8 Safety Isn’t Always In Numbers

Controlling darkness fell through the night as it clouded the neighborhood. All around the streets lights were dimmed and fading into the consuming black like a hand being placed over everything in a few blocks. Dawn was approaching and the night was not happy as it tried to fight it off with engulfing shadows.

A small light yellow house stood with a small white fence around it. Green grass covered the lawn and not much looked out of place. It was picturesque, something to put on a postcard.

Across the street in the darkening shadows, Lucas stood at the edge of another house watching his own. Covered in darkness he could see at least four cars that were normally not on the street. One of them could have been just someone dropping by the neighbor's house because it was a Toyota SUV which was not a typical law enforcement type of vehicle. Of course, now days it was getting more difficult to distinguish what was and wasn't a typical government vehicle.

Watching closely he hadn't seen any movement inside any of the vehicles. It was close to five in the morning so it was expected that no one would be in the cars. The most suspicious of the cars was a black Ford sedan sitting directly across the street from his house. Completely forward in the driveway of the house, it looked suspicious because that house was empty and had been for six months. Not a single car had been in that driveway the entire time.

Dropping a crack, a light flared up inside the Ford and then a small cloud of smoke came out of the window. Someone was inside smoking.

Lucas put his back flat up against the outside of the house. They were looking for him just like he was told. His heart was beating quickly and his mind was racing over several thoughts at once.

Facing the direction he came from, Lucas closed his eyes and as he opened them there was a soft blue glow in the night. Setting his heals against the foundation of the house, he took off at an incredible speed he knew would make him invisible to anyone awake.

Within seconds he was hunched over with his hands on his knees in front of the warehouse which had the hidden house beneath it. Lurking downward, the slab of pavement, just as before, took him down into the hidden parking lot for the house.

He walked off the pavement and headed for the door to the house. It was true. There was no telling how many different government agencies were looking for him. Whoever called and texted him knew enough about the situation to know this would not end with a simple car chase.

Entering the house from the hallway, Lucas' vision was interrupted by a beautiful brunette woman walking up to him. Her translucent blue eyes were difficult to turn away from as she put her hand out.

"Hello, Lucas. I'm Delilah," he took her hand and shook it with a shocked look on his face. He wondered who she was, "I'm the person that called and texted you."

On one of the couches was another man about 6'2" who looked very pale and tired with some black rings under his eyes. Something about him was catching all of his attention. Feeling a pull over to him, he reached out his hand.

"I am Michael," taking Lucas' hand and shaking it as he stood up.

"Yes, Lucas. He's the one that Sam talked to you about," Delilah could easily hear every thought going through his mind as if it were her own thoughts. Was it going to be like this with every one of the other five?

"So, he was telling me the truth then?" his world was feeling upside down. All the time that had passed since Sam had divulged the information had left Lucas wondering if it was true and when it would happen.

Inside his body he could feel and overwhelming sense of peace that felt so right it was difficult to let go of Michael's hand. Touching his skin felt like they were twin brothers that would never part. No would know that to look at them. Physically, they couldn't be more different.

"Are you alright?" Lucas asked as Michael's hand started to shake. His eyes rolled backward and it looked as if he was having a seizure.

"He's fine. He is split in two right now. The other him is interacting with other people and sometimes, when things happen, you will see him react this way." There was no other way to explain it then to just say it.

"Split?" Lucas' confusion was a page to be read on his face.

"Yes, that's what he calls it," her soft voice could have been explaining quantum physics incorrectly and it would have felt truthful. "Michael can control matter. Though he doesn't fully understand it and can't fully use or control it yet, it does allow him to do some pretty unbelievable things," she smiled to try and make him feel comfortable.

"So, right now he's," finishing the thought for his question stalled. What words was he supposed to use?

"He's both here and in his office building," Michael's head tipped forward.

"Sorry. There's something going on at work and it's taking a lot of energy," he started to grunt and shake as Michael felt a burning sensation coming from Michael's hand.

"Delilah!" Lucas said as he watched Michael drop down to his knees with his eyes rolling and his body shaking awkwardly. "Is this normal?"

Delilah rushed over and closed her eyes feeling out for his mind. It didn't exist or she couldn't find it. He was blocking her out from seeing the images going through his mind. Liquid was flowing through the knees of his jeans and she placed her hands of one of them. Pulling her hand back, it was covered in blood.

Michael was lying back in Delilah's arms when his eyes opened burning red flames were surrounding his pupil. Moving like a fire, the flames jumped out as he blinked. He looked directly into Delilah's eyes and stopped shaking all at once.

"Inside out! You're next Bitch!" were the words that came out of Michael's mouth. It was almost unbelievable that he would say anything like that to her. Appalling shock cascaded through her mind as he gently laid him onto the floor and backed away.

Lucas could see tears streaming down her cheeks and wanted to help. These people, although feeling familiar to him, he had just met and didn't know anything about them. Who was she to him? Who was she? How can he help her?

Turning around with her hands firmly over her face, she tried to get control of the tears but the emotions were too strong for her to control. Love beating through her body was unbound and it hit every cell in her body. Pain, searing pain was shooting all throughout her body as the streams down her face began to grow larger.

Breathing slowly in and out, she took control of her emotions and spun back around. It wasn't him. It couldn't be him. He would never say anything remotely close to that to her. Quickly she rushed back to him and noticed he was unconscious.

"Help me get him to the couch," she said to Lucas who was hovering over the top of Michael as well. Hands around his feet and Lucas getting his shoulders, they tossed him up onto the couch without so much as a flutter of his eyelids. He was out cold.

"I'm guessing that was not normal," he said to her as she wiped the tears from both her cheeks.

"Um, no. That was definitely not normal," she headed for the bar. As she prepared three martinis, "There's something you need to understand about the world you are entering. You, right now, are still under the influence of that world out there and it's reality," she pointed up to the ceiling. "You need to unlearn all of that. This world is much different," that was obvious but he still looked confused. "Think of it like this, if you were up there and had just randomly saw what just happened, what would you think?"

"That it was an illusion or trick," he waved his hand in explanation.

"Right. Now that you saw it here, knowing what you know, how did you feel?" she took a drink from one of the martinis.

"Nothing. It seemed normal," he said taking a drink himself.

"Exactly my point," she said softly. "This world we are now part of is beyond believable. You just need to be use to the unbelievable being reality."

Tears still poured down her face as she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. As she talked, explaining what just happened to someone on the other end of the phone, Lucas turned back to Michael.

The ability to control matter. Limitless possibilities floated through his mind. Controlling matter would be like the Matrix movies and the guy that could control the code. This was life and not a computer simulation, but it had similar possibilities.

Under his lids, Lucas could see Michael's eyes moving back and forth. He wondered if he was dreaming or if this was one of those unbelievable something else's that Delilah was talking about.

Lucas walked over to the couch and peered down into his face studying every pore and each movement. Black puffy patches under his eyes were the only blemish on his face. Not a single thing about him looked remarkable.

"This is a little closer than expected, Lucas," Michael laughed as his eyes popped open.

Lucas backed off, "Oh. Sorry. I didn't know you were awake."

"Yeah, either did I until just now," Michael looked at Delilah and immediately rose off the couch and headed for her. He wrapped his arms around her, "I am so sorry, baby! Are you alright?" Small whimpers came from her as he engulfed her in his chest.

"Yes", she replied pulling away from him. "As soon as I figured out that wasn't you, that is." Gently taking his hand in hers, she kissed it affectionately. "What or who was that?"

"Just someone trying to leave a message," he didn't want to say that it worked. Message received loud and clear between Alice and this event, it was obvious what he was trying to say. Telling anyone else would just frighten them and that was not a good idea in the current situation of things.

Michael pulled out his cell phone and looked at his e-mail. Jim had sent the documents he wanted regarding the other five. Before he could say anything, Delilah was checking the e-mail on her phone as well.

"Yes, I have them," she winked.

"Lucas," Michael burst out with surprising them both, "we should get you out of here."

Lucas thought about it, he knew he needed to leave Miami, "Where are we going?"

"Los Angeles," Michael put his arm around Delilah and offered the other arm to Lucas. "Do not be shy. It is just easier this way."

Lucas felt his arm around him and then a massive rush of air that came with a flash of light. They were standing huddled together in a pitch black room that was not the house in Miami.

"Lights," Michael said.

Flickering and then coming on, the lights took a second to adjust to for everyone. Once sight was restored all around the house, which resembled the one in Miami, Lucas saw some smudges on the front floor to ceiling windows. Swiss Alps stuck out behind the smudges in their glowing white giving the lettering a good background to read against.

They all read it to themselves, 'through me is the way among the lost people'.

Michael knew what it was and what it meant. He also knew what else he would find in the house. Anger surged through his mind and body so fast he could feel it coursing. He did something he had never done before. Behind both Delilah and Lucas, he placed his hands on their heads and asked his friends to put them to sleep. Both dropped to the ground like bricks.

Spinning in place with his eyes focused on the ground, he feared what he already knew was there. Seeing it would burn the image into his mind forever and it was hard enough to think about let alone see firsthand.

Raising his head, he looked into the motionless dead eyes of both Jim and his wife Diana. Through their wrists were kitchen knives into the metal on the second floor catwalk. They were both dangling down with their internal organs either on the floor below them in a messy bloody pile or they were still dangling out connected in some way. Life had been snatched from both of them, but not at all quickly. The blood on both of their hands suggested they were alive when their stomachs were cut open below their belt lines. They were hung up alive.

Rage was burning so intense inside of him he was aware of his eyes glowing like focused headlights on a car. Picturing Baal in his mind all he could think about was why he couldn't kill him before. It wasn't him that did this, though. Darkness was clouding every thought and idea. Even his unrelenting anger was coming from someplace else. Even with the all that was going on this person was sitting in the shadows not wanting to be seen.

Michael knelt down in front of Jim and Diana's bodies and bowed his head down. His hands together, he club himself in the forehead several times in frustration. He should have known this was going to happen. Baal knew about this place. The Playhouse wasn't hidden to Baal and that meant it wasn't hidden to the man in the shadows.

Calming himself, he took in several very deep breathes he could feel entering and exiting his lungs slowly. Thoughts of Delilah had a calming effect on his mind and body. After several seconds he felt clear and calm, again.

Seattle, Washington had a very nice cemetery that overlooked a lake and had magical views of the Cascade Mountains. Tilting his head back he looked at Jim and Diana for the last time and shut his eyes. Images of the cemetery ran through the deep part of his mind. Imaging extravagant headstones made of black granite and simply the words 'Thank You' as the epitaph; Michael asked his friends to build the graves and gently remove them from above him and place them there. Before opening his eyes and here the matter cheer with something to do, he added huge bouquets of flowers to the graves. Waving his hand, he opened his eyes and they along with all their organs and blood were gone.

Rising to his feet, he walked over to the message on the front windows. Violent burning rage and the overpowering desire to destroy was taking over again. So much so, that the front windows were beginning to shake. Screaming out in painfully frustrating anger, the windows shattered into millions of tiny pieces and then suspended in mid air like rain drops shining in the light from the scenery behind them.

Breathing to calm down again, Michael opened his eyes and waved his hand bringing all the glass back together again. Dante's Inferno in blood was missing from the glass as it sealed itself together without any hints of flaws. In fact, if there were flaws before he put it back together, they were gone now.

Around the house everything was clean and back to normal visually, but the ominous feeling of death still hung like a thick black fog on the northern coast. The last bit was a partial tactical boot print in blood by the wall. He wiped it away to eliminate the trace of death. Each particle of air would feel like that to him whenever he was in this place. Death had been here and would never be able to be removed.

Very slowly he wandered back over to where Lucas and Delilah lay on the floor. Lucas was going to see things like Jim and Diana in the future, it was inevitable. Delilah, he was determined to keep her mind free of such images. These were things that could never be unseen and the memory of them would haunt him forever. Kneeling down next to them he felt like he would never be the same from just what he had seen on that day, as if a tiny part of him had died and was lost forever.

Shutting his eyes and placing his hands on both their heads, he thought of them waking up and could feel their heads move under his hands. Air was being taken into lungs at a much fast pace than before. Hearts were beating faster and he could feel them in the back of his mind.

Michael felt Delilah's eyes open as he opened his. Crystal blue stared back at him with a soft face. Wanting to prepare her for the future without the need for her to see the graphic nature of things in detail, he left his mind open to her.

Instantly she focused on finding his mind in the room and when she did everything she had went to his thoughts of the last several minutes. Flashing images like a movie screen passed in front of her showing her what he saw. Even the images were enough to make her feel overwhelming pain and disgust. Tears streamed down her face and then off onto the floor. Shaking, Michael had to help her to her feet.

Seeing all the pain and the sadistic nature of what happened kept sprinting though her thoughts and her emotions were having trouble handling it. Torturing human beings in such a way made no sense and gave her such pain she staggered to the couch and flopped onto it.

Lucas rolled up to his feet and looked around the room. Watching Delilah pour out tears was enough to tell him something was very wrong. He didn't know what to say or do for the second time that day. So far, all he'd seen of Michael and Delilah's life was pain and agony around every corner.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked in a daze from whatever Michael did to them.

Michael opened his mind up to Delilah so she could see what happened to Alice. She needed to know everything that was going on and he was reluctant before seeing Jim and Diana. With Bob and Remy being attacked and then the three murders, it was enough that he couldn't hide it from her. He wanted to be the one that showed and told her instead of someone else. It was his responsibility; at least he felt it was.

"We lost some friends, today," Michael voice was sad and drifted away with the thought of loss.

Pointing to the windows in the front and the now changed scene of Mt. Kilimanjaro, "What happened to the writing? How long were we out? What happened?" very upset he missed everything and had no idea what was going on.

"I put you both out so you did not have to see the two bodies that were hanging from the catwalk and their internal organs spilled all over the floor," Michael was pissed off, very pissed off, to have to explain it and bring the images back to the front of his mind. His voice was so forceful it actually had mass to it.

"Oh, shit! Sorry and thank you. I wouldn't want to see anything like that," he felt bad for seeming ungrateful.

Delilah grabbed onto Michael's hand and instant calm, like a sedative, ran through his body. Thoughts of horrible scenes disappeared from his mind. Sitting down next to her, he pulled her head to his large chest and kissed the sweet smelling hair.

"We cannot stay her, love," he said to her and she just nodded as she sniffled back the tears.

"Where are we going then?" asking as she sat up and looked at him.

"The Stage would be better because Baal does not know about it. Still, if we are there, especially the three of us," he pointed at Lucas, "they will find us eventually."

"Staying here sounds like a good option if you want to keep the other places unknown," Lucas gave his two cents worth.

Staring at him, "You are probably right. We will need to be mindful of what is going on around us at all times from now on."

Keeping them away was going to be difficult. Michael worked out the ideas in his head for keeping everyone safe. The best idea was to put everyone someplace and leave them there with the three of them staying somewhere else. Danger was created from them being around other people.

"I'm not sure everyone, especially Matt and Bob, will go along with that," Delilah rang in as she read the thoughts Michael was struggling with.

The Playhouse did seem like the perfect spot for them under the current circumstances. Running off to some other place would just make those places known and whoever was with them vulnerable. Michael decided it was the best option.

"You are right. We should drop everyone off in Arizona and the three of us work from here. We know the place well enough to see them coming," he stood up and walked over to Lucas. "Now, I think it is time to fill you in on who you are and what we are doing," Lucas felt some relief to the idea of not being in the dark anymore.

"Sounds good to me," they walked into the den and closed the door.

Delilah was reading Michael's mind as he thought to have her call his parents. He wanted to move them to Arizona with Remy and the kids sooner rather than later. Pulling out her cell phone she called them.

They were excited to hear her voice. Explaining what they wanted to do, and not adding in many details, they went along with it. Accepting their decisions on such matters had become common place for them figuring they only had their best interests in mind.

She wondered if this was the right thing to do. Sending everyone off to some hidden location to try to keep them safe felt like it was taking away the right to live life. It wouldn't be forever, but it was still a difficult idea to think about. Being locked up in a small room with no access to the outside world was something she knew a lot about. These hidden places were hardly a small room and there would be access to the sunlight, though.

Listening into both their thoughts, Delilah wondered if it was a good idea to tell Lucas everything that was going on. Michael was leaving no detail out of the description process as they were sharing stories.

Michael walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders making her jump in surprise. Looking around him, Lucas was missing from his side.

"Well, a third of me was better than none of me at all," he sat down on the couch.

Lucas and one of the other Michaels were still in the den having their conversation. Ideas and thoughts still raced through her mind from the other room.

"I still find this strange sometimes," she said looking up at him.

"You are not the only one," he said as he walked over to the kitchen and reached into one of the cupboards. "I want to get my parents to Arizona and," taking a bite of some jerky, "I needed some food."

She laughed at him, "Well, hurry and move them. They're waiting for you."

Before she could blink, he was gone. Flipping open her phone she watched the seconds tick by. Would he be able to do this quickly or would there be muddling around from his mother on what she wanted to take with her. As the timing came to 27 seconds, Michael appeared in the kitchen once again.

Impressed, "Not bad. 27 seconds this time."

"She had a lot of luggage," he shrugged and ate more jerky.

Michael grabbed a Coke from the fridge and sat on the counter looking out over the room. Death was still heavy in the air. Images flashed of what was once hanging from the second floor. It was difficult to focus on other things with it around.

Lucas listened patiently as Michael described what his new life was going to be like. Stories from the past fifteen years of his life and what they had been going through up to the event that had just passed. Despair, depression and bizarre events would categorize anything of what Michael just explained to him. With a few minor, in comparison, strange events that had happened to him, Lucas felt a lot better about how his life was affected.

"So, this Baal guy is your opposite. Sydney is Delilah's opposite. Who's mine?" Lucas wondered.

"Good question," Michael pointed out. "We have not seen anyone else. Whoever it is, I am sure they will find you or vice versa. It will feel similar to what you felt when you saw me for the first time. The difference being it will be very negative," remembering back to when he first sensed Baal around.

Lucas wanted to be sure he had everything straight, "So, Matt and Bob and his family know everything that is going on?" Michael nodded. "And because they are so close to you and Delilah they are all in danger?" Michael nodded again. "And everyone that even knows you could be in danger as was evident with your secretary and Jim and Diana?"

"Correct," depressed about the last statement.

Lucas stared up at the ceiling thinking over everything that had been said, "So, would they go after anyone I know?"

Michael had thought about that, "Know like an acquaintance or a best friend?" Honestly, Michael wasn't sure either way. Knowing they would be looking for him, they could go after anyone to get information. That is, unless they knew he was with Michael and Delilah. That could change the way they did anything.

"There are a couple of people I hang out with. I don't have a girlfriend or anyone else I'm really close to except my father," how pathetic it made him feel about his life. He had nothing but work that really took up his time.

"Ah, yes. Your father. The politician. He could be someone they would want to get their hands on and not just because he is your father. A world politician would be good for them to have in their pocket," he thought out loud. It was feasible they might try to go after Lucas' father.

"Other than that, I wouldn't say anyone has an effect on me," Lucas threw his hands up. "From what you told me about the NSA looking for me, I don't think it's a good idea to go back to my job or my house. Would they know the government was after me?" Lucas thought about the word 'they'. Perhaps a nickname would be good at some point.

Crossing his legs and putting his feet up on the desk, Michael thought about this one. Baal had never gone after anyone in his office until this new person had showed up. Sadistic and twisted as they seemed to be, wasting their time was something they had not done and seemed to avoid.

"I do not think they will mess with anyone at your job. Not with the government looking for you and following everyone that knows you. The risk would be too great," which did make a lot of sense as he validated the statement in his head.

Lucas seemed pleased with the thought and smiled, "So, we get your parents and move then to Arizona and then my father we do the same?" leaning forward in the chair.

"I already moved my parents while we were talking," Michael looked over at door to the den.

Opening the door was Michael as Delilah followed. Lucas looked from the Michael at the door to the Michael at the desk and back again. Walking over to the pool table, he climbed up and sat on the green felt with a wide vision of the two Michaels.

"Okay, that's fucking weird!" burst out of his mouth.

"I know. It still freaks me out," Delilah said as she took his seat in the chair.

Michael, at the desk, closed his eyes and Lucas watched as the Michael by the door vanished as if he was never there.

"What's really going to get you is that there is another him in an office building right now talking to other people just like he's talking to us," it was strange even coming out of her mouth.

Lucas didn't know what to think. He could be anywhere he wanted to at anytime. He could be in several places or several of him in one place. Insanity had a definition in Webster's Dictionary, but he was pretty sure it needed to be ripped out and destroyed with only a picture of Michael to replace it.

To mess with him, "Watch this," Michael waved his hand at Lucas.

"What?" Lucas was looking around. He didn't see anything appear. Nothing out of the ordinary was appearing. "What? What is it?" he sounded excited. Michael pointed down and he jumped off what he thought was still the pool table only there was nothing visible sitting where the pool table was. Yet, he did push off of something.

Walking up to where he was, he put his hand out like a blind man searching an unfamiliar room. Smacking into something, his hand stopped. A mass was where the pool table had been, but it wasn't visible. Feeling around the edges, he could feel felt and eventually a side pocket with leather rope in it.

"You made it invisible," sounding astonished. "Could you do that to a human?"

It had never crossed Michael's mind, "To tell you the truth, that was the first time I ever made anything invisible." Wondering if he could do it, he waved his hand at Lucas while his eye blinked. As he opened them, Lucas was gone.

Delilah stood up from the office chair, "Where did he go?"

A few stands of her hair lifted up into the air all on their own, "I guess that was a resounding yes."

"I would agree," Lucas' voice echoed out of nowhere. Super fast and invisible was an intriguing thought.

Lucas was an avid movie watcher and had seen plenty of movies about people becoming invisible. Every one of them eventually lost their minds and went insane. He could see why. Not being able to see his own hand in front of his face. Light was coming into his eyes even when he blinked which would be enough to drive anyone nuts if they were trying to sleep. Darkness was never darkness in the world. Out among the wild there were the moon and stars. In the cities, electricity was king and even of the night. Complete and utter darkness almost didn't exist.

"Okay, let's remember this, but can you change me back, please? This would drive me nuts," he said with some excitement and fire.

Waving his hand, Michael only had to think about him being visible and he appeared out of thin air. It was a new accomplishment for him and something neither him nor Delilah had ever seen before.

"You've never done that before, Michael," looking at him inquisitively. "Have you thought about doing that before?"

"No. I never thought about knocking anyone out before either, but that worked on the two of you earlier." New and strange was just a way of this insane life that no one on the planet even knows about.

Michael thought about it every night before he fell into his black abyss of sleep where anything could happen and often times did. Reality, or the normal world everyone walked around in, was just a curtain pulled to cover what was really going on behind the scenes. Nightly he would picture someone behind the curtain like a puppet master holding everyone's strings. Lately his favorite way to think of it was with The Wizard of Oz. Everyone lived on the other side of the curtain never knowing that the grass didn't have to be green and the sky didn't have to be blue. Acceptance of what was completely blinded them from what is.

Delilah felt disconnected all of a sudden, "What else have you been trying? Or thought about trying?" He translucent eyes were trying to peer deep into his mind, but he wouldn't let her. A giant steel wall was sitting between her mind's eye and his brain, literally.

"You do not want to know." Before she had a chance to reply, "Watch." He waved his hand across the desk without moving his eyes and a fluffy white rabbit appeared on his desk.

She reached out to grab the cute tiny scared little thing and Michael waved his hand. Instantly, the rabbit turned into a white snow leopard cub with eyes that were as hypnotic crystal blue as Delilah's.

Michael was about to wave his hand, "No!" she cried out. "He's so damn cute. I want to keep him!"

Completely unexpected, "Okay," he laughed.

Lucas looked over her shoulder as she picked him up and set him in her lap. It cried a high pitched whining cry. Michael waved his at the desk in front of her and a baby bottle with warm milk appeared on the desk surprising Lucas.

"Damn, that is strange, man! It would freak me out if," he paused thinking about how to put it, "wait, it does freak me out. You just created a leopard cub out of thin air after making me invisible."

This new reality was starting to set into Lucas' mind. Not only was he now living in a fantasy world of magic and make believe, it had a white snow leopard in it to go along with sadistically murdered dead people and hidden extravagant house with a person that could do just about anything. Yeah, that summed it up in his mind. Sitting on the pool table again, he decided to lie down and think some more.

Lucas spoke to the ceiling, "What are you going to name him?"

Delilah thought about it for a few seconds before the right name came along, "Poe." Both men looked at her like she had lost her mind, "He's my favorite poet." They both shook their heads. "What? I suppose you would like Killer or Cujo or something mean and rough like that?"

"I suggest we drop Poe off with Lexie and head to Africa to convince Lucas' father he is in terrible danger. Is that okay with you?" Poe was pawing at her hand as she held the bottle and watched the little thing bight down on the nipple.

"Yeah. Lexie can take care of him. It will give her something to do in Arizona," she said picking the thing up from her lap. "Don't supposed you could make a bag with some stuff in it for him?" Rolling his eyes, Michael waved his hand and a black leather animal carrier and another bag full of milk, bottles and toys appeared on the desk.

Lucas hopped off the pool table and watched as Michael got up out Michael still sitting at the desk and became two. He staggered back in shock. Was the human mind supposed to see things like this?

"You've never done that before either," Delilah said in some shock. "That was dizzying even for me." She was a little concerned with all this new display of his abilities, but put it out of her mind for the task at hand.

"Hold on," Michael, Delilah and Poe disappeared.

The other Michael got up from the desk and walked over to Lucas placing his arm around his shoulders, "Drink? It will take a bit for her to explain the leopard. Besides, we should talk about what you're going to say to your father to convince him to take an extended leave from his job and hide out in Arizona for awhile."

Lucas had started to think about these things until Michael began his display of ability testing. "Can't you just create the drinks out of thin air?" he said as they walked up to the bar.

"I guess I could, but that seems a little strange to me," pulling down a couple of martini glasses.

"This coming from the guy that just created a snow leopard out of thin air. Hmmm. Which would be more strange. Wait, let me think about this for a minute. Maritini or Snow Leopard? Hmmm." Lucas laughed and Michael couldn't help but join in.

"Okay, I get your point. I just think I should do things as normal as I can so I can fit in. It would be pointless to be spotted in public all the time, right?" Lucas shrugged.

"So, what should I say to him?" Lucas continued as he sipped the martini Michael just made.

"My first thought is to tell him the truth and then between the three of us show him. He that work?" Skeptical was one thing, but watching a guy so fast he wasn't even a blur, a woman read minds and control them, and a guy do whatever should convince just about anyone.

"I don't know. He's a huge skeptic. Although, if you start creating animals from thin air, that should do it," they both drank but didn't laugh.

Michael waved his hand at the counter and another martini was sitting there waiting as the other Michael and Delilah showed up. The other Michael vanished as he headed for the bar.

"Everyone, good luck and let us down these and get to your father," toasting clinks all around and everyone drank the alcohol in their glasses.

Michael walked around the bar and stood in the center of the room. Lifting his arms the other two climbed underneath them and he thought of Lucas' father. Then, the room was empty.