Chapter 54: Talk With the Devil

As the sun had set and the moon shone brightly in the sky, a group of ships could be seen floating at a distance from the coast of Lima. It was not a sight one could see every day as multiple large ships surrounded a big superyacht. Inside the superyacht, the Ampere, a man could be seen seating on a luxurious chair in an even more luxurious office drinking a glass of expensive alcohol. He was gazing at the coast outside of a window as he gently swirled his glass before taking a sip.

"Finally, the company is mine." the man, Dr. Charles James Hatch said out loud. "Now it's only a matter of time before I gain control over Tuvalu and then the world will soon be beneath my foot. After all, no one can so no to clean and free energy."

Dr. Hatch, who dubbed himself Admiral Hatch after rebelling against the former board members of Elgen and overtaking said company, was quietly sipping his glass all the while enjoying his plans bearing fruits. His Glows were now enjoying themselves with the Ampere's facilities.

It was then a knock was heard.

"Admiral Hatch, It's General Welch. I have something to report."

Hatch frowned in annoyance at his enjoyment's interruption.

"Come in."

The door opened and a robust man with a buzz cut and an Elgen uniform entered. The man saluted and spoke,

"Sir, our sensors have detected a small object in our vicinity."

Hatch raised an eyebrow,

"So? Remove it. You don't need to report something like that to me."

Welch had an uncomfortable expression,

"That's the thing, sir. When we checked the location, there was nothing."

Hatch frowned,

"Then it was probably a bird or something. Don't disturb me for such trivial things. Now leave." the admiral ordered.

"I... Yes, Admiral." Welch said and left.

As the door closed, Hatch turned back to the window and continued gazing at the coastline.

"Now, I just need to remove Vey and his puny Electroclan as well as the new Resistance. They have been opposing me for far too long."

"Why?"

"That's because of those pests... huh?" Hatch paused in his words.

He snapped his head towards the voice. What he saw was a boy, in a green outfit and green beret, sitting on a chair that he knew wasn't there before. He also held a strange wand in his right hand.

"Who are you!?" the man shouted.

The boy smiled,

"I'm Isaiah and I've been wanting to meet you, Dr. Hatch,"

The man stared at the boy before reaching underneath his table and pressing a button.

Isaiah simply stared at the man as the latter glared. However, that expression slowly turned to confusion, and Isaiah's grin widened.

"Guards!" Hatch shouted at the door

No answer.

"GUARDS!" the man shouted again.

"I wouldn't waste time calling for guards if I were you, Dr. Hatch. They won't hear you. Your call system also won't work since I disabled it."

A simple application of (Alteration) can do the trick. This spell was extremely useful against technology.

To be honest, he wouldn't have thought of doing that if Emerald hadn't told him that every villain had a way to call their minions to fight the protagonist.

He didn't know what protagonist she was referring to but it wasn't important.

The boy continued to look at the man trying to press the button, but no one came into the office. He could see him grow pale at the realization before he demanded Isaiah,

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"I told you I just want to talk."

"Then talk. What do you want," Hatch replied as tried to calm himself.

A person had just intruded into his office without alerting anyone or anything. And he can't call for help outside of the door.

That's when he realized,

'Was this child the sensors have detected?'

"What I want Dr. Hatch-"

"Admiral Hatch. That's my title. Use it."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow as his lips quirked at the man's attempt to control the situation unfolding.

"What I want Doctor Hatch-" the man's eye twitched. "-is to talk then I will leave."

Hatch stared at the boy. He tried to think of a way out of this situation. Unfortunately, help was not likely to come due to Isaiah's interference.

"Then tell me why are the guards not coming? What happened to them? Then I'll talk." He said with gritted teeth.

Isaiah tilted his head with a small smile,

"You don't have to worry about them, I didn't kill them. They're just not aware of what's happening right now. From their perspective, they are simply guarding the door of your office."

The way Isaiah worded his answer confused him, but it was then he remembered something.

Yesterday, one of his soldiers, stationed in Puerto Maldonado to guard the captured Electroclan members, informed him that the latter had escaped without them even noticing. It was only when they checked the footage of the prison did, they see a child casually entering the prison and coming out with the members. No one stopped them and the soldiers acted like they didn't exist. That confused him. Usually, Hatch would blame Taylor for the soldier's obliviousness, but she and the other Glows had been strapped with RESATs and there was no way for her to use her powers. So how did they get out?

The culprit had been the child before him. But there were 17 Glows in total and they had all been accounted for. He knew because he found them all himself. There was also the fact that Isaiah was too young to be a Glow by a few years since the Glow were all born within the same week.

"It's you. You're the one who broke those pests out." Hatch growled.

Isaiah raised an eyebrow in confusion,

"Pests?" he asked before realizing what the man was talking about, "Oh! You mean the Electroclan? Yeah, that was me."

There was no use denying it.

Hatch was seething in rage at the casual admission,

"Why and how did you break them out? They're terrorists who destroyed the country's power supply depriving countless citizens of electricity. Which means you are an accomplice thereby making you a terrorist. Also, only the Glows are supposed to have powers, how did you help them escape?" Hatch said.

Isaiah nodded,

"I see..."

The man waited for the boy's answer,

"... Anyways, I have questions and I would like some answers," the child said.

'He changed the subject!'

Hatch thought as he looked at the carefree boy in front of him.

"Why?"

Now the man was confused,

"Why what?"

"Why do all this? Why do you commit evil and seek the world?"

Hatch stood silent at the child's question.

'Why is he asking such a question? Seeing how he entered this place without alerting anyone, he must be highly skilled. Is he from the resistance? Seeing how he freed those pests; he must be on friendly terms with them. There is also the matter of his powers if he even has one. This morning, fifty of our men found the Electroclan including Michael Vey and dear Tesla, but for some reason, they escaped. Could this child be the reason?'

It was then Hatch internally grinned,

'What if I could bring him to my side? He's a young child and children are impressionable. If he comes to my side, he could be an incredible asset if the demonstration at the prison could be counted. I could tell him about my plans after glorifying them. Promises of power and riches can be quite tempting after all.'

"You ask why I seek the world? Why should I tell you?"

Isaiah shrugged,

"I just felt like it. You are the first person I met who falls into the category of the villain in real life, and I wanted to know more about you and your motives."

"And If I don't tell you?"

"I'll just walk away."

Hatch stared at the boy before grinning and chuckling,

"I see. Very well. No one, outside of my eagles, has earnestly asked me about my goals. If that's what you want, let me indulge you."

"Thanks!" Isaiah said.

'This is a chance to hear a villain's goal and their reason to commit Evil. Perhaps it may help me in regaining my emotions.'

Hatch then began,

"You ask why I seek the world?"

Isaiah nodded,

"However, the world is not my goal."

"Hm? Your goal is not the world?" the boy asked surprised.

Michael had told him that's what the evil doctor's goal was.

Hatch grinned,

"Nope. What I seek is Humanity and granting it salvation."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

"Salvation. What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sure you've met with the Glows. You have seen them perform incredible feats that were thought to be mere myths. Some could throw lightning from their fingertips while another could produce heat almost as hot as the surface of the sun. Do you know how these children acquired these miraculous abilities?"

"I was told it was some sort of machine or something," Isaiah answered intrigued by the man's monologue.

Hatch gave out a knowing grin,

"That's right. Elgen was previously a medical equipment manufacturing company. We have invented the machine called the Magnetic Electron Induction machine or MEI for short. We wanted to cure diseases by conducting magnetically altered electrons and altering the genes of the patients. I will not bore you with the details since your young mind won't comprehend its intricacies. However, that machine failed killing over 50 babies. It also led me to resign from my post as the CEO." Hatch said as he gripped his fist.

"But seventeen babies survived. And they will grow to be Glows."

Hatch's grin returned,

"That's right! It was only a few years later that I received the news of an unusual case. A foster child who jumped from foster home to foster home. However-" Hatch leaned forward, "The reason that child jumped home to home was that there would always be some sort of electrical failure be it a house fire or simply a power outage. So, when I heard about her, I decided to adopt her. It was then I found out, the reason for her jumps. This child was able to absorb electricity and disperse it like an electrical ground. Fascinating, isn't it?"

Isaiah nodded,

"So where is she?"

Hatch put on a sorrowful expression,

"She's no longer with us."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

'He's lying. Michael told me they left Nichelle at the Academy to fend for herself. Although, he does put quite the act.'

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss. Please continue."

Hatch nodded,

"Where was I? Ah, yes. After I found that child, I discovered the source of her powers which was the MEI. I then proposed to the board of members, " Isaiah noted the disdain when Hatch mentioned them, "to find those children as they possessed powers people could only dream of. I also proposed the idea of creating Starxource plants. Creating clean and efficient energy by creating electrically enhanced rats."

"And so, for the next few years, I searched everywhere for those children. I observed the multiple supernatural abilities displayed and that's when it hit me. They were the next step in human evolution. At that moment, I knew. These children will be the ones to bring in a new era of humanity and I will be the one leading them."

"I wanted Humanity to evolve, but one thing history has thought us is that innovation is not always welcomed. Therefore, I must bring that evolution by force. I will destroy the current humanity and rebuild it with my own hand. I will bring new and better humans into this world. Therefore, I must have control of the world first before destroying humanity!" Hatch had a maniacal expression with his grin showing teeth and eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

"What will you do with those who oppose you?"

"Simple. Remove them. No obstacle should block the path of human evolution after all."

"Then what about you?"

Hatch's eyebrow quirked,

"What about me?"

"Once your goal is achieved, what will you do? You're not a Glow therefore you are an inferior human by your definition."

Hatch simply smiled,

"Oh, but I will be the father of these humans. After all, humanity always glorifies the fathers of innovation after acknowledging them."

'After his monologue, I can only say one thing...

Boring.'

Isaiah internally frowned,

'This is just a typical villain story with the only goal to rule the world. What will he do once he has control of it? Whatever he wants that's it and for no apparent goal other than he wants to. If this was a story, this guy would be betrayed by his subordinates or something because he went too far into his god complex.'

"This was a waste of time. I didn't find any clue on how to get my emotions back. Although, I know I was supposed to feel anger when he monologued. It's the logical thing to do but didn't feel it. Also, Teacher warned me about this kind of person. They best be stopped as soon as possible. More like I couldn't only feel apathy. Even manga villains are better than this Dr. Hatch. Once more, this was a waste of time. Although, I can see Michael's point of view in removing him.'

Isaiah internally grinned,

'Let's give him an early Christmas gift, shall we?'

"... do you think?" Hatch said something.

Isaiah snapped his head toward Hatch.

"Sorry?"

Hatch gave out a massive grin and ignored his lapse of attention.

"So what do you think?"

Isaiah frowned,

"About what?"

"Joining me?"

"You want me to join you?"

Hatch nodded,

"Yes. I have seen your ability. The ability to change people's perception, it's a God-given ability putting you above all humans."

Isaiah quirked his eyebrow,

"I'm not even a Glow. You don't even know where I got my ability."

Hatch shook his head,

"Even if you are not a Glow, you are still part of the superior humans. We could always search for the source of your powers unless we already know it. Do you?"

Isaiah decided to lie,

"No." he shook his head, "I woke up one day with them."

Hatch gave a sympathetic smile,

"That's okay. We, at Elgen, can help you develop your powers. We can give you the life of the kings with all the riches of the world. You will be able to rule over the inferior humans and have anything you desire without anyone protesting since the world will be in our hands!"

Hatch took a deep breath took to calm down,

"So what do you think? Will you join us and bring about a new era of humanity?"

Isaiah looked at the man,

'Riches? My dad's Tony Stark. Power? I already have more power than him. I literally have magic. Desire? I don't want the world. Too much of a hassle. Although, Hatch's ambition will cause too much damage to the world even if it was for "noble" intentions."

That's when the boy spoke,

"Tell you what. I will sponsor you."

Hatch was taken aback.

"Sponsor me? How will you sponsor me when Elgen is probably one of the richest companies in the world?" he asked incredulously.

Isaiah smiled,

"Like this." the boy said and snapped his finger.

*Pop*

It was as if the world around them bent inward and popped back a few seconds later. But this time, rubies appeared all around the place.

Hatch shot up from his seat and looked around in shock. Everywhere in his sight was filled with the sparkling shine of rubies.

"Wha-What is this!?"

Isaiah smirked,

"This is my investment. For you to use and further your own goals."

"Just... How did you do this?"

Isaiah stood up from his seat,

"Now Now, Dr. Hatch. A magician never reveals his secret."

He swiped his hand towards the window which opened by itself.

"Now that I have invested in your project. I must leave."

Hatch, who's been mesmerized by the sight of countless rubies, snapped his head towards the boy walking up to the window.

"W-Wait. Where are you going?"

Isaiah turned back and raised an eyebrow

"I have other business to attend therefore I must leave. I'm sure this is more than enough for now, right?" the boy asked as he pointed at the minerals.

Hatch nodded. Perhaps this boy was more powerful than any Glows he had in his control therefore he must be careful.

"If you are giving me all this, why did you help the Electroclan?"

Isaiah started floating and rose to the same level as the window. It was large enough for him to easily go through.

"They were interesting, that's it. You can do whatever you want with them."

"I see." Hatch grinned internally.

This child or being will not interfere with his extermination of those pests. And with Isaiah's backing, they won't be able to do anything.

"Very well. Thank you for your sponsorship."

Isaiah grinned,

"Good. Goodbye then."

He said and flew out of the window before turning invisible.

Hatch turned back and admired the rubies.

"HeheheheHahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hatch began to laugh before it turned into full-blown maniacal laughter.

"Now, this is a God! This is what humanity should thrive for!"

He picked up a jewel and examined it. Although it hadn't been cut giving it an irregular shape, it was still beautiful to look at.

As he observed the jewel, he noticed that it shone brighter than others.

"Wow, look at the shine of this beauty."

He continued to observe when the shine became more intense.

That's when something felt off.

"Hmm?"

He looked around and saw the same phenomena on all the other rubies. They were getting brighter and brighter.

"Wha-"

*BOOOOOOOMMMMMM!*

Before the doctor could even finish his sentence, the jewel in his hand exploded in an explosion of fire causing a chain reaction and an even bigger explosion.

***

"Goodbye indeed," Isaiah said as he hovered in the sky while watching the ship explode.

He looked at the coast and saw people panicking at the site of the Ampere exploding. Fortunately, Isaiah had erected an invisible barrier that would offset the shockwave and debris thereby not injuring anyone on the coastline.

"You know I kinda see why Deidara loves explosions so much. Explosion really is an art." Isaiah said with a satisfied expression.

"Did you have to kill him?" Emerald asked.

"No. I didn't since I had the choice to let him live. But if I did, the consequences would be too much to handle for the Electroclan. I don't know about their Resistance, but after watching their ships, I can safely say that Elgen have a huge advantage and the Electroclan had massive luck surviving against them."

"But did you have to kill him? Couldn't you expose his crimes or something?"

Isaiah shrugged,

"I don't know. The guy was the CEO of an international company that can control the power of a country. I'm sure he had ways to evade jail time. Besides, the people adored him for what "he did", "Isaiah said with air quotes.

"Hmm."

The boy watched the boat sink. The rubies filled with mana had exploded resulting in a giant fireball engulfing the Ampere. Hatch was definitely not going to make it out alive as well as a majority of them. The boy saw the people on the other ship scrambling around trying to figure out what was going on.

"Well, what a fitting end for a villain. Dying without even knowing what hit him." Emerald said.

Isaiah nodded. He watches the ship burn and break apart into multiple pieces.

"Happy early Christmas, Michael."

Isaiah turned towards Emerald,

"I think my business here is done, right Emerald?"

"Yup! Good news, I have found a way back home! We can go back now!"

Isaiah smiled,

"Just in time. Let's go home."

Isaiah flew away from the burning site and towards the Amazonian forest.

Soon, a few hours later, the sun had begun rising. Isaiah had decided to sleep in the forest before heading back to the point where he and Emerald arrived in this world.

After washing up, he had begun to fly. It had taken him a few more hours, but they have finally arrived where they fell from the sky. However, something was wrong,

"Where is everyone?" Isaiah asked himself.

When he arrived, he had literally fallen into an Amacarra tribe campsite. However, there was nothing anymore. Only a large empty area.

"They probably moved away," Emerald said.

Seeing that there was nothing left, that was most likely the case.

"I wanted to see them one last time, but oh well. Too bad." the boy replied.

He looked around and narrowed his eyes,

"If I force my senses, I can still feel traces of mana particles, but they have almost all disappeared."

"Good news is that the space is still unstable. We can use it to go back home." Emerald said with joy.

Isaiah smiled and nodded,

"Are you ready then?"

"You got it."

Isaiah held out his wand before placing the butt on the ground,

"Di your thing, Emerald."

"Alright!"

Just like when they first jumped, the same sequence appeared.

[Adding imaginary numerical axis to the fifth instrumental numbers]

Emerald began to activate the process and a circle filled with a kaleidoscope of colors opened up within him.

[Searching coordinates for native world-line.

[Word-line found. Preparing to open a dimensional pathway]

The circle pulsed as a magical circle filled with many equations and runes appeared beneath the boy's feet.

[Pathway opened. Stabilizing Gate]

The magic circle also started to rotate and began to pick up speed. Isaiah felt his mana being drained at a rapid pace once more.

[Gate stabilized. Preparing for the dimensional jump.]

[10]

[9]

[8]

[7]

[6]

[5]

[4]

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Initiating dimensional jump]

The circle flashed in a million colors and engulfed the boy taking him back home.

(Earth 200000, Stark Mansion)

Inside the Stark Mansion's basement, space distorted as a giant multi-color magic circle appeared on the floor.

It was then Isaiah materialized on top of the circle. The boy then placed his hands on his knees and began panting. He let go of Emerald and dismissed his transformation returning to his initial sorcerer's combat robe.

"Hah... Are... we back... Hah... home, Emerald? Hah." the sorcerer asked panting.

"Yup! We're back home! Aren't I awesome?"

"Says the one who overshot the jump."

"Hey! I'll have you know it's because of your True Ether being too dense for the spell!"

"We'll agree to disagree."

At that moment, Isaiah heard rapid footsteps quickly heading.

"Isaiah?"

The boy looked up and saw his father and Pepper at the entrance of the basement. The boy saw the man looking a little disheveled. His appearance had been unkept. His goatee and grown into a small beard and his hair was a mess. Actually, his appearance was a mess. It looked like Tony tried to fix it, but it didn't work.

"Hey, Dad. Hey, Pepper. I'm back." the boy smiled.

"ISAIAH!" the man shouted.

The man ran to the boy and grabbed him before giving him a big hug. The hug was very hard for an ordinary human. Tony kept repeating "Thank God" while Pepper's eyes moistened at the sight of the boy. She stayed behind Tony looking at the reunion.

Isaiah awkwardly hugged the man back.

Looking at their expression, Isaiah couldn't help but ask,

"Seems like I have been gone longer than I expected. How long?"

"How long?" Tony gave a hollow laugh.

The man turned to Pepper,

"How long he says. How long? How long did you think you disappeared?"

"I don't know that's why I'm asking."

"3 WEEKS! YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR THREE GODAMN WEEKS! It's February first!" the man shouted.

Isaiah's eyes widened in surprise.

"Woah. The time ratio was enormous."

"Do-Do you know how worried I was?" Tony asked.

Isaiah looked at the man barely keeping himself together.

"I thought I lost you. I really thought I lost you."

Isaiah saw tears flow down the man's cheeks. As he watched the man cry. A man whose arrogance knew no bounds to cry in front of him for thinking he lost him, he felt something well up in his empty void. Sensing that, Isaiah tried to reach it.

'Why does my throat feel so tight? Why do I have trouble breathing?"

As the feeling in his void was snuffed out, he felt something warm on his cheek. He brought his hand up and touched it. It was liquid. A transparent liquid.

'What's this? Tears? I... cried? How?'

At that moment, a familiar portal opened up beside them, and out came out Fiona Barran looking not happy.

"Seems like you're back, Isaiah."

The boy turned to the woman,

"Yes, Teacher."

"You have some explaining to do."

"I do! I have lots of things to tell you!" Isaiah said joyfully.

But his teacher didn't smile.

"But you must rest. It seems like you've had quite the trip. We will discuss this at a later time."

Isaiah nodded.

Tony got up,

"You're grounded." he suddenly said.

Isiah raised an eyebrow,

"Grounded?"

"I don't care if you have superpowers or not. You are grounded, Isaiah."

Isaiah, now confused, turned to his teacher,

"I second his opinion, Isaiah. You will be grounded for the time being."

"Oh, and no more one-dimensional traveling. You're banned. If you try anything close to that, I will build something just to stop you."

Isaiah looked at the man and nodded,

"Yeah. I wasn't planning on doing that anytime soon anyways."

At that moment, Pepper came forward and hugged the boy,

"You've scared us, Isaiah. We thought something happened to you."

"But I'm strong."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean you're invincible. That's why you have to be careful even if you're strong."

Isaiah looked at her confused but nodded nonetheless.

At that moment, a voice spoke up,

"What the hell?"

Everyone turned to the voice and saw James Rhodes standing at the entrance looking at the scene with utter confusion.

Isaiah quirked an eyebrow,

"Colonel Rhodes?"

"Just what in the actual hell is going on? Who's the kid? Who's the bald lady? How did she appear through that circle thing? Why is Tony crying? Somebody explain to me what's going on.?"

The man began asking question after question.

Tony groaned,

"It's a... long story."

James quirked his eyebrow before crossing his arm.

"I've got time."

"Let Isaiah get changed first. He has just been back from his trip and must be tired and probably hungry, right?" Fiona said before turning to Isaiah who nodded.

"And who the hell are you?" James asked.

"All will be examined in due time, Colonel Rhodes."

Tony walked up to the man and placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Rhodes, please. I will explain this later. Let's just go up."

Rhodes looked at his best friend before nodding and they all went up inside the mansion for the impending discussion.

Isaiah, on the other hand, had his hand on his chest trying to recall the feeling he just had in front of his father.

'What was that?" he thought as he followed the adults.