Chapter 4
Okay, folks. You know the drill. On to the reviews.
thunrady: A Rugrats character will take Kevin's place. You'll see who soon enough.
DragonEmperor999: Yeah. That's kind of his thing.
And now, my friends... Let's kick it up!
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"Ah New Orleans. City of the strange. It's good to be back." Lou said with a smile.
"So, what do you guys want to do first?" Tommy asked his grandfather, brother, and cousin, the third of whom was the first to come up with an idea.
"Actually, I've been hearing a lot about this museum of magic. I figured we could check it out." Angelica said as she showed an ad on her laptop.
"That sounds like it could be fun. Let's check it out." Dil said, Lou nodding before driving them in the direction of the museum.
Meanwhile on the rooftops, a ghostly pale man in a cloak was moving in the same direction as the RV before stopping to look at a flyer for the museum.
"At last. The power I need is within my grasp." The man said before jumping impossibly high to get from one building to the next.
A short while later, the Pickles family were walking through the museum, enjoying the exhibits. Angelica, who had always loved tales of the mystical, was particularly enjoying herself.
Eventually, their exploration led them to a room where in several artifacts. As the others looked around, Angelica was drawn to a case with many seemly worthless items. Chief among them, small red half orb stone with strange black markings on it. Entranced and drawn in by the small object, Angelica continued to focus on it until her eyes began to glow violet a brief moment when suddenly a nearby wall twisted and morphed before with pale cloaked man floated in and created a pulse which knocked everyone in the room in to the opposite wall.
"At last. The Keystone is mine." The man said as he raised his hand up to destroy the glass before taking the stone and floating out.
"What is it about this summer and bringing out the crazies?" Angelica asked as she and the others got up.
"Got me." Dil said as he looked to see Tommy activating the Omnitrix. "You might want to use Astrodactyl to catch up to him." He suggested.
"That's what I'm going for." Tommy replied before he slammed down on the Omnitrix before in a flash of light, his body had shifted in to a two and a half foot tall blue form, with water sacks all over his body, stubby legs resembling suction cups, even smaller 'arms' made of five tentacles on each side, and the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. "Okay. I was not trying for this one." He said before Angelica picked him up.
"I'm guessing this one's not built for speed, making me the fastest runner here." Angelica said before Tommy slipped from her arms before wrapping his legs around her waist, putting his tail over her shoulder like a sash, and attached his tentacles to her shoulders.
"Let's get going then." Tommy said before Angelica started running.
"We'll catch up!" Lou called as he and Dil began running to the RV.
Once they were outside Angelica was quick to find a bike and began to ride with Tommy still on her back before they eventually catching up to the cloaked man just as he was about to place the 'Keystone' on to a necklace between four grey stones with similar markings to it. Acting quickly, Tommy fired a high powered stream of to knock the Keystone from the man's hand.
"Hey, Skull face! That doesn't belong to you!" Angelica called before she tilted the bike to grab the keystone.
"You meddle in affairs beyond your understanding, child." The man called out in rage.
"Story of my life lately." Angelica mumbled. "Try to keep him off us." She instructed.
"Okay. But fair warning. I've only got eleven shots left and no way to reload." Tommy warned her.
"Then make them count." Angelica ordered as she sped up with the cloaked man following close behind. Tommy did his best to keep the man off them, firing off four of the shots that he could until the man fired off a pulse on the back tire of the bike, flipping the cousins over a wall and in to a graveyard, the Omnitrix timing out as they landed.
"Oh that's not good." Tommy said before he looked to see the cloaked man flying towards them. "And that's worse." He said.
Angelica quickly got up and grabbed Tommy before they began to run before finding the entrance to a set of catacombs.
"Okay. These tunnels are a maze. We should have some room to catch our breath and for the watch to recharge." Angelica said while they kept walking.
"Gotta love masonic workmanship." Tommy said as he looked at the Omnitrix, confused as to why this the first time he'd gotten an alien that he didn't dial in. "We'd better find a way to regroup with Grandpa and and Dil. We're gonna need the cover fire." He said before Angelica's phone vibrated.
"Speak of the devil." Angelica said as she showed Tommy the caller ID saying 'Droolie.' "Hey, Dil. Don't suppose Grandpa has a way to track our phones?" She asked.
"That's one of the reasons I called. We needed to ping you." Dil confirmed. "The other reason is that I did some digging and it looks that stone is called the 'Keystone of Bezel'. It's supposed to be an amplier for both its holder's mystical powers and those of the four 'Charms of Bezel'." He explained.
"So that's why Gandalf the crazy is so bent on getting it." Tommy realized as he and Angelica reached a large connecting room in the catacombs.
"And why I shall be having it back." The cloaked man shouted before the cousins looked to see where he was.
"We're almost there. Keep him busy." Lou instructed.
"On it." Tommy replied before he began dialing through his aliens before the cloaked man blasted him in to a wall with lightning from one of the charms which caused the plate of the Omnitrix to go down. His body was then covered in indigo stone, violet crystals grew to cover his ends and mouth five crystal spike spikes grew from his pecks, back, and head, his eyes, and the Omnitrix symbol moved to his chest.
In his new form, the bolts fired by the cloaked man not only did no damage to Tommy. But allowed him to absorb them and send them right back as a rainbow colored laser.
'So the boy is the one with the power.' The cloaked man thought before he looked to Angelica. 'Then I simply need more to defeat him.' He thought before slamming his palm to the ground before a circle of roots grew from beneath Tommy to trap him before he shot a stream of fire at Angelica, the blonde instantly throwing up her hands before a wall of violet energy formed in front.
"What?" Both Angelica and the cloaked man both asked before Angelica's eyes widened before she looked to her pocket where the Keystone resided. She then adopted a fighting stance before orbs of energy formed around her hands. Just then, a blast of energy came from the circle of roots, destroying them and freeing Tommy.
"Well, that's new." Tommy said as he looked at Angelica's glowing hands. "Think you can use those to back me up, Cous?" He asked.
"Just try to keep up." Angelica replied as the two of them smirked at each other.
The cloaked man was quick to attempt fire blasts at Tommy and lightning at Angelica, the former then blasted on the ground to kick up dust for a smokescreen as the latter rolled out of the way and shot a blast at the man. Just then, Lou and Dil ran in to see the fight, both zeroing in on Angelica's actions.
'Well, I'll be.' Lou thought as his mind flashed back to a woman who looked like an older Angelica with blue hair.
"Oh that is so not fair." Dil said in envy of his cousin's new found powers.
Angelica then called forth all the energy that she could muster, blasted at the cloaked man who braced himself for the hit only to get hit in the back by Tommy, making him unable to defend from Angelica's attack sending him in to the wall, cracking it and knocking him out before Tommy knelt down and took the charms from his neck.
A short while later, the Pickles were sitting together outside the RV, Dil trying to use the Keystone with no luck.
"I guess not everyone has the gift." Dil said in an annoyed tone before tossing the Keystone back to Angelica.
"So what powers do these things come with?" Angelica asked before Dil explained that the charms were of Flame, Life, Storm, and Mind which along with Angelica's own magic would be boosted. "So, the walls and the blasts. Those were just me on autopilot?" Angelica asked, Dil giving a 'Guess so.' shrug. Just then, Lou came walking up to them.
"So, I made a few calls. A replica of the Keystone is being put in the museum. Better with us than in the open for another magic wacko." Lou explained.
"Nice. It'll be nice to have some super backup out there." Tommy said before nodding to Angelica.
"Yeah. But the first time you call me your 'sidekick', I will blast you in the face." Angelica warned before the two them playfully shoved each other.
"Alright, sprouts. I'm gonna fix up some grub. You should test out what those charms can do." Lou suggested with a smile before Tommy activated the Omnitrix to select an alien to help Angelica train. As Lou closed the door of the RV, his smiled faded before he went to grab a picture of a woman with shoulder length grey hair with a single streak of blue in it. "Well, Trix. Looks like one of them finally has the spark.
(Meanwhile)
The cloaked man was being moved in by a group of police before several four legged stone creatures with glowing purple lines attack them. The man then summoned a staff with a condor skull which had a gold ring in the eye sockets before waved it to make the cops pass out.
"Uncle Hex. Are you okay?" The man heard before he looked to see a girl with white haired clad in in a magenta jacket.
"I am uninjured, Charmcaster. But I have failed. The Charms and the Keystone have been taken. Our best chance at freeing our people is out of reach." Hex said as he hung his head in shame.
"That is where you are wrong." Hex and Charmcaster both heard before they looked to see a man sitting the shadow.
"Traveler. You said I would find the keys to save Ledger Domain in this city." Hex said, anger coming in to his voice.
"I said you would begin to find them. I never told you that they would be kept once found nor did I say the Charms and Keystone were the keys." The traveler said much to the confusion of Hex and his niece.
"But if the Charms and Keystone aren't what we need then what are?" Charmcaster asked before Hex's eyes widened in realisation.
"The girl and the shapeshifter." Hex said before the traveler snapped his fingers.
"Indeed. But not just them. They will gather others on their travels. Then you shall have what need to rescue your home." The traveler explained.
"And just how long are we supposed to wait while that monster terrorizes our people?" Charmcaster indignantly asked.
"I am aware that you wish to end your plight as soon as you can." The traveler said before he stood up. "But believe me when I say that preparation is key for this. As with most things, it will simply require time." The traveler said before before closing a pocket watch and disappearing in a flash of light.
"Come. We should return to your studies." Hex said as he place as hand on Charmcaster's shoulder before leading her away from the area.
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Well there you go, guys. I hope you liked. Now before I get people on me about this. I got rid of the Luck Charm because much like with Domino and Atem in Yugioh, luck powers either make things a joke or really dumb. Looking at you scene where a guy broke a die in half so he rolled seven so Atem could win a dice game. Anyway, until next time and as always... keep on keeping on.
