Question: One thing I never understood about this movie was the scene when Tony and Tia were doing opposite things to the cooling system. Tony was trying to increase the temperature and Tia was trying to decrease it, and then all of a sudden it went down—how did Tia manage to overcome Tony's ability to increase the temperature?
Question: I have one question about this movie that I have never been able to figure out. When Tia was 'repairing' the cooling system, it almost hit 1,000, and Tony was trying to increase it, while Tia was trying to decrease it. Then she opens her eyes and it just goes down, but Tony is still trying to increase it. How was she able to overpower Tony's ability to increase the temperature and bring it back down?
Answer: I always figured it was because Tony had been using his powers more often than Tia whilst he was under Gannon and his team's control, so wasn't as strong as Tia was by the time they were all together at the plutonium plant, which is why she was able to overpower him telepathically. Remember, Uncle Bene talked to Tony at the start of the film about controlling his telepathy, and that he must "never energise unless it's absolutely necessary", but the moment Tony was taken by Gannon, he was no longer in control of his telepathy, so would not have been able to ration his powers like Tia did.
Answer: In "Escape To Witch Mountain", Tony tells the lady in charge of the children's home that their foster parents adopted them when Tia was 3 and Tony was 5. "Escape" possibly takes place 6 years after they were adopted, making them 9 and 11 in "Escape", and 12 and 14 in "Return".