Unbreakable - A Beautiful Lie · (Roswell Fanfiction) · √

FIFTY-SIX

He chuckled above me, my body moving deliciously with the vibrations, and he loosened his grip slightly on me. "Ever the inquisitive one."

"You can't change me, Max Evans," I threatened and he scoffed.

"I'm not interested in changing you."

"Right," I mused, his amused statement meaning more to me than I wanted to admit, before I pressed on, "And Isabel?"

"She's a covenant," Max replied.

I pursed my lips in thought. "Meaning...?"

"She's entrusted with abilities from others."

"She borrows abilities?" I guessed, trying to make sense of what he meant.

"In a way, yes. For instance, I can give her from my healing ability for her to use."

"And it will last forever?" I asked, surprised. That would make Isabel really powerful. She could just collect abilities.

"No, the duration of the ability equals the amount given by the supplier," Max replied vaguely.

"Meaning..?" I repeated. Come on, Max. Lay person here!

He kissed me softly again, a smile on his lips, before he answered, "If you were hurt and I wouldn't be able to get to you to heal you, I could give some of my healing to Isabel to use for you. The amount and time she'd be able to use to heal you would depend on how extensive your injuries are and how much energy I've been able to give her. For instance, if we were both injured and I sent Isabel to heal you, I wouldn't be able to supply her with as much energy that might be required to fully heal you, considering that I myself was injured."

I inhaled deeply. All these examples of Max and I being injured were darkening my thoughts. I tried to push them away and asked, "So she has no abilities of her own. She only 'borrows'? She's like an assistant? Using someone's powers to help them out; extend their abilities in a way."

"Isabel's ability is more important than you might think. No one - except for covenants - can just take on another alien's ability like that. If I wanted, say, the ability to control minds just as well as the Sergeant can, I would have to learn it. Practice it. Isabel will take the ability on in the quality it is when she is handed the power. So if she were to get the healing ability supplied by my father, her healing would be much more efficient than if it was supplied by me, since I'm not as advanced as my father."

"But when you give it to Isabel, do you lose your ability for the duration of the time when Isabel is using your power?"

Max shook his head. "No. I just lose the energy that was needed in the transfer of my ability to her mind."

I nodded slowly. It was kinda making sense. "Okay."

I had decided that Isabel's 'power' was a pretty cool one. To be able to try out new abilities all the time must be exciting. At least to an alien.

"Does she have any of her own abilities?"

Max nodded. "Yes. This just concerns her special ability. She has the same ordinary abilities as the rest of us; giving away energy-" My memory flashed to how Isabel fed me energy to give to Max while he was succumbed to the cold in their basement, "-doing simple molecular changes-" I thought about when Isabel had locked us into the girls' bathroom yesterday, locking the door by holding a glowing hand over the lock, "-and protecting ourselves with energy bursts."

"You shoot energy?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled at my incredulity and said, "Yeah. But there are different degrees to this as well. A lot of focus of your energy and the ability to pull energy from all parts of your body and then release it from, for instance, your hand. It takes practice and concentration."