Disclaimer: You know the drill…the characters aren't mine. A lot of stuff in the beginning is taken from End of the World. God knows THAT'S not mine. Anything that makes sense and makes it all better, now that's mine. Seriously, Roswell and all characters belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox etc. I'm just borrowing them.

Rating: PG-13 – possibly to R

Chapter Sixteen – Invisible Touch

"He left his cell phone here," said Liz, blankly. "How could he have done that?"
"Well, maybe it just fell out of his pocket," said Maria, helpfully.
"Yeah, or maybe it was helped out of his pocket by that evil mind-warping hell beast," said Alex. A small chuckle escaped from Liz, followed by laughter from Kyle and Michael, and Isabelle and Maria soon followed. Within seconds, the room was filled with laughter that did much to ease the tension that had previously filled the room.
"I'm guessing you don't like her much," said Ava.
"You got that right," said Maria.
"Listen," said Liz, as she contained her laughter. "We can trash Tess later. Right now, we need to find a way to warn Max. Isabelle, can you try dream walking him?"
"I-I don't know," said Isabelle. "I can't dream walk someone if their awake."

"You did it once before," Michael reminded her as he sad down in the booth where Isabelle was sitting.
"That was different," said Isabelle. "He was drugged then."
"Isabelle, you have to try," said Liz. "We don't have any other options." Isabelle nodded and reached into her pocketbook and removed her wallet. Opening it up, she removed a wallet sized school photo of Max and placed it on the table. Isabelle took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, trying to bring her swirling emotions under control. She placed her fingers on the picture, and concentrated on Max. Once she was on the dream plane, Isabelle searched for the iridescent dream bubble that belonged to her brother. She located the bubble, and tried to enter it, but unlike the dream bubbles of people who were asleep, Max's bubble felt as though it was sheathed in steel. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't penetrate it.

"I can't do it," she gasped at last. "I can't get in."
"Isabelle, you have to keep trying," said Michael. "We have to warn him."
"Damn it, Michael, don't you get it? I tried. I can't do it!" Across the room, Ava said something softly.
"What?" asked Kyle. "What did you say?"
"I said that Liz could do it," said Ava, her voice stronger. "She can reach Max."
"You're crazy, Ava," said Liz. "I don't have any powers. I'm human, remember?"
"You said Max healed you, right? Well, when he did that, he changed you," said Ava."
"What do you mean, he changed me?" queried Liz, nervously.
"You were dead, right, or just about dead anyhow. When Max brought you back to life, he altered your physical make-up. He awoke a part of your brain that's been dormant. Our powers come from our brains; we use more of our brains than you do. Except for if Max used his powers to bring you back to life, it's kinda like he jump-started your heart, and your brain. It woke up a part of your brain that you don't use. Frig it; I'm no good at explaining. Didn't your protector explain any of this too you?"

"We never really knew our protector," explained Michael. "At least, Max, Isabelle and I didn't. Nascedo raised Tess, and they weren't too forthcoming with the information. Anything we've learned, we figured out from the book."
"How'd you translate the book without the help of your protector?" asked Ava.
"Alex did it," said Isabelle, proudly. "He created a computer program that helped him translate the book."
"Well, it's not completely translated yet," said Alex. "We've still got quite a bit to go."
"Way to go, brainiac," said Ava. "Lonnie and Rath have our book. They never let me see it."
"Can we forget about the book for a minute and focus on Max!" shouted Liz. "We need to do something to warn him!"
"Right," said Ava. "Come over here and sit down," she said, indicating the booth where Isabelle sat.
"I don't think I can do this," said Liz, nervously. "I mean Isabelle, if you couldn't get through to Max, what makes you think I can?"
"I know my brother, and I know that if there is one voice he will hear no matter where he is, no matter what he's doing, it's yours. Take my hand, Liz," said Isabelle.


The summit had not gone well, and everyone was angry. Lonnie and Rath were pissed at Max for withholding information about the granolith from them, and Max was mad at them for trying to bully and cajole him into giving into Nicholas's demands. Max could feel the anger burning in them, but it was Tess that surprised him the most. She was enraged with him, and doing her best to hide it behind a cheerful, supportive façade.
"I'm hungry," said Rath. "Let's get something to eat."
"Not pizza," said Lonnie. "I'm sick of pizza. Let's go to Chinatown."

The group turned a corner, and Max felt a hand slip into his and squeeze reassuringly. He looked down, expecting to see Tess walking next to him, her hand in his, but there was nothing there. He felt the slight pressure against his hand once again, and he looked up, and across the street. An image of Liz appeared across the busy city street. Without thinking, he stepped off the curb and headed towards her. Behind him, he heard a large banging noise. He turned to find that a window washer's scaffold had fallen on the exact spot where he had been standing. He looked back across the street, but Liz was nowhere to be seen.
"Liz! Liz, where are you?" He turned to where Tess and the other's had been standing, but they too were gone.

Max felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He looked around once more and then ran down the street towards the subway entrance where Rath and Lonnie lived. He pushed past the crowds waiting for the train and walked down a deserted tunnel until he came to the abandoned area Rath and Lonnie called home. Tess sat on the floor, in the center of the room, staring at him intently.
"You only see me,"a voice in his head whispered. "You don't see Rath and Lonnie sitting on the sofa."
"Tess, what happened?" he asked, kneeling down on the floor next to her. He made sure his gaze didn't focus on the sofa for too long. "Are you alright?"
"Tell King dork that we attacked you," laughed Lonnie.
"Lonnie and Rath, they attacked me," said Tess. "They tried to get inside my mind, and find out where the granolith was. But I stopped them."
"How did you stop them Tess?" asked Max.
"I don't know," moaned Tess.
"Nice touch, babe," said Rath.
"Where are they now, Tess?" asked Max, gently.
"I' don't know," she moaned again. "They were just gone."

"Yeah, that's right," said Rath, standing up. "Gone is where we're goin'." He walked over to a table and placed a gold book on it. "If you translate this friggin book before us, let us know. We'll come back to Mayberry and use the granolith ourselves to get home," said Rath.
"And if you get it translated before me?" questioned Tess. She smiled slightly as she spoke, enjoying the feeling of Max stroking her hair. He was completely taken in by her mind warp.
"Don't worry," said Lonnie, wrapping her arms round Rath. "We'll take you with us. Any friggin fool could see you shoulda been with us right from the beginning. Ava always was too freakin human."
"That's right," said Tess. "I go with you, and don't you forget it. Nascedo made a deal with Kivar, and I'm going to uphold it!"
"Yeah, whatever," said Rath, as he and Lonnie walked out of the room. "We'll see you in Mayberry after you get the book translated."

"It's okay, Tess," whispered Max, as he watched Lonnie and Rath leave out of the corner of his eye. "You're alright, and I'm going to take you home." He stood up and pulled Tess up with him, and helped her gather her things, and the two started to walk down the tunnel. Max stopped and turned back towards Lonnie and Rath's hovel. "Wait here," he said.
"What's the matter Max?" asked Tess with concern.
"Nothing, well, nothing alien related," said Max with a smile. "I left my back pack back there. You wait here, and I'll just go grab it." Max jogged back down the tunnel, into the large area Rath and Lonnie called home. He grabbed the backpack he had purposely left behind. He glanced around, to make sure nobody was watching him, and he quickly grabbed Rath and Lonnie's copy of the Destiny Book off the table and buried it in his bag. He slipped the bag over his shoulder and jogged back to where Tess was waiting.
"Come on," he said, smiling down at her. "I'm ready to go home."