135. Rock Fest

July 26, 2010

Yesterday turned out to be very busy with all sorts of criminals that we met along the way. After I stopped those Forever Knights, we ran into bank robbers who were running from the police, then there were pyromaniacs, who we had time to stop before they set fire to the whole forest, after we met real terrorists.

Too many criminals for one day, but we neutralized them all, handed them over to the police and went on to Chicago. And despite the fact that the girls and I were constantly distracted, last night we managed to drive through Nebraska and Iowa, and reached Illinois.

After spending the night at the next campsite, we had breakfast and hit the road. Overnight, my appearance changed and reached the last stage of Methanosian flowering. I got even bigger, for some reason my skin color took on a brighter green tint, and the red spikes on my arms that appeared yesterday grew even bigger and turned yellow at the base.

Most of all, my head has changed, which has acquired a more floral and at the same time masculine look. The final touch was the collar, which increased in size and encircled my head. Looks pretty stylish.

And although this is the last stage, the Omnitrix has not been unlocked, so I have to continue to live in this guise and wait for this punishment to end...

At least for the fact that I can not go according to my plans, I have been diligently engaged in designing my world and I must say, I have made good progress in this. Although, this will take a lot of time. I also had enough time to think about the future and decide what should be done next….

- Ah, I remembered. - Ashley exclaimed loudly, distracting me from work, Gwen from practicing magic, and Grandpa from driving.

- What? - I immediately asked.

- Kenko's Armor is also made of metal. What happens if I absorb it? - Ashley asked patiently, watching me in anticipation.

- Hmm, now I'm curious too. Here you are. - I said curiously as I took out a piece of armor and handed it over to Ashley. Luckily, even though I don't use magic, I can still use my dimensional ring. Although, it is not as easy as before….

- Well… - Ashley muttered as she absorb the purple metal.

- And? - Gwen asked with interest, watching the purple Ashley.

- It's not clear yet… - Ashley began to say, but stopped when she noticed that her arm was stretching down on its own.

Putting her hand back in place, Ashley began to try again to do this trick again, but instead her legs swelled into a puddle and she fell to the ground. When she managed to gather herself back, Ashley began to try to take control of her body, which she quickly succeeded in and she began to play with her changeable body.

- You are rubber. - Gwen concluded as she watched Ashley's manipulations.

- Yeah, I can stretch my body as much as I want, like it's made of rubber, but if I lose concentration, I'll lose a stable shape. It's harder than usual, but I think if I practice, I'll get used to it. - Ashley said with a smile as her hair began to involuntarily pull down.

- Given the metamorphic properties of this metal, I expected something like this. This material is great for your collection. It has the properties of rubber, but remains a metal. This is much better than using regular rubber, which has many weaknesses. - Thinking a little, I said.

- And besides, it's a lot of fun. - Ashley said happily, playing with her outstretched hands to the ground.

- Yes, very. - I said awkwardly, and then added: - If you want to understand what your rubber body is capable of, I advise you to read manga and comics. This will open your eyes to how powerful this ability is.

- Okay… - Ashley said, practically ignoring my words as she was now trying to curl up into a ball, which she somehow managed to do.

- Grandfather, do we still have a long way to go? - I asked loudly ignoring Ashley's frills (in this case, literally).

- There are only a couple of hours left. - Max replied.

- Okay, so that's enough time… - I muttered as I started my new project, codenamed 'Watchtower'.

***

*Two hours later*

- Finally we arrived…. - Gwen said with a sigh.

- Yeah, the road seemed too long that time… - agreed Ashley, who had finally stopped playing with the new metal.

- And I'm still an alien ... - I said displeasedly, not feeling the same joy as the girls.

- It's okay, but we can have fun at rock festivals. My favorite band's concert is tomorrow, so today we can walk all day and see what this festival has to offer. - Grandfather said enthusiastically, for some reason putting on a denim vest with stripes.

- But I'm an alien… - I reminded once more.

- Oh, yes, people are not used to the fact that an alien can walk nearby. They will be afraid of you - realizing why I am so dissatisfied, Grandfather said embarrassedly.

- So you have to sit on the bus until you become human? - Ashley asked sympathetically.

- Eh, it turns out that it is. I could create a massaging projector to hide my appearance, but it would take too long without the help of my aliens… - I said with a sigh, laying my head on the table.

- What about this spell? - Gwen suggested, showing me one of the books Hope had given her that I had never read.

- Henge no Jutsu? Seriously? – after reading the description of the spell, I involuntarily asked.

- Yes, it's an ancient Japanese spell. If you roll it up, then a thin shell of magic will appear around the body, which can be given the appearance of any person and disguised. Although, this shell itself is fragile and easy to dispel, so you have to be careful. - Gwen said enthusiastically, obviously not understanding the reason for my surprise.

- ...Okay, do your magic. — I said, deciding not to pay attention to the next oddities of this world.

- Um, okay. Although, the incantation is in Japanese and I'm not sure about the pronunciation, but…. «Henge no Jutsu» - Gwen said, after which she cast the spells.

Everything worked as it should, and a pink mist poured out of Gwen's hands, which quickly enveloped my body. And when he disappeared, I was already in my human form, but it was only an appearance, because I am still Swamp Fire.

'A useful spell, I'll have to read those books too...' - I thought as I looked at my human hands.

- Well, since this problem is sorted out, let's go have fun. - Grandpa said with a smile as he put on a goofy looking sunglasses. That's who will definitely have fun at this festival...

- I'm hungry, let's go find some festival food. - jumping out of the bus, offering Ashley.

- We can also look at the souvenirs that are sold here. - Gwen said with equal enthusiasm, following Ashley.

- I'm sure you'll like it here. When I was young, I often attended such events. They leave unforgettable impressions. - finally building a 'rocker' hairstyle, Max said, also leaving the bus and leaving me alone.

- Why such enthusiasm? - I asked myself, also leaving the bus.

- By the way, before I forget. Morgana? - I said as I took out my phone.

- [What's wrong, dear?] - The AI ​​asked with a smile.

- If my memory serves me, this festival was supposed to be a meteorological robot with artificial intelligence. Could you take care of him? - I said softly.

- [Does he pose a danger?] - Morgana asked seriously.

- I'm not sure, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If nothing happens, we will then return it to the owner. Although, artificial intelligence in the hands of a person does not lead to anything good, so you will need to make sure that it never gets out of control. - I said, not paying attention to the fact that my words sound hypocritical.

- [Alright, I'll capture him and lock him in cyberspace. Then you decide what to do with him.] - Morgana said readily, not paying attention to the fate of her brother.

- Then you can take the drone and use it to find the robot. - I said, taking out the drone I had left.

- [Don't be bored, darling.] - Morgana said flirtatiously and seized control of the drone and flew away to look for the evil weather robot. Although, he doesn't have to be evil yet... Well, never mind.

***

For the next couple of hours, we walked around the festival separately and did not even meet. Grandpa met his old friends, with whom he was apparently in the same rock band during his school days (I think I even saw Mr. Grandsmith).

Gwen was hanging out with some girls who seemed to know about magic (and what did they just forget here?), and Ashley was busy participating in various food-eating contests. And where does so much climb into she?

I didn't get bored either and I accidentally met musicians from Australia (they were actually aliens in disguise from another galaxy) with whom I had a good time. They seemed to realize that I was also in disguise and thought I was a rock fan from another planet like them, so we quickly hit it off.

I did not try to convince them of this conclusion, and calmly communicated with them, as they turned out to be very interesting interlocutors, because they were several centuries old. These guys had a lot of interesting stories. They even started to teach me how to play the guitar, which I wanted to learn for a very long time, but was not up to it.

Unfortunately, they belong to the Kalkun race, which do not have any outstanding abilities (other than their longevity), so I did not take their DNA, although this did not overshadow my pastime.

Just as I was checking in to see how the others were doing, I got a call from Hope, which I immediately answered as I was wondering how she was doing.

- Hey, Hope. How are you? - I asked with a smile, having missed my little wife.

- [Hey. It's great, although I miss you so much.] Hope said happily.

- I miss you too. Well, what's new? - I asked.

- [The translation of those pages is ready, and I've finished researching that sphere, although I'm still not sure what it is. It will be better if you look at the results yourself.] - Hope said.

- Well, if nothing interferes, I'll be with you tomorrow. - I said.

- [Lex…] - Hope said softly.

- Yes? What happened? - I asked quickly, feeling the concern in the girl's voice.

- [Uncle Hex has returned…] - the Charmcaster replied.

- Did he do something? - I asked seriously, preparing for the worst.

- [That's just the point, no…] - the girl answered uncertainly.

- And what does it mean? - I asked incredulously.

- [Uncle showed up at the castle door two days ago. He did not even try to get inside, but simply asked to listen to him. Of course, I expected some kind of catch, but ... He was completely different ...] - Hope said.

- Different? - I asked with interest.

- [Like before. When he wasn't Hesk yet…] - Hope said, not believing herself.

- Are you sure?

- [Yes. Plus, he showed up in a normal suit and got rid of his stupid tattoo.] - Hope said quickly.

- Wow… - I said involuntarily, knowing full well that this didn't sound like Hex.

- [Exactly. I had the same reaction.] - The girl replied.

- And what did he want? - I asked with interest.

- [He asked for forgiveness... He said that being on the verge of death in Null Void helped him rethink his life and realize that his behavior was terrible... He especially regrets the way he treated me...] - Hope said uncertainly.

'Well, he's obviously exaggerating... He wasn't on the verge of death... At most half alive...' - I thought at first, and then asked: - So what, in the end?

- [He apologized for everything, what happened in the past… Uncle decided to change his life and discard all stupid thoughts about omnipotence and revenge, and decided that he should do what my mother would like… That is, take care of me…. He said that he understands that forgiveness will be difficult to earn, but he will do everything possible to atone for his mistakes, no matter how long it takes ... And first of all, he gave me a castle ...] - Hope said.

- And where is he now? - I asked.

- [Gone… Uncle said he found a teaching job at Friedkin University, near Bellwood. He lives there now... He is waiting for me, in the hope that I will find the strength in myself to talk to him again....] - Hope said, with audible sadness in her voice.

- And? What do you think? Was he pretending? - I asked seriously.

- [I don't know. It didn't look like a lie… But it's Hex, who knows what he's thinking…] - Hope said sadly.

- But you hope that everything he said is true. - I guessed.

- [Certainly. He's still my uncle. I would like him to be the same even despite all that he has done…] – said the Charmcaster honestly.

- Let's visit him tomorrow, then, and make sure that he really has changed. - I said after a little thought.

- [Are you sure?] - Hope asked hopefully.

- Yes. Better if we find out all at once than to guess in vain. Besides, it's important to you. - I said with a smile.

- [Thank you… I love you.] - My girlfriend said with joy in her voice.

- I love you too. We'll make sure tomorrow. - I said sincerely.

- [Till tomorrow. I'm waiting for you.] - Hope said and hung up.

- Hmm… - I drawled, not knowing what to think about the new information. It was unexpected....

'Okay, better than worrying now, I'll find out everything myself tomorrow ...' - I thought, and went back to the alien rockers.