Lost in The Crowd
Part VI: Guests of Honor

Quote of the Day: (One of my favorite moments in the entire seven year run of Buffy)
Xander: Seven years Dawn. Working with the slayer, seeing my friends get more and more powerful. The witch. A demon. Hell, I could fit Oz in my shaving kit but come a full moon, he had a wolfy mojo not to be messed with. Powerful. All of them. And I'm the guy who fixes the windows……… I see more than anyone else cause nobody's watching me. And I saw what you did last night. You took your power and gave it to Amanda without a second thought. You're not special, Dawn. You're extrordinary."
Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Season 7, 'Potential'

In this Chapter: Serena and Kyle make plans. Duff gets a lead. The gang gets more than they bargain for when they go to a wrestling event.

Aprox. 14 hours after the events of the last installment.

Royal Suite #1
Kyle and Tess's room- Noon
Kyle is rudely awakened from his peaceful slumber by a loud rapping on the door.
"Yeah?" Kyle calls out and shifts Tess' head from his chest to the pillows as to not wake her up.. Serena opens the door, a sombre expression on her face. She holds up a copy of the Fresno Gazette, and tosses it to Kyle who takes one look at the front page and slaps a hand against his forehead.
"On the plus side, they don't have a very good picture of us. I mean you were literally on fire and I'm out of focus enough to stay flying under te radar here for a few more days." Serena points out.
"Michael's gonna flip his lid when he hears about this." Kyle says, pulling on his pants under the sheets, then standing up o-ut of the bed.
"If we can keep him from getting the paper today, we should be alright. The press will write us off as tabloid garbage and we can fade into obscurity once again." Serena says. "Michael also told me to have you and Oz and Tess get ready. He got us front row seats for the ECW show at the civic center tonight. Max called in for reservations at some Italian resteraunt before we go to see the show too."
"Really? Finally something that might actually be worth the trip." Kyle exclaims with a playful grin. Serena smiles back.
"You and Tess get ready, I'll see you when we get ready to leave." Serena tells him and walks out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her, so she doesn't wake Tess.

Roswell, New Mexico- 1pm
Crashdown
Jim Valenti and Agent Susan Duff are sitting at a booth talking.
"So suppose I do help you, what happens to those kids. Kyle is my son and Tess is like a daughter to me." Jim asks, sipping on a coffee.
"They will be questioned and then placed in protective custody until such time that people like Topolski are put away for good." Duff answers.
"They're not gonna come quietly, even though Max does trust you. Their last experience with the government didn't end well and the whole debacle at grauation has further cemented that distrust." Jim comments.
"I know, that's why you are needed. You have to convince them that they are not going to be in any danger if they come with us. We have several other 'special' people in our care. I'm not to sure, but I think that the president is trying to put together his own little special forces." Duff says.
"There's only one problem with that. Maria Deluca has no alien powers whatsoever." Jim says. "And she won't be getting any unless she gets hurt and Max has to heal her like Liz, Kyle, Alex, and-" Jim stops before he tells Duff about his own latent powers.
"And who else, Jim?" Duff questions.
"It wouldn't matter, she's dead now." Valenti covers. "Her name was Courtney Banks. She used to waitress here, and was killed when enemies of Max, Michael, Isabel and Tess's came to town looking for them."
"How?" Duff asks.
"There was an alien named Nicolas." Jim says. "He could go into peoples mind and sort through their thoughts, feelings, memories. There was a thing called the Granolith that Max and the others were hiding. Michael told Courtney and Nicolas found her. In order to keep the information away from him, Courtney killed herself."
Duff's cell goes off and she picks it up.
"Duff here." She says into the phone. "Yeah. Are you sure. Okay, I'll get there as soon as I can."
She clicks the phone shut and turns back to Jim. "We have a confirmed sighting."
"How confirmed?" Jim asks.
A video tape of your son, engulfed in flames, taking out a gangster. There was an unidentified woman with him, who took out the guys partner with what is believed to be bursts of plasma, from the CSI's examination of the damage inflicted upon the car that the thugs were in." Duff answers. "The Fresno newspapers are having a field day with the 'superheroes' in their backyard, so I doubt we're gonna have much time before they move on."
"So we're going to Fresno." Jim states, knowing the answer.
"There's a plane standing by in Hondo." Duff confirms
"I think I heard something about an ECW wrestling show happening there today. If it is them, Michael will probably drag the group to go see it." Jim says, trying to be helpful. Duff nods.
"Then that's where we'll be waiting for them."

DeLuigi's
Two tables are pushed together in the far left corner of the resteraunt as the gang is led over to be seated. Max, Liz, Isabel and Alex take one side, while Serena, Tess, Kyle and Maria are on the other side and Michael and Oz have sat on the ends of the table.
Max stands up and looks around the table. "I have an announcement to make." He declares. "Liz and I are getting married."
Everyone at the table applauds, and Isabel, who is sitting next to Liz gives her a quick hug. Max raises his glass in a toast, which is soon copied by the other nine friends. Their meal comes and they eat their fill.

Fresno Civic Center- 6PM
Agent Duff, Jim Valenti, and several other agents enter the building and are approached by two of the show's security guards.
"What's all this?" The lead guard asks, noting the gun holsters on the new arrivals.
Susan Duff waves her badge to show the men that she is FBI.
"We're waiting for some people who may be here tonight. This is a federal matter, so do not attempt to involve yourselves in any way." Duff says with authority and the men nod in understanding. "Now, we're going to need a couple seats to keep an eye out for our targets. Spread out perferably"
The lead guard nods again. "Follow me, and I'll show you to the main part of the arena."

A couple of hours later
Michael leads the way into the arena, the other nine clustered together, heading for their seats in the front row. They reach them with relatively no problem, as they haven't seen Duff, Valenti, or any of the agents yet. They take their seats and wait for the show to start. After about a half hour it does, and the first match is Super Crazy w/ Tajiri and Mikey Whipwreck vs. Justin Credible w/Francine.
Michael, Serena and Kyle are all really into the match, all watching the match intently. Super Crazy knocks Credible down after a long fought battle all over the arena, and does the trifecta of moonsaults. Crazy precedes to pin him for the victory. The second match is Tajiri and Whipwreck and Balls Mahoney w/ Super Crazy and Axl Rotten vs. The Blue World Order (Stevie Richards, Nova(WWE fans know him as Simon Dean), and The Blue Meanie). Whipwreck, Tajiri, and Mahoney dominate the match, eventually getting the pin on Nova after Tajiri hits him with the buzzsaw kick and Mikey gives him a whippersnapper.
Paul Heyman's music hits and he comes out with the same blonde girl who was at the 'party' the night before, accompanied by several police officers. Tess, Kyle, Serena and Oz exchange worried glances, which doesn't go unnoticed by either Michael or Max. Paul Heyman grabs a mic and addresses the crowd.
"I have been asked by the Fresno PD to acknowledge what is to be a historic event in Fresno's history. Last night there was a hostage situation in Northern Fresno, commited by the infamous Reavers. One man lost his life last night, but if not for four brave men and women, many more would have most likely been killed. We have footage of the aftermath of the incident. Roll It!"
The large titantron flickers from an image of the ring to show video footage of Kyle and Serena taking out the two goons in the car, using their powers, then of Tess and Oz leading Maddie out of the house and to safety. As this is going on, Tess, Kyle, Serena and Oz all get up from their seats and begin to head towards the exits, as inconspiciously as they can. They don't get too far however, before the blonde girl spots them and grabs the mic from Heyman.
"And they are here tonight!" the girl yells, pointing them out in the crowd. The four of them turn toward the cameras sheepishly.
"Shit." Kyle swears under his breath as he looks at the titantron, which is not focused on the position of the four.
Agent Duff and Valenti watch the events unfold, shaking their heads. Duff's walkie crackles to life.
"I have two of them within my immediate line of sight, do you want me to detain?"
"Negative. We can't do it in front of all these people now. Withdraw, we'll get another chance later." Duff commands. "We find out where they're staying and intercept them there."
"Get them in the ring!" Heyman shouts and Oz, Serena, Tess and Kyle are ushered hesitantly forward toward the barricade.
"Tess, can you mind warp them, so we can get out of here?" Serena whispers urgently, and Tess nods.
Closing her eyes tightly, Tess reaches out with her mind and makes the four of them invisible. Kyle picks up his girlfriend and begins to walk through the crowds toward the exit, Serena and Oz following behind.
"Whoa, Holy shit, they've disappeared in to thin air!" Heyman yells. "That's extreme!"

Royal Suite # 1
Half an hour later
Kyle opens the door and walks into the suite, followed by Tess, Serena and Oz. He stops in his tracks suddenly, as he sees his father sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. Tess bumps into him and looks around him to see what is going on. Her mouth drops open in shock.
"d-d-Dad?" She sputters, confused. "How did you find us."
"Wasn't hard." Jim says sternly.
"Hello Kyle, Tess. It's been a long time." Agent Duff says, making her presence known. Kyle and Tess whirl around to look at the FBI agent.
"What are you doing here?"
"We've been sent by the FBI to come and retrieve you and bring you to a more secure location." Duff tells them.
"What, like the white room? No thanks." Tess says and closes her eyes to start another mindwarp. One of Duff's men comes out of nowhere and shoots Tess in the chest with a tranquilizer dart. Oz catches her as she falls backwards limply into his arms. Kyle bursts into flames.
"What the hell are you playing at?" Kyle yells, pointing an accusing finger at his father and Duff.
"She was going to mindwarp us, and I couldn't allow that to happen. We need you to come to Washington DC with us." Duff says.
"Not gonna happen." Kyle sneers, throwing up a ring of fire around the foursome that stretches up to the ceiling. The floor ccrackles and gives way under them and Kyle, Oz, Serena and Tess fall down to the room below, which unfortunantly has a bunch of agents waiting with tranquilizers. Kyle's flames die down and he returns to normal, having expended too much energy on the little stunt he just pulled. The agents fire off a couple of darts, hitting Kyle and Oz. They go down, but Serena manages to melt hers before she gets hit. She tosses a couple more, melting the guns of the other agents in the room, before they can reload and get off another shot.
She glares at the now unarmed agents. "What are you going- ughnnnnn" Serena moans as another agent comes out of the bathroom and shoots her in the back with the tranquilizer. She falls forward and one of the agents catches her before she hits the ground.
"Let's get them secured in the transport before the others get here."
"While you're add it, get all their stuff and the cars they had with them, and load them into the other transport. We leave nothing behind."

Later- Suite #2
Michael opens the door and storms in, a thunderous look on his face. Max, Liz, Maria, Isabel and Alex follow after him. Alex shuts the door and it closes with an irregular click.
"This is unbelievable!" Michael vents. "How could they be so stupid, using their powers in public like that?"
"I'm sure that they had a very good reason to do what they did, Michael." Liz, ever the optimist, reasons softly.
"It doesn't matter what their reasons were. We can't stay here anymore, we have to leave tonight." Max says, just as angrily as Michael was talking.
"Hey guys, does anyone smell that?" Isabel asks, sniffing the air. She walks over to the closet and sees a strange machine in the vent above her head. "Oh my god! They're gassing us!" She cries out in alarm, as the gas starts to become a grayish color, like smoke, as it pours out of the vent.
Michael and Max run over to check it. They look at it in horror. "Everyone out, Now!" Max yells, taaking command, and the six of them run for the door, only to find that it won't open. Max tries using his powers on the lock, but nothing happens.
"I can't get it open!" Max yells. Kicking the door in frustration.
"The door that connects to the other suite!" Maria yells, and the six of them run for the other door. It opens and they survey the damage in the other room for a moment before they are all hit with tranquilizer darts and collpse into a small pile in the room.
To Be Concluded…….

Lost in the Crowd
Part VII: New Beginnings

In this part: The gang makes new friends. Maria is given a choice that will alter her life forever. Serena and Oz get closer. The signal is sent.

Transport Truck #4 – Unknown amount of time later
Tess is laying on a mattress, sleeping soundly from the effects of the tranquilizer dart. She begins to stir and slowly opens her eyes. She remembers what happened in the hotel room, and sits up quickly, a little too quickly for her own good as she feels a huge headache coming on. She clutches her head in pain and looks around, taking in her surroundings. She sees Serena's car parked in the back part of the transport where she is being held, and Liz is laying on another mattress a few feet over. Tess slowly moves over to the small brunette and nudges her shoulder.
"Hey Liz… Liz wake up." Tess calls out, trying to rouse her friend. After a few attempts, Liz slowly begins to wake up.
"Whazz gon onnn?" Liz slurs, still feeling the effects of the tranquilizer. "I feel like I got hit by a mack truck." Liz says, her voice returning to normal after a moment.
"I think that we're in one, bound for parts unknown." Tess tells her solemnly. "I can't seem to get my powers working."
Liz reached out and tries to blast the back doors open, but has no luck. She shakes her head.
"Me neither." Liz announces.
Tess stands up and moves toward the wall that has no door, only a thin metal slab that Tess assumes connects to the cab of the truck. She raises a fist and pounds on the wall, hoping to get the attention of the driver or someone in the passenger seat. Her banging is soon answered, as the slab slides away and both Tess find a pair of ivy green eyes looking back at them.
"Where the hell are you taking us?" Tess demands angrily.
"We are enroute to a train station, where we will be boarding a private train bound for Washington DC." A female voice answers.
"Why? So they can put us under observation and/or dissect us?" Tess asks.
"I assure you that it's nothing that drastic." The voice says.
"Then why were we tranq'd taken against our will?" Tess argued, and Liz nods.
"Because we know that due to your previous run in with the government, you would never come quietly, regardless of the reason you were summoned." The woman explains.
"So why do you want us?" Liz asks.
"There is a secret branch of the government, that consists of a group of special individuals. We in the group call it Gene Nation. Very few people know about the project. The president himself is on a need to know basis only." The woman answers. "We were hoping to recruit you into the group."
"And just why should we even bother listening to any of this." Tess argues. "You didn't give us a choice in Fresno."
"We're giving you a choice now. If I don't convince you to join by the time we reach San Francisco, then you can leave and we won't bother any of you again."
"Okay, start trying to convince us." Liz says halfheartedly, then she and Tess both jump back in shock as the woman slips through the wall and into the back part of the truck where Liz and Tess are being held.
"Wh-wh-what the-" Liz stutters.
"What? You thought that you people were the only ones in the world with gifts?" The woman asks, slightly mockingly.
"What- Who are you?" Tess manages to get out after a moment.
"Amy Bishop, Mutant, at your service."

Transport #2
Serena and Isabel are trying to find a way out of their little prison, but not having much luck as their powers are blocked.
"Any luck?" Serena calls over to Isabel, who is trying to unlock the back door of the truck.
"Nothing. What about you." Isabel asks.
"Not even a spark." Serena answers, distraught.
"That's because the tranquilizers you were shot with were laced with neural inhibitors, specifically designed to block your powers." A man that wasn't in the back with them a moment ago says. Serena and Isabel spin to face him.
"Who are you?" Serena asks, walking backwards to stand next to Isabel.
The man grins and disappears.
"I'm a member of a group called Gene Nation, which consists of talented individuals not unlike you two lovely ladies." The man says, now behind the pair of hybrids. They both spin around and stare at him, slackjawed.

Transport #3
Max and Alex are standing up, staring at the girl who appears to be about fifteen, who is leaning against the SUV.
"So why exactly should we trust that this Gene Nation is for real, and not just some government ploy to get us in the white room or something like that." Max asks.
"You can trust me. The guy who runs Gene Nation is named Edward Sinclair. When I was four years old, I was living on the streets. He found me and took me in, gave me good clothes and put a roof over my head. Neither of us knew that I was a mutant until about three years ago." The girl tells them.
"What happened?" Alex asks.
"We went on a cruise to celebrate the eight year anniversary of the day he adopted me. On the third day we saw dolphins playing around some coral reefs and I leaned too far over the edge, and fell. I thought I was going to die, but at the last second before I hit the water, I stopped. That was the day I found out that I could fly." The girl says and illustrates her point by rising two feet off of the ground.
"Oh wow." Alex and Max chorus and the girl gives them a wide grin.

Transport #2
"Absolutely not!" Michael yells at the man in the compartment with him and Oz.
"Why the hell not?" the man asks politely.
"Because of what Pierce did to Max, I refuse to have anything to do with the government. It would take everyone else agreeing to get in on your little game before I even considered it."
"Michael, maybe we should give him a-" Oz starts, but Michael cuts him off.
"No!" Michael yells. "The only reason you're even here is because Serena likes you. You don't get a say in the matter, whatsoever."
"I may not be able to speak for you or Max or Isabel or Tess, or anyone else, but I can speak for myself Michael. I'm doing this."

Transport #5
Kyle slowly wakes to Maria's insistant shaking of his shoulder.
"What happened." Kyle asks, drowsily shaking off the tiredness, and sitting up. He looks at Maria, who is staring at something on the other side of the truck. He follows Maria's gaze to see a brunette woman sitting on the hood of Oz's van, staring at them tentatively.
"Who are you?" Kyle asks, angrily as the events that led them to their current predicament resurface.
"I'm Katie Beck, and I'm kinda like you, Kyle Valenti, but I'm more like Maria here." Katie introduces herself.
"What, you're a human with no powers, that got sucked into the alien abyss?" Kyle asks, and Maria whaps him in the arm for being slightly insensitive. Katie shakes her head.
"Nah, I'm a mutant." Katie tells them.
"So you have powers then?" Kyle asks and Katie nods.
"I can copy the powers of other mutants and empowered being's such as yourself. I can also sense other mutants and draw out their latent talents." Katie says.
"You said that you were more like me, than like Kyle. Are you saying that I…" Maria trails off and Katie nods her head.
"Your powers should have emerged by now, I can sense that you have immense untapped potential. I can help you to unlock your gifts, and then you'll be on a par with the rest of us." Katie offers, and Maria looks down at the ground for a moment.
"Give me some time to think about it, okay?" Maria asks.
"Of course." Katie replies with a nod.
Maria turns to Kyle. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this Valenti."
Kyle waves his hands. "Don't worry about it, my lips are sealed." He promises.
Katie touches her earpiece, listening intently.
"Okay, we're going to be arriving at the private train station in about five minutes, can I trust you enough not to run off when we let you out and to get on the train willingly?"
Kyle and Maria nod slowly and Katie grins widely. "I promise you that it's worth it and that you won't have to run anymore."

Train Compartment- Twenty Minutes Later
Max, Liz, Alex, Isabel, and Maria are sitting together in a compartment.
"So we're really gonna do this?" Liz asks quietly.
"Yeah." Max answers. "If the whole thing turns out to be a sham, then we walk."
"Who gets to tell Michael that we all want this?" Isabel asks.
"I'll do it." Max answers solemnly. "I doubt he's gonna be to pleased about it, but he'll deal."
"How do you think that Kyle, Serena, Tess and Oz are dealing with this?" Alex asks.
"I think that they want it too. Serena does anyways, she's been running for a lot longer than we have and she's sick of it, she said so back in the truck." Isabel reveals.
"Yeah, Tess said she didn't want to run anymore too." Liz says. "She did it for ten years before she even came to Roswell, and she doesn't want to do it again."
Alex notices that Maria has been silent the whole time as the train begins to move.
"Hey Ria, what are your thoughts on this?" Alex asks her genially
Maria snaps out of her thoughts of what Katie had told her back in the truck, and looks at Alex.
"I think that this is the best thing for you guys." Maria answers after a moment. She stands up and moves for the door. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air." She says as she leaves the compartment. The other four watch her go, sad expressions on their faces.
Maria walks down the corridor, heading for the back part of the train. She reaches it after a couple of minutes and opens the door, stepping out onto the balcony. She rests her hands against the steel guardrail and watches the tracks pass, deep in thought.
"What should I do?" She wonders aloud, hoping that someone will take the decision out of her hands.

Diner Cart
Serena and Oz are sitting at a table together, each drinking a coffee.
"So what do you think of this whole deal?" Serena asks.
"It's moving so fast right now, I really don't know what to think." Oz replies.
"You know, It's times like these that you should be with someone you know that you can trust no matter what." Serena says cryptically.
"What are you talking about, Serena?" Oz asks, confused. Serena stares at him for a moment then leans over and kisses him. Oz hesitates for a moment and Serena pulls back.
"Sorry, that was stupid. I-" Serena is cut off as Oz leans forwards and kisses her back.
"No, that was the best thing you could have done." He says when the two of them finally come up for air. He looks around, seeing Katie and Amy staring at them, grinning. "Hey, Do you wanna go some where more private?"
Serena nods, and Oz leads her out of the diner cart, heading to find an empty compartment.

Sleeping Compartment
Michael is laying on a bed in the compartment, Max sitting on the bed next to his, watching as Michael begins to wake. Michael opens his eyes and looks at Max. He is silent for a long moment.
"Everyone took the offer, didn't they?" Michael finally asks Max just looks at him for a moment in silence before answering.
"Yeah, we all took the offer." Max replies after a moment.
"I hope that you haven't gotten us in too deep, Maxwell." Michael says.
"So you're going to do it to then?" Max questions and Michael nods.
"What choice do I have?" he mutters.

Cargo Hold
RV
Tess and Kyle are laying on the bed in the back of the RV, spooning. Kyle is stroking Tess' hair as they lay there.
"It's going to be a different world for us. For all of us." Kyle says
"I know." Tess says, grabbing hold of Kyle's hand and squeezing gently. "I love you, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Kyle answers, kissing the back of Tess' head.
Suddenly, a very distinct beeping is heard, coming from under the bed.
"What the hell is that?" Kyle asks, as he and Tess sit up quickly.
Tess gets up and looks under the bed. It's the orbs. She reaches out and grabs the two of them. She holds them up and is suddenly knocked back into the wall by an explosion of light.
Ten minutes later, she wakes up, lying on the bed. Kyle is standing over her.
"What the hell just happened?" Kyle asks, concerned for his lover's health. "The orbs exploded and knocked you unconscious."
Tess looks at him, a serene expression on her face. "They're coming."
"Who?" Kyle asks.
"They're coming to take us home." Tess answers and Kyle's jaw drops.

Train Compartment
Katie is sitting inside the compartment, reading a USA today magazine. She looks up as the door slides open and Maria walks in.
"I've made a decision." Maria says after a moment. Katie looks at her, waiting for Maria to give her answer.
"I…. I want you to draw out my powers. I want to have a place in this Gene Nation of yours." Maria says finally
"You're positive about this? Once it's done, you can't go back to being normal. Ever."
"I gave my answer." Maria says, unwaveringly.
"Okay. This is going to hurt a bit, but in the end, you're going to feel like a new woman." Katie says, reaching out and placeing her hands on each side of Maria's face and focusing her energy.
Maria screams.
The End

To be Continued in Gene Nation…..