Roswell: Re-Imagined Lunch Hour, a roswell fanfic

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 47: Lunch Hour

The newly formed group of thirteen went through the next four days with near shocked expressions on their faces. The discovery by six of them that they were not who or what they thought they were, and the discovery of their existence by the other seven, had all of them more worried and confused than at any time before in their lives. Up until this point in their lives, the events that occurred in their day-to-day existence were always their biggest concerns. Over the previous decade, questions about who they were and where they came from were just thoughts that entertained almost daily. The belief that there was some design behind their existence now had them panicked over the thought that another shoe was about to fall.

It was quickly agreed upon by all thirteen that their coming together could not have been a coincidence. The fact that they found and attached themselves to one-another, was thought to be too improbable to be an accident. The popular theory among them was that they were programmed to come together at this point and time in their lives. The question that had them unnerved about that the most was why. The speculation they all were considering was that there might be another program within them ticking down to activation. That absence of control over what was going to happen next had them all frightened.

Each of the thirteen, some more than others, wanted to hold on to the lives they grew up in. The transition that they were going through felt like a threat to what they valued most, their identities. None of them knew who they were or what the future held for them. And their greatest fear was that there was no life worth living in their future. All of them, sooner or later, came around to the idea that they were stranded in an existence with no place else to go. Their biggest worry was that a predetermined future would take from them everything that they valued today.

These scenarios weighed heavy on the thinking of the thirteen over the four days following their discovery of each other. For all but one, there was nothing else going on to distract them from these thoughts. Isabel was the one exception. She had a concern that was persistent in her thinking.

Do I have a mate? And if so, where is he?

The fact that the other members of the thirteen instinctively paired up did not go unnoticed by any of them and least of all by Isabel. Those pairings suggested that Isabel might have a mate too, but his absence made her fear that he did not exist or that he no longer does. She had no yearning for a programmed attraction to another person. Sometimes she thought it was creepy. But she did yearn to be in a relationship with boy that she was infatuated with, but her fear of being revealed to the world disqualified every boy who was not like her.

On the fifth day, following their coming together, the group of thirteen began their first day of high school as seniors. Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Kyle and Isabel returned to Roswell High with a worry about being around others who were not like them. The six of them, along with the other members of the group of thirteen, had spent the previous four days almost exclusively in each other's company. Between the merge, and the time they spent together since, the group of thirteen were closer to one-another than they ever were with any of their other friends. They all knew that their new association conflicted with what others considered normal behavior for them. During the four days prior, other concerns superseded any discussion about how they should behave at school. It was not until now that they turned their minds to the question of how to act around others. The subject was of greater concern to Isabel and Kyle than any of the others.

It was because of their decision to not look like a clique, Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Kyle and Isabel returned to the routines and associations that everyone they knew expected to see. The one perceptible difference was seen in Max and Liz, and Maria and Michael. The two couples, for the first time, felt free to ratify their statuses with complete indifference to anyone else. A far less notable change in their behavior was the casual greetings the couples gave to Isabel and Kyle. They all spoke to one-another in passing even if they did not publicly associate at school. That was their behavior all the way up to fourth period lunch on the seventh day of their senior year of high school.

The bulk of the senior class had their lunches during the fourth period. That was true for Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Kyle and Isabel. There were no plans to make any deviation in their behavior here. As usual, Max, Liz, Michael and Maria, congregated together at a distant table from the jocks and the popular girls. Kyle and Isabel sat among jocks and popular girls respectively. All were comfortable with this configuration until Max started projecting his thoughts.

What are you doing?

Liz, Michael and Maria were close enough to know that thought projection originated from Max. Isabel and Kyle could only discern that it originated from one of the four at his table, and they both considered the possibility that the question was directed at them. They could see no need for anyone at Max's table to be projecting to anyone else who was sitting there. At their earliest convenience, both Isabel and Kyle responded with a request for an explanation.

Michael is reading someone's thoughts. Max projected back to answer Kyle's and Isabel's inquiries.

Michael, what is it? Maria projected an instant behind.

Suddenly there was an eruption of thoughts being projected at Michael that were originating from the table where he was sitting. Kyle and Isabel wanted to know what was going on and projected questions of their own. Max, Liz and Maria were fielding their inquiries in between requests for Michael to explain what he was doing. The separation between tables quickly became an inconvenience for Kyle and Isabel. They often did not know who was projecting the thought that was registering in their heads. Their efforts to clarify who was projecting quickly created a secondary problem. They would lose track of the conversation going on between their friends at the table where they were.

"What do you think, Kyle?" Scott asked with regards to the subject that was being discussed at his table.

"How are you going to get there, Isabel? … Isabel?" Emilie asked from her seat next to Isabel.

The process of projecting their thoughts meant that Kyle and Isabel had to concentrate on that act, and that made talking with someone in front of them difficult. Despite these interruptions in their efforts to follow what was happening across the cafeteria, Isabel and Kyle continued to clumsily juggle both conversations.

"Ah—What? Oh, … I haven't decided yet," Isabel fumbled out in reply to Emilie's question.

The group at her table gave her a brief look of surprise and then went back to their discussion. The instant their attentions turned away from her, Isabel projected a question in response to what her telepathy was perceiving.

What's going on?

Michael is reading someone's thoughts. Max projected again. And he's not responding to us.

They all knew that the act of reading the thoughts of someone required uninterrupted concentration. Making the link and holding it was a continuous activity. Conversing with anyone else, on any level, would necessitate breaking the link. None of them could tell who Michael was focusing on so long as his gaze stayed fixed on the table in front of him. They shortly concluded that they had to wait for him to come out of his focus, and that he did with a look of alarm nearly a minute later.

We're being watched. Michael projected to the group.

The other students have been watching us for the past year. Max quickly projected back.

It's not a student. Michael projected. It's the new cafeteria worker behind the counter. She's watching us … the six of us … and only us.

Michael had noticed the new worker the instant he entered the cafeteria. There was nothing interesting or suspicious about her. He had seen cafeteria workers come and go many times, but it was Michael's practice to peek into the minds of new people simply to satisfy his suspicious nature.

Are you sure? Kyle projected.

The group instinctively concluded that they needed to be circumspect in what they did. All were not prepared to speak aloud until the truth of what was happening was revealed.

Her primary interest is in keeping an eye on us, Michael projected with a stern look at Max. Someone has to get inside her head and push, he projected a second later.

The six of them knew that pushing inside a terrestrial human's mind meant nudging that person to think thoughts that the mind reader wanted to perceive. Michael's surface scan only acquired what she was thinking in the moment. The danger in pushing was that it put the target brain into a hypnotic trance. When awakened from that trance, the person could either dismiss the loss of time as a momentary fugue or be alarmed by it. The difference between those two reactions came down to how softly the mind reader treaded, how deeply he or she probed and how long he or she maintained the hypnotic trance.

They all knew that rummaging around in the brain of a terrestrial human searching for information would have to be done delicately. Michael was the only person at the table who had firsthand experience at probing someone's mind. He had done it several times to his father. He was ready and willing to do it again now. He stopped concentrating on the cafeteria worker to report what he learned from a surface scan, and to get permission from the others to delve into her memories. Their concerns about being discovered precluded him from doing it without consultation. After gauging Max, Liz, Maria, Isabel and Kyle's expressions, Michael concluded that he had their permission to push.

No, Michael, Isabel projected with a look. You do it, Max.

Michael quickly looked to Isabel and shortly surmised that she wanted a report from someone she was more inclined to trust. He took no offense from that. He knew that Isabel was desperate to hold on to her life as it is and that she feared he would color his report to make it sound worse than it was.

Okay, Max, you do it, Michael projected.

Max looked to Isabel, Kyle, Liz, and Maria in turn and was given the go ahead to do it with either nods or silence. He then took a moment to see if there were any second thoughts among them, and then he turned his attention towards the table and began focusing his mind on the brain of the cafeteria worker.

From across the room Max began luring the blonde female cafeteria worker into a hypnotic trance. Several seconds later she went still with a fixed stare. An instant after that, her brain went silent and became his to rummage through. Max gently pushed questions into her mind that she subconsciously began to answer. It took him nearly a minute to extract the information he wanted and another thirty seconds to plant the suggestion that episode never happened. A few seconds after that, the blonde awakened from her trance with a shake of her head and a look of confusion. The incident had her mildly perplexed, but she quickly dismissed it as a momentary fugue and went back to the work she was doing.

Who is she? Michael projected the instant Max looked up from the table and began scanning the faces of the others.

There was a look of worry on Max's face as he hesitated to report what he had learned. The others waited on his response in anticipation that he would eventually give it. Several seconds later, he began projecting his answer.

She's a Department of Defense operative … Air Force Intelligence … First Lieutenant Laura Burton … She's watching us … she doesn't know why. Her job is to watch and report. And she's not alone.

The table went still after that report, both vocally and telepathically. For nearly thirty seconds all eyes remained focused on the space between them and the table as their minds pondered the ramifications of Max's report. Suddenly, Michael projected a thought.

We have to leave.

We can't, Kyle quickly countered. They're watching us. Which means; they've already considered the possibility that we might run.

I agree, Max promptly supported. If we run, they'll collect us for sure.

They're going to do that any way, Michael projected with a scowl towards Max. We need to leave now while we can.

As long as they keep watching us that gives us time to figure something out, Liz projected out with a worried expression.

Figure what out, Liz, Michael countered with a look towards her.

Who they are … what they want … why are they watching us …? They obviously know something that we don't, Max projected.

Michael became intrigued by that thought and gave no response while he pondered it.

I think we should keep acting as we normally do, Kyle projected into the debate. We don't want to give them reason to believe that we're conspiring together.

… Agreed, Max projected in response.

What do we do when we find out what they want, Isabel projected with a worried look.

Max returned Isabel's look. He understood her fear and sympathized with it. After a short pause he projected his response.

Whatever we have to ...

We have to tell the others, Michael projected with a new alertness.

I'll do that, Kyle projected.

Everyone agreed to that without hesitation. They all saw Kyle's boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with Tess as the perfect bridge between them and the others.

No vocal communications on this subject, Michael projected an instant behind that declaration.

Agreed, Kyle projected back.

Michael began looking into the faces of the others for their agreement.

Agreed …