Then he turned his head and looked at her, mouthing the words 'I'm sorry.' She knew he blamed himself for some perceived failure, as if all of their fates were his personal responsibility, that all of their lives rested on his shoulders.
She wanted to tell him that it wasn't true. That this was the life they had all chosen, this was the life she had chosen. This fight was all of theirs. And this defeat was all of theirs as well.
In the end, all she could do was look at him and whisper back, 'It's okay, Max.' She tried to communicate the
rest with her eyes. She wanted to make this part easier for him, to comfort him, but she could tell by his eyes that she had not.
That was her failure, and her shame.
'Okay?' Nicholas snapped, suddenly in front of her. 'You think this is okay. If by all right, you mean pain and death for all of you, then yes, I'd say this is all just fine.'
Looking into his sneering face, Liz knew what it was like to truly hate someone. He had won, and he was still trying to scare them, to torture them, to hurt Max through her and them. In her fury, she pulled at the straps that held her arms to the wall behind her at her waist. She couldn't break them. In fact, she couldn't even budge them. All she could do was stomp her feet in her anger.
Herfeet.
They were free. She was bound to the wall, but she could still move her feet, and Nicholas had made the mistake of getting very close to her, to frighten her more. Without a moment's hesitation, she brought a single foot up with all of her might, aiming it where she knew it would hurt most. It hit with a satisfying thud, and Nicholas looked at her in shock and pain. Then he crumbled into a ball on the ground.
Liz felt a flash of satisfaction. She had fought back, even if just for a moment. And she had hurt him, pretty badly by the sound of his moaning. It might be their last victory of the day, and in the end it wouldn't make a real difference, but Liz smiled at the sight.
She only wished she could have fought harder and made a real difference. Thinking back to her dream-vision of the future, she remembered seeing Michael and Isabel
lying dead while Max stood alone to battle some monstrous force. Even fhen he was trying to protect her, but the force he was facing was too great.
And then he had died for her… for all of them.
Was that vision about this fight, with the metaphor of dreams replacing Nicholas with a monster? It seemed impossible. Nicholas was too small and petty to be the force that finally destroyed Max.
Liz felt now like she had felt in the vision: an observer, helpless. She could not fight, had not fought then. How could she? She had powers, but she couldn't control them. Her visions had helped them before, and her other powers had helped Max in Stonewall, but she couldn't even summon them now.
All she had been able to muster was a swift kick against a monster in the body of a small, skinny, teenaged boy. Even drained by his healing of Nicholas, Max had managed more than that. If she somehow survived, if some miracle saved all of them, Liz vowed to develop and master her powers.
If only she had done that sooner, if only she could fight like Max, or Michael, or Isabel. She could make books burst into flame and occasionally move objects, but that was nothing against Nicholas and his abilities. If only…
Looking across the room to Michael's and Kyle's pained faces, Liz knew that she wasn't the only one feeling helpless. Michael could do it, if he was free, if it wasn't for the electrodes blocking his powers.
Liz realized that if even she was able to get herself and her hands free for a few seconds, she would be able to rip them from Michael's head. Then she knew that he would
do the rest… the look on his face told her that. Her hands were incapacitated, but what if she could do it without her hands? She had moved objects before, even under stress. And this would not require the same power as a fullblown fight against Nicholas's alien powers. This would just require a nudge with her own infant abilities… just a nudge.
She looked at Michael, concentrating on the electrodes. She saw that he was saying something to Maria, trying to comfort her. She blocked out the noise, all noise, and concentrated on the electrodes on each side of his forehead. They were attached by a device that looked like a set of metal headphones. Even so, they were light, she was sure, less than a pound. She focused. Did the headset move slightly? She wasn't sure, but she thought it might have.
That's when she felt a slap across her face, shattering her concentration. She was annoyed at the interruption. Then she saw Nicholas standing there and realized what it meant: He had recovered enough to stand up. And he was angry.
He was standing to the side, out of the range of her foot. Leaning in, he whispered, 'That was a mistake. You're going to regret that. I had wanted to save you for last, to give Max plenty of time to think about what was going to happen to you, but now you will die first.'
The words barely registered. She was trying to regain her concentration on Michael's headset. If she could only move it, there still might be a chance. Nicholas was pulling her, releasing her arms, then gripping them firmly from behind. Maria was crying loudly now, and Isabel was saying something. So were Kyle and Michael. She ignored
all the words and concentrated on the headset.
The headset. Suddenly she could feel it in her mind. Its metal warmed by Michael's skin. She felt its weight.
Nicholas was talking. To her? No, to Max. Then she was falling, thrown to the floor next to Max. Looking up, she saw Nicholas looming over her. He was taunting Max and trying to frighten her, but she could think only of the headset.
Lifting his own foot, Nicholas kicked Max squarely in the stomach, and she watched her boyfriend shudder at the blow. She felt a rush of adrenaline and feeling for Max.
That did it.
Suddenly, she was holding the headset with her mind, as firmly as if she were holding it with her hand. In the end, it seemed painfully simple. All she had to do was… yank. And then it was flying across the room.
'Michael, now!' she called out. Then she reached out again with her mind, felt the straps holding Michael to the chamber. She broke them with her mind. Then, as quickly as they had come, her powers began to recede… like a dream that races out of sight when you wake.
It was all right. Michael could take it from here, and right now, Max needed her.
As Michael stumbled out of his chamber, a change came over Nicholas's face. His sneering grin disappeared, only to be replaced by a look of dull surprise. 'What…,' he said feebly.
'Now you're going to pay,' Michael said, raising his hand. Liz realized it would soon be over. Nicholas was too confused to mount a defense. And Michael was angry. His face had a kind of determined fury that she had never seen
on him before. She knew how he felt about Max and how he must have felt about what had happened here for the last few minutes.
Liz decided she wouldn't want to be Nicholas right now.
His brow furrowed in concentration, Michael summoned his powers. Then he pushed with his outstretched hand and…
Nothing.
Surprise registered on Michael's face. He tried again. This time, Nicholas stumbled back slightly, as if he had been pushed gently. Looking at Nicholas's face, Liz saw that his dumb look of shock was gone, and the sneering grin was back.
'Oh Michael, you know there might be some residual effects from the electrode,' he said, then he laughed. The sound was less unnatural than it had been when he was a walking, rotting corpse, but it was no less creepy.
Liz raced to Max and instinctively put her body over his, holding him. It was an empty gesture, she knew. Once again, she was helpless.
'Watch this, Max. This will give you some idea of what to expect for yourself.' Nicholas raised his hand, pointing it at Michael. The hand began to glow, and Maria screamed. Something happened. Liz could hear a thump
