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 Twenty-Two Power Surge

"Well, what did you'se guys expect?" asked Ava. "I told you that you guys was changed."
"Yeah, but Max didn't ever heal me," said Alex. Ava shot him a look that clearly said she couldn't believe how stupid he was.
"I thought you was supposed to be the smart one," she said, her voice rich with scorn. "Don't you get it? It's Tess, she's workin' her powers on you, and it's wakin' up the part of your brain that's been sleepin'."
"So you're saying that anybody we've used our powers on is going to change?" Isabelle asked faintly, thinking of all the different people she'd dream walked in her life.
"No, I ain't sayin that blondie," snapped Ava. "I never claimed to be a brainiac about the whole thing. But I think maybe it depends on, like the strength of the powers that were used."

"Right," said Liz, slowly. "Max had to use a large amount of power to heal me, and I bet that Tess really pushed when she tried to mind warp Alex today. She knew he'd be resistant to anything she'd have to say on principle, so she put some extra effort into it, which is why his ability showed up so quickly. Plus who's to say how long she's been messing with our heads anyhow. That could also be affecting Alex's sudden appearance of powers."
"That makes sense," said Alex. "But what about Kyle? Max healed him too. Why isn't he displaying any powers?"

"Well, maybe he is, and he just doesn't know it yet," said Maria. "Kyle, are you sure you haven't developed any powers yet?" Kyle rolled his eyes skyward, and sighed deeply before he answered.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he answered.
"Are you really sure?" pressed Maria. Because, I mean, maybe you just didn't realize that you did something. Maybe you can do something like dream walking."
"Maria, I'm sure that I haven't developed any powers," said Kyle, his voice sharp.
"Maybe you can heal," Maria said, her voice excited. "That's not something that you would know about unless you tried it!"
"Maria! Will you SHUT UP!" Kyle yelled. "I do not have any powers!" As he yelled, three glasses that were sitting on the coffee table shattered, and the lamp next to Kyle's exploded into a thousand pieces.
"Uh, well, maybe I was wrong," said Kyle, sheepishly.

"Great," said Maria, dryly. "Now we have two of you who can explode things when you're angry. Can anyone guess just how safe I feel right now?"
"If you hadn't been buggin him," said Ave, "He wouldn't have made everything explode. Jeez, cut him some slack why dontcha?"
"What, you think Tess is going to be all sunshine and light when she tries to fry his brain?" snapped Maria. "He's going to have to learn to deal with the pressure."
"Oh yeah," scoffed Ava. "Just like Michael? I so don't think so."
"Why you little," began Maria.
"Look Tinkerbelle, cut the crap. You don't like me for some reason, and I could care less, but if you don't lay off of Kyle, you ain't gonna like what happens to that pretty little face of yours."

"Maria, Ava, stop it, the both of you," said Liz. "We all need to calm down and just focus on what's going on." She stopped, interrupted by the ringing of Max's cell phone. Max reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Hello?" he said. "Oh hey Tess. No, I don't have the book yet. I need Michael to help me get it, and he's out with Maria tonight. Kyle? No, I haven't seen him, isn't he home tonight?" Max looked over at Kyle who made motions like he was bowling. "Oh, wait, I think he said something about going bowling tonight. I'll get that book to you, I promise. Isabelle? Yeah, she's around here somewhere. I think she's organizing her sock drawer or something. Liz? Why would I know or care where Liz Parker is?" Max reached over and squeezed Liz's hand gently. "No, I'm with you know Tess, Liz is a thing of the past. I'll see you tomorrow." Max ended the call and looked at the faces of his friends who waited expectantly to hear what he had to say.

"That was Tess," he said unnecessarily. "She wanted to make sure I got the book to her, and she was checking up on everybody's whereabouts."
"That's exactly what she was doing," said Kyle, grimly. "I told her before I went out tonight that I was going bowling, and my car is parked over by the bowling alley. She's just scamming for information."
"Enough about Tess," said Isabelle. "Unless she had something interesting to say, Max?"
"No, nothing," said Max.
"Fine, then I have an idea," said Isabelle. "Max, I know you had something important you wanted to talk to us about, and I'm not saying we should forget about it, but can we put it aside for a while?"
"Yeah, I guess," said Max, images of his sister's broken body flitting through his mind. "What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking about a little practical application in using powers," she said, gesturing toward the shards of glass that littered the coffee table and end table.

After an hour of hard work, Liz, Alex and Kyle stood proudly in front of two reassembled glasses and a working lamp. Maria, frustrated, sat on the couch, with a broken glass in front of her.
"Why can't I do it?" she asked. "Why don't I have any powers?"
"Relax, Maria," said Liz, rubbing her back. "Don't forget, Max hasn't healed you, and luckily, it looks like Tess isn't pushing to hard into your mind."
"Isabelle, maybe you could dream walk me a few million times or something?" Maria asked hopefully.
"I don't know, Maria," said Isabelle. "Dream walking doesn't take a lot of effort, for me. It's not a big power drain, if you know what I mean."
"Max, maybe you could, I don't know, heal something on me or something?"
"Maria, there's nothing you need to have healed," said Max.

"Maybe I can do something'," said Ava. "If you'se trust me, that is?"
"What?" asked Maria, a tinge of fear in her voice.
"Give me your hands," said Ava, and just relax. She reached out and took Maria's hands, and concentrated, focusing all her energy and attention on Maria. "There, that should do it," she said.
"What did you do?" asked Liz.
"Well, I tried to take the energy I'd use to mess with someone's mind, and focus it on her brain. I kinda gave it like a nudge or something'."
"You what!" exploded Michael. "What gives you the right to mess with her head that way?"
"Michael, stop it," said Maria, jumping up. "She didn't mess with my head. I could feel her in there. It was just like when Tess tries to mind warp us, but this was more, I don't know, gentle or something. She told me what she was doing, she wasn't trying to put any images in my mind or anything. It's okay. But I love you for coming to my defense."

Maria stepped over to the glass and held her hand over it and concentrated. Everyone stared at the table and held their breath while they waited to see what happened. After several seconds, Maria dropped her hand in frustration.
"Nothing," she said.
"Give it time, Maria," said Alex. "Maybe it will take a little time to develop. Don't get upset."
A soft snort of laughter came from Isabelle.
"What, you think this is funny?" asked Maria.
"No, it's not funny, Maria. It's just that last year, you were totally freaked when you found out about us, and now, here you are, upset that you're not like us." The truth of Isabelle's statement struck the Roswellians, and they all began to laugh uncontrollably. Ava watched, a slight smile on her face.
"You are all such cornballs," she said.