The Eye
The Eye drove to the Hanson house and parked across the road. Then he just sat in the drivers seat, closed his eyes and focused on the inhabitnets.
So, what was new?
Hmm, Mackie was flying around the house, getting up to mischief as usual. And aww, wasn't that sweet? Diana had gotten her powers back.
Avery
"Thanks Bill!" Avery called as she closed the door, slinging her bag over one shoulder.
She waved and smiled as the car drove away and she looked up at her house, took a deep breath, and walked up the stairs, knocking on the door.
Damn, forgetting her keys.
The Eye, Diana and Isaac
Avery? What the heck was Avery doing here?
The Eye stared at the girl, then tentatively glanced around the surface of her mind, hoping she hadn't been trained enough to sense him.
"Ike?" Diana called. "Can you get the door please?"
"Yeah."
Avery
Avery cocked her head slightly and shuddered. Just as a precaution, she tightened the shields around her mind as the door opened.
"Ike!"
She bounded into her eldest brothers arms.
Isaac and the Eye
Isaac chuckled and gave his sister a hug.
"It's good to see you," he grinned.
So, Isaac was there too. And Avery and tightened her shields so he couldn't pry any further. All The Eye's insticts told him he should go now, but he didn't listen. Instead he send a bug into Zac's mind and forced him upstairs. He was going to hear what was being said one way or another!
Avery
Avery grinned and kissed Isaac's forehead.
"So, miss me? Well, what a silly question, of course you did."
Isaac and Zac
"Very silly question," Isaac grinned.
Zac blinked, wondering why he was up here. And more importantly, why he couldn't seem to control his own body.
"Hi Avie," He said cheerfully, but it wasn't him.
Avery
Avery eyes Zac strangely.
"Hey Zac, how are ya?"
Zac and the Eye
"I'm good, Avie. How was the station?" Zac asked.
What the heck was going on?
Hmm, this was dangerous. If Avery found out that he was controlling her brother...
Avery
Avery shrugged.
"Same old, same old. School, lessons from Tanya, getting used to the food."
She moved a little closer to Ike.
Taylor
Taylor heard voices coming from down the stairs. Verifying to himself who it was, he went to investigate.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, coming down the stairs.
"Avie!"
The Eye
Curiously, the Eye brushed the surface of Taylor's mind, wondering how the repairs were going.
"Cool," he made Zac say.
Avery
Avery smiled at Taylor.
"Hey, you."
She looked suspiciously at Zac again.
Taylor
Taylor flinched slightly, as what he thought was a headache began.
"So... how are you?" he smiled, leaning down to give his sister a hug.
Isaac and the Eye
"You okay?" Isaac asked Taylor.
Hmm there had been much progress since the Eye had last looked in Taylor's mind.
Avery
Avery looked at Taylor, then looked at Zac.
"I'm pretty good, can't complain. Oh except for the bruise on my hip, from running into my bedroom wall, when I decided I was too lazy to turn the light on."
Avery nodded.
Taylor
"Fine," Taylor waved Ike off.
He grinned at Avery.
"What, Millsy wasn't there to save you?"
Zac, Isaac and the Eye
"Whooooo Millsy!" Zac found himself saying.
"Zac? You have issues," Isaac said.
"Yeah, I know."
The Eye smirked to himself. It was so easy to give the right responses.
Avery
"Shoosh, Taylor. And no, he wasn't. And if he was, wouldn't you be a little bit more distressed to see that you're twelve year old sister had her boyfriend in her room? Wouldn't you be concerned that she was turning into Zac?"
Avery looked at Zac and smiled sheepishly.
"No offence."
Taylor
"Avery..." Taylor shook his head.
"Don't make me answer that. I'm not sure I could do it at the PG level."
Isaac, Zac and The Eye
"There already is a female Zac," Zac nodded. "Her name is Julie."
"A scary thought," Isaac nodded.
"Interesting boy, to get so many women pregnant," The Eye mused.
Avery
"I've just decided... if I want to take after any of you, I want to be like Isaac. He's the most normal."
Avery nodded and patted Isaac's shoulder. Which meant reaching up on her tip toes.
Taylor
"Oh, oh... fine," Taylor raised his hands in mock surrender.
"There goes Avie from number one on my favourite sisters list..."
Isaac, The Eye and Zac
"Ike's normal?" Zac asked.
"Aww, thanks Avie," Isaac smiled. "No thanks, Zac."
This was insane! WHat the heck was happening to him? It was almost like... oh dang... no... it couldn't be...
The Eye chuckled to himself. So, Zac finally figured out a telepath had control of him.
Avery
"You don't mean that Taylor, because I know that I'm just number one, all the time. So ha!"
Avery looked hard at Zac and it clicked.
"Aha."
She resisted the urge to say 'Kapow'.
Taylor
"Oh well," Taylor shrugged, "couldn't help but try. You don't really wanna be as hairy as Ike anyway."
He stepped away from Isaac in case of being hit.
Isaac
Isaac stuck his tongue out at Taylor.
"Well, who dressed up as the wolf man for halloween, HMMMMM?!"
Taylor
"Shut up. It was a gorilla."
Then Taylor raised his eyebrows.
"At least I didn't go as a fairy," he chuckled.
Zac
Zac grinned.
"Hey, that reminds me. Thanks for lending me the skirt, Tay."
Taylor
Taylor whacked him over the head, then stepped around behind Avery.
Avery
"Nice try, Craig," Avery said, wondering if she was right.
If she wasn't, she would look like an idiot. But she'd play it off as being blonde. And inheriting the trait off Taylor. Good plan.
Isaac and the Eye
"Craig?" Isaac repeated.
The Eye tensed, and said nothing.
Avery
"Yeah, what's wrong, cat got your tongue?"
Avery took a slow step in Zac's direction.
"Or just shy? I know it's not Zac. He would've done something to annoy me by now. Like pull my hair."
The Eye
The Eye knew he should go. But he didn't listen to his instincts again. And in any case, as powerful as Avery might be, she was still training.
"Took you long enough," Zac smirked.
Avery
Avery raised an eyebrow.
"Not that long. I worked out something was wrong with Zac, I just didn't know what it was, so don't get smug with me. And besides, what's wrong? Too scared to face me in person, so you're using my brother? Taking a cowards way, as always, right? Getting other people to do your dirty work?"
She closed her eyes and started into Zac's mind, then stopped.
Ewwwwww.
She retreated and sensed out where he was physically and grinned.
"Left yourself alone and unguarded."
She started to enter Craig's mind.
The Eye, Zac and Isaac
Crap.
The Eye pulled out of Zac's mind to fight Avery, and defend his own. But he knew that those few seconds it took could cost him.
Zac gasped and stumbled.
"Zac? You okay?" Isaac asked.
Zac barely nodded.
Taylor
Taylor leant forward to grab Zac's arm in case he was going to fall.
"What the hell's going on?" he frowned, looking up at Avery.
Avery
"He's here," Avery said absently, closing her eyes. She swayed on the spot for a moment.
"Hello, arch nemesis Craig. It's been awhile," she said casually. "Nice place you have here. Little dusty."
Zac and The Eye
"The Eye... he took over my body," Zac shuddered.
*It's hard to find good help these days,* The Eye replied dryly.
Archnemesis? Hmm, he should probably taken care of her. Can't have the potentially most powerful telepath in the world against him.
Avery
"Hmmm, maybe you should think about cleaning up after yourself. Didn't your mom ever teach you that?" Avery shot back.
She half fell against Taylor, concentrating on going futher into The Eye's mind.
The Eye
The Eye didn't answer, just concentrated on wrapping his mind around Avery's in the hopes of smothering her enough so he would be free to destroy her mind.
Avery
"I'm ok," Avery replied absently, eyes shining gold for a moment.
"Also, the not answering questions is pretty rude. You're just a pretty rude guy, aren't you?"
She pushed her way through his mind.
The Eye
*I don't have to answer to you, child,* the Eye replied.
This was being tougher than he thought. Tanya have been more thorogh than he realised.
Avery
"Yeah, I think you kinda do."
Avery winced slightly, as she felt the pressure around her, but pushed forward again.
"So, how are we doing this? I come in, leave you devastated and then... my family and I celebrate that you are gone?"
The Eye
The Eye growled, then surged forward and grapled onto her mind with the intention of starting a tear.
Avery
"Ah!" Avery cried in surprise. She fell back against Taylor, hard.
"Right, I can play this way."
She viciously slashed into his mind around her.
Taylor
Taylor caught Avery again, then looked up at his brothers.
"He's got to be somewhere close," he said to them, before looking down at her again.
"Avie? Avie? You hear me? Don't do anything stupid, I mean it!"
The Eye
The Eye yelled and striked back. Stupid little girl! He would destory her, and her whole family!
Isaac and Zac looked at their sister, then at each other in alarm.
Avery
Avery's head fell back violently and her hair flew back, as her eyes started to glow gold again.
She lifted her hand and made a scratching movement, tearing some more of his mind.
The Eye
The Eye screamed.
Damn it, he should have realised... Tanya probably wouldn't have taught her much about the violent side of telepathy.
That made Avery all the more dangerous.
He stabbed at Avery's mind.
Avery
Avery yelped in pain, and flew out of Taylor's hold, hitting a wall behind her.
She focused for a moment, then slashed back.
Taylor
"Holy..."
Taylor rushed over and grabbed her arm, pulling her in to him as if he was fighting with her.
"Guys? She's gonna hurt herself," he looked up at his brothers again worriedly.
Isaac, Zac and The Eye
Isaac hesitated for a moment, then lifted her telekinetically.
"At least this way she won't hurt herself physically," he said.
"What do we do?" asked Zac. "I mean... the Eye is here... so we should call YIRAAS, shouldn't we?"
The Eye shuddered in the car seat. So far he had managed to avoid a lot of physical damange (see this is why you should always wear your seat belt) but upon Avery's last attack, his head smashed against the window.
*Bitch!*
He ripped at her.
Avery
"Language!"
Avery screamed out.
She extended her presence in his mind slowly, breaking violently aaround her as she went along.
Taylor
Taylor gulped as he watched her.
"Ah... Ike?" he began, "I think we can hold her. You're the only one who's safe out there."
He looked up at him.
"You should probably find out where he is. We don't know what he could be doing to her."
Isaac and the Eye
Isaac nodded and carefully lowered Avery onto the lounge.
"Okay," he said.
As he exited the house, there was no mistaking the scream of agony that came from the car across the road. Tentaively he walked over. It was the Eye, and he was bleeding from glass cuts all over his head.
"Well, that was easy."
This couldn't be... she was winning... and he was losing the strength to fight her.
Avery
Avery cornered the Eye in his own mind and almost laughed.
"So, how are you?" she asked casually, still ripping at threads of his mind.
Isaac and The Eye
The Eye growled. Isaac walked tentatively closer.
*You'll pay for this one day, girlie. You'll pay!*
Avery
Avery concetrated and then smashed through his mind completely, damaging anything and everything around her.
Isaac and The Eye
The Eye shuddered and slumped in his seat. Isaac frowned and stepped over to the window.
Hoping he didn't regret it, he reached his hand inside and felt for a pulse.
He was dead.
Avery
Avery blinked and shook her head slightly, withdrawing her presence from the Eye's mind.
Taylor
Taylor knelt in front of his sister, noticing the sudden change.
"Avie...?"
Avery
Avery rubbed her head.
"Ow."
Taylor
"Hey," Taylor tried to get her attention.
"Are you ok? Or what?"
Avery
"Or what," Avery replied.
She rubbed her head.
"Man, I have a headache. I wonder how he is."
Zac and Isaac
"Do you want a headache tablet or something?" Zac asked.
Isaac stepped away from the car and started walking back. They had to ring YIRAAS, that was for sure. Wouldn't do for the morge to get a hold of an actual alien.
Then it clicked.
Avery had killed him.
Taylor
Taylor glanced up at Zac, then returned his attention to his sister.
"How he... Craig? Avie, what happened?"
Avery
"Yeah, please Zac," Avery said, rubbing her head.
She looked at Taylor and shrugged.
"I don't know... he was in Zac's mind, so I went into his and we fought a bit and I think I won."
Isaac and Zac
"And believe me, I'm grateful," Zac said. "It was horrible! Moving and talking and not having one ounce of control."
Isaac stepped inside the house and went straight to the nearest phone.
Taylor
Taylor looked up as Ike make his way past, and frowned slightly.
"Ok... I'm gonna find out what's going on."
He stood and followed his brother.
Avery
"Uh, asprin, anyone?" Avery said, still massaging her temples.
"And it's not a problem, Zac... wonder what happened to Craig. I can't sense him."
Isaac and Zac
Zac shrugged.
"I'll get you that asprin," he said, and started heading over to the kitchen.
"Yes hello?" Isaac said when the phone was picked up on the other end. "This is Isaac Hanson. Uhh, I would like to talk to... umm, well, we just had an encounter with The Eye."
Taylor
Taylor leant against the wall by the phone to listen to Ike's half of the conversation.
He looked up when Zac passed.
"If she wants Asprin, make sure the headache isn't telepathic," he insisted, "if it is, she'll probably need something like what I've got."
Avery
Avery yawned slightly, still rubbing her head. She settled down on the couch.
Zac and Isaac
Zac frowned.
"How do I check that?" he asked.
Isaac tapped his fingers on his leg.
"Yes? Yeah... Yeah that's right. Yeah we're fine. He took over my brother's mind, but my sister Avery is - Oh you do, do you? Yeah. Well, she drove him out and uhh, I think things got slightly carried away."
Isaac gulped a little as he was asked why he thought that.
"Because... because he's dead."
Taylor
Taylor's eyebrows went up.
"Uh... woah."
He turned back to Zac.
"Umm... I think she should know," he waved him off, before returning his attention to Isaac, "otherwise I think you have to guess."
Isaac and Zac
Zac rubbed the carpet tentaively with his foot.
"I'll just get her the asprin for now..." he said.
"Yes I'm sure!" Isaac was saying. "I went out there and saw his in his own car. I felt his pulse. The window's broken and his head is all cut up by glass. Believe me, he's dead."
Zac retieved the asprin and a glass of water and returned to Avery.
"Here you are... it's not telepathic is it?"
Avery
"I don't think so. It doesn't feel like it."
Avery took the asprin and washed it down with the water.
"Thanks."
Isaac and Zac
"No problem," Zac said. "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Isaac replied. "That would be good. Thanks. Bye."
He hung up and turned to Tay.
"Heard all that huh?"
Taylor
Taylor nodded, looking to the floor.
"Yeah," he sighed, before looking up.
"So... now what do we do?"
Avery
"Um, yeah, I should be."
Avery shrugged.
"Just a little worn out."
Isaac and Zac
"They're going to send someone round. To clean up the... mess," Isaac gulped a little, thinking of the body across the road. "And yeah."
He chewed his lip.
"Well, that's understandable," Zac nodded.
Taylor
Taylor gulped, trying not to picture it.
"Well... I guess that's one thing off my list of worries for now," he tried to joke, "ah... do you know how long they'll be? We don't need to cover anything up, do we?"
Avery
"Hmm, where's Ike and Tay?" Avery asked. as her headache began to subside.
Isaac and Zac
Isaac shook his head.
"They're going to be doing all the work. Not like there were any witnesses other than us," he said. "I uhh, I suppose we should tell Avie..."
Isaac wasn't sure he liked that idea.
"I think Ike was on the phone to the YIRAAS," Zac said. "And Tay was being an eavesdropper."
Taylor
"Just the way you said it, it sounded messy," Taylor shrugged, "I just figured if someone drove past they might..."
He shook his head, as if willing the thoughts away.
"How are we gonna tell her?"
Avery
"Oh, well that sounds like Taylor."
Avery smiled slightly.
"How are you? He didn't do any damage, did he?"
Zac and Isaac
"I don't know," Isaac admitted. "But sooner or later she's going to find out."
He looked towards the lounge room.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Zac said. "Just my pride is wounded."
Taylor
"Yeah I know."
Taylor rubbed his face, trying to think of something.
"Man, she doesn't need this right now. Not with everything that's been going for her."
Avery
"Oh ok, well that's not good, I guess, but it's better than having damage."
Avery stretched slightly.
Zac and Isaac
Thinking of Taylor, Zac heartily agreed.
"I know," Isaac nodded.
He took a breath.
"May as well just tell her," he said tentatively and walked back into the lounge room.
Taylor
Taylor cringed and followed him.
It'd probably be easier coming from Ike, he decided. Things like this always seemed to.
Avery
Avery looked up as Isaac and Taylor appeared.
"Is he ok?" she asked.
Isaac and Zac
"The Eye?" Isaac asked. "In a manner of speaking..."
He hesitated.
"Ike?" Zac asked.
Isaac glanced at him, then at Taylor, then at Avery.
"He's dead," Isaac quietly said at last.
Taylor
Taylor gulped and closed his eyes for a moment.
Oh God...
Avery
Avery blinked a few times.
"No, he can't be... I don't even know how... Tanya told me not to..."
She shook her head.
Zac and Isaac
Zac looked at Taylor wide eyed as Isaac knelt down to Avery's level.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Avie," Isaac said. "I'm sorry."
Avery
"I wasn't..."
Avery looked at the floor.
"Oh..."
Isaac
Isaac gave his sister a hug.
"I know you didn't mean to," he said.
Damn it, it wasn't right! She was only 12! 12! Damn it, if only he could go back in time - he'd take the Eye's life himself if it would have meant that Avery didn't.
Oh darn... maybe he should have lied and told her that he did, then he wouldn't have had to tell her that she did... Well, it was too late for that plan now, wasn't it?
Taylor
Taylor sighed, then sat on the couch beside Avery and put his arm around her.
"I'm sorry..." he almost whispered, closing his eyes.
Avery
"Yeah."
Avery blinked back tears.
Sorry really didn't bring him back to life.
Isaac and Zac
Looking at his sister cry, it made Isaac want to cry too. Yep, he should have lied to her. Why did the best plans aways come after the fact?
"I umm..." Zac didn't know what to say. "Hey, Avie, just think... you just rid the world of a national menance. International menace even. Yep. That's no mean feat. Have you been talking to Faith behind my back? Oooh, you're in cahoots, huh?"
Avery
Avery lifted a hand and wiped her eyes.
"So... what happens to me now?"
Isaac and Zac
"To you?" Isaac repeated. "I'm not sure... But Zac does have a point. The Eye did have a death warrent on him, so you're not going to be in trouble or anything. The YIRAAS are sending a team around to ahh... deal with the body."
He paused.
"Everything's going to be okay, okay?" Zac put in.
Avery
Avery nodded numbly.
"Ok."
She closed her eyes for a moment.
Taylor
"It's ok," Taylor insisted, running his hands through her hair, "the way I see it you did what you had to do."
He took a deep breath as he leant his chin on her head.
Isaac and Zac
Isaac put his hands on Avery's shoulders.
"I know it's not easy," he said quietly. "It's not easy knowing you took a life. And I wish more than anything I could have spared you this."
"I umm, I'm going to keep an eye out for the YIRAAS," Zac said uncomfortably.
The whole thing was making him feel a little helpless. Not to mention gulity. After all, it was him that Avery had been trying to protect.
Avery
Avery nodded again.
"How could I..."
She felt a tear slide down her cheek.
Isaac
"It's okay to cry," Isaac said softly. "It's okay."
Zac chewed his lip as he peered out the window.
Avery
Avery shook her head again and leaned into Taylor.
Isaac and Zac
Not long later Zac opened the door to the YIRAAS, and none other than their friend Vicky. He could see a couple of agents were tending to the car across the street.
"Hi Vicky," Zac greeted.
"Hey," Vicky replied. "Long time no see."
"Yeah. Oh, hey, come on in."
"Thanks. How's Avery?"
"She's upset."
"I can understand. Which was the brother who got taken over?"
"That would be me."
"I'll have to go into your mind a bit later, if you don't mind. I'd like to make sure that the Eye didn't leave any nasty surprises."
"Sure."
And Zac lead Vicky into the lounge.
"Vicky!" Isaac exclaimed. "Hey, how you doing?"
"I'm good," Vicky smiled. "Hi Taylor. Hi Avery."
Taylor
Taylor sat up a little, letting Avery go.
"Hello Vicky," he greeted with a bit of a smile, still with a hand on his sister's shoulder.
Avery
Avery didn't answer, just concentrated on the carpet.
Hmm, a little stain there.
Oh yeah, that was from when they were kids and Zac made her bleed.
They'd missed a spot.
Vicky
Vicky sat down next to Avery.
"Would you like to tell me what happened? One telepath to another?"
Avery
Avery nodded and let the information flow into Vicky's mind.
Vicky
Vicky took a few minutes to digest the information.
"I see," she said thoughtfully. "That's was quite a battle."
"And if he weren't already dead, I'd kill him for doing that to her," Vicky thought to herself.
She put her arm around her.
"I need to go into your mind okay, Avie?" Vicky said. "He did some damage to your mind, but by your account it's not so bad."
Avery
"Ok."
Avery nodded.
Taylor
Taylor decided to move out of the way so they could both concentrate more.
He shifted over to the closest couch to watch what went on.
Vicky
Vicky took a breath and then went into Avery's mind. The repairs were easily done without having to make any tools. It was a good thing that they hadn't been using any telepathic weapons.
Sometime late, she pulled out.
"There, all done," she said.
Avery
"Thanks," Avery said softly.
She blinked a few times.
Isaac and Zac
"No problem," Vicky said. "Umm... could I possible have a glass of water?"
"Sure, I'll get it for you," Isaac said.
"Thanks. Zac?"
"Mmm?"
"Can I go into your head now? I just need to make sure -"
"That there's no damage."
"Yes."
"Yeah, go right ahead."
There was only a couple of scrapes, product of the Eye's exit, and these were easily fixed withmout much effort of Vicky's part.
"Here you are," Isaac said, handing her the water when she pulled out.
"Thank you."