Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes, or the Jonas Brothers songs, "S.O.S." and "Year 3000".

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Chapter 7: What About Alex?

The investigation lasted about three weeks, until the boys' parents decided not to press charges, having just realized how excessively cruel their sons were.

It was a Friday evening, and Ben and Cassey were practicing with their abilities in Ben's room, while I watched from the futon couch on the back wall, singing along with music. We had the Jonas Brothers blaring on the stereo, to drown out the noise we were making.

"Ooooh, this is an SOS/ Don't wanna second-guess/ This is the bottom line/ It's true, I gave my all for you/ Now my heart's in two/ And I can't find the other half/ It's like I'm walkin' on broken glass/ Better believe I bled/ It's a call I'll never get."

Cassey had begun to find her limits: she can only shape-shift into animals that she has seen live specimens of. For example: she could turn into a wolf because she had seen wolves at the zoo. But she can't turn into, say, a dragon, because she's never seen one. (You might have noticed that I didn't say, "because dragons don't exist." That's because I believe that dragons might have existed at one time, and that they died out like the dinosaurs.)

Ben was lifting objects at random: cups, pillows, the futon couch with me on it. He was getting really good at it, too. He hardly ever dropped things anymore.

I can't pretend I wasn't a little jealous of the two of them. It must have started to show, because after a while, Ben set down the book bag he was lifting and sat down next to me on the futon couch. Year 3000 played in the background.

"Hey. The odds are in your favor, Al," he said. "If Cassey and I both have abilities I'm sure yours will show up eventually."

"Maybe it's already shown up, and I haven't realized."

"That's possible." He paused for a moment, then said, "Maybe you're telepathic!"

I stared at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Think about it. You can always tell when I'm not being entirely honest—"

"That doesn't have anything to do with my potential abilities. You're just a bad liar."

"Can't argue with that," said Cassey (who was in hawk form at the time). "I mean, even I can tell when you're not telling the truth, Ben."

Ben laughed, and telekinetically threw a pillow at me. Then I picked it up, and tried to hit him with it, but he blocked it.

We were on the verge of a pillow fight the likes of which have never been seen in Hagersburg, Indiana, when the door swung open, and we saw our mother standing there, parroting the facial expression I wore when I saw Ben on the roof, all those weeks ago…

A/N: This is not a real place. This is a place that I made up, so don't try to find it on a mop. I mean, map. But don't try to find it on a mop either. You definitely won't find it there. Review, peoples!!!!