Chicago. The Music Carnival.
Across the huge lawn, rows of tent umbrellas had been set up.
Vendors stood beneath them selling posters and record albums of famous singers, and the whole place was lively and bustling.
Not only that, there were performers posing for photos with fans. Men and women, old and young, all of them looked warm and approachable, without any airs at all.
"There are so many famous singers here. It really has everything," Gwen could not help saying.
"Hey, the Wildvine Band's autograph booth is right up ahead. Anyone want to come with me and get an autograph?" Grandpa Max said with a smile.
Ben glanced at the long line in the distance. It was packed tight, like a trail of ants.
"I'd rather brush Vilgax's teeth with my tongue than stand in line waiting for those old fossils to sign something." Ben folded his arms and said something truly outrageous.
Grandpa smiled helplessly and could only go get the autograph by himself.
...
Two hours later, the autograph session ended.
Holding the Wildvine Band's autographs, Grandpa Max jogged back excitedly, happy as a little kid.
After everyone met up, they headed for the audience area to get ready for the music carnival.
...
Not far from the music carnival.
Vance arrived on a wide stretch of grass holding the repaired Sam robot.
Then he pressed the remote. "Go, Sam. Show them your power!"
A purple glow lit up on Sam's head. "Everyone in Chicago will remember you forever, Vance."
Boom!
Sam shot into the sky like a rocket.
And once he was airborne, Sam added, "Remember your infamy too..."
...
A short while later, the music carnival began.
The first act up was a punk-styled band.
The three rock singers had hair dyed in every color, pierced ears, and huge spiked hairstyles that made them look like hedgehogs.
"Hey, where's Nagi?" one of them asked.
"He's still backstage fixing his look," the red-haired young man replied as he got up and headed behind the stage. "I'll go hurry him up."
At the same time, backstage.
"Hehe, you guys stay here and watch these old fossils perform. I'm going to the Sumo Slammers anime expo." After saying that, Ben hit the Omnitrix and transformed into XLR8.
Just as he was about to leave, a red-haired man walked over.
The red-haired man froze for a moment when he saw XLR8, then walked up and patted him on the shoulder. "Nagi, that new look is awesome!"
"Man, get up there and blow everyone away!!"
The red-haired guy grabbed XLR8, dragged him onto the stage, and shoved him down onto the drum seat.
Then the three punk rock singers, with their traffic-light hair and guitars in hand, launched into an earth-shaking performance.
XLR8 finally snapped out of it. Looking at the audience below, all waiting expectantly, he gritted his teeth and started playing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Holding the drumsticks, XLR8 pounded the drums like crazy, leaving behind streak after streak of afterimages. His speed was truly beyond anything that had come before or would come after.
"That drummer looks really familiar..." Gwen looked at Grandpa Max, hesitating to say more.
"Ben, I'm sure he'll have a very good explanation for this." Grandpa's expression darkened.
Lucian shook his head. Ben was probably trying to sneak off to the anime expo.
Before long, the punk band's performance ended.
And XLR8 finally got away.
Grandpa was just about to scold Ben when a sudden wave of cheers interrupted his thoughts.
"It's the Wildvine Band! The Wildvine Band is coming on!!" someone shouted.
"What?" Grandpa Max lit up with excitement and immediately forgot what he had been thinking about before. "The Wildvine Band is coming on. Sit down, quick!"
Seeing how excited Grandpa was, XLR8 could not help letting out a sigh of relief. "Okay, those old fossils just saved my life."
The Wildvine Band began to play.
As a famous veteran rock band, the Wildvine quartet might have been old, but their skills had not declined in the slightest.
Passionate, surging rock music burst from their instruments and pulled at the hearts of the countless people in the audience.
Grandpa Max laughed. "That sounds like the intro to Tornado Alley!"
Whoosh!
The moment he said it, a strange gust of wind suddenly swept through the venue.
The clear sky was gradually swallowed by dark clouds. Fierce gust after fierce gust blew through, and rain came slanting down in waves.
Wind and rain mixed together, and from time to time a streak of purple lightning flashed through the pitch-black clouds.
At first, the audience did not react much. They just figured they would finish watching the performance and leave afterward.
But the rain kept getting heavier.
In the dark sky, a tiny purple point of light floated in the air.
Wind, rain, and thunder spun wildly together, all converging on that purple point of light, while pulling in everything from the ground below.
A terrifying monster suddenly appeared above the concert.
"Ahhh! What is that thing?!"
"Run!"
"Mom, wait for me!!"
Faced with the sudden appearance of the monster, the audience screamed in panic and ran wildly through the storm like ants splashed with boiling water.
Lucian slowly lifted his eyes, his expression calm. "Here it comes again."
It was a natural disaster hybrid monster.
It looked like an enormous fat bear, its body made of rainwater and cement, wrapped in purple lightning. Set into its face was a single purple eye. That was where Sam was.
"There are strange things every year, but this year really has more than usual." Grandpa Max frowned.
"I'll handle it. Ben, protect Grandpa and Gwen." As he spoke, Lucian transformed into Buzzshock.
Buzzshock grinned and turned into a streak of blue lightning, shooting off at top speed.
Bzzz!
The giant monster swung its tentacles, smashing everything on the ground, while at the same time producing a strange melody.
"That sounds like the intro to Tornado Alley!" Grandpa Max's eyes sharpened.
Then he hurried backstage, where all kinds of instruments and audio equipment were piled up.
"Grandpa, not long ago I think I saw some kind of machine launch into the sky," Gwen said.
"A machine? Could that be what caused this unnatural weather?"
"If that weather robot is the source of the monster's power, and it keeps making that sound, then all we need to do is create audio that's the exact opposite of it."
As Grandpa Max spoke, he started adjusting the sound equipment and then combined the finished audio with a guitar.
"Ben, take this to your Cuz."
"Got it." XLR8 nodded and shot off instantly, chasing after Buzzshock...