"So if Maria stops using the Stone, it's over, right?" Michael asked. "If she doesn't use it, she doesn't send out a signal, and the bounty hunters can't find her, right?"

"I don't think they'll be able to Find Maria if she doesn't use the Stone again," Ray agreed.

"Good. Problem solved. I'm taking her home," Michael said.

He decided he would sleep on her floor. No, not sleep. Lie on her floor and watch her, make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine," Maria protested. But she sounded awful. And Michael was pretty sure if he moved his arm, she wouldn't be able to hold herself upright.

"What I'm afraid of is that the bounty hunters may have been able to target Maria's general location," Ray added. "If they can't find her, they may decide to do something drastic-like destroy the whole town. That way they'd be sure of killing her. And the Stone would still be safe. There isn't a weapon that can destroy it."

"So we get in the Jeep right now and get as far away as possible," Michael said.

"And leave everyone else to die?" Liz exclaimed. "I don't think so."

"I was so stupid. I actually thought I had some kind of special power. I thought the Stone was just helping me use it," Maria cried.

"It wasn't stupid. Were you supposed to think you'd found an alien power stone in the mall?" Liz asked.

"So we need a plan," Alex said. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"Remember how we got our friend the sheriff off Max's trail right after he healed me?" Liz asked. "We convinced Valenti the alien he was looking for was dead. Could we pull the same kind of thing on the bounty hunters?"

"Yeah, if they thought I was dead, they'd stop trying to kill me-and there would be no reason for them to hurt anyone else," Maria said.

"There is a way . . . but it's dangerous," Max answered.

Dangerous. That was not a word Michael wanted to hear in connection with Maria.

"Maria could use the ring to call the bounty hunters to her," Max continued. "Then I'll use my power to stop her heart. Just for a few seconds, just long enough to convince the bounty hunters she's dead. Then I could start it again."

Fury slammed through Michael. How could Max even think about putting Maria in that kind of situation? "There is no way I'm letting you do something like that," he spat out.

Maria tightened her grip on his hand. "It's not your decision. It's mine," she said firmly. "And I'm doing it."

-=(14)=-.

Maria stared down at her arm. She wished the red dots would reappear. When the dots came back, that would mean the bounty hunters had targeted her again-and that she could get this over with. She hated the waiting, knowing that soon she was going to die.

"Are you okay?" Liz asked. "We should have let you rest more first."

"This way it will make it easier for Max to kill me," she said. She meant it to come out light and teasing. But Max stiffened, Liz turned pale, and a shiver ran through Maria's body.

"If Max and Michael and Ray screw up, don't worry," Isabel jumped in. "You've still got me. I'll bring you back."

"I don't think talking about s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up is helpful right now," Alex said.

"No, it's . . . I appreciate it," Maria answered. She did, too. It meant a lot that Isabel was willing to heal her even though she'd sworn never to use her powers again. "Thanks. Thanks, Izzy."

"I still don't think-," Michael began.

"I'm going to use the Stone again," Maria announced. She couldn't stand waiting. "I used it a bunch of times in a row the last time."

Maria wrapped her fingers around the bracelet she'd borrowed from her mother. "What's Mom doing?" she whispered.

The dots swirled, then clumped. And Maria found herself standing in her mother's bedroom. Her mom was asleep, a small smile on her lips. What if I never see her again? Maria thought.

The dots started to swirl. "I love you, Mom," Maria called. Then the dots clumped and she was back in Ray's living room. The paralysis struck immediately this time. Maria could see and hear everything, just like she had when Michael held her in his arms and told her everything was all right, when he kissed her.

"It's time," she heard Alex say. "There are dots on her arms."

Think of Michael. Keep thinking of Michael, she told herself. That would help get her through the next few minutes.

Max stood up and crossed the room to her. Maria felt her heart flutter in her chest-like it knew what was about to happen. Like it knew it was going to be forced to stop beating. He knelt down next to her.

"Don't touch her," Michael ordered.

"Michael, there's no other-," Liz began to protest.

"I'll do it," Michael said. He took a deep breath and pressed his hands against her chest. She knew he was getting ready to make the connection. In a few seconds she'd be dead.

Michael lowered his head so his eyes were only inches from her own. "Don't think about anything but me," he told her.

She wished she could tell him that's what she'd been doing.

Michael's eyes never left hers as he slid his hands up from her chest to her throat. Was he having trouble making the connection? "Just think of me," he murmured.

Maria felt his hand slide through her hair and then-Michael tore the gold chain from around her neck.

"What are you doing?" Alex cried.

Michael shoved the ring onto his finger and sprang to his feet. "I want to be the one to die," he announced.

"We have to stick to the plan," Max said urgently.

"No," Michael answered. "End of discussion." He curled his hand into a fist. "No one is taking this ring off me. So either you use me instead of Maria or the plan fails."

No! Maria wanted to scream at them to stop. But she couldn't get out even a word.

"They're connecting with me now," Michael announced. He held out his arm, showing everyone the red dots. Max rushed over to Michael. He shoved his hands down on Michael's chest.

A shudder ripped through Maria's body as the paralysis broke. She sat up fast. "Don't do it!" Maria wailed. This wasn't right. She should be the one to die.

But it was too late. Michael crumpled to the floor. His body gave two jerks and then lay still. Maria could see little bubbles of foam on his lips.

"Max, what did you do?" Isabel yelled.

Max stumbled away from Michael's body. "I didn't do anything. I didn't even get a chance to make the connection."

"Is he dead?" Maria cried. "Is Michael dead?"

-=(15)=-.

"I don't know what happened. I didn't even make it in, "Max cried.

Isabel pushed her way past him and dropped down next to Michael's body. She placed her hands on his chest.

You can do this, she told herself. You have the power. Just relax and focus on Michael. Only on Michael. She took a few deep breaths and waited for the flood of images from Michael's brain. They didn't come.

She wasn't going to let him die. She couldn't save Nikolas. She'd been too terrified to even try. She'd just stood there and watched Valenti shoot him. But she wasn't going to stand around and let Michael die. She was going to save him.

Isabel pulled up his T-shirt and repositioned her hands on his bare skin. Skin-to-skin contact always helped her make the connection. She closed her eyes, willing herself to keep her breathing slow and steady. She knew if she got tense and tried to force things, it would only make the connection harder to achieve.

The images still didn't come. Maybe her power had gotten dulled because she hadn't been using it. She opened her eyes. "Max, you've got to help me. I can't make the connection," Isabel told him.

Max crouched down next to Michael and positioned his hands on either side of Isabel's. "Let's try together," he said.

They had known Michael their whole lives. They loved him. If anyone could connect with him, they could. So this had to work. It had to.

Isabel listened to Max's deep breathing and matched her breaths to his. She starting running through all the moments with Michael she had stored in her brain.

"Something's happening," Alex said softly. "Look at Michael."

Isabel stared down at him and saw a sickly gray glow forming around his body. That had never happened during a healing before. Was it a good sign or a bad one?

"Let's see what a little more juice can do," Ray said. He knelt next to Max and put his hands on Michael's forehead. The light around Michael grew a little brighter.

Then it flickered and went out.

"Come on, Max. What are you waiting for?" Michael demanded. "You've got to do this now. Before it's too late."

Max didn't answer. No one answered. The room was completely still and silent. Even the clock had stopped ticking.

Michael opened his eyes and sat up. Max, Maria, Isabel, Alex, Liz, and Ray-they had all disappeared. What was going on? He stumbled to his feet, fighting against a wave of dizziness. "Where are you guys?" Michael shouted.

He rushed to the front door and threw it open. He took the stairs two at a time. Max's Jeep was still parked in the UFO museum lot. He could see it clearly. But . . . but everything outside the lot was covered in a thick mist.

"Max! Maria! Anyone! Are you out there? Can you hear me?" Michael yelled.

Again he got no answer. But something was moving deep in the mist. Something was coming toward him.

Michael squinted into the mist. Two figures began to form-tall and thin, with incredibly long arms and legs. They moved closer and he got a glimpse of their faces. It was them. The bounty hunters.

"You're just the guys I've been hoping to run into," Michael yelled. He was going to show them exactly why they shouldn't have messed with someone he cared about.

He locked his eyes on one of the bounty hunters and ran straight at him. He tackled the hunter and knocked him to the ground. He grabbed the hunter's head and smashed it against the asphalt. He lifted it up and smashed it again. He did not want the guy getting back up-ever.

The second bounty hunter yanked Michael away. Michael landed hard on his back, the breath rushing out of his lungs with a whoosh. The hunter pressed his fingers against Michael's stomach. Instantly a connection between them formed. Michael felt the hunters mind probe his internal organs-and begin ripping a hole in Michael's stomach. He could feel the hot gastric enzymes spilling into his body cavity.

"You want to play, let's play," Michael muttered. He did a quick check of the hunter's body. He could see the organs and muscles and tissue. He spotted an unfamiliar gland at the base of the throat. Let's see what this little baby does, Michael thought. He focused his attention on it and squeezed with his mind.

He felt the hunter rip another hole in his stomach. Michael squeezed his eyes shut as more acid flooded his body. Enough fooling around, he thought. He didn't see anything in the hunter's body that looked exactly like a heart. But he figured that pulsing thing where his liver should be must do something important.

He focused on it and crushed the cells together. He tried to imagine that he was a trash compactor and the heart thing was an aluminum can. He gave it another good squeeze. And it stopped beating.

Michael pushed the hunter off him and pressed his hands against his stomach. He nudged the molecules of the gastric acid, urging them farther and farther apart. The burning in his stomach lessened until it felt like he'd just eaten too many chili dogs with lemon.

Michael caught a twitch of movement out of the comer of his eye. It was the first bounty hunter. He lived?

Time for round two. Michael shoved himself to his feet and took a step toward the first hunter. He heard a wet, squishing sound, and the hunter's body split in two.

Both halves stood up and turned toward Michael, their dozens and dozens of eyes locked on him.

Michael backed away and stumbled over the hunter still on the ground. Before he could move, they were on him. One latched onto the biggest artery in Michael's brain. The other went for his heart.

Red dots exploded in front of Michael's eyes. Then everything went black.

Maria moaned as the light around Michael went dark. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't going to let this happen.

But what could she do? She was back to being an ordinary girl. She didn't have any power.

"Michael, don't give up!" Maria cried. At least she could let him know she was there. Let him know she cared about him. Maybe somehow he'd be able to hear her, the way she'd heard him.

Liz slipped her arm around Maria's shoulders. "Yeah, come on, Michael. You've got to fight. I know you're a fighter."

Alex wrapped one arm around her and one around Liz. "You've got to come back, Michael. You still owe me two bucks!"

At least her friends were here with her. Maria didn't know what she'd do if she had to go through this alone.

That's it! she thought. I couldn't do it alone. None of us can do it alone.

She rushed over and squeezed between Max and Isabel. She grabbed each of their hands in hers. "Alex, Liz, come on. Form a circle-like we did that night in the cave."

Liz and Alex didn't ask questions. They quickly joined the group around Michael. Liz took Ray's hand and then linked hands with Alex. Alex locked fingers with Max. Ray reached out and took Isabel's hand.

The moment the circle of hands was complete, bands of color wrapped themselves around Michael. The sparkling blue emanating from Maria, the emerald green from Max, the bright orange from Alex, the rich amber from Liz, the deep purple from Isabel, and the creamy, almost colorless light from Ray.