"Okay, Alex. Time to come up."

The silvery blob slowly came up. It assumed a pillar-like shape before splitting in two and becoming Annie and Alex.

"What’s with all this morphing?" Alex asked as soon as a mouth was available.

"I’m just not used to the sensation. You never jump into a pool; it’s best to edge your way in," Annie answered.

"Speak for yourself. I prefer to dive in head first," Alex smiled.

"Alex, have you been playing with hair dye?" Annie asked, looking at her sister’s hair.

"First of all, I’m almost sixteen. I don’t ‘play’ with hair dye. Second, I haven’t used the stuff. Why?"

"It’s just your hair. It’s turning brown."

"I guess it’s just changing back. No big deal," Alex said, quickly dismissing the subject.

"She wasn’t kidding, Al," Ray said, "Your hair looks a lot darker than it used to."

"I know. It takes a little longer to zap something, also."

"Do you think your powers are fading away?" Ray asked.

"I’ve had my fun with them. If its time for them to go, they can," Alex said, walking backwards to face Ray. He, however, stopped dead in his tracks.

"A-a-a-a-a-a-Al-al-…" Ray stuttered.

"Just spit it out," Alex said. Ray burst into a full sprint after Alex, who was still going backwards.

The next thing Alex knew, she felt a slight tingling feeling.

Her eyes snapped open, but what she saw was definitely out of the ordinary…

There were two heads and six eyes looking at her.

She tried to scream, but couldn’t. She tried to morph, but couldn’t. Everything she tried was instantly halted, as if her brain was cut off from the rest of her body.

One of the heads looked at the other, which nodded. Alex heard a slight clicking sound behind her, and found herself once again in command of her body.

Her first instinct was morphing. She turned into a puddle and tried to get away, only to find that she quickly turned back. Her zappers shorted out instantly.

"What’s going on?" she demanded.

"We don’t want to hurt you," a voice in her head said. "We are only answering your message."

"Message?" Alex asked. "What message?"

"Three of your Earth years ago, we received this signal," the alien began. He activated a pod-like projector, showing a three dimensional picture. It looked like a random combination of swirling zaps and balls."

"I can’t believe it," Alex said, recalling the night of her seventh grade dance. She and Ray were playing with zappers, shooting them out to the middle of nowhere… or so she thought.

"You are fortunate we were passing through for lunch," they thought-sent.

"You’ve got to send me back," Alex pleaded. "That was just an accident."

"You are not like other humans," the aliens sent. "Your abilities exceed those of anyone else on Earth."

"I know, I was covered with GC-161 in a truck accident years ago. It’s given me incredible powers."

"We have seen evidence of this. We can also tell that your powers were fading. We were able to restore them," the aliens sent, holding up a mirror. Alex noticed that her hair was, once again, blonde.

"We wish to keep you here for further scans."

"No way," Alex said. "If I wanted to be run through mazes like a lab rat I would have told the chemical plant about me."

"No other humans know about this?"

"No… other than my sister, best friend, and (INSERT NAME OF BMX GUY HERE)"

"Our scientific technology exceeds Earth’s by approximately 200 years. You will be unharmed and returned to Earth with no recollection."

"What’s in it for me?" Alex asked.

"Typical human behavior. You will have nothing in return except the knowledge that you helped millions."

"Huh?"

"Your ‘GC-161’ is what we call ‘Chemical 9,’" the aliens began. "It is a dangerous substance among our people. Nobody has ever survived contact with it."

"That’s why you’re wearing those weird suits," Alex said. "Protection."

"Can we proceed?" the alien asked.

"I don’t see how I can refuse."

"Annie!" Ray shouted, bursting into the Mack garage.

"What?"

"Come! Here! Alex! Light!" Ray shouted.

"Calm down," Annie said, laying a hand on Ray’s shoulder. "Now, what is it?"

"It’s Alex. We were walking along, minding our own business. Suddenly, there’s this bright light behind Alex. She was walking backwards so she didn’t notice. I tried to catch her, but she walked through and it closed behind her!"

"You’re kidding, right? People don’t just disappear."

"I think she was abducted by aliens."

"You’re nuts. Those are just stories. Rumors."

"Fine. What do YOU think it was?"

Annie thought about it for a moment. If Ray was telling the truth, it could’ve been anything.

"Okay, if you’re right, the first thing we have to do is find their ship."

"I think I’d have to say the inside of my nose," Alex answered.

"Okay, and where do you think is the first place you become solid after morphing?"

"Probably my eyes."

The aliens jotted down some notes before continuing.

"Can I see what the ship looks like? Like, from the outside?"

"Our studies showed that humans cannot exist in the vacuum of space without considerable protection."

"No, like a picture, or a model…"

The aliens talked to each other in their native tongue before pressing a button that created a three dimensional picture.

"Or a 3-D hologram," Alex continued. She stepped up to the model and watched as it slowly turned. Suddenly, it zoomed in on a certain part. Alex squinted and saw herself in the picture.

"It responds to your thought impulses," the aliens communicated, already knowing the question Alex was about to propose.

"Do you think she’ll come with us?" one alien asked another in their native language.

"She has no choice. Her condition will make her the greatest weapon the Frunali have ever seen!"