163. Azmuth

(Gwen POV)

The room in which Azmuth was hiding was small and filled with a lot of computers and other equipment, and was more like the lair of a typical genius scientist with a not too healthy psyche.

Considering what we've seen before, I expected something like this, but I wonder where he even sleeps? Squeezing through the hole Lex made in the door, I caught up with him and, standing at his right hand, began to observe how further events would unfold.

- Nice to meet you, Azmuth. - Lex said with obvious irony in his voice, putting his suit away and dispersing the dust that was blocking his view.

- Not for me. - a displeased robotic voice was heard from the depths of the room, and after that the owner of this voice appeared, who was clearly very unhappy that we broke into his shelter.

Azmuth himself appeared as a large and slightly disproportionate humanoid, with a stout body, small head, and large arms, wearing a dark green suit that covered his entire body, with a bright Omnitrix symbol in the center of his chest.

To be honest, he looked quite intimidating and a little majestic, especially with the techno staff he was holding in his right hand, but I imagined him a little different. This image does not fit with what I heard about him.

But it seems that Lex was not surprised by the appearance of our interlocutor and he said in a calm voice: - Like it or not, but this conversation should take place. And you can't get away from it.

Instead of an answer Azmuth raised his hand and fired a beam of energy from his staff, which was harmless as Lex simply deflected the attack with telekinesis.

- Since you don't want to be good, we'll act badly. I think we should talk face to face. - Lex said, obviously losing his patience, moving towards Azmuth, constantly repelling the latter's attacks.

A little worried that Lex might go too far and harm the watchmaker, I cautiously watched his next actions, ready to stop him at any moment. To be honest, he was acting a bit villainous right now.

Lex pulled the staff out of the alien's hands and, throwing it aside, fixed Azmuth's body with telekinesis, after which he began to disassemble his suit, which actually turned out to be an exo-skeleton, inside of which the true body of the alien was hidden.

- Grey Matter? - I involuntarily exclaimed when I realized that Azmuth really looks like a small, no more than ten centimeters tall, frog-like alien, similar to one of the very first Lex heroes, only much older.

- Galvan. A representative of one of the smartest races in the universe, although even among his relatives, he stands out for his intellect. The smartest being in the five galaxies, isn't it? - Lex said, looking into Azmuth' large eyes, with unusual rectangular pupils.

Azmuth himself already seemed to have given up and abandoned his attempts at resistance, now just hanging in the air at the mercy of Lex, only showing a displeased expression on his face, not even bothering to answer.

'Now, his appearance makes a lot more sense. Although this does not make my disappointment less, especially compared to his previous image. At least, so he looks more like a genius scientist.' - I thought, deciding to keep my thoughts to myself.

- Oh, what do you want, boy? - Azmuth asked with a heavy sigh, crossing his arms in front of his chest, thus showing his strong annoyance.

- It's like you don't know. You know who I am, don't you? - Lex asked, obviously not enjoying this dialogue as much as his interlocutor.

- Yes, Xylene told me everything about you. You are the one who stole my Omnitrix. - Azmuth replied with a noticeable poison in his voice.

- I can imagine what this old witch has talked about me, but yes, I am the owner of the watch you created. - trying not to succumb to the provocation of the old alien, Lex said calmly.

- Owner? Too high-profile title for someone who was just lucky enough to find a watch, don't you think? - Azmuth asked, arching his nonexistent eyebrow expressively.

- We both know it wasn't an accident. This is my destiny. - Lex said with absolute certainty.

- Nonsense! You're just an arrogant child who just got lucky. The Omnitrix was meant for Max Tennyson. I sent the watch under his protection, and you intervened and took it, impudent boy, and now you use it as you please. I will never trust you with my Omnitrix!!! - Azmuth shouted furiously, venting his anger.

- This watch is mine and there is no way you can change it. And it will always be so, in any universe. I met three Omnitrix owners from other universes, and they were all grandchildrens of Max Tennyson. Like I said, it's my destiny, I had to get this watch. Didn't Professor Paradox tell you that? - Lex asked, receiving only the alien's wide eyes in response.

- Ha, apparently you haven't had this conversation yet. - Lex muttered somewhat distantly, ignoring Azmuth' shock.

- It… It doesn't matter!!! I don't care what happens in other universes, I will never recognize you as a worthy owner of the Omnitrix!!! - Azmuth exclaimed angrily, showing his bad temper for which he is so famous.

- But I don't care what you think, old senile. It's your own fault that you missed your invention and now it's too late to cry over spilled milk. - losing his composure, Lex could not restrain himself and also raised his voice.

- The Omnitrix was not designed to be used by some shameless fool who imagined himself to be who knows what and got into his systems! You don't deserve it and you never will! - shouted Azmuth, already completely enraged, pointing his finger at Lex.

- I don't want to hear it from who, right and left, creates weapons of mass destruction, which they then cannot keep track of! And even when trying to create something good, you managed to create a watch that can become the most terrible weapon in the universe! - Lex yelled, raising his voice too.

It seems that Lex's last argument hit Azmuth to the core, and he did not find what to answer, abruptly falling silent, although raging anger could be seen in his eyes.

Lex, having gained the upper hand in their dispute, did not want to miss the chance and continued to bend his line: - And on top of all this, you somehow let the intergalactic dictator know about your invention, and now he is hunting the Omnitrix throughout the galaxy in order to continue his war of conquest, and he will stop at nothing to get his hands on the watch!

After these words Azmuth' anger subsided a little and even a trace of guilt flashed, but Lex got too carried away and did not want to stop, apparently in this way spitting out everything that had boiled over all this time.

- And you know who's going to have to deal with all this crap? - Lex asked with a slight strain in his voice and, not allowing Azimus to insert even a word, continued: - Of course you do. And while you're hiding out here, I have to deal with Vilgax and the other hunters, so I don't want to hear any reproach from a coward like you and….

Feeling that this was enough, I grabbed Lex's arm to stop him before he went too far. Stopping in the middle of his tirade, Lex gave me his displeased look, but when he saw my pleading expression, he softened, and sighing heavily, he continued more calmly, turning to Azimus again:

- Eh, no matter how unintelligent and arrogant child you consider me, unlike you, I am fully aware of the responsibility that possession of the Omnitrix imposes on me. And believe me, I have accepted this responsibility and am fully prepared for it.

The last words made an impression on Azmuth, and he looked at Lex in a different light, but either his heavy temper, or not wanting to lose the argument, did not allow Azmuth to just let everything go and he grumpily said:

- If you think you can pity me with these words, then you are mistaken. My opinion won't change just because of this and I still think that you are not the one who should have the Omnitrix...

- Honestly, I don't really care about your opinion, I still think that you are an old senile who should have been locked up somewhere long ago to protect the universe from you…. – already twitching his eye from irritation, Lex began to spray again, but I stopped him again in time, squeezing his hand harder.

Sighing heavily again, Lex exercised his self-control and calmly said: - But… but, I can't help but acknowledge your genius and admire your work, which can really be useful. And it has already happened. No matter how stupid and small you did not consider my actions, thanks to the Omnitrix, I helped many people, saved many lives, and not only in this universe. I also killed the Big Mite, stopping his genocidal journey, found the DNA of several extinct species and was already thinking about a way to return them, and of course, already kicked Vilgax's ass once. In my opinion, this is more than what you expected when creating the Omnitrix.

After these words, there was silence, and everyone thought about his own. Azmuth seemed to overestimate everything he knew about Lex, who was just waiting for an answer, and I couldn't help but look back at the path we'd traveled over the past two months.

Indeed, in such a short time we have gone through so much that it is even difficult to imagine. And now looking back, I understand how abnormal our life is, but to be honest, I would never trade all this for something else.

We've had our ups and downs, but everything seems perfect to me, and I'm looking forward to what's next. Judging from the quick look Lex gave me, we were thinking the same thing, and I'm glad for that. But, time to get back to business.

After a moment of silence, Azmuth also more or less calmed down and said quietly: - Maybe it's true, and you're right about something, but… It doesn't matter anymore, does it? It's over, the Omnitrix is ​​already deactivated.

- But it's up to you to change that. - Lex said with a frown.

- That's right… - Azmuth said, nodding his head, and then with a pinch of smugness he added: - But I won't do that. Now the Omnitrix is ​​just a trinket and you can keep it for yourself, I don't mind.

Unable to withstand his tone, I could not resist and exclaimed in displeasure: - You can't just leave everything like that!!! Lex has proven to be a great owner of the Omnitrix, and he has helped a lot of people, and will help even more people if you fix the clock.

- Maybe, maybe not, it doesn't matter anymore. - Azmuth answered me with a smirk, and then looked at Lex and said: - It's your own fault that the clock doesn't work anymore. There was no need to inject your AI into the Omnitrix and try to take control of it. This is your payment for what you thought you could do.

'So that's what happened...' - I thought, finally understanding the reason for Lex's anger and why all this happened. And now it is clear where Morgana disappeared. She was locked in a deactivated watch all this time...

- So you refuse to free Morgana and fix the watch? - Lex asked coldly, looking into the alien's eyes.

- You will never be able to use that Omnitrix again, and you will never see your Artificial Intelligence again. - Azmuth said confidently.

'Oh, you shouldn't have said that... Very wrong...' - I thought, putting my hand on my forehead and shaking my head as I felt goosebumps and saw Lex's eyes glow with magic from rage. It definitely ends badly...