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(The episode begins with a scene in the desert. A geologist is scanning the area with a metal detector when the metal detector starts to beep steadily. The geologist gets a shovel and starts to dig) (Switch to a room at school where a psychologist is trying to get Max to open up about his problems) PSYCHOLOGIST: I feel as if you've buried something. Your parents are concerned about you, Max...deeply concerned. Max, I want you to know that however unique you think your problems may be, there are millions of teenagers out there going through exactly what you're going through right now. Let me assure you, this is all normal teenage stuff. Can you try and tell me what's been going on? (Max looks a bit disoriented, gathering his thoughts. He then starts explaining what's been going on in his life as we see flashbacks from the first season) MAX (voiceover): Well, I guess the natural place to start is...that I'm an alien...a hybrid, actually. You know, human DNA mixed with alien DNA...that kind of thing. Oh, I almost forgot. My sister Isabel and our friend Michael are also a little green around the gills. We didn't know where we came from, who sent us, or why. For the past 10 years, we've been aging much like humans, but clearly there are differences. From the beginning we had the instinct to keep this to ourselves, to hide in plain sight. Then one day last fall, everything changed. (We see Liz get shot and Max healing her) MAX: You broke the bottle when you fell. You spilled ketchup on yourself. Don't say anything, please? (Max is now voicing over more flashbacks from the first season) MAX (voiceover): The 6 of us were connected by the secret we shared. There was also Tess, a hybrid like us...part human, part alien. And then there was Nasedo. He's a shapeshifter...which means he can take on any human form, a skill that could really come in handy since there were people out there who would do anything to find us. And if they found us, there was no limit to what they would do. Fortunately, we used Nasedo's abilities to infiltrate the special unit of the FBI. Of course we had skills of our own. And as much as we tried to convince ourselves that we could live a normal life... (We see a scene where Agent Pierce is about to shoot Sheriff Valenti and Michael cries out) MICHAEL: Stop! MAX (voiceover): We couldn't. To save our lives, Michael killed Agent Pierce of the FBI. And no matter how justified it was, the truth is...we killed a man...and that wasn't easy...for any of us. PSYCHOLOGIST: Max? Max! Max, don't you have anything to say? Anything at all? (It's apparent now that Max didn't really blurt out his secrets to the psychologist. He was daydreaming) MAX: It's like you said, just...normal teenage stuff. (The geologist stops digging with the shovel and uses his hands to dig out something in the dirt. He pulls out a charred bone) (Opening credits) CONGRESSMAN: Mr. Pierce. How much of that spending was authorized by your superiors? PIERCE: None. CONGRESSMAN: Huh? Oh, sorry, Mr. Pierce. My hearing isn't what it used to be. Why don't you speak right into the mike? PIERCE: None. CONGRESSMAN: Oh, none! Not a penny. For $17 million spent by so-called special unit of the FBI... ALEX: Max, you're a genius. MAX: What? ALEX: Having Nasedo pose as Pierce. You know, make a mockery of the special unit and the government threat against you. It's really smart. MAX: I had nothing to do with it. I haven't heard from Nasedo in 3 months. ALEX: Well, if Nasedo can put an end to this special unit, I'd say, all your problems are solved. ISABEL: We still have our enemies to deal with. MAX: It's been over 3 months, and nothing has happened. No aliens have shown up. Maybe there's no one out there. Maybe the war is over. ISABEL: Or thousands of them could be lining up outside of town right now. MAX: I just don't think we should live our lives in fear like Michael. ISABEL: Maybe he's just preparing for the inevitable. MARIA: They're taking a vote. CONGRESSMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, I move for the immediate disbandment of that component of the FBI known as the special unit. All those in favor say, aye. COURTNEY: You people are way too into C-SPAN. MARIA: Goodbye, Courtney. CONGRESSMAN: All opposed say, nay. WHITAKER: Nay. CONGRESSMAN: The committee recognizes Congresswoman Whitaker. MARIA: She looks familiar. ALEX: Yeah, that's Vanessa Whitaker. She's our congresswoman. MARIA: I've gotta start reading the newspaper. WHITAKER: Members of the committee...in 1972, the special unit of the FBI investigated a murder. Several curiosities surrounded the event. No murder weapon. No entry wound, other than the presence of silver markings left on the skin, which subsequently vanished, yet the internal organs and tissues of the victim were completely decimated. Now, nuclear analysis of the victim's bones showed traces of a substance dubbed cadmium-x, an element which doesn't exist on earth. It is, simply put...not human. CONGRESSMAN: Mr. Pierce, in all records, materials, and other findings...appropriated from your offices, we have found no mention of anything known as cadmium-x. Can you explain that to us? PIERCE: There is no record in our files of the substance called cadmium-x, because there is no substance called cadmium-x. Cadmium-x is a hoax that we invented. MARIA: I am definitely not in the market for a 30-something shapeshifter, but I have to admit the man rocks. All right, the show's over. I gotta change into my uniform. My shift's starting. (Everyone leaves except Max) MARIA: Girlfriend. Like, I know that we bonded over the summer, but I'm not quite ready to show you the bod just yet. MAX: No. I was just wondering if you'd heard from Liz yet. MARIA: Not since you asked me an hour ago. No. MAX: I heard you on the phone with her. MARIA: Max, little advice. The girl goes off to some aunt in Florida for the entire summer and barely says good-bye to you. In layman's terms, she blew you off big time. I mean, and look at you. Look, you're like a groveling dog. (in a whiny voice) Have you heard from Liz today? Did Liz call? (end whiny voice) No. That's no good. Look, you've gotta play it cool, all right? Let her come to you. MAX: Let her come to me. MARIA: That's what I'd do. MAX: Wait. Didn't you just tell me that you left like 5 messages for Michael in the past 2 days? MARIA: What's your point? (In the main area of the Crashdown, Alex is looking through a newspaper for movie times while Isabel is lost in thought) ALEX: Oh, look! "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" is playing at the Revival Theater at the fairgrounds. ISABEL: You know, Alex, maybe you should see what you can find out about cadmium-x. ALEX: Sure. Look, there are 4 showings on Saturday. ISABEL: We're not going to a movie, Alex. ALEX: Yeah, right. ISABEL: Alex, I'm sorry. You know it's not you. It's just that with everything that's happening, everything on my mind, I can't think about being with a guy right now. You know, any guy. GRANT: Excuse me. Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to... ISABEL: N-no. You're fine. We're... GRANT: Uh, Grant Sorenson. ISABEL: Isabel Evans. ALEX: Alex Whitman. GRANT: I was just wondering if might be able to tell me where I could find the Sheriff's office. (Isabel and Alex share a worried glance with each other) ISABEL: Why are you looking for the Sheriff? (Switch to Valenti's office where Grant is taking out the bone to show the Sheriff) SHERIFF: Could be a coyote. DEPUTY HANSON: Why would anyone bury a coyote? SHERIFF: Where'd you find this? GRANT: 30 miles northeast of here...off the old Clovis Highway. SHERIFF: That's a pretty isolated place to be digging around. What were you doing up there? GRANT: Geological survey. SHERIFF: I see. GRANT: There's one thing that I can't quite explain. I was using a Lorenz Pulse 5...basically a fancy metal detector. Why would a metal detector detect bones? DEPUTY HANSON: Ok, I just got goose bumps. SHERIFF: You did the right thing by bringing this to my attention, Mr. Sorenson. I'll look into it immediately. GRANT: Sure thing, Sheriff. DEPUTY HANSON: You don't even need to say it, Sheriff. I'll get an excavation team out there right away. (Michael and Tess are in Michael's apartment. Tess is advising Michael on how to control his power by blowing up rocks on the table) TESS: Next one. Keep your focus. (Michael blows up some more rocks as Max and Isabel walk in) MAX: No rock stands a chance against Michael Guerin. MICHAEL: Our fearless leader. TESS: Hey. MAX: I think Nasedo's finished with D.C. He'll probably be headed back soon. TESS: It's not like he's Ward Cleaver when he's here. MICHAEL: So, what's going on? Something tells me this isn't a social visit. ISABEL: We think somebody found Pierce's bones. MICHAEL: You're kidding. MAX: A geologist. MICHAEL: What the hell was he doing digging around in the middle of nowhere? MAX: That's what geologists do. MICHAEL: I don't feel good about this. MAX: Valenti's handling the investigation. He'll take care of it. MICHAEL: What about Nasedo? MAX: He told us not to contact him unless there was an emergency. MICHAEL: So what do you call this? I mean, what if this guy's not a geologist? What if he's one of our enemies, Max? MAX: Right now there's no reason to doubt him. He's a geologist, and in the course of doing his job, he dug up the bones. I'll decide when we call Nasedo. Don't do anything until I tell you. MICHAEL: I'm not just gonna sit around and do nothing like we've done all summer. MAX: We've been having this conversation for months. What are we supposed to do? MICHAEL: You're our leader. Why don't you lead us? MAX: Fine! Crack some more rocks. ISABEL: Max! MAX: Valenti has it under control. Let's not panic. I'll call you when there's news. (The Sheriff's office has an excavation team set up in the desert. Deputy Hanson finds a pocket knife in the brush) DEPUTY HANSON: Sheriff. Found this in the brush, right near the grave. SHERIFF: Let's see. DEPUTY HANSON: I'm all over it, Sheriff. I called the lab. I'm gonna run it over right now and have them check for prints. SHERIFF: Good work, Hanson. DEPUTY HANSON: Looks like we could have an actual homicide on our hands. (Michael, who has been watching the goings on at the excavation, turns to leave and trips over a rock. He sees a piece of shedded skin on the ground. It disintegrates when he touches it) MICHAEL: What the hell? (Max and Isabel are walking down a street) ISABEL: Maybe Michael's right. Maybe we should check out the geologist. MAX: Valenti already did. He has a degree from the University of Wyoming and was hired to do field work in the area. ISABEL: Nasedo had a pretty good cover, too. MAX: I'll talk to him later. ISABEL: Or I could. MAX: We'll talk about it later. (Max sees Liz on the street and walks up to her) MAX: Liz. LIZ: Hi...Max. MAX: Hi. So...so when did you get back? LIZ: A couple of days ago...actually. MAX: Well, that's odd. Maria said you were still away. LIZ: Yeah, I know she did. Um, you know, I just...I wanted to get settled a little bit before... MAX: Yeah. Yeah. I...I understand. Listen, Liz, I...I know how strange everything got before you left. But I think it's ok. No aliens have attacked. Nasedo is putting an end to the special unit as we speak. I think all of this could finally be over. LIZ: Oh, I really hope that's true...for all of you. MAX: And I just want you to know about the whole Tess situation... LIZ: Oh, Max. You don't...you don't have to. MAX: It's just that it's definitely over. I don't have feelings for her. I've told her that...and she understands. I know it's probably irrelevant at this point, but...just for the record. LIZ: Right. Yeah. I just want to get a fresh start. I've decided... MAX: Right...right. Anyway, you look... LIZ: Oh! MAX: Great! LIZ: No, it's... MAX: Different. LIZ: Oh, I have a job interview actually. MAX: Oh. What about the Crashdown? LIZ: Well, this really incredible opportunity came up sort of out of the... (Someone arrives out of the blue and walks up to Liz) WHITAKER: You must be Liz Parker. LIZ: Congresswoman Whitaker! It is so nice to meet you. You are a real hero to me. WHITAKER: You don't need to suck up, really. My paid staff takes care of my enormous ego. LIZ: Oh, so there's, um, not an actual salary? WHITAKER: We have a lot to talk about. (Congresswoman Whitaker turns to Max) WHITAKER: Hi. LIZ: I'm sorry. This is Max Evans. A friend. WHITAKER: Nice to meet you. MAX: Same here. WHITAKER: Should we step inside? LIZ: Yeah. Sure. It would be great. (Valenti enters his office and we see Deputy Hanson and Michael waiting for him) DEPUTY HANSON: This is the suspect, Sheriff. Came in peaceably. Although I do see a bit of an attitude problem. SHERIFF: You recognize that? MICHAEL: Well, there's a lot of knives out there that look like that. SHERIFF: How many of them do you suppose have your fingerprints on them, Mr. Guerin? My very efficient deputy here has linked this knife to you. It was discovered way out in the desert, out near the old Clovis Highway. You remember our little meeting out there a few months ago? Do I have to refresh your memory? MICHAEL: Yeah. Maybe you'd better. SHERIFF: I found you and 2 of your buddies drinking beer, joyriding, taking potshots out into the desert. Remember? MICHAEL: Yeah. SHERIFF: Here's the police report I filled out that night, just in case you forgot. Now, did you witness anything out of the ordinary that night, Mr. Guerin? MICHAEL: N-no, sir. SHERIFF: All right. Listen, do yourself a favor. The next time you're going off to break the law somewhere, don't leave a calling card. MICHAEL: Yes, sir. SHERIFF: Get the hell out of here. DEPUTY HANSON: I smell a rat. (Michael is at a pay phone trying to contact Nasedo) MICHAEL: Nasedo. It's Michael. NASEDO: Does Max know you're calling? MICHAEL: No. But we got a code red. Get the hell out here. NASEDO: Don't ever contact me again unless Max knows. MICHAEL: Great people skills. (We see Grant Sorensen in the desert doing more research on the ground) GRANT: Hey. ISABEL: Hey. GRANT: What are you doing out here? ISABEL: Looking for you actually. GRANT: Really? ISABEL: Well, Roswell's a small town. You know, when something interesting pops us, sometimes your curiosity gets the best of you. GRANT: Something interesting? ISABEL: Like the bones you dug up. GRANT: Ah...bones. ISABEL: It seems like such a romantic job, being a geologist, studying the earth. What exactly are you doing up here? GRANT: I'm testing the area for radioactivity. ISABEL: You're kidding. Here? GRANT: Apparently, there had been some nuclear testing in the fifties. ISABEL: Oh. Ok, so you're here to make sure it's safe for the public. GRANT: Actually, I'm here to make sure it's safe for a huge corporation to open a chemical plant. ISABEL: Oh. GRANT: They're the ones who commissioned me to do the survey. ISABEL: Wouldn't a big chemical plant just pollute the area anyway? GRANT: Does my job still seem so romantic? ISABEL: Well, beats working at the cheese factory. (Back at the Sheriff's office, Congresswoman Whitaker and Sheriff Valenti are having an argument) WHITAKER: Well, let's just cut to the chase, shall we, Sheriff? This is a piece of a phone conversation I had with Agent Pierce when he first came to Roswell. (Congresswoman Whitaker plays the tape) WHITAKER: How's it going there? PIERCE: Don't know yet. My first note is to look into the Sheriff here. I think he may be the key to everything. (Congresswoman Whitaker stops the tape) WHITAKER: That's the last I heard from him until he returned to Washington. That's when he started lying to me. SHERIFF: Congresswoman Whitaker, I would strongly advise that you not spend too much more energy looking for aliens. I mean, you just might find yourself out of a job like your friend, Mr. Pierce. WHITAKER: How odd. That almost sounds like a threat. DEPUTY HANSON: Sheriff, I need... SHERIFF: Deputy! DEPUTY HANSON: I'm truly sorry. I didn't realize you were in here with someone. SHERIFF: I'll be with you in a minute, Deputy. DEPUTY HANSON: Right. I just got the coroner's report back... SHERIFF: Thank you, Deputy. I'll look it over when I get a chance. DEPUTY HANSON: They found something on the murder victim. WHITAKER: Murder victim? SHERIFF: There isn't any murder victim. It's some bones that were dug up by a geologist. We don't even know if they're human. (Forensics investigators have put together the skeleton of the body found in the desert) DR. BENDER: There's no doubt the bones are human, but that's not the interesting part of all this. DEPUTY HANSON: Listen to this. DR. BENDER: See this mass of bone structure? WHITAKER: What about it? DR. BENDER: Well, now compare it to this other side of the rib cage. This side has been melted and fused together. SHERIFF: The corpse was clearly in a fire. What's your point? DR. BENDER: Fire or no fire, bone doesn't melt. Only some bizarre form of radiation could do this. WHITAKER: Any nuclear accidents in the area, Sheriff? DR. BENDER: What we have here was caused by a short and very contained burst of unthinkable energy. SHERIFF: Well, I'm gonna start a full-blown investigation. Hanson, let's get back to the precinct. Bender, you'll let me know the other test results? (Sheriff Valenti turns to Congresswoman Whitaker) SHERIFF: Why don't you go back to your office? And I'll keep you informed as things develop. WHITAKER: Actually, Sheriff, I think I'll stay right here. SHERIFF: With all due respect, I believe this matter is out of your jurisdiction. WHITAKER: And with all due respect to you, I have no intention of leaving this situation in the hands of a county sheriff. This is now a matter of federal interest. SHERIFF: I have every intention of consulting with the FBI on this. WHITAKER: No. I'll consult with the FBI. I'm not taking my eyes off these bones until I get an explanation. DEPUTY HANSON: Sheriff, based on this new information, maybe I should bring that kid back in. WHITAKER: What kid? (Michael is sleeping on his bed when there is a knock at his door) SHERIFF: Open the door! Police! MICHAEL: Valenti. I figured you'd have to come over here and give me grief about leaving the knife out there. Man, what's the big deal? SHERIFF: Mr. Guerin, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you by the court. (Nasedo, disguised as Pierce, enters the Crashdown) PIERCE: You can never find those little pod people when you want them. (One of the patrons at the Crashdown recognizes Pierce from TV) CUSTOMER: Hey! You're that guy from tv! PIERCE: Move, please. CUSTOMER: Honey, get over here. It's that crazy FBI guy! (Pierce enters the men's room and shuts the door behind him) CUSTOMER: Hey! (Pierce transforms back to Ed Harding) NASEDO: Excuse me. CUSTOMER: Honey? NASEDO: Sheriff Valenti, welcome to the ever-burgeoning "I know an alien" club. You called me here. I assume it's important. MAX: How much do you know about Congressman Whitaker? NASEDO: I know her intimately. TESS: Intimately? NASEDO: To borrow a rather crude human colloquialism, I've been diddling her all summer. MARIA: I hope he's using birth control. NASEDO: I must admit, I've grown awfully fond of the foul temptress. It's a shame I may now have to kill her. MAX: Well, Pierce's bones have been dug up, and apparently some of them have been fused in a way that is completely unexplainable by human terms. NASEDO: Tell me how far this information has been leaked. I need to extinguish every human who has this information. ALEX: I'm going to assume present company is excluded? LIZ: Isn't murder what got you into this situation to begin with? NASEDO: My job is to protect the royal 4. Their survival is critical to the survival of an entire race. MAX: No one's going to die. Killing people isn't going to solve anything. NASEDO: Oh, my. A pacifist for a king. Shall we all just commit joint suicide right now, or shall we wait for our enemies to show up and have a nice boxed lunch of us? MAX: We're not killing anyone. That's an order. NASEDO: As you wish. The feds know about cadmium-x. If they find it on the bones, their first order of business will be to do to Michael what they did to you in the white room. MAX: We can't let that happen. NASEDO: Where are the bones now? SHERIFF: Whitaker took them out of the coroner's office. I don't know where they are. ISABEL: Even if we knew where they were, what would we do with them? Hiding them isn't going to solve the problem. MAX: I know what to do. (Liz is being her workaholic self at Congresswoman Whitaker's office) WHITAKER: Parker, go home. It's late. LIZ: No, it's ok. I want to make sure you're organized. WHITAKER: I don't want to be hit with a child labor suit. LIZ: I promise. (Pierce enters the office) WHITAKER: Agent Pierce. PIERCE: Just Daniel. I'm a civilian now. WHITAKER: Uh, this is Liz Parker. She's my new intern. PIERCE: Pleasure. LIZ: Hi. WHITAKER: So, what brings a out-of-work FBI agent to Roswell? Seems like the worst place to be for a recovering alien hunter. PIERCE: I might be out here hunting something else. WHITAKER: What might that be? PIERCE: Nothing I could say in front of your new intern. WHITAKER: Oh, she's a big girl. I think she can handle it. Right, Parker? LIZ: Um, I'm just gonna go get some more folders. Excuse me. PIERCE: I needed to see you. WHITAKER: Well, you should have thought of that before you publicly humiliated me on tv. PIERCE: Don't let politics come between us. WHITAKER: Politics is the reason you slept with me to begin with. PIERCE: Well, maybe at first. It's more than that now. You showed me a side of myself...I didn't know existed. WHITAKER: Parker, can you lock up on your way out? I'll see you tomorrow. LIZ: Yeah. Have a good night. PIERCE: Oh, we will. (Liz lets Max in after Congresswoman Whitaker leaves with Nasedo) MAX: We gotta move fast. I don't know how long he's going to be able to keep her away. LIZ: Well, I...I don't think that they're going to be back anytime soon. (Sheriff Valenti visits Michael in his cell) SHERIFF: We only have a couple minutes to talk. MICHAEL: What's up? SHERIFF: I just want to make sure you don't do anything like use your powers to try to break out of here. The best thing to do right now is to sit tight. MICHAEL: You sound like Max. SHERIFF: Look, I know it's hard for you to be locked up like this. MICHAEL: It's not that bad. I killed a man. Maybe this is where I should be. SHERIFF: Michael, you killed the man who killed Agent Topolsky and killed Agent Stevens and who knows how many others, and he was just about to kill me. MICHAEL: Yeah. I've told myself all those things, but I still killed a man. And the thing that I keep thinking about is that what happened is just the tip of the iceberg. I've been trying to prepare myself for what's about to go down, and I have no idea what to do. I'm cracking rocks. I have no clue who or what we're up against. And I've been so pissed off at Max for not leading, but he doesn't know any more than I do. None of us do. We're all in the dark waiting to be attacked, and all I can think about is what if I'm not strong enough? (Max and Liz have thoroughly searched Congresswoman Whitaker's office) LIZ: There's nothing. MAX: Damn it! LIZ: So, I guess it's not all over. MAX: It can be. These are just bones that somebody dug up...pieces of the past. If I can just fix it, it can all be over. Things can go back to how they were. LIZ: I don't think they can. So, I never really got the whole story. Uh, why are we looking for these bones? What exactly is cadmium-x? MAX: It's an isotope of cadmium that might have been created when Michael killed Pierce. LIZ: Oh, so it's like some sort of after-effect of Michael using his powers? MAX: Something like that. And if we don't get the bones before they're able to test for cadmium-x, Michael is screwed. We all are. LIZ: Well, did you check the particle physics lab at Las Cruces University? MAX: The what? LIZ: It opened up last year. Mr. Saldeman spent like 2 weeks in physics obsessing about it last semester. The new cyclotron can measure isotope ratios, so if cadmium-x is extraterrestrial, that's where you would go to find it out. I'm not a dork. I just enjoy science. (Max is walking along a street when Nasedo grabs him and pulls him into an alley) NASEDO: Did you find anything? MAX: The bones are going to be delivered tomorrow morning to the University in Las Cruces. NASEDO: I'll be there. MAX: So, did you have a good time distracting the congresswoman? NASEDO: No comment. How have you and Tess been getting along? MAX: Well, I haven't performed any mating rituals if that's what you're asking. NASEDO: You heard your destiny. You heard it with your own ears. MAX: I just want to get Michael out of jail and go back to my life. I'm not a king and we are not at war. NASEDO: You're the boss. I would just be careful not to confuse what you want to be true with what really is true. (Nasedo walks to his car and notices a piece of shed skin on the hood) NASEDO: Oh, no. (Inside the particle lab, Congresswoman Whitaker is overseeing the test on the skeleton) SCIENTIST 1: We'll be ready to start in 2 minutes. WHITAKER: Let's make history. (Outside, Isabel goes up to the security guard, pretending that she's lost) ISABEL: Excuse me. GUARD: I'm a security guard, not an information booth. ISABEL: This is so embarrassing, but I am completely and utterly lost. I have been looking all over the place for the student union, but apparently I have no sense of direction. At least that's what my boyfriend says. Well, ex-boyfriend. GUARD: I'll take you. ISABEL: I was hoping you'd say that. (Max uses his power to enter the lab and then calls Tess on a cell phone) TESS: Max? MAX: Where's Nasedo? TESS: He's still not here. MAX: We can't wait any longer. Are you ready? TESS: Yeah. MAX: I see 8 people in the control room. TESS: That's a lot of people. MAX: Tess, we need you. Can you do this or not? TESS: I think so. MAX: You can't let anyone in that room see me. TESS: I got it. I won't let you down. But with this many people, I can only sustain the mind warp for a couple of minutes. MAX: It'll have to do. TESS: Ok. Bye. (Back inside the lab) SCIENTIST 1: Ready to go. WHITAKER: Gentlemen, start your engines. (Max sneaks in as Tess uses her mind warp power to prevent anyone from seeing Max) SCIENTIST 1: Initiating accelerator. Up to speed. (Max starts changing the properties of the skeleton with his powers) SCIENTIST 1: Begin scan at 10 seconds. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. WHITAKER: That's impossible. SCIENTIST 1: The results are pretty conclusive. There's no evidence of cadmium-x anywhere. WHITAKER: Doesn't make any sense. SCIENTIST 2: Sir, look at this. SCIENTIST 1: Very interesting. We carbon-dated the bones. WHITAKER: What does that mean exactly? SCIENTIST 2: It's a way of measuring the decay of radioactive carbon isotopes in bones. The ratio of carbon isotopes depends on how long the organism has been dead. WHITAKER: Can you translate that into English, please? SCIENTIST 1: It's a fancy way of figuring out how long ago the body that belonged to that skeleton died. WHITAKER: What does it say about these bones? SCIENTIST 1: These bones have been out in that desert for 42 years. WHITAKER: What about the fused ribs around the point of impact? SCIENTIST 2: Well, the fused ribs could be explained as a mutation due to radiation resulting from the nuclear tests which were done in the area in 1958. SCIENTIST 1: 42 years ago. WHITAKER: Something about this isn't right. (At the Crashdown, the gang is celebrating the success of their operation) MAX: So I thought if I could age the bones, it would totally take suspicion off Michael. MICHAEL: Thanks, Maxwell. MAX: Better sew the holes in your pockets, soldier. (Courtney walks out from the Crashdown kitchen area) COURTNEY: Hey! What's the big celebration? MARIA: Tradition. School starts monday. It's kind of like our last hurrah. COURTNEY: Cool. Well, see ya. Hi, Michael. MARIA: Sorry. I didn't know that she was still here. I'm sorry. MICHAEL: We gotta be more careful than that. MARIA: So, I hear ex-cons are really great in bed. MICHAEL: I thought we agreed that it was over between us. MARIA: You agreed, and then you avoided me the entire summer. MICHAEL: Well, it is. MARIA: Why? 'Cause you're destined to be with Isabel? MICHAEL: No. I don't buy that. Because I'm destined to be the soldier, and a soldier can't have some chick at home waiting for him. MARIA: Michael, half the movies ever made are about soldiers with chicks waiting at home for them. MICHAEL: Well, be that as it may... MARIA: I miss you, Michael. MICHAEL: I know, but don't. (Max leaves the Crashdown and meets Liz just as she's coming back home) LIZ: Hey. MAX: Hey. Let me ask you a question. I know what you said...that things couldn't go back to the way they were, but pretend they could for just one second. Could you and I go back, too? LIZ: I...I can't pretend, Max. (Max touches Liz on her arm and she gets a flood of images) MAX: What? LIZ: Nothing. Good night. MAX: Night, Liz. (Max walks into his room and plops down on the bed) MAX: Uhh! (Someone knocks on Max's window) MAX: Michael, what is it? It's late. Michael? (Max opens the window and someone tumbles inside) MAX: Nasedo! NASEDO: They're among you now. MAX: Who is? Who's among us? NASEDO: The skins. MAX: No. No. No. No! (The scene ends with Nasedo dying in Max's arms)
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