Kyle opened his eyes. The clock on his desk said he had been asleep for ten minutes, but he had seen months of images. The hyper-dream state Adam had theorized about. He had achieved it. After weeks of training and failed attempts he had seen a vision of things to be. Thanks to Adam, he had also mastered holographic memory, the ability to review his memory, enhance senses that had been functioning normally, and change his vantage point. If his past held something he hadn't seen, he would find it.

And now, the future was his past. He had seen how this night would go. And the next night. On and on, until he had seen something so terrible, he had disengaged from the dream. He had attacked Cassidy, hurt him. Kyle knew he would defend his family, his friends, indeed, anyone, from harm, but the thought of inflicting harm on another human being made him nauseated. He wished he could spend more time going over his memories, but he needed to start working on changing his vest and corsage to match Amanda's dress, which he would leave in the bag to avoid making a mess on it. Thankfully, he had gathered all the materials he would need before he had entered the dream state.

Kyle now began mixing the various elements he had originally planned to use. He didn't want to change anything from the dream if he could help it. Nicole walked into the room, just as he had seen she would. "What's all this?"

Kyle answered, "Amanda changed her dress, so the vest and corsage I chose don't match, unless I dye them."

Nicole responded, "Well, can I help?" He looked at her, slightly amused. "I know this may surprise you, but I used to be kind of good at arts and crafts."

"I stripped the silver nitrate off some old rolls of film and combined it with aluminum potassium sulfate." He paused for a breath. "But, I'm having trouble stabilizing the polyvalent metal ions needed as a mortar to stabilize the dye pigment."

Nicole looked confused. "I once made a house out of popsicle sticks."

Kyle smiled. "The dye is too dark and won't stick properly to the fabric."

Nicole's eyebrows raised in a look of comprehension. "Oh, well, I'm sure Amanda will understand."

Kyle replied, "She will understand, that's the problem. She's already given up hope of having a good prom, but she shouldn't. I just want to make sure it's everything she wished for."

Nicole put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Sometimes trying too hard to make things perfect can blow up in your face." As if confirming her words, the dye mixture bubbled ominously, and several large droplets flew out onto the bag Amanda's dress was in. So far events were progressing exactly as they had in his dream, only Amanda's dress wouldn't need to be cleaned. Nicole let out a little gasp in shock. Kyle was sure to make his facial expression one of surprise. He may have told his family about his origins and abilities, but for now he wanted to keep this one to himself. Nicole smiled. "Well, at least you left the dress in the bag."

Kyle grinned in reply. "Can you imagine what it would have taken to get the stains out?" Of course, his smile was also due to the fact that he knew exactly what it would have taken. Nicole hugged him and walked out. A minute or two later, Jessi walked in. Kyle knew this would be the true challenge in his deception. Jessi's skills at detecting heart rate elevation, body temperature increase, etc.—in short, all the physiological signs of lying—were on par with (if not beyond) his own.

"Hey," said Jessi.

"How are you?" Kyle replied.

"Alive. Thanks to you." Jessi surveyed the bag and the floor. "You've made a mess."

Kyle sighed. "I don't know why the formula didn't work."

Jessi looked at him quizzically. "Your heart rate is higher than normal."

Kyle paused, looked at his feet, and shrugged. "Maybe it's from the stress of almost ruining Amanda's dress."

Jessi seemed to accept this answer and returned her attention to the dye pigment. "Let me see what I can do." Kyle looked out the window enhancing his vision, but he was still unable to see anyone. Had he sensed his one-time guardian, Foss, or the mysterious hand of Latnok? "What are you looking for?"

Kyle lowered the blinds and returned from the window. "Adam said Latnok is watching me. He told them to stop, but I still feel like someone's there."

Jessi scowled. "I think Latnok is creepy. So does Sarah."

"How have things been going with her?"

Jessi smiled. "New. Exciting. Little scary. She wants to leave town."

Kyle frowned. "Why?"

"To start over."

"Jessi-"

"No, it's okay. Sarah really wants this."

"Well what do you want?" Kyle felt that Jessi was uncomfortable with this question.

"I want what you have. A family." Was that a hint of jealousy? She certainly didn't answer him with any degree of clarity.

"Have you told her that you'd rather stay?"

"No. I can't do that."

"Why not?" Kyle asked.

Jessi replied with a pained expression on her face. "Because, what if she leaves anyway?"

Kyle answered with a concerned look. "Jessi, not everyone who cares about you is going to disappoint you."

"All I know is I'm being given a chance to have a real life. I'm not going to do anything to mess it up." She stopped looking at the dye. "You were missing about ten milligrams of nickel iodide." Kyle thanked her for her help and asked her to stay in his room for a while. He left his room and went upstairs, only to catch the last part of whatever Lori had been saying to Stephen.

"—guard dogs are roaming the aisle. Course we're still encouraging window shopping, because you always want to keep the public interested, but I can assure you that tonight will not be about sex."

Even though he knew it would result in problems for Josh, Kyle (in the interest of maintaining knowledge of the time-stream) said questioningly, "I thought prom was basically just foreplay for much of the adolescent universe."

Stephen looked shocked. "Says who?"

"Josh."

"Josh?" Stephen spluttered.

Upon hearing his name twice, Josh walked into the hall from his room. "'Sup?"

Stephen was furious. "Not you, that's for sure."

Confused, Josh asked, "What?"

Prepared for a full-blown rant, Stephen cried, "There will be no sex had by you. Not any of you. Not tonight, tomorrow, or hopefully in my lifetime." He hurried downstairs. Lori and Josh entered their rooms and closed their doors. Kyle thought everything was moving apace and walked back to his room.

Jessi smiled as he came in. "Hey, it looks like the dye is adhering well to the fabric."

"Thank you, for coming over to help out."

"How could I pass up my last opportunity to prove that I'm smarter than you?"

This was as close to humor as Jessi was likely to come, so Kyle grinned. "Very funny."

"I'm not. You know. Smarter. I just try harder to impress people. But you already knew that."

"You don't have to do that anymore. You never have to prove yourself to anyone ever again. If anything, people should start proving themselves to you."

Jessi seemed touched. "You really don't want to see me leave, do you?"

Kyle looked at her with tears glistening in his eyes. "You're my friend Jessi. I don't want to lose you." As he finished speaking, his cell phone rang. The caller-I.D. said it was from Amanda.

"Hi."

"Hi. I have your dress. It's not yellow."

Amanda sighed. "I know. The dry cleaner's accidentally shredded my original dress, so I had to make a last minute switch. At least now I'll match the gym." A hint of a smile entered her voice with this last line.

"How are things going down there?"

"Almost done. But would you mind dropping the dress off at school?"

Kyle let the worry enter his voice. "At the school? Won't you be home soon?"

Amanda tried to fob him off. "I'm just taking some precautions, you know, in case the decorations committee hits a snag and I have to get ready here."

Kyle's reply let her know that the dodge hadn't worked. "I'm coming to help you."

A hint of annoyance entered Amanda's voice. "Kyle. Don't. I'm dirty, and a mess, and even though everything else is a bust right now, I don't want you to see me until I'm ready. Just send the dress."

"But I ju-"

"Promise me you won't come in."

"I promise."

"Good." With that, Amanda hung up. Kyle knew she was returning to her very own 'David and Goliath' scenario, all in an attempt to make this night special for him.

Kyle began thinking aloud, "How can I get this to her? She doesn't want me to come in."

Jessi, who had been in the room listening the entire time, said, "Kyle, I'll take care of it. You need to get ready. It'll all be okay."

Shocked, Kyle looked at her and replied, "You want to do something nice for Amanda?"

Jessi, a perfect picture of scorn and haughty derision, answered with her usual forthrightness. "No. But I would like to do something nice for you."

Once she had left to Amanda the dress, Kyle started getting dressed himself. Twenty minutes later, Nicole walked in to survey how he was coming along. "Nice job." She tugged on his bowtie to indicate the source of her praise.

Kyle smiled nervously. "I downloaded an instructional diagram."

She grinned. "Stephen will be disappointed he wasn't able to help you."

Kyle was glad Jessi had left so she couldn't, as Josh put it, 'human lie-detector' him. He feigned a look of surprise and sadness. "The ultimate father-son prom ritual. I forgot." He reached to untie the bow.

Nicole stopped him. "N-n-n-n-no. No. Don't worry about Stephen. Don't worry about anyone but yourself."

Kyle smiled. "And Amanda."

Nicole nodded emphatically. "And Amanda." She handled the corsage he had picked up. "Aww. It's beautiful."

"I got it from the rose garden where we had our first kiss."

"You thought of everything."

Kyle seemed bashful. "I tried."

"Don't forget to stop and smell the roses every so often yourself tonight."

"Actually, dyeing the corsage eliminated the scent of-" Nicole put on the customary 'Kyle look,' for use whenever Kyle misunderstood an expression. "You mean to focus less on making sure everything's perfect and more on having a good time."

"Yes." Nicole put her hands on Kyle's shoulders and brought him to the mirror. "Look at you. When you first came here, everything in the world was new. Look at all that you've learned. Look at all that you've overcome. Tonight's a celebration of that. Just breathe and enjoy it. I'm sorry you had to say goodbye to Adam."

"He's doing what he thinks is best for me."

"Still, I know it's hard to say goodbye to family."

"Adam created me. He's my mentor and my friend." Kyle looked at Nicole, tears welling up in his eyes. "But you are my family." Nicole hugged him close, as if she were afraid she'd lose him. She left, perhaps to check on Lori or Josh. Kyle's phone rang. He knew without looking that it was Jessi.

"Did you deliver the dress?"

"Your prom is going to be terrible."

"Why?"

Jessi replied, "Well, the decorations are a disaster and Amanda has to get ready in the school locker room."

Concern radiated through Kyle's voice. "Why didn't she ask me for help?"

"She wanted to make it special for you."

"She did?"

"Maybe if you two stopped working so hard to make it special, you'd enjoy it more."

Smiling, Kyle replied, "Or maybe there's still something I can do to fix it."

"I figured you'd say something like that."

"Which is why you called. Thank you."

"This doesn't mean I like her, by the way."

Kyle grinned. "I know," He remembered Amanda saying that a sunset backdrop she had ordered wouldn't be appearing. He decided to make a replacement one. He texted Declan, Lori, Josh, Hillary, and Andy, asking them to help him with his plan. They all replied saying they'd love to help him. Gathering his art supplies, he set to work, thinking, "Thanks to Jessi I know how to make Amanda's night a little better. Her expectations may have disappeared, but my desire to surpass them hasn't."

He worked for what seemed like hours, but he knew it was only twenty or thirty minutes. Just as he was finishing up, he heard the doorbell ring.

"Hey, Kyle! It's Declan! I brought Hillary over! Lori and Andy should be ready soon! You and Josh should get out here! More importantly, let us in!" He had shouted this whole time, but his next words were at a more normal volume. "Oh, thank you very much, Mrs. Trager." By this time Kyle had made it to the foyer.

"You're welcome, Declan. You look dashing. And Hillary, that's a lovely dress."

For a moment or two they both tried to speak. Declan covered his mouth to indicate that Hillary should go first. "Thanks. I had thought of a different pair of shoes for this ensemble, but then I realized they wouldn't go with the tiara, and then I-"

Declan cut her off. "Basically, she spent a lot of time thinking. I just had Kyle here dust off his storehouse of all knowledge. He told me this tux would 'indicate to the subconscious an individual of confidence and integrity.' Seems like he was right."

Hillary, a bit miffed that her 'hard work' had been demoted to 'thinking,' replied, "Yes, yes, muffin, you look great. But why didn't you ask for my opinion? I am the Beachwood Queen of Fashion."

Declan's eye roll was just visible to Kyle. "Sure you are, Hills."

Kyle's dream said it was his turn to speak. "Are you sure you're okay with missing your dinner to help with my plan?"

Declan's facial expression was a mixture of a grimace and a grin. Kyle wondered if Lori would call that a 'grinace.' "Do you think for one minute that Lori Trager would let us miss an opportunity to help you and Amanda?"

Josh walked in from the other room. "We're skipping the pre-prom dinner? Sweet."

Kyle showed his amusement. "You were paying for that part, weren't you?"

Josh replied, "I was indeed."

Hillary pouted slightly. "What's taking them so long? I've been gorgeous for hours already." She went to the bottom of the staircase and shouted up. "Let's go people! We have a prom to save."

Lori appeared. "You are ruining our entrance."

"Lori, you look-"

"Yeah, yeah, Kyle." She turned to Josh. "Josh, what you are about to experience is a defining moment in your otherwise idiotic life. Do not. Mess. It up."

"Looking good, Trager."

"Not too bad yourself, McDonough."

Josh was confused. "Where's…Andy?" She was almost gliding down the stairs. She looked radiant.

"Oh, my…" That was Nicole, in the stereotypical, annoying-yet-sweet voice parents were so fond of. She and Stephen came in and took pictures.

Kyle's thoughts were racing. "All my research was right. No matter what anyone said about expectations, everyone secretly hoped this would be the best night of their lives. I know that more than just helping Amanda, my night has just become about making sure everyone got their wish."

Declan and Hillary had ridden to the Trager's house in the limo, so they already had a ride. After a final round of hugs from Stephen and Nicole, everyone walked down the drive and piled in. On the way to the school Kyle outlined his plan. He, Declan, and Josh would set up the background while Lori and Hillary finished blowing up balloons and hanging streamers.

For the most part Kyle spent the ride looking at the group dynamic: how Josh clowned around, Andy laughed at his jokes, even the bad ones, Lori and Declan acted like Pluto and its moon Charon, neither orbiting the other, but both hovering around a third point, Hillary proud of herself (was she the reason they were together?) and him. He was the proverbial lone wolf. He stood apart, in any group. He felt alone, except when he was with Amanda. She made him feel like he belonged with others, with ordinary people. She was the reason his plans for tonight had taken the shape they currently held. While he didn't know exactly how things would turn out, he did know one thing. He would make sure Amanda knew the truth about him. No more hiding, no more secrets, no more excuses.

The limo pulled up at Beachwood High. Everyone rushed out, ready to get to work. When he was sure Lori and Hillary wouldn't be able to hear him, Kyle pulled Josh and Declan over. "I need to talk to you guys."

"Kyle, what's up?"

"Yeah, what's the matter, bro?"

"No matter what happens tonight, I need you guys to stay here until Amanda and I leave."

"Why?"

"Do you know something? Did you develop a new ability or something?"

"No. I just…saw something. Heard others. Maybe it's just a feeling."

"Nothing is ever 'just a feeling' with you, Kyle."

"We're here for you, no matter what."

"Thanks, guys." He looked around. "Let's get to work." The next fifteen minutes were a flurry of frantic activity. When all was said and done, the gym looked like the underwater paradise Amanda had dreamed it would be. He walked to the center of the balloons Hillary and Lori had laid out. "Lori, could you please get Amanda?"

"Sure. I hope you're rea-dy," she said teasingly.

"I am." His heartbeats counted out the seconds. Even though he had lived this night in his dream, his heart rate was still well above normal. He couldn't guess how Amanda's feelings would change with his revelation, but he hoped they wouldn't. All he-there she was. As beautiful as he had known she would be. She looked all over, gazing longer at his artwork than anything else. "Hi."

"Hi. It's perfect."

"I had a little help." He walked over to her, offered his arm, and led the way to a table. They sat there, just enjoying each other's company, in silence. It wasn't long before other students started streaming in. The next few hours were a whirlwind of laughter, dancing, jocularity, in short, the good time Nicole had encouraged him to have.

During one particular dance, Amanda slid up after he and Josh had demonstrated their 'mad skills.' She wasn't exactly comfortable with things like this, but she was enjoying herself.

"I think the problem is my two left feet."

"I never noticed. How do you buy shoes?"

"It's an expression. But you knew that, didn't you?" His only reply was a wide grin. At the end of the dance they went over to get drinks.

As Kyle was pouring a cup of punch, a chaperone next to them took a sip of his own drink. Holding his hand out, he said, "Don't drink that." In an explanatory manner, he added, "Someone spiked the punch."

Amanda shook her head. "That's impossible."

Kyle tried to be helpful by explaining it was not a lone occurrence, "According to my research it happens at sixty-eight percent of all proms."

"I have to take care of this."

The chaperone chimed back in. "And there's something leaking by the D.J. table. There's water everywhere."

Kyle put his hand on Amanda's arm. "I'm on it." He looked in her eyes. "If you don't mind, that is."

"No." She gave him a faint smile. "Go. Be a hero." As he was walking away, he thought he caught a brief twinge of sadness on her face, but just as quickly she turned away to find some replacement punch. He managed to get into the supply closet without any difficulty. He grabbed several rolls of paper towels.

On his way back to the dance floor, he found Lori sitting alone in the hallway. He sat down next to her. "Where's Declan?"

"Hopefully not looking for me." As she was speaking, Josh sat down next to him.

"Where's Andy?"

"I, uh, ditched her on the dance floor." He added defensively, "Man needs a break, you know?"

Kyle glanced back and forth from one of them to the other. "Why are you both hiding from your dates?"

Josh leaned forward to look at Lori. "You want this one?"

"He's hiding because he's freaking out about whether or not to have sex with Andy."

"She wants this. I mean, I can't blame her."

Lori voiced her revulsion. "Eww."

"But she's so much more experienced than I am." He paused. "So yeah, I'm totally freaking out."

"Right. Your turn."

"She's messed up because she doesn't know whether or not to get back together with Declan."

"Yep." She let out a noise of exhaustion. "Prom is stressful."

"True that."

It was Kyle's turn to be part of the conversation. "It doesn't have to be."

Josh looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding? You've been flipping out all week."

Kyle nodded his acknowledgement. "I know. But Nicole taught me something."

It was Lori's turn to be incredulous. "You're busting out a Mom moment right now?"

Kyle continued, unfazed. "She said that tonight is a celebration of how far we've come and we should just let it happen and enjoy it."

Josh gave his affirmation. "I have come a long way."

Lori, who couldn't resist such an opening, gibed, "From dumb to dumber."

With a hint of venom, Josh fired back. "Better than slut to sluttier."

The reply sounded was somewhat hurt, "That's the old me." She looked up with some realization. "Which means I have come a long way." She laughed. "That Nicole Trager, she's pretty good."

Kyle nodded. "Yes, she is."

Lori gave him a small elbow. "You're not so bad yourself."

Standing, Kyle offered her a hand up. "Shall we?"

She sighed. "Okay." After she stood, he offered her his arm. They walked back to the gym arm in arm, like any other brother and sister. Once he was back, Kyle knelt to dry the floor, only to be reminded the roof was leaking when a drop hit him on the hand. He took the nearest staircase up.

When he opened the door, Jessi spoke to him without looking, "What are you doing up here?"

"Roof leak. What about you? I thought you went home hours ago."

She looked at him, one eye partially closed. "What do they call it, a 'last hurrah'?"

"A 'last hurrah'? You're leaving with Sarah tonight."

"Yeah."

"You're not going to ask her to stay?"

"Amanda said something to me earlier, 'If you care about someone you want to put their feelings first.' I want to do that for Sarah."

"I understand. I guess I just wish she'd done the same for you. Thank you, for your help tonight."

"It's amazing what we can accomplish when we work together, isn't it?"

Kyle cried a little. "I'm going to miss you, Jessi."

"No, you're not, because no matter where I am, we're always connected."

Kyle nodded. "That's true."

"Even if I am smarter."

Kyle smiled. "Stronger."

"Faster. You, uh, you better get back in there, make some more memories. They're kind of hard to come by for people like you and me."

Kyle looked at her. "You should come down too."

Jessi shook her head. "Nah." She walked to the edge of the gym roof.

"A last hurrah."

Looking back, she replied with a catch in her throat. "A last hurrah." Then she jumped off the roof, just as she had so many months ago. Kyle knew he wouldn't see her for quite some time, but he had a dark feeling in his stomach, like he might never see her ever again. He then manipulated his cellular polarity to push all the water off the roof.

As he was walking down the stairs, he felt a presence that hadn't been near him in some time. "You've been following me."

With his usual mystique, Tom Foss appeared. He eyed Kyle from head to toe. "Nice tux."

"Why all the secrecy?"

"I didn't want to distract you."

Kyle stepped forward. "You're worried about Latnok, aren't you? You don't trust them either."

"Well, they're scientists. I don't know if they should be trusted."

"Do I have anything to worry about?"

Foss gave him the 'of-course-you-naïve-fool' look. "You should always worry."

Kyle showed his disagreement. "Not tonight. Tonight is about Amanda. We'll be fine."

Foss took the hint. "Okay. I'll go."

"Before you leave, I want you to tell Adam a few things."

"Go ahead."

"Tell him to stay close, to start making more of the fluid, and that he needs to use it. And if he questions why he should or how I know, just say, 'HDS has been achieved.' He'll do what I said then."

"Very well."

"But, Foss, thanks for looking out for me." Foss nodded, and walked away. Kyle turned and headed back.

Amanda stopped him by the puddle. "There you are. Finally done putting out fires."

"I'm assuming there were no actual fires."

She indicated the negative. "Nope. No fires. Flood or two."

Kyle looked at the roof. "I guess there was more than one leak."

Amanda grabbed his hand. "Cleaning crew will get it. I think it's time for a dance."

He grinned. "I think that sounds great." Just as he finished speaking, the D.J. said the prom was done and the lights came back on.

Looking dejected, Amanda said, "It's over."

Cheering her up, Kyle replied, "It doesn't have to be. May I have this dance?"

As they were dancing, Kyle manipulated the gym's electrical circuits to turn the lights back down to the way they were during the dance.

She looked around. "You did that, didn't you?"

He smiled mischievously. "Maybe."

"So how do you do it all?"

He kept the same expression. "Do what?"

"Everything I've seen you do."

"My brain is more developed than other people's, so it allows me to do special things."

She tilted her head to the side. "Kind of like Superman, only real?" She laughed. "Can you fly?"

Kyle replied teasingly, "I'm not going to tell you that until you tell me something I don't know about you."

Amanda made a noise of exasperation. "Not this again."

He grinned. "It's only fair."

Her face became very serious. "You may not know of it. I love you."

Even though he had seen this moment coming, he was still surprised. "You do?"

She nodded. "I do."

Kyle's face broke into a wide grin. "I love you too." Just then their dance took them into the puddle.

"Oop."

"Here, don't get your feet wet." She lightly stepped onto his toes, and he levitated them over the pool of water. He thought in his head, "There's a reason why people say we shouldn't expect too much. No one wants to see someone they care about disappointed. We instinctively act to protect our own from being hurt, and do what we can to make the right choices for the people we love, but the reason we have expectations in the first place is we want to aim as high as we can. Because when you love someone, there's no limit to what you can accomplish."

He returned them to dry ground and led her to where she had left her clothes. "I almost forgot them," Amanda said.

Kyle turned his head so she couldn't see his face, which became very hard and serious. "I know."