Chapter 52: Escape

Hey guys!

Sorry for the late chapter. School started and I got swamped with it since I also have a job. Right now, I'm trying to organize my schedule so that I can find time to write so expect a slow update until I can figure out my update schedule.

Anyhow, enjoy today's chapter, and don't forget to leave comments.

Peace!

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The Electroclan followed Isaiah outside of the prison. They soon reached the gates of the prison without being noticed by the soldiers and guards due to the mental interference bounded field.

"Why are the guards not reacting?" asked Taylor as she saw the soldiers not even sparing a glance at them.

"I don't know what he did, but Isaiah said something about a barrier. I'm not sure." Ian replied.

"Barrier? But I didn't see anything. Is he a Glow?" she asked.

Ian shrugged,

"I asked him and he denied it. So I don't know much."

It was then Jack Vranes, the eldest of the group, walked up to Isaiah and placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Hey kid, where are you leading us?"

Isaiah turned around and pointed at the road in front of the prison.

"Here."

Jack looked in front and saw only the empty road.

"Are you messing with me? There's nothing."

Suddenly, the blonde-haired male Glow came up to them along with the rest of the Electroclan,

"What's going on, Jack?" he asked.

"This kid is messing with us by pointing at something that's not there, Zeus" Jack replied angrily.

Isaiah raised an eyebrow before turning to the Glow.

"Your name is Zeus?" he asked.

The latter raised an eyebrow,

"Yeah, got a problem with it?"

Isaiah on the other hand chuckled,

"Nope. It's just ironic. I know someone named Zeus and let's just say he's an... what's the word," the sorcerer tapped his chin before brightening up, "an asshole!"

Zeus looked confused.

"Besides, who said there is nothing?"

Jack grew irritated,

"The hell are you talking about there is nothing in front of..." He exclaimed before trailing off when blue energy appeared on the road.

All the Electroclan backed off at the sudden light show and had their guard up. The blue energy crackled on and coalesced before being replaced by matter. In five seconds, a van large enough to accommodate them appeared. Isaiah had even made some alterations to it to make it an off-road vehicle for when they would ride in the forest. It took a whole thirty seconds for it to materialize.

Isaiah turned around and saw their slack jaws,

"See." he said as he presented the vehicle, "Now I just need someone to drive it."

The rest of the group was silent before bursting into exclamations.

"What the fuck!"

"What!?"

"He just made a van appear!"

The others were too stunned to speak.

Taylor looked at the boy,

"What are you?" she asked.

"Isaiah grinned,

"Let's get inside, first. Don't you want to see Michael as soon as possible?" the boy said.

"I'm driving," Jack said and went for the driver's seat.

Isaiah looked at him and shrugged.

'Guess I don't need to ask him, the boy said.

Everyone was now wary of him. A normal human can't just make a semi-truck appear out of nowhere and they had no knowledge of any Glows that could do that.

One by one, everyone climbed aboard and the door closed itself. After everyone had taken a seat, Jack asked,

"Where to, kid?" Jack said.

Isaiah grinned,

"Here," he said and raised his finger.

Jack raised an eyebrow, however, before he could ask where Isaiah poked the center of his forehead with a glowing blue finger. Jack's eyes rolled back a little and Isaiah sat back.

"Jack?" asked his friend.

The latter shook his head and glared at Isaiah,

"What did you do? What the hell was that?"

"Wait! What's going on, Jack?" asked the blonde boy sitting in the passage sit before turning to Isaiah, "What did you do?"

Jack held his head,

"I don't know. Some images appeared in my mind. I think... they are memories."

"Say what now? How?" asked Ostin.

Isaiah shrugged,

"It's just a simple application of (Telepathy)." Isaiah replied, "Now, we better get going. The barrier around the prison is not going to stay forever."

Jack nodded and started up the van.

Once the prison disappeared from view, everyone breathed sighs of relief although they still kept their guards up.

It was then Isaiah spoke up,

"I'm sure everyone has questions for me and the reverse is the same so while we make our way to Michael, how about we get to know each other?"

"If we are going to that, don't you think you should present yourself? You seem to know us, but we don't know you?" replied Ostin.

Isaiah nodded,

"Fair enough. I am Isaiah Sharpe. I'm twelve years old and... I'm a sorcerer."

"Sorcerer?" asked Taylor.

"As in magic?" Mckenna added.

The others also looked confused.

Isaiah nodded,

"Yup!"

"Magic doesn't exist," Ostin said as he pushed his glasses.

Isaiah grinned,

"What makes you say so?"

"Magic is simply science we don't understand therefore magic does not exist. It's simply a fairytale." Ostin huffed.

"Did you not see the truck he summoned?" asked Zeus incredulously.

"It could be some sort of cloaking technology. There have been some theories and scientists have already started researching on it."

"What about the fact that the guards didn't see us?" asked Ian.

"Probably a mutation giving him superhuman abilities similar to Taylor." Ostin rebuked.

"Pfft! HAHAHAHAHA!" Isaiah couldn't hold it in and began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ostin asked.

Isaiah had a difficult time stopping his laughter, but he succeeded,

"Sorry. But You just had the same reaction as my father when he learned about magic."

"Your father? Is your father a sorcerer like you?" Taylor asked.

Isaiah shook his head,

"No. He prefers to rely on science since he's an inventor and all that. But, back to the subject, what if I told you I have proof?"

Ostin crossed his arms,

"Then show us."

"From where I'm from, magic is the art of harnessing various forms of energy to manipulate one or more aspects of the infinite realities that are present within the Multiverse."

He lifted his wand and a water ball formed above Emerald.

"Woah!" let out everyone.

"Is that your wand?" Mckenna asked, "It looks like a wand from a magical girl show."

Isaiah's eyes twitched when he felt Emerald vibrate in happiness,

"The design... was not my choice since it was gifted to me. It's also the reason for this ridiculous garb,"

Isaiah shook his head and leaned back in the seat.

"Now your turns. What are your names and powers?" Isaiah asked.

They all looked at each other before Taylor spoke,

"Then let me go first. My name is Taylor Ridley. And I can reset people's minds."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

"You can induce short-term memory loss using the brainwave's electrical signal?"

Taylor nodded.

Isaiah grinned excitedly,

"Try it on me!" the boy said.

This caught Taylor off guard. There hasn't been anyone who asked her to try her power on them so readily. Suddenly, she had an idea.

She grinned and extended her hand,

"Sure, but I'm gonna need to touch you. Can I have your hand?" she asked

Ian looked at Taylor confused while Ostin nodded. Although Taylor's words were true, it was not the full truth. She didn't need to touch the person to "reset" them since she could do it at a distance. However, touching Isaiah allowed her to use her other power: mind-reading. The boy gave his hand and the girl took it.

However, when she made contact with the pre-teen's skin, she had nothing. Confused, she waited for Isaiah's thoughts to surface in her mind, but there was no response. In fact, for the first time in her life, there was silence when she touched someone's skin.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong, Taylor?" Ostin asked.

Taylor furrowed her brow and tried to "reset" Isaiah's mind.

No reaction.

"What's going on?" Taylor asked.

Isaiah grinned,

"Seems like it doesn't work on me."

Taylor looked at the boy and saw his knowing smile,

"You knew?"

The young sorcerer tapped his temple,

"I have a mental barrier around my mind that prevents my mind from being tampered with. Naturally, your powers wouldn't work on me since you are weaker than me."

"Weaker?"

Isaiah shrugged,

"Yup, if you were stronger than me, you would have breached it."

"Huh?"

Isaiah turned to Mckenna,

"What about you? What's your power?"

And so, they all introduced themselves. McKenna was an Asian girl with the ability to produce light and heat. Her record for the hottest temperature she could produce was around 3000 Kelvins which was extremely hot. Ian had electrolocation. Zeus was the boy with dirty blonde hair and had the power to shoot electricity although, he can't touch the water since he could electrocute or "short-circuit" himself. The last Glow in the van was another blonde girl and her name was Abigail. She could block pain when touching someone which made her the perfect anesthesia since there was no side effect. She simply turned off the pain receptors in the body.

The rest of the teenagers were normal humans. Jack was the driver. He was easily the tallest and the most buff of the group and had black hair. Wade was the same age as Jack, but he was smaller and had blonde hair. Finally, there was Ostin who was Michael's best friend. He was a chubby teenager who spotted glasses. A textbook example of a nerd Isaiah read in his novels. These three were the ones who helped Michael on his adventure to save his mother.

The group also gave more explanations about Elgen and their plan for world domination by getting a monopoly over the world's electricity by presenting a new source of clean energy. Isaiah heard their stories about how they were involved with the company from living the life of the rich to being kidnapped and incarcerated if they didn't follow Dr. Hatch's orders.

'By now the barrier has already been taken down and the soldiers have probably noticed the Electroclan escape.' the boy thought.

"So what are you guys going to do now that you've escaped prison?" asked Isaiah.

There was silence as the van rode in the forest.

"I want to leave this godamn country."

Everyone except Jack turned to Abigail who said those words.

"Abigail?" said Mckenna.

"I want to leave from here. We are branded as terrorists when we tried to help them and now we are being chased by not only the country but also the Elgen. And we are most likely to die when they capture us. I'm sick of this country and I want to leave!" she exclaimed as tears brimmed in her eyes.

"What about Hatch?" asked Taylor

"Fuck him! How long do we have to run from him!"

" I agree with her." Zeus suddenly said.

"Zeus!?" Ostin asked.

The van soon devolved into arguments as they all shouted at each other. Isaiah turned to the window and looked outside.

'So the problem is just someone chasing them, huh? I wonder what the mutants in my world are like? Are they being kidnapped like these guys? I kinda want to see one.'

He turned around to the group who were still arguing,

"Hey."

The group continued to argue as if they didn't hear him.

"Hey!"

This time they turned around and realized what happened. Taylor looked apologetic.

"Sorry, Isaiah. We didn't mean to argue in your van."

But Isaiah dismissed her worries.

"That's not why I call you. Don't you want to hear Michael's opinion on all this?"

Taylor tilted her head,

"But Michael's not here yet."

"He's not here, but that doesn't mean I can't contact him?"

"You can contact him?" everyone shouted.

"Why the fuck didn't you say so in the beginning? With the directions, it will at least take a few hours to reach!" Jack shouted from the driver's seat.

"... I forgot."

"You forgot!?"

"Then can you contact him now?" asked Taylor with a hopeful look.

Isaiah nodded and held out his palm. Arcana energy coalesced above it and radio appeared.

The passengers of the van were all excited upon recognizing the device.

***

"I'm tired," said Tessa as they walked in the Amazonian jungle.

"We know Tessa. You said that five times in the last five minutes." Michael replied with an annoyed expression.

Jaime continued to march forward.

"We're almost there, amigos! We just have to go over to the hills and we'll be able to contact the Voice."

He turned to Jaime,

"How long to the cliff?"

"Fifteen minutes, Mr. Michael."

"That's good. Vamonos!"

"Ugh. I really hate that word." Tessa replied.

Fifteen minutes later, they reached the hill in question. Jaime had begun to set up camp and turned to Michael,

"Mr. Michael, could you place this antenna on top of a branch over to that tree?" the man asked the teen whilst pointing at a nearby tree.

"Sure thing, Jaime." the Glow replied and went up to a tree before climbing it.

"You look like a monkey," Tessa said with a chuckle.

Michael grinned,

"I used to climb trees a lot back in Idaho. My mom would always get worried that I would fall through."

Soon Michael hooked the antenna and climbed down before he and Tessa joined Jaime. The latter was on the ground with radio and had two pairs of headsets and was wearing one while tuning the radio.

"Here, Michael," Jaime said as he gave the headset.

"Thanks" and the boy sat down.

[Krssh... Krshhhhh]

Static burst into the headsets when Jaime turned the radio on.

Jaime nodded and spoke into the microphone.

"Lightning rod, this is Southern Cross. Over."

The radio emitted three beeps before a female voice responded.

[Southern Cross, we read you. Please confirm]

"Diez, Uno, Uno, Nueve, Seis, Dos." Jaime replied.

[Southern Cross, could you please repeat?]

"No."

[Confirmed. Just a moment.] the female voice said before a male voice overtook the communications.

[Southern Cross, it's good to hear from you. At least, not everything has gone wrong.] the Voice said.

This set of alarm bells in everyone's mind.

"What? What happened?" asked Michael.

[Things have gone for the worse. Dr. Hatch has taken control of the whole Elgen corporation. He also imprisoned the chairman and commandeered the Elgen fleet effectively making him the man in power.]

"WHAT!" shouted the trio.

[Our source has learned the Hatch plans to secure a land base so that Elgen can prepare soldiers and build weapons of mass destruction."

"Weapons of mass destruction? Are you talking about about nuclear weapons!?" Tessa asked horrified.

[No, they plan to build high-potency EMP].

"EMP?"

[Electromagnetic pulse. An EMP of that caliber can shut down machines and electronics in a radius of thousands of miles.]

A sense of dread settled on the trio.

[This would kill people starting with the people hooked on life support. An EMP permanently destroys electronic circuitry. Therefore communications will be shut down. No cellphones, no cars, no refrigerators which would lead to food spoilage. There would be riots in the street.]

"How long before they could get back up?" Michael asked.

[That's the thing. They can't since the tools needed also use electricity and electronic circuitry. It will be almost impossible for the county to get back up.]

"How will that benefit Elgen?"

[They will go to these countries and offer their power plants in the country's time of crisis. This will then give them complete control over the country's electricity. It will give them control of the their power and economy.]

"Is there a way to stop this. We can't let them get away like this!" Tessa replied.

[There is one.]

Michael raised an eyebrow,

"Which is?"

[Sink the Ampere.]

Tessa's breath hitched. The boy turned to her and asked,

"You know the Ampere."

Tessa nodded,

"Yeah. It's Hatch's superyacht. Elgen has a whole fleet that continuously float over the international waters which let's the board members of Elgen escape the numerous crimes they've committed which is moot point now that Hatch has seized control of the company.

[That's right. The Ampere is command base of the Elgen fleet.]

"And how are we going to sink the boat?"

[You and your friends will destroyed the largest and the most secure of all the Starxource plant the Elgen has. A boat will be much easier.]

Michael's eyebrow twitched in irritation has his voice dripped in sarcasm,

"In case you didn't notice, I don't have my friends with me."

[I wouldn't be so sure about that Michael].

Suddenly, a new voice entered the radio shocking everyone.

[Who are you and how did you enter this line!?] the Voice sounded worried of the breach in the communication line.

"Someone breached our lines!" Jaime exclaimed.

However, Michael and Tessa only looked confused at the familiar voice,

"Isaiah?"

[Hey there, Michael! How was your walk in the jungle?]

"Isaiah!" Michael and Tessa exclaimed in joy.

[Hello to you too Tessa.]

Jaime looked at the boy incredulously,

[Do you know this... individual, Michael?] the Voice asked cautiously.

Michael nodded,

"Yeah, we met in the forest before escaping. What are you doing Isaiah?"

[In the forest?] asked the Voice

[Well... I have a surprise for you guys.] replied Isaiah.

There was some shuffling.

[M-Michael?]

The voice shook Michael's entire being. It the voice of the one he loved,

"Taylor?"

[Oh Michael. So it's really true! Guys, it's really Michael!]

Multiple voices could be heard in the background.

"H-How?" asked Michael.

Last he heard, his friends were locked up after being captured by the Peruvian army.

[I don't know, but Isaiah broke us out of here without even alerting the army.]

Suddenly, they could hear the sorcerer's voice in the background,

[Actually, Isaiah says they've most likely noticed our escape because whatever he did has stopped affecting them.]

"Wait, so Isaiah helped you guys escape? Everyone?" Michael asked.

[Yeah, we are in a van that Jack's driving in the jungle. Did you know about his abilities? He summoned a van out of nowhere like magic! he says he's a sorcerer, though.]

[I'm sorry, Taylor. Some of us seem t be missing some context could you fill us in.] the Voice interrupted her.

They could hear some irritation seeping through his voice.

"Isaiah?" Michael asked.

He remembered how Isaiah didn't want to be noticed by the Resistance so he asked him.

[Go ahead. There's no worry.]

And so Michael and Taylor told the Voice about their interactions with Isaiah.

After fifteen minutes of talk, The voice hummed,

[You say this Isaiah Sharpe is a... wizard? And he just fell from from the sky when Michael found him and went to find the rest of the Electroclan on his own? You'll have to forgive me if i find that hard to believe.] the Voice sounded confused and skeptical.

"It's true. We saw it!" shouted Tessa.

[Us too! Wait, who's that?" asked Taylor.

"Oh. This is Tessa. She's a Glow like us." Michael said.

[A Glow?]

"Yup. You'll meet her when we see each other. Actually, how are we going to meet each other?"

[Apparently, Isaiah has already read your map and we will intercept you guys. Just stay where you are and describe your location. We also have a copy of your map.]

Jaime looked alarmed. He patted his pocket and found his map,

"How?"

Michael shrugged,

"Magic."

Michael did his best to described the location and after ten minutes of figuring it out, they finally reached a consensus.

[Alright, Jack will know where to go. We will see you guys soon. It will take a few hours.]

Michael nodded.

[Now what's this about blowiing a boat?]

Another discussion ensued. Michael got to talk with his friends and was glad they were safe even if they were on the run. They talk about how they need to blow the Ampere up to stop Elgen's plan for world domination.

[We will talk more when you reunite. Until then, don't contact each other except to find each other. Over.] the voice said before his line went dead.

"Alright. I can't wait to see you guys!" Michael said.

[Ditto, Michael. To be honest, If it weren't for Isaiah, we would probably be on our way to execution,] Taylor said with a grim voice.

"But your not and that's all that matter's. Thank you, Isaiah. Thank you for helping us, but can I ask something." the Glow asked the sorcerer.

[Yeah?] Isaiah replied.

"Why did you help us?"

[... Because you guys are interesting.]

"That's it?"

[Yup.]

"There's no other reason?"

[Is there a need to?]

Michael sighed in relied,

"Alright, I'll see you guys soon!"

There was a chorus of voice.

[Okay Michael, Bye. Over]

"Bye, Over."

And the line went dead leaving Michael with a biggest smile Tessa has ever seen him expressing.

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(Author's note)

Only one chapter left before Isaiah returns home and the end of this arc. There is not much going on right now since this was a mini-arc where Isaiah has a taste of multi-dimensional travel. The next arc will be about a meeting between two species of humans.