all of them from before they were born ... even Liz, who was descended from an ancient race of her world and his world. He flipped through the last pages of the DNA analysis Liz had given him for safekeeping. They had read it together and she urged him to keep it with the other alien artifacts. Liz had not wanted her parents to find it. With good reason, he thought. It would put her mother and father in the gravest of danger. If Pierce had a successor as zealous as he had been, Liz's whole family represented the source of evil Pierce religiously believed he had to eradicate. The Parkers and their extended families would become victims of genocide equal or greater than that of the 19th century military's campaign to wipe out Native Americans. Not one of them would be safe.
Dangers now mushroomed on all sides. Charles and this mysterious underground with scores of "helpers" dotted throughout the region ... and now the reappearance of the Michael worshippers. It all boded ill. Max needed to regain control. It was time to act.
Isabel hated the constant strain of being "alien.". First, the FBI, then the Skins and the Michael Worshippers, now this nebulous web of underground aliens and humans. Was it too much to ask for a little normalcy? Every day brought her the fear of another "discovery.". Life grew less and less normal. The only time she ever felt half way human now was at the movies where she could forget about Izzy Evans and Vilondra and immerse herself in the make-believe world of celluloid. After tonight's latest revelations, the midnight showing of "An Affair to Remember" seemed just the ticket. She had just settled herself into a seat and started munching on her jumbo popcorn when a voice from behind her called out. Izzy bristled. She had come here to be anonymous.
"Isabel?"
She tried to ignore the voice, but felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Isabel Evans?"
She turned to see her father's assistant.
"Jesse. Jesse Ramirez. We met at your father's office...”
"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry."
"May I?" he asked, pointing to the seat next to her.
Maria and Liz talked under the covers of Liz's bed.
"Dr. Fink ran some tests today," said Liz.
"Are you worried about what he might find?"
"Of course. I have no idea what all this DNA means, if anything."
"Liz, if your "alien" past meant anything at all, don't you think it would have shown up long before this. I mean, please, you're like 17 going on 102."
"Thanks so much."
"I mean, you've had blood tests before."
"You're right. I know you're right, but ... "
"Okay, what happened."
"I think he tricked me."
"What do you mean, tricked?"
"I didn't feel any pain when he was probing my back and when I faked it, I don't think he bought it."
"How could you possibly think that?"
"That's when he ordered the additional tests."
"Now who's the drama queen?"
"I can't help it. I'm afraid that he's going to find something and tell my parents. The bruise is completely healed and I can't explain it."
"Would that be so bad?"
"I don't know. I'm just feeling weird about it."
"At least you don't have Space Boy getting cozy with the Michael worshippers?"
"That's not weird. That's just Michael"
"I think he's going to go with them."
"Michael wouldn't do that."
"Yes ... he would."
Liz and Maria exchange looks.
"Maybe we ought to call ..."
"Good idea," says Maria.
Liz reaches for the phone.
Jesse hands Isabel his handkerchief.
"I feel so silly," says Isabel, sobbing as Cary Grant realizes that Deborah Kerr is paralyzed.
"Don't be," says Jesse. "I love these old movies."
"Me, too," says Isabel, dabbing her eyes.
Isabel hands Jesse his handkerchief back.
"Thanks," says Isabel.
"You hang on to it," says Jesse. "The movie's not over with yet. He presses it back into her hands. You can give it back to me the next time I see you."
"The next time?"
"Over dinner."
"Now, Mr. Ramirez, what can you be thinking."
"Dinner."
The house lights come up.
"Fri. at 6, Chez Pierre; movie at 8? They're showing Casablanca. You can't turn down an invitation like that."
"Okay," says Isabel thoughtfully, " yes, okay. Dinner and a movie."
Max picks up the phone.
"Hello," he says, his voice very sleepy.
"Hi, Max, it's Liz. Sorry to wake you."
"Is there something wrong?"
"Maria's worried about Michael."
"What's he done now?"
"He hasn't done anything ... yet. She's just concerned that Michael might try and meet the Skins on his own again."
"Did he say that?"
Liz turns to Maria. Maria, who had been listening in, shakes her head, no.
"No. I think that she's going on vibes."
"Okay, I'll look into it."
"Thanks, Max. See you tomorrow."
"Night Liz."
"Night Max."
Liz hangs up the phone.
"Thank you," says Maria.
Jeff Parker wrestles with the shake mixer again. It was very old, probably dated back to the fifties. He'd been tearing it apart and rebuilding it the last few years 'cause the parts we no longer available. He just tried different things. However, his frustration levels were going up. The Alien Blasts were a popular item on the menu and he needed to have it fixed. He banged his screwdriver against the machine. Nancy came down the stairs.
"Honey, why do you come upstairs? It's late and you've been working on that all night."
"We might have to buy a new machine," he said. "Can we afford one?"
"I don't know," she said, sitting down next to him. "I'll check the books tomorrow. How much do you think it will be."
"Too much," he said. He gave the machine another whack. As he did, a part broke off and a small strange cone-shaped metal fell out."
"What the ... "
Jeff picked up the piece.
"What is it?" asks Nancy.
"I don't know. Well, don't worry about it now. It's after 2. Come to bed."
Jeff puts the strange conical shaped piece of metal on the counter and follows Nancy upstairs. When Jeff flips off the lights, the conical device begins to spin like a top and glow.
"So what's the next step?"
"Martin, the next step has been made," said Zandra. "Michael has committed. He is ours."
"As surely as Tess was Kivar's, Michael shows his true Skin," confirms John.
"Now we can go home," said Zandra, "and shed these horrible skins."
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