"Hey, back off, chiquita. That's my man you're talking to," Liz mock threatened, her dark brown eyes narrowing.

"Well, tell your man to share his candy bar with your best friend," Maria shot back.

"Take it," Max said, reaching across the cafeteria table and holding the AstroNut bar in front of Maria's mouth so that she could take a bite. "I don't want to cause a catfight," he added with a smirk.

Michael slapped his hands over Maria's lips an instant before the candy brushed against them. "I'm not letting you do this," he told her. "Clearly you're suffering from some kind of temporary insanity. How long has it been since you allowed a preservative to enter the 'temple that is your body,' as you insist on calling it?"

"Besides, it will give you zits," Isabel added.

"But Max doesn't have any," Maria protested, the words coming out muffled by Michael's fingers.

"Yeah, that's because Max spends half an hour in front of the mirror every morning using his power to clear up his face," Isabel answered. She flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder.

"Hey, some things are supposed to remain private," Max told his sister.

Maria wriggled out of Michael's grasp, grabbed the candy bar from Max, and took a huge bite.

"So, what'd you think?" Max asked her once she'd chewed and swallowed.

She wrinkled her nose. "I can't believe we were eating the same thing," she answered. She lowered her voice. "I mean, I know aliens have different taste buds or whatever, but I saw your face. You looked like you were about to have an or-" She stopped midsentence, and her cheeks got all pink.

"A what?" Michael pressed, his gray eyes flashing with amusement. "Come on, Maria, a what?"

"A… a… an original experience," she blurted out, her cheeks going from pink to near purple.

"Now that I'm connected to the consciousness, it's like everything is new to me," Max explained. "When I tasted the AstroNut, it wasn't just me, it was all these beings who'd never had anything like it."