Ivy and the Fluorescent Lightbulb

Chapter 28.1 - Operation: Escape

The group stilled.

"...If not me, then who?" Uncle Taner said, his voice strained. "You?"

"No."

Uncle Taner looked at the group, his eyes wide. "No. You can't have them do it. I said nothing about including them with the—"

"Taner," Captain Lightwell sharply said, his eyes threatening.

Uncle Taner glowered, his cheeks flushing.

A change of plans, then? Ivy thought. What do we do now?

As if to answer her thoughts, Uncle Taner flicked his hand in a 'stop' motion. The kids cast confused looks at each other. So...we don't run?

"As this is an artifact," Captain Lightwell quietly said, turning to stare at Ivy. "I'd like for the time anomaly to turn it on herself."

"M-me?" Ivy stammered.

"Let's change the power level," Uncle Taner persisted. "It's too dangerous to keep the bulb at its maximum—"

"Taner," Captain Lightwell barked. "I will not warn you again."

The two men stared at each other, their eyes piercing and fierce. Finally, Captain Lightwell broke eye contact and returned his attention to Ivy. "Ivy," he evenly said. "Please join me up front."

Ivy cast a nervous glance at her friends before haltingly stepping towards Captain Lightwell. This isn't going as planned at all, she thought, glancing at Uncle Taner for support. Any time now, he should be cueing us to run. Right?

Her glance did not reassure her. Uncle Taner watched her, his arms tightly crossed and expression unreadable. Or not... she thought. Ivy slowed to a stop.

Captain Lightwell's imposing figure towered over her as she took her place beside him. She forced herself to look at him, flinching at his steely gray eyes.

"When you came to our time," the captain said, "You were holding this object with you, were you not?"

Ivy nodded.

"Can you explain to everyone what this object is?"

She glanced at Uncle Taner, then slowly averted her gaze, refocusing on her peers. I guess I'll have to go along with it, she thought. He must be coming up with another plan..."It's a lightbulb," she said, her eyes flitting from person to person. "We use it kinda like the lighting in this room." She gestured to the glowing tubes of lights that coursed through the ceilings. "Except, you have to replace it every few months or years...depending on when it goes bad."

"We've heard about the disposable culture of the past," Captain Lightwell said with a sniff. "Very detrimental." He deftly handed the bulb to Ivy, catching her off guard.

She lunged and grabbed for it.

"Hm," he grunted. "Would you say this can easily break?"

"Well, it's glass. So, yeah," she said.

"According to Taner, you've said that this bulb can make you fly. Is that correct?"

"Um..." Ivy hesitated. To her side, the group stared with mouths agape. Even Oak, who stood a slight distance from the rest, showed signs of surprise on his face, his eyebrows raised and eyes wide. That's right, she thought. I never told them. Thought I would've gotten a better opportunity to later...

"Your answer, please," Captain Lightwell said, his voice sharper than ever.

"Yes," she blurted. Ivy bit her lip. I need to stop blurting out like that. I'm going to give away our whole plan at this rate.

Captain Lightwell raised his chin and glowered at her. "Turn it on," he said.

"Well," she said, desperately looking at Uncle Taner.

"Don't look at him, look at me," Captain Lightwell growled. "Turn on the bulb, Ivy!"

"Um—"

"I will not hesitate to escalate this if necessary," he said. "Now I repeat. Turn it on."

Ivy dropped her eyes. That's the same tone he had when he used that disintegrator thing... She located the knob on the top. Let's get this over with. Maybe it won't be so bad...

Ivy squeezed her eyes shut, switching it on.

Nothing.

Huh? she thought, looking at the knob. Her fingers had slipped as she turned, leaving them pinched together and the bulb untouched. "S-sorry," she stammered with a nervous chuckle.

Captain Lightwell's scowl deepened.

"Wait, let me check something," Uncle Taner said, swiftly stepping beside Ivy. He pulled the bulb close and leaned forward."When you turn it on," he muttered, "run. We'll follow your lead."

Ivy nodded, her heart racing.

"Are you done yet?" Captain Lightwell said.

Uncle Taner slowly stepped away with a nonchalant shrug. "Everything's good to go," he said.

"Good. Turn on the lightbulb, Ivy. I'm getting impatient."

Deep breath, Ivy, you can do this, she thought, pinching the knob with two clammy fingers. It's just a bulb.

She bent her knees. Just turn it on, and run.

Ivy gulped. Her pounding heart filled her ears. Her vision narrowed until she could only focus on the lightbulb's knob. It's just a knob. It's just a harmless lightbulb.

She took a deep breath. "Okay," she sighed. "Here we go—"

As she turned the dial, her clothes exploded into a sporadic array of flashing lights, ranging from light green to white. The round pearls on her gloves brightly shone, brighter than when she had used them as flashlights. Her health bar loudly beeped, its symbols fitfully switching between various patterns. Captain Lightwell stepped away, his typically stoic glare breaking into a wide-eyed gape.

"Now!" Uncle Taner yelled over the beeps.

Ivy moved to propel herself into a run. This is it!

Her eyes widened in horror.

What should have been an easy dash was now virtually impossible. Her feet felt like two blocks of concrete—they remained firmly planted on the polished lab floor.

"I...I can't move!" she exclaimed, trying to lift the heavy boots. Her breath quickened as she realized her arms were also immovable.