Part 5
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"Um, with a Breezer Bee I must compete, warm up Justin with the right amount of heat," Max utters. The soft red glow pours from his hands and he grins wide in celebration of his accomplishment. Within seconds, Justin is able to regain control over the shaking in his body and he takes a few deep breaths before looking up at Max.
"Max, you did it," he says, surprise and pride in his voice.
"It's 'cause I'm just that goood," Max nods, a smug smile on his face.
Theresa wanders back downstairs holding a red electric blanket to her nose. "I found it...but for some reason it smells a little like-"
She looks down and sees Justin on his knees on the floor, Max hovering over him, and her lamp broken in pieces.
"What happened?" she asks, then looks around again, "Wait, where's Alex? What did she do?"
Justin stands up, brushing off his pants. "For once, she didn't do anything. The Longcapes and Dr. Evilini took her. They're the ones who are behind all of this."
"What? But how?" Theresa asks. "I thought they had their powers stripped?"
"Apparently they found a way to get them back," Justin says angrily. "I have to go after them."
"No, Justin," Theresa orders. "It's too dangerous for you. We have to tell your father."
Justin shakes his head. "Mon, we have to go now before we lose her trail. If that happens, we could lose her forever…besides, I have Max to help me."
Theresa looks at Justin and Max hesitantly, struggling with what to do. "No, no!" she decides. "If you go, I could lose all three of you. I'm sure your father and Professor Crumbs can handle getting Alex back."
Justin is about to retaliate when he spots a comic book on the coffee table. He turns to Max and says, "We don't have time to argue. Remember that time with Alex's journal?" He gestures to the comic book.
"Yeah," Max laughs, "That was pretty funny. Way better than that comic book!"
"No, Max," Justin informs him between clenched teeth, "Put mom in the comic book."
"Ohhhhh," Max nods, and whispers back "But won't she get mad?"
"Just do it!" Justin orders.
Max jumps, nodding his head rapidly as he pulls out his wand.
"What are you doing Max?" Theresa asks.
"Literarium Tararium!" Max quickly spits out, and Theresa gets sucked into the comic book. He then runs over and picks it up, looks at a page, and runs it over to Justin. Justin looks at it and sees a frame picturing Theresa, hands on her hips, scowling.
"Wow, she looks really mad, doesn't she?" Justin asks, then speaks to the picture. "Sorry, mom, we'll let you out as soon as we get back." He's about to set the comic book back down, but he suddenly pulls it back to himself. "Oh, and if you come across a guy in purple spandex tights with lightning bolt glasses, you should run the other way."
He places the book on the table gently, then turns back to Max. "Okay, we need to get down to the lair. I know a way we can track Alex, but we have to move fast, and I'm gonna need your help."
Max nods and they both rush down the stairs.
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The vortex spins in place for a few seconds before twirling upward and disappearing, leaving behind Alex, Dr. Evilini, and the Longcapes wobbling dizzily.
"Really?" Alex states as she regains her balance. "The smoke and the vortex – a little overkill."
Ronald Jr. nods. "That's what I've been trying to tell them."
Alex looks around to see where she's been taken. All she can see is dry, cracked earth and a pale-yellow sky full of swirling clouds.
"Where are we?" she asks.
"This, my dear," Dr. Evilini spreads her arms wide, gesturing at the world around them, "is a void pocket. It's a-"
Alex interrupts her, "meaningless space between worlds where no one can find me, blah blah blah."
Dr. Evilini looks shocked. "How did you know? Oh, you must have learned all about it during wizard training."
"Pfffft, no," Alex says, waving her hand dismissively. "It's called a 'void pocket,' where you brought me right after kidnapping me. It's kind of a no-brainer-" she sees Ronald Jr. opening his mouth, "-and don't you dare say anything involving me and having no brain."
He shuts his mouth, a little smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "Your intelligence level is irrelevant, anyway," he tells her. "What matters is that we placed a lock on this particular void pocket. Once you're in, you can't get out."
Ronald Sr. holds up a finger, "Oh, unless someone from the outside is holding the pathway open for you…O-or unless you're us, of course, since we put the lock on the void pocket to begin with."
"Shut up, Dad," Ronald Jr. orders, and rolls his eyes angrily. He turns back to Alex. "And just so you know, tracking someone that's hiding in a void pocket is very, very difficult. In fact, it's pretty much impossible. No one is going to come for you."
"So, what, you're just gonna leave me here for eternity or something?" Alex asks.
Dr. Evilini laughs. "We're going to do more than that," she says, pulling out her wand. She waves it at Alex, creating glowing orange bindings around Alex's wrists and ankles.
"Hey!" Alex shouts, struggles against the bindings, then looses her balance and with a "whoa!" falls over to the ground. "Note to self," she mumbles as she shifts up into a sitting position, "Moving around while your ankles are tied is not a good plan." She looks up. "Note to self? Oh, man, I'm starting to sound like Justin!"
"Those bindings," Dr. Evilini continues, "Are now linked directly to your powers. All we have to do now is attach the Transfermerator to the bindings, and it will filter your magic from you to us."
"So that's how you got your powers back!" Alex deduces, "Whose magic did you steal?"
"Nobody that concerns you," Ronald Jr. snaps at her. "Dad, bring out the Transfermerator!"
Ronald Sr. reaches into his jacket pocket, frowns, reaches into a different pocket, then proceeds to pat himself down. "Uh oh," he says, "I think I left it back at the house."
"Well, go and get it!" Ronald Jr. orders.
Ronald Sr. nods and points his wand up at the sky, shooting upwards in a blur and disappearing.
"Just you wait," Ronald Jr. tells Alex, "After we combine your powers with the ones we've already collected, we'll be virtually unstoppable. We'll rule all of the wizard world!"
He and Dr. Evilini belt out their evil laughter while Alex worriedly pulls at her bindings.
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Jerry and Professor Crumbs are walking down a hallway at WizTech, talking. Jerry is saying, "…and then we can take care of the taint."
"A Breezer is definitely cause for concern," Professor Crumbs agrees, "And we can't have one of our most promising young wizards walking around with tainted magic, but right now I have other issues I must deal with."
"But, Professor, what could possibly be more pressing than rogue wizards summoning a Breezer bee?"
"Missing students." Crumbs stops walking. "We've had reports of five wizard trainees disappearing over the last week."
"Five? Wow…but, can't you just track them?" Jerry asks.
"That's the issue. We can't seem to tap in to their magic signatures."
"But that's impossible…unless-" Jerry starts to say.
"Unless the students have somehow been transported into a void pocket. Without knowing who is responsible for this, it is likely we will never find those children. So you see, Mr. Russo, the missing students must be my top priority. As long as you keep Justin warm and keep him from using his powers, he'll be all right. I promise I will attend to him as soon as this other issue is resolved."
"I understand," Jerry says sadly, watching as Professor Crumbs walks away. He sighs, and heads back down the hall.
A/N: Uh oh! Will Alex have her powers drained? Can Justin and Max save the day? Tune in next time to find out!!!