"Michael, you knew him for what, three days when you were in the compound together?" Liz Ortecho asked, cutting him off. "I knew him about that long, too. And I liked him. I did. But who knows what the Project Clean Slate people did to him? Maybe they were able to turn him into some kind of living weapon or something."

"That makes no sense," Michael shot back. He could hear the anger in his voice, and he clamped down on it hard. The situation here could turn ugly… fast. He could feel it. And he wasn't going to let the group shatter because they couldn't come to an agreement about what to do with Adam. But he also wasn't going to allow anyone to create some new kind of prison for Adam, either.

That meant he had to be careful, to think before he spoke. Remember, Liz is a science head, just like Max, he told himself. If you want her on your side, you have to give her a logical argument. "Look, if Sheriff Valenti and his Clean Slate gang had brainwashed Adam to make him an alien assassin, they wouldn't have included 'kill Sheriff Valenti!' in the mental program. It wouldn't make any sense."

"Okay, you're right," she agreed. "But here's the thing." She twisted her long dark hair into a knot on top of her head, then immediately let it fall free. "For some reason, Adam tried to kill Max tonight. He did kill Valenti. And he torched the compound, which is pretty much the same as trying to kill all of us. Bottom line is, he's dangerous. And with his powers, we can't defend ourselves against him. Well, maybe you and Max and Isabel can. But he seems to have powers that are much more developed than yours."

"I've seen this episode before," Cameron announced suddenly. She shoved herself to her feet and wandered toward the back of the cave.