"And what about the flash Liz got?" Maria asked.

"There's no reason to think the two things are related."

It bothered Michael that Alex was so quick to dismiss any danger. He was a good friend, and his electronics skills had proved useful, but he wasn't the one being hunted. "We have to be on our guard. The only way to be prepared is to assume the worst. If I didn't see the same guy Liz got the flash from, that means there are two of them looking for us."

Isabel looked up at Michael's words. "The message said that we would know our enemies by the evil inside them. Liz was scared by what she saw. Maybe she can sense the evil inside." She turned to Michael. "Did you and the delivery guy touch at all? You know, bump into each other or anything?"

Micheal thought back. "Yeah, he introduced himself. We shook hands."

"And you didn't sense anything?" Michael shook his head.

"Well, that doesn't really mean anything. Michael's always been weak with his powers." They all turned to where Tess sat slightly away from the others. Michael glared at her. She shrugged. "Well, it's true, isn't it? Have you ever been able to make a mental connection with anyone?"

Michael ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his neck, uncomfortable that he and his abilities, or lack thereof, were suddenly the center of attention. He glanced at Maria, but she just stared at the floor. "Yeah, of course."

Alex gave Isabel's hand a slight squeeze. "Then the guy at the Crashdown must not be one of these evil aliens."

"Okay, that might be true. But I still don't understand what happened with Liz. Nasedo always told me that the four of us would share a telepathic connection, that's part of our alien legacy. But Liz is human. She shouldn't have that ability. Maria, Alex, it's never happened to either of you?" They both shook thier heads. Tess turned to Max. "Until now, she's only gotten the flashes with you, right?"

Ever since hearing about Liz's experience, Max had seemed oblivious to the conversation around him. Maria knew that he and Liz had always thought that they had a special connection because of the way they felt about each other. After everything she had been through with Michael she could imagine how it hurt him to know it wasn't true. She didn't want to hurt him more, but she sensed that this could be important. "No." Max snapped back into reality and completely focused on what Maria had to say. "She's also had them with Nasedo. And Michael."

Max's focus switched to Michael. "What's she talking about?"

Michael barely heard the question. His head was spinning with the realization of what Maria had said. He had wanted to find out if Liz could get information from him the way she had with Max but he never really thought it would work. He hadn't thought about the fact that if it did the "stone wall" he had so carefully built around himself would be breached. For the first time in his life he felt vulnerable, naked. He swallowed to ease his suddenly dry throat. "Because of her we were able to find the communicators. That's the most we ever learned. I thought it was worth a shot to see if there was anything else we could find out. I didn't think she saw anything."

Maria spoke softly. "Well, she did."

"It seems that Liz has some talents of her own. Now we just need to figure out what makes her so special."

Tess's voice took Max back to the day Liz had confronted him about kissing Tess. They were standing in the back of the Crashdown when Max had admitted he'd had a flash. Liz had turned to him, the pain of betrayal in her eyes. "I guess I'm not so special after all." He knew it had hurt her, now he knew exactly how she felt. He turned his attention back to the present. "I healed her."

"Healed her of what?"

"There was a shooting at the Crashdown. She got hit by accident."

Tess had been prepared for a broken bone or cut. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So you used your powers in a restaurant full of people? That's why Pierce was here. You brought him here just because you couldn't wait for an ambulence to reach your girlfriend?"

"She would have died."

Isabel had never seen her brother so angry. Tess and Max stared at each other, the anger palpable between them. Finally Tess broke away. "Liz has the power to sense our enemies. That's something we might not be able to do. But if she has this power because you healed her, there's somebody else who might be able to do it too."

Maria couldn't help laughing out loud. "You mean Kyle? Have you seen him lately? No way he's gonna help."