Part 14 - Feelings of Transition

Isabel slid into their regular booth at the Crashdown. Alex put his arm around her. She gave him a quick smile and looked across the table at Max and Tess. "Have either of you seen Michael today? He was supposed to meet me an hour ago, but he didn't show up."

"No," they said in chorus.

"He got off work hours ago," Max said with concern. "But nobody seems to have seen him. He's not at his apartment either."

"I've had this feeling all day that something was going to happen," Tess said. "Almost like someone was watching me, but not exactly. I can't really describe it."

"Me, too," Max said. "I think we should all stay together until we find out what's going on."

"Fine, but we need to find Michael. Who knows what trouble he could be getting into?" Isabel sounded slightly panicked at not knowing where he was.

"We'll find him, Isabel," Alex said in a comforting voice. "I'm sure he's fine. After all, how much trouble could he get into in a few hours......." he trailed off at the looks he was receiving, but rallied and tried to sound convincing. "I mean, I'm sure Michael can take care of himself."

Isabel nodded, trying not to show how frantic she felt. Ever since she woke up this morning, she'd been feeling anxious, without knowing why. She knew Max felt it, too. He'd been awake even before she was, pacing around the house, snapping at their mother until she threw him out for the day. Isabel shook her head. When Max started to be out-right rude to their mother, then things were bad.

Isabel looked up as a shadow fell over the table. Maria was standing there. She looked as nervous as Isabel felt. "Have any of you seen Michael recently?"

"We were just about to go look for him," Max said slowly. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Maria squeezed into the booth next to Max. "I was at the hospital earlier visiting Brody when all the lights exploded. I looked up and saw Michael standing there."

"Hold on a minute," Alex interrupted. "The lights exploded? Michael did that?"

"So it would seem." Maria sighed.

"What type of lights were they?" Alex asked. "I mean, were they individual light bulbs, or were they the long fluorescent ones?" He noticed their looks. "What?"

"What possible difference does that make?" Isabel asked in confusion.

"I'm just trying to visualize the Mighty Alien Lightbulb Attack." Alex shrugged. "I can't quite picture it. Michael against household appliances and fixtures. It's a bit bizarre, even for him." Isabel thought for a minute, then nodded. He had a point.

Maria brought their attention back to the problem. "I'm really worried about him. He looked really weird, guys. It's like he didn't even see me. He was just staring at Brody. I don't think I've ever seen him look so angry."

"He was angry with Brody?" Tess asked. Now it was her turn to sound confused. "Why would anyone be angry with Brody?"

Maria looked uncomfortable. "I think it was because Brody was kind of flirting with me." The others all stared at her. "What? Is it so unbelievable that someone might want to flirt with me?"

"No, of course not," Max said with his first smile all day. "Did Brody see Michael there?"

"I don't think so. I managed to convince everybody that the lights exploded because of a power surge. But it was definitely Michael."

"His powers have been getting stronger these last months," Isabel mused, "but I don't recall any other instances of his making things explode unless he wanted them to."

"I don't know. Maybe he decided that he has something against electric lights. Whatever. All I do know is that something's wrong with him. I'm going out to the Granolith Chamber to look for him. I've looked everywhere else I can think of. And you," Maria turned to Max, "are going with me."

"Why?" Max asked.

"Because I need someone to open up the chamber for me. If Michael's in there, he needs someone to talk to right now. Not to mention the fact that I have a few things to discuss with him."

"Okay, we're all going," Isabel decided. Nobody moved. "Now." They all scrambled up and headed for the door.

On their way out, Liz intercepted them. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to look for Michael at the Pod Chamber. Want to come?" Alex asked.

Liz looked over at Max, and noticed how he was carefully not looking at her. She sighed, then smiled at her friend. "I don't think so, Alex. I have to work. Call me later and tell me what happened, okay?"

"Not a problem." Alex smiled at her as he was dragged out the door by a very determined Isabel.

Wishing that there was a way to make Max look at her again, Liz went to get ready for her shift.

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The Jeep sped quickly across the desert. Maria was in the front seat, crowded between Max and Isabel. Max kept all his attention focused on the road in front of him, but Isabel seemed determined to find out from Maria what had her so worried.

"Okay, let's try to think this out rationally." Isabel was trying to stay calm, despite the fact that she was getting so anxious she was about ready to jump out of the Jeep herself. "You said that you thought there was something wrong with Michael." Maria nodded impatiently. "Do you think you could possibly be more specific than that?"

Maria frowned, deep in thought. "It's hard to put into words. He was just wrong." Maria turned around to look at Alex and Tess in the back seat. "You know how Michael gets all stone-wall when he's angry?" They both nodded. "Except for his eyes. When Michael's pissed, he gets very still, but his eyes show what he's feeling. Well, this time it was the opposite." Maria closed her eyes, trying to remember exactly how Michael looked. "His whole body was tense, almost quivering, like he was about to jump. And his eyes." Maria's eyes flew open, and for the first time she looked frightened. "His eyes looked so cold. They looked more like Rath's eyes than Michael's."

There was silence in the car for a minute. Isabel turned around and looked at Alex for reassurance. He tried to smile, but wasn't able to. The thought of Michael's dupe was enough to petrify any of them.

Finally, Isabel spoke. "Are you sure it was Michael, Maria? Maybe it was Rath. Maybe he's back."

"If it was Rath, he would have done more than break a few lightbulbs," Tess spoke up in a small voice. Isabel turned around and took Tess's hand. Of all of them, Tess was the one most terrified of Rath. They sometimes forgot that it was her dupe he had killed while they watched. Tess had stood there and looked at Ava, at herself, while she lay on the floor, broken and battered from Rath's attack. Isabel knew that she still had nightmares from that sight.

"Tess is right," Maria said with certainty. "It was Michael, all right. I just don't know what's going on what he laughingly refers to as a brain."

"We'll find out," Max said flatly. He kept his eyes on the road ahead of him.

Isabel closed her eyes, concentrating on Michael. Her dreamwalking abilities had gotten stronger lately. Her experiences with Max and Pierce had shown that she could sometimes connect with people even when they were awake and get information. If there was anybody in the world she could connect with, it should be Michael. He and Max were the two people she knew the best in the world. Maybe she could get some idea of where he was.

They rode in silence for a while, trying not to let their fears for Michael get the better of them. Suddenly, Isabel yelled out, "Turn around, Max."

"What?"

"We're going in the wrong direction. We need to go that way." Isabel pointed to the east.

"The Granolith Chamber is this way," Max pointed out.

"But Michael is that way."

"Are you sure?" asked Alex.

"Yes." Isabel looked at Max pleadingly. "I know that he's that way, Max."

Without speaking, Max turned the car in the direction Isabel had pointed. Maria sat back in her seat and tried to get comfortable. She tried not to mind this evidence of Michael's connection with Isabel. Even though she had managed to accept the fact that they were mates in their previous lives, that didn't mean she liked being reminded of it. Looking in the rear view mirror, Maria could see that Alex looked as unhappy as she did. Noticing her watching him, Alex smiled and did his famous thumbs-up. Maria smiled in return and looked back out over the desert.

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Liz looked up from wiping the table to see Valenti come striding in. He walked up to her. "Good afternoon, Sheriff. What can I get for you?"

"Have you seen Michael lately?" he asked.

"Everybody seems to be looking for him today," Liz said, setting down the towel. "No, I haven't, but the others just went searching for him. What's going on?"

"I had a call from Amy earlier. Seems she was a bit concerned about Michael and thought he might need someone to talk to." Valenti didn't see any need to tell Liz that Amy had been insistent on someone talking to Michael before he saw her daughter. While Valenti was certain that the boy wouldn't hurt anyone (well, not unless that anyone tried to hurt him first), he couldn't ignore Amy's barely hidden panic. If something had Amy DeLuca that concerned, then it was worth investigating. "Which way did they go looking for him?"

Liz frowned, looking at the clock. Making her decision, she started to untie her apron. "If you give me a minute, I'll go with you. I'm starting to get worried about Michael, too."

Five minutes later, Liz was in the sheriff's car, guiding him in the direction she thought they might have gone. Liz was just following her instincts as she pointed Valenti in the direction she thought Max had gone across the desert. The sheriff didn't ask any questions; he just drove in the direction she told him to.

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Michael pulled away from the stranger, unsteadily getting to his feet. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded. Then, before the stranger could answer, Michael looked away from him. He felt something. It was like an electric current going through his body. He looked in the direction the current seemed to be coming from and saw the Jeep coming into sight. Maria, he thought. He knew that Maria was in the car. Michael was so focused on watching the Jeep pull up, that he didn't notice the stranger walk away from him a bit. Then the Jeep came to a stop in front of them.

Isabel was the first one out of the car, rushing over to Michael. "Michael, what happened?" she started, but then stopped short as she noticed the man standing there quietly.

The others climbed out, walking over to stand alongside Michael. Maria was the last one to approach. She noticed how Michael's eyes never left hers, not even when Isabel was talking to him. Now that she had found him, Maria was surprisingly nervous. He seemed to be himself again, but there was something faintly unnerving about the way he watched her so intently. She stopped a few feet away from him.

Some part of Michael's brain told him that Izzy was here and that she was asking him something. He supposed that he ought to answer her, but all he could seem to focus on was Maria. She had stopped moving and was just standing there, watching him carefully. She was too far away. But she looked scared, and if he moved any closer it might frighten her off. So he would keep his distance. What are you thinking, Guerin? he thought in dismay. There's a strange alien standing a few feet away, you don't know if he's a friend or an enemy, and all you can think about is grabbing Maria and dragging her away somewhere. Michael forced himself to look away from Maria, and concentrate on the stranger, who was watching them all with a slight smile on his face.

Maria was disappointed when he looked away, but also a little relieved. The way he was looking at her was flattering, like she was the only one there, but it was also a bit frightening, a bit too intense. She decided that confronting Michael could wait a while.

While this was going on, Max had been looking at the stranger. "I know you," he finally said. "You were there when Liz and I ......." then he stopped in embarrassment.

"When you found the orb," the man finished for him. "Yes, I was there." He looked up. "Oh, good, here she is now."

Everyone turned and saw Valenti drive up, with Liz next to him. They jumped out of the car, and Valenti started towards the stranger. Michael jumped in front of him.

"It's all right, Sheriff." He looked back at the stranger. "I don't think he's going to hurt us."

"Quite right, Michael," the man said cheerfully. "Quite the opposite, in fact. Sheriff Valenti, so glad that you could both join us."

"Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Valenti asked, never taking his hands off the gun in his holster.

"Of course," the man said, walking closer to them. Michael moved to stand between him and Maria. No use taking chances, he thought. He heard Maria make a small sound behind him, but didn't dare turn around to see what was wrong.

Maria was surprised by the sudden tingling that she felt when Michael came near her. Every nerve in her body seemed to tense up. She stared at his back, wanting to touch him so much that she felt like her chest was constricting and she couldn't breathe. Slowly, her hand reached out and touched his back. She immediately felt better. Then, Michael's hand reached slowly behind his back and took hers. That was even better.

Michael tried hard to focus on the man in front of him. Things seemed clearer now that he was touching Maria. For the first time all day, his head had stopped pounding and he felt calm. He watched the man walk up to Max, noticing the limp that destroyed the otherwise fluid effect of his gait.

Max kept his eyes on the stranger as he approached. While he felt no threat, he did feel a sense of anticipation. This is what we've been waiting for he thought to himself. The man stopped in front of Max, then hugged him. Quickly releasing Max from the hug, he placed both hands on his heart and bowed to him.

Then he turned to Liz. He smiled at her, but then looked closer at her eyes and frowned. Liz had the feeling that he had felt her sadness at being so close to Max, but unable to really be with him.

He limped over to Isabel and looked at her eyes, too, but with much more determination. Isabel had the sense that he was looking through her, down into her soul, as if he was searching for something in particular. It wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling for the girl who didn't let anybody in easily. He was apparently pleased with what he saw, because he smiled and hugged her as well.

He noticed Maria peering around Michael to look at him, and passed her with a smile. He walked past Valenti and Alex, looking at them carefully, and then stopped in front of Tes. Tess looked up at the man. For the first time, his eyes changed and looked sad. He hugged her as well, but Tess was certain that she had seen the sadness in his eyes. She wondered what it meant. Then he turned back to the group, looking directly at Max, but speaking to them all.

"I suppose I should begin by introducing myself. My name is Dagmar. I am your, albeit absentee, guardian." He looked at the eight once more and nodded in satisfaction. "Now we can begin."

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