Many of the characters within this story, and the universe they inhabit, are the intellectual property of Jason Katims Productions.

Roswell: Re-Imagined

Written by Horatio Jaxx

Chapter 42: Shock and Awe

Over the next month, there was little change in the relative dispositions of the telepathic/telekinetic teenagers of Roswell and their significant others. Liz and Maria continued to push for more time with Max and Michael and worried about why they were not getting it. Max and Michael, with the help of Jason and Aaron, continued their forays into the wilderness southwest of Roswell. Julie and Tess continued to revel in the attention they were receiving from their outsider boyfriends. Since the merge between the seven of them, Jason and Aaron were also interacting with their outsider girlfriends to a lesser degree. That was partially due to the assistance they were giving Max and Michael in the search for the outcrop and in part because of the concern they had about how things between them and their girlfriends would all end. Isabel, among all of them, experienced the most sizable change in her life. Tess's new relationship with Kyle forced her to return to the society of her old friends. She received a less than an enthusiastic welcome from Sara, Allison and Emilie. Nonetheless, they accepted her back into their company.

LINE BREAK

It was five days away from the first day of school when Nancy Parker did her shopping for Liz's school supplies. She gave no notice to Liz about that. That was just something on her list of things to do when she next went shopping. It was a Wednesday afternoon when she returned home with a large load of household goods. Included in the collection of bags and boxes at the rear of the family's Toyota Highlander was a large bag with an assortment of school items for Liz. After sorting through and situating all the other goods that she purchased, Nancy went to Liz's room with the items she purchased for her. Liz had just finished showering and was almost done dressing when her mother lightly knocked on her bedroom door.

"Come on in, Mom," Liz pleasantly invited just after pulling her shorts on.

Liz had just finished her day of work in the restaurant and was preparing herself to spend the remainder of the afternoon with Maria.

"I got you some school supplies," Nancy reported as she walked into the bedroom.

"Oh, thanks, Mom," Liz cheerfully acknowledge with barely a look towards her mother.

Liz was too busy dressing herself to give Nancy her full attention. She knew that Maria would be back soon, and she wanted to be ready to leave when she arrived. Nancy gave little attention to her daughter in return. After entering the room, she promptly stepped over to the bed and began dispensing the contents of the shopping bag onto it. Included amongst the paper, pencils, pens and notebook was a new backpack.

"I got you a new backpack," Nancy announced after situating all the items she purchased onto the bed. "Your old one was beginning to look pretty ragged."

"Okay," Liz responded inattentively just before collecting a pair of socks out of her dresser.

Liz had just sat down on the edge of the bed and was just starting to put on the socks when her mother spoke again.

"I'm going to throw the old backpack in the trash."

Liz gave no thought to that at first. She continued to affix her socks and then she put on her shoes before the ramifications of that statement registered within her thoughts. She quickly jumped up on her feet and spun about before calling out to her mother.

"No, Mom, I'll do that."

Liz's attempt to intercept her mother before she could remove the contents of her old backpack was a second too late. Nancy had already extracted an item from within it that shocked her at first sight. She could do nothing but watch as her mother took a few seconds to examine the unopened condom packet.

"What's this?" Nancy cried out when she got over the shock of seeing it.

"It's not what you think," Liz quickly spoke up defensively.

"It's not," Nancy loudly countered with a questioning inflection and an angry tone. "Then I would like to know exactly what I should be thinking."

Liz had no immediate response. Her aversion to lying to her parents caused her to freeze up with an expression of alarm on her face. Her mind began searching for the appropriate words to give in response to her inquiry. A second into that silence Nancy roared out the thought that was foremost on her mind.

"You're still seeing that boy, aren't you?"

"Mom, you really need to calm down," Liz insisted with a hint of irritation. "This is not what you think."

The loud and angry speech of Nancy did not slip past the attention of Jeff who was relaxing in the living- room. His curiosity about the discourse prompted him to get up from the chair he was in and setoff for Liz's room. He stepped into the room a second after Liz finished her remark.

"What's wrong?" Jeff inquired with a ponderous look an instant before stopping by Nancy's side.

Liz had no intention of engaging in this conversation with her father. All she could do at that moment is seethed as she waited on her mother to make the reply. Nancy's hesitation was only due to a loss of words. It took her all of two seconds to respond by holding the condom up for Jeff to see.

"What the hell is that?" Jeff reacted with an angry expression.

"You guys are making more out of this than there is," Liz nearly shouted.

"Are you sexually active?" Jeff challenged loudly without a regard for Liz's statement.

Liz was immediately offended by the question and fumed back at her father with an angry stare. After a brief silence, Jeff roared out his question for a second time and received the same response. Nancy quickly interceded ahead of a third attempt.

"This is your life that you're toying with here," Nancy loudly insisted. "You can't afford to let some boy just walk in and do whatever he wants with up."

"Max is not doing anything to my life," Liz raged back at her mother.

Suddenly, as if the utterance of Max's name had released some anger that was penned up inside of them, Jeff and Nancy roared out separate streams of derogative remarks about him. Each new accusation infuriated Liz a little more.

"Max is not a bad person," Liz roared back at her parents.

Liz quickly noted that her outburst had the opposite effect than the one she wanted. Once again, her parents spewed out tirades outlining the evils of continued association with Max Evans. Liz suddenly felt overwhelmed by the loud and angry voices blaring at her from two directions. Frustrated by their unwillingness to listen to her and angered by their accusing remarks, Liz tilted her head down, threw her hands up over her ears and shut her eyes to the barrage coming at her. It was no surprise to Liz that the angry grumbling of her parents continued to register within her hearing. What did surprise her, to the point of extreme alarm, was the sensation of thoughts that were not of her making, echoing within her head.

Liz suddenly jumped back, threw her hands away from her ears and stood straight up with a look of terror on her face. What alarmed her even more at that instant was the fact that the thoughts in her head went away when she did that. A second later she began looking about her in wonderment at what had happened to create that effect.

Jeff and Nancy gave no notice to Liz's sudden strange behavior. It was their suspicion that one of them said something that induced that effect in her. They paused momentarily to take note of it and then continued with their tag team lecture.

When Jeff and Nancy returned to their declamations, Liz shut her eyes again and clasped her hands about her ears to repeat the effect. Instantly, the phantom thoughts came back. She took several seconds to study the content of the thinking, but it only took her half that time to realize that they were originating in her father's head.

"Are you listening to me?" Jeff asked in a demanding tone.

Liz had already registered the thought before the question and looked up just in time to hear and see the perception actualized. She froze for a moment in wide-eyed amazement at what had just occurred. In that moment, Jeff and Nancy's attitude changed to concern about the disposition of their daughter. Nancy was first to give voice to that.

"What's wrong?"

Liz barely noted the inquiry due to three questions that her mind was analyzing; what is happening to me, how and why? A second later she came to the realization that there was only one place where she was likely to find the answer.

"I have to go," Liz blurted out in a near panicked tone as she raced past her parents and out of the room.

Jeff and Nancy followed her into the hallway.

"You're not going anywhere young lady," Jeff loudly instructed toward Liz's receding form.

"I have to go," Liz insisted again as she hurried out of the hallway and across the living-room.

"Liz!" Jeff hollered an instant before she raced out the door to the apartment.

Jeff and Nancy took a second to give each other looks of astonishment. Neither of them had ever seen Liz blatantly disobey them before. At the end of their pause, Jeff stormed across the apartment and out the door in pursuit of his daughter. Nancy followed two steps behind. They both raced down the back stairs and toward the sound of the rear door closing shut.

"Go, go, go," Liz ordered Maria a second after climbing into her Jetta.

Maria was shocked by the sudden appearance of Liz inside her car. She had just arrived and had yet to turn off the engine.

"Hurry up," Liz commanded a second later in reaction to Maria's hesitation.

After a startled reaction to the sharp command, Maria backed away from the parking space and then quickly turned and sped away. Liz noted her parents racing out the back door of the café just as Maria shifted into drive and drove off.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Maria questioned with a mixture of concern and interest.

"I heard my father's thoughts," Liz whispered with a look of disbelief.

"What?" Maria retorted loudly.

"I could hear his thoughts," Liz repeated at a whisper. "When I closed my eyes, it was like his mind was in my head."

"When you closed your eyes," Maria parroted in a mildly mocking tone.

"I'm serious, Maria," Liz asserted sharply. "I could hear or feel my dad's thoughts. It was like there was another part of me inside my head. But I had no control over it. It was weird and strange."

Maria listened to this with a hint of a smile and a slight intermittent shake of her head. At the end of Liz's report, she responded in a calming voice.

"Liz, you're not an alien."

"I know," Liz maintained with a hint of desperation. "But why am I hearing my dad's thoughts?"

Maria took notice of the hysteria in Liz's voice and quickly fashioned a comment that she hoped would ease her trepidations.

"Liz, you're not hearing anyone's thoughts. You're just imagining it."

"Yes, I am," Liz sternly countered.

"Okay, if you can read minds then read mine," Maria requested in a casual voice.

Liz pondered the request for a moment before closing her eyes to accomplish that task. Maria observed this with a slight smile as she continued to drive. After several seconds of effort, Liz opened her eyes into an expression of bewilderment.

"I can't get in," Liz reported in a perplexed tone. "I don't understand. I read my father's thoughts. I know I did. I could feel his mind in my head."

"Liz, you probably have a cold or a fever or something and you were hallucinating," Maria offered in a soothing voice.

"I know what happened, Maria," Liz insisted in a loud and vehement tone.

"Okay, okay," Maria responded in reaction to Liz's heated response.

Maria drove on in silence for nearly a minute before thinking to inquire if they were going to her home.

"No," Liz answered in a soft voice.

"Where are we going then?" Maria questioned back.

"Max's house," Liz answered with an inflection of surprise.

Maria was confused by that direction. She promptly pointed out to Liz that Max probably would not be home. Liz looked to be pondering that for several seconds before she gave her response.

"I know."

Still confused, Maria drove on with nothing more said about it. In just under five minutes, she was steering her car to a parking spot in front of the Evans' home. A second later, Liz jumped out and hurried up to the front door. She rang the doorbell several times before stepping back into an impatient wait. Moments later Phillip Evans opened the door.

"Hi," Liz greeted anxiously.

Before she could speak any further than that, Phillip anticipated her business and responded to it.

"Max is not here and I don't think you should be here either, Liz."

Liz was having trouble holding her attention onto Phillip due to a strange sensation that was distracting her thoughts. She had been experiencing this sensation ever since she left her home, but it was nowhere near as powerful as it was at this moment.

"I-I know," Liz fumbled out while trying to dismiss the emanation glaring out from the interior of the house.

"And I'm sure your parents would object to your being here," Phillip continued in a softly lecturing tone.

Liz continued to be puzzled by the strange sensation she was experiencing. Its presence distracted her from immediately comprehending what Phillip had just said to her. After a moment of thought, she began her response to Phillip's last remark.

"I know, you're right, they wouldn't."

"You should go home, Liz," Phillip politely suggested again.

"Is Isabel here?" Liz quickly countered to change the focus of Phillip's thinking.

"Isabel?" Phillip asked in surprise

"I need to talk with Isabel," Liz quickly declared with a mix of hysterics and desperation.

Phillip was momentarily surprised by Liz's request. And just as he was about to respond to her inquiry, Isabel hurried up to the door and slid in between him and Liz.

"I got this, Dad."

Up until this instant, Liz's thinking was that the sensation she was a feeling had something to do with what was happening inside of her. She now knew that her mind was detecting an external force. And in this moment, she could clearly discern that it was radiating out from Isabel's head.

LINE BREAK

Isabel was in her bedroom, lying prone on her bed, thumbing through a magazine and listening to music from a compact stereo system, when she first felt Liz's approach. Her first thought was that the mind she was feeling belonged to Max. That was unexpected because of the time, but she reasoned that he was making an early return from his excursion into the wilderness. She continued to read and look through the magazine in her hand until the sound of the front doorbell barely registered over the music spewing from her stereo. Curiosity suddenly took over, and she promptly sat up on the side of her bed. As soon as she did that, she heard the doorbell ringing twice again. Her interest was instantly piqued. She knew that a powerful mind was on the other side of the front door. She also knew that Max would have no need to ring the bell. What made the situation even more intriguing was her thinking that anyone she knew with just such a mind would normally have called before coming. After taking a couple of seconds to ponder the mystery, she stood up and hurried out of her bedroom.

Isabel knew that her father was in the living-room and would likely answer the door in short order, but she also knew that whoever was there would likely be there for her. The instant she stepped into the living room Isabel heard something that she never expected.

"I need to talk with Isabel."

The surprise of hearing Liz's voice outside her front door was a shock for Isabel. It took her a couple of seconds to get over her amazement, she then raced over to the door and pushed herself in between her father and Liz.

"I got this, Dad," Isabel quickly asserted. "She's here for me."

Phillip was a little surprised to hear his daughter take claim of this visit from Liz. He never knew Isabel to associate with Liz Parker and past remarks gave him reason to believe that his daughter did not like her. Nonetheless, he could see no reason to object to their meeting and promptly surrendered the situation to her. An instant after her father turned away and began his retreat to his living-room chair; Isabel stepped through the front doorway and closed it behind her. Liz gave ground to Isabel's exit from the house with a look of terror about her face. Isabel quickly grabbed her arm and led her away from the front door and halfway to the street's curb before stopping to confront her.

"Your mind, it's glowing," Isabel stated with an expression of shock. "How are you doing that?"

"I don't know," Liz answered with equal astonishment. "It just started suddenly. What's happening to me?"

Isabel took a moment to give Liz a visual study with her eyes wide open. After a few seconds she took Liz by the arm again and began leading her back to Maria's car.

"I don't know, but we need to get the others," Isabel advised as they moved towards the car.

Four feet out from the Jetta Isabel suddenly stopped with a renewed look of alarm on her face. Leaning up against her car, Maria was waiting there with her arms folded and with a smirk of disbelief. She had been watching this event with a mix of interest and confusion. The sight of Isabel staring into her eyes at that moment with a shocked expression caused her to stand straight up and blurt out a one-word query.

"What?"

Isabel took a few seconds to look Maria up and down as though she was an object of amazement. She then whispered out a question with a look of bewilderment.

"Oh my god, you too?"