izzyalienqueen | Meta-Chem Pharmaceuticals, Roswell, New Mexico

It only took a moment for Isabel to move beyond the fact that her mouth was dry and her head hurt like hell to realize that her hands were tied behind her back and she'd been dumped on the cold floor. In a rush, the memory of being grabbed with Meg came back and Isabel's heart started to race.

Struggling in a bit, Isabel pushed herself up on her elbow and took stock of her surroundings.

An office of some sort.

Fortunately, with the lights on. Her fear of the dark was an added complication they really didn't need right now.

There was a low moan behind her, and Isabel tried to turn. "Meg? Are you okay?"

	"My head hurts," Meg groaned. She pushed herself up the same way Isabel had and looked around the room. "Where the hell are we?"
	"I don't have a clue. But I've got a really bad feeling that you just got caught up in the weirdness that is my life," Isabel sighed. "And I'm really sorry about that." Pushing up some more, Isabel tried to make her way over to Meg. She couldn't reach the ties that were holding her hands together, but she should be able to undo Meg's bonds. "I'm pretty sure Michael got away. Which means we just need to hold out for pissed off boyfriends to come to the rescue." Not that Isabel wasn't going to do everything she could to rescue them herself.
	Meg had an idea of what Isabel was trying to do and started to push her way towards her. "The last thing I saw before I passed out was Michael driving off," Meg said. "We weren't that far from the island. It shouldn't be too long before he's back in Fandom."
	Isabel was quiet for a minute, staring at the company logo she'd noticed on the wall. "He should be there by now. Considering we were out long enough for them to get us to Roswell. That logo on the wall there?" she said, even as she felt behind for whatever was tying Meg's hands together. "I recognize that name. Meta-Chem is a big drug company that's headquartered in Roswell." Working carefully, Isabel slowly heated up the plastic of the zip ties until they were loose enough for Meg to break through.
	Meg broke off the ties and immediately pushed herself up so she could search the desk in the office for something to cut Isabel free. Luckily there was a pair of scissors in the desk drawer. "Do you think these people know?" she asked as she bent down to cut the plastic ties. "You know, about you?"
	"I'd put money on it. It's doesn't make sense otherwise." As soon as the ties were cut, Isabel was on her feet. It was an office, there should be a phone somewhere. Except there wasn't. Someone had thought ahead. "Okay, we need to get out of here and find a phone," she said heading towards the door. "I can call the sheriff to get us away from here, then Wyatt can come get us at my parent's house."
	"Okay," Meg said, nodding. She could only hope it would be that easy.
	It wouldn't be. Isabel began to slowly open the door, only to have it pulled from her hands as the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked clicked through the air. "Don't move." She froze, not sure if she'd be able to stop a bullet, and unwilling to risk putting Meg in danger.
	With the hand not pointing the gun, Muscle man one waved them out of the room. "Step out slowly and don't try anything, you don't want your friend to wind up paying for your mistakes do you?"
	If she'd been alone? Isabel would have tried something. But another guard came down the hall to join the first two. It was too many. She wouldn't risk Meg's safety. At least not yet. "Fine," she said tightly, stepping out of the room.
	Meg followed behind Isabel slowly. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest but she was trying to keep her composure. Isabel would have a decent shot at escaping if it weren't for Meg and Meg knew it. It was only making her feel worse.
	The trip through the halls was silent as Isabel tried to stay close to Meg in case there was an opportunity to make a break for it. After a few moments, muscle man one stopped in front of a door and undid the lock, motioning for them to step inside. Isabel frowned, recognizing the photo on the wall as a blown up image of her blood, just like she'd seen in Biology class. She'd known she was most likely the target but seeing the evidence of it made her shiver.
	A well dressed man, approached them from across the room. "So you're a healer. You have no idea how long we've been looking for you."
	Meg was a little shocked to see someone who looked like that to be the cause of all this. Still, it didn't seem like he was going to gun them down any time soon and that made Meg settle a little. A ton of questions were floating around in her head but she figured if she stayed silent most of them would be answered without her accidentally angering the man.
	"I have no idea what you're talking about," Isabel told him. Maybe she could still bluff their way out of this.
	"You don't?" he asked dryly. "That's not true and we both know it." Turning his attention away from Isabel, he motioned to one of the guards who left the room and returned minutes later pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
	"Who's she?" Isabel asked. "My wife. Meris Wheeler. She owns all of this."
	"Is she sick?" Meg asked. A redundant question, she knew, but if he was looking for an alien to heal his wife then she must have something that hospitals can't cure. And the more they kept talking the longer Wyatt and Dean would have to find them.
	"She's old," Clayton explained. "Unfortunately all the money in the world can't stop the aging process. Believe me, we've tried everything. And then last spring, we heard a story about a girl in Roswell who was shot with no ill effects. In the course of our investigation, we found another clue, several children with terminal cancer, mysteriously cured last Christmas." He picked up a folder and pulled out a picture of Max and Michael that was obviously taken by a surveillance camera. "We had the police reports. We had the FBI files. We knew who and what we were looking for. But just as we were ready to make our move, they disappeared without a trace."
	Isabel bit her lip, realizing that only their return to Antar had prevented Max and Michael from winding up in this same position.
	"But then we found out there was a sister. It took time and effort, but we were able confirm that you weren't the all-American girl you pretend to be." Clayton told her, "But I'm impressed by the effort you make."
	He knew too much Isabel realized. Bluffing wasn't going to work. "What do you want?"
	"She's dying. You need to heal her."
	"Heal her from what?" Meg asked. "Aging is not something you heal. If it's her time..."
	"I can't heal," Isabel told him. "I'm sorry, but I can't. And Meg's right, you can't save some one from a natural death."
	"You can," Wheeler insisted, his calm facade slipping briefly. "Just like you healed yourself after the accident. I saw what you did. There were pictures of your head in the ER, there should still be a scar. But there's not. I saw pictures of you the next day. Healed. Do for her what you did for yourself."
	What Wyatt did for her, she realized, understanding how he could be confused. But she wasn't going to explain and put Wyatt at risk. "It's not possible. I can't do it."
	"I think you can. And you will." A simple motion of his hand and one of the guards stepped forward, shoving his gun into Meg's throat.
	Meg cried out and immediately her eyes began to well up with tears. "Please don't do this."
	This wasn't happening. Except it was. And there was no sign of the expected rescue party. Isabel remembered what Nasedo had said so long ago. About how they hadn't come close to using all of their powers. Maybe she could do it. She had to try if it kept Meg safe. Isabel stepped forward and placed her hand on Meris's chest, focusing all her concentration on the old woman, trying to make it right. Immediately her hand started to glow, the light spreading out over Meris's body.
	"Yes," Clayton whispered as he watched. "You're doing it."
	The room started shaking, and test tubes shattered as Isabel continued her attempt at healing. Her hair began to turn gray as she swayed on her feet.
	Meg started towards Isabel but found herself being jabbed even harder with the gun. "Stop it! Make her stop!"