9. Bubble

-Okay, now let's slow it down a bit and....

BANG!

-Ah, it's still the same! Even if you slow down the impact, it's still just as devastating. - I scratched my head looking at the ruined tree. - What am I supposed to do? I don't want to be a man of disaster.

Sitting down on a nearby rock, I took a soda out of my bag and opened the can and began to drink greedily. It had been a little over a week since I got a job. The job at the car wash was.... easy, very easy. I was getting paid steadily, there weren't many customers, so I was doing my own things.

Like reading books or talking to Greg about this and that. Just talking without talking to pass the time.

"Money issue, settled, now the other thing left to sort out." -I clenched my hands into a fist or two. - "What is happening to me and what are the consequences? ".

Every day after getting the powers, I would go to the training meadow, as I called it, and use the powers, experimenting with them. Sometimes I'd come, just to sit in silence or smash a few rocks with the trees, for fun. But a few days ago, I noticed something.

They're growing, my powers. Before, I had to make an effort to break a rock or fall a tree. But now, I hardly have the strength to do it.

"I don't know what's going on, but my strength is growing. I only have time to get used to what I have before I get doubled up and the balance is broken again." - I flatten the jar with my bare hands and put it in my bag. - "I don't feel anything because of the increase in strength, no perceptible change inside. But I am afraid."

In the time I've been working, training and just walking around town thinking, I've had a couple of theories and ideas, some of them taken from TV shows or movies, very much the events there, coincide with mine.

One theory goes like this: "I'm going to fucking explode, as my body just can't get used to the new power".

The theory is that the more powers I have, the less room there will be for them in my body. The body is like a vessel, you can't overfill it or forcibly cram it in, the un-capable. If you go on, it will crack or explode, but I'm not so sure about that theory, it's more of a guess.

-Growing strength can also be linked, with this thing. - I pulled back my shirt. - There were more of them.

Where there used to be red skin and dark spots, it's different now. There are more dark spots, and they're mostly concentrated in the centre, clumping together. The red, almost gone. It was still moving into the centre, but wrapped slightly to the side, like petals, as if enveloping these black dots.

-They're definitely connected, that's a clear and acceptable fact by now. - I gave my finger back. -I'm more worried about what this is going to turn into?

The pattern is different every time, over time. It moves all the time, very slowly, but constantly.

I went to the library and got myself a whole steal of books on medicine and skin diseases, I even checked out other books. Those were the ones I mostly read, and I told Greg I wanted to be a doctor in the future, conspiracy as it were.

"But no book has a disease that's completely similar to mine." -I took the book out of my bag and opened it. - "There are a few diseases remotely similar to this one, but just remotely so. Of all the symptoms, only one or two are the same, no more."

It didn't even occur to me to go to the doctors in the hospital. All doctors lie and do no good, no good at all. They only cover their own backs, not caring about patients. They wouldn't tell me anything, most likely they would say: "You need more rest and vitamins and it will all go away! ". I just fucking hate doctors!

-If there's nothing in the books, then there's only one option left. - I put the book away and stood up. - It's definitely something extraterrestrial, not related to the human world. And that would mean there was nothing I could do.

'I can certainly try to find out about it, with the help of the gems, but how? I don't know them personally, they don't know me, I don't know them. I don't even know how to approach and approach them, because they're fucking aliens! As long as I don't have a problem with this thing, so I don't have to do anything."

I put my bag on and walked towards town. Night had already ended, which meant that it was day. Another night, another break in hopelessness.

"I'll put it off for now, until it's completely fucked up. If you don't think about the problem, it will go away, one of the cardinal rules. It didn't work, only once, with my parents. But there, I'd already sorted myself out somehow....heh, sorted myself out."

I looked at the sun, it had begun to rise brightly and was rising quite quickly. So my work day would start very soon, so I hurried up and ran. Yes, I can run now, as dumb as it sounds, but it's a fact.

So now, I was getting to my favourite job where I make money a lot quicker!

Money, money, money!

-----------------------

-You can't be serious...

-Wait, I don't know how that happened!

-You just can't be fucking serious about this shit?!

-Hey! Watch your mouth! Pearl says those who swear aren't worth talking to.

-First of all, shut up, and secondly, it's up to me to decide who, how and when to talk to. You're the one who shows up in your big hamster ball and asks for help!

-But I don't know anyone else who can help me! My friends are busy right now and can't help me, and my dad doesn't know anything about it.

-Do I look like I do?!

-Um, Steven, are you sure he can help us? He's kinda-.... rude.

-I beg your pardon?! Who are you,young lady,I haven't seen you here yet.

-Я....

-I don't care. - I stopped her abruptly. - And I don't care how you got in this balloon or how you're gonna get out of it. I've got enough on my plate as it is, like working for your father.

-Oh, please! I really have no one else to go to! Please, please, please, please, please!

-OK! Just shut up! God, I hate hysterical children more than anything!

So, what actually happened? Three guesses.... right! Stephen, Stephen and once again, FUCKING STEVEN! Stephen fucking Universe, who has problems almost every fucking day and they can't just be solved at the snap of a finger, noooo! These are complex, magic-fantasy problems that for some reason have to be solved by me!

Я! Someone who doesn't know anything about it at all! And most importantly, I can not refuse or send them away, they are children, one of them is even the son of my boss.

What actually happened?

When I was about to reach the car wash, something very big, heavy and round bumped me from behind. And when I turned around to see the bastard who dared to touch me, I saw..... it.

Stephen, who was inside a big fucking round and pink ball like those for hamsters. Inside with him was a little girl, I think his age. She had dark skin, glasses and a yellow dress and had panic and fear written all over her face, unlike Stephen's.

Steven is once again in trouble that just can't leave him alone!

-Okay, what do you want from me? - I put the bag on the ground. - Do you want me to hit harder or do you want me to bring someone in?

-We need to wreck the orb. - Stephen wished. - And destroy it in a way that doesn't hurt Connie.

-Connie who? - I asked, waving my hand.

-Connie, that's...

BANG!

-I don't care, I was gonna hit you anyway. - I took my hand back.

The balloon didn't collapse on my impact, of course, as the annoying kid had hoped. Instead, it bounced off my impact and started bouncing off buildings and the ground, flying further and further away from me..... before it fell into the sea.

-Well....that's not my problem. - I shrugged and took my bag and moved on. - The balloon was tough as hell. Even my bump didn't destroy it, I wonder where he gets that kind of stuff. But now, he's deep under the ocean, the pressure will destroy his balloon after what.....

I stopped abruptly, realising something.

-.... after which he, and that girl, will die! No, of course they can't pin anything on me but.....Greg certainly won't be happy about it...fuuuuuuuuck, how I hate that kid!

I quickly ran towards the pier, taking my shirt off as I went and throwing it, along with my bag, to the edge of the pier before diving deep into the water!

PUFF!

Jumping in like a swallow, I held my breath and began to quickly look around in the darkness of the sea, looking for this idiot. It wasn't hard to spot him, as his huge pink balloon was also glowing! Which made it even more ridiculous in my eyes.

They fell, almost to the very bottom, and gradually rolled that ball upwards. I want to see what happens when they run out of oxygen, or when they realise that the slope of the beach is steep, i.e. with a slope and the balloon will not roll there, but there was another problem.

While they were rolling the balloon, they bumped into ..... something. It looked a lot like a mixture of a earthworm and a snake. It had a mouth with a huge number of sharp teeth, and sprouts on its head, shaped like human fingers, and there were five of them. It was painted yellow, with dark brown spots all over its body.

Right in its throat, I noticed.... a jewel, another one. A huge red gem, shining right down his throat!

"Well just great, another gemstone creature. And how am I supposed to deal with it, underwater? ".

It crawled along the bottom of the ocean and ate the glowing plants growing there. But when Stephen, arrrgh, stumbled upon it with his balloon, it was clear what would happen next.

It saw Steven and literally went crazy and tried to swallow them whole! But luckily its mouth was too small and the kid's ball was huge.

"Okay, we have to do something. Either lure it onto dry land somehow, or kill it right there..... I'm for the second option, but how? ".

Deciding that I would do everything in the process. I began to swim swiftly towards this snake that was about to nibble my ticket to a happy future! Oh, no, I'm not gonna let whoever's paying my salary be sad about losing my son!

I've got a hotel to pay! Where am I gonna get the money if he dies?!

-----------------------------

-Hurry, Connie! We have to get away from him or he'll eat us!

-Where?! There's rocks and reefs everywhere! There's nowhere to hide!

-Mmmmmm.... that way! There's a passageway!

After Isaac tossed them straight to the bottom of the ocean, they started to climb back up. But at the bottom. Met a gem that attacked them! All they could do was run and dodge the thing's attacks so it wouldn't eat them.

-This way! This is where we're gonna get through....

VUP!

As soon as they tried to go through the small passageway between the rocks, their balloon..... simply got stuck! It got stuck and didn't want to move on, it didn't even want to collapse! They were stuck and it was approaching them rapidly.

-Steven, what do we do?! What do we do?!

-It's all right, it's all right, now we're....

-It's not all right! That thing is getting closer and closer! We're gonna die out here!

-Connie, calm down, we're gonna get out of here, I promise! All we need is.....Connie get down! We're not going to make it!

Stephen quickly put his arms around Connie and covered him with himself. The snake-like thing, was coming right at them and was quite close. It opened its mouth and once again tried to swallow them, and most likely this time for the last time.

And just when it had almost eaten them.... nothing happened?

"Why didn't anything happen? ". - Stephen opened his eyes and turned back. - "Wow!".

Right in front of them, under the water, was Isaac, shirtless! He stopped the snake with both hands and began to wrestle it, restraining its two finger-shaped outgrowths. Isaac could not strike the creature as his hands were busy, his feet were for swimming, and strikes under water lost their inertia. So all he had to do now was restrain the creature!

But since the other three were free, it grabbed his body and started dragging him into its jaws! It started forcibly shoving him into its mouth, biting him with its teeth.

"Shit! I'm not going to last that long!!! We've got to do something! ". - Isaac tried to think of a plan as he was dragged off to certain death. - "Think, think.....gem.... this thing has a gem! If it's not a weak spot, then I don't know what else it could be! ".

Isaac let go of the two spurs and used his legs to push himself off the creature's head, circling the spurs. He still had to bite one of them, though, so it was too stubborn.

Isaac reached to the bottom, looking for some sort of weapon, the creature did not want to let him go and followed him.

-What's going on?! Is he going to be all right?! - Connie squealed.

-Let's get out of here first! We need to get the gems to help, he can't do it alone!

Connie and Steven started rolling the balloon to the surface while Isaac dodged between the rocks and the reef from the thing!

"Come on! People throw a lot of rubbish in the ocean and I still haven't found any?! At least some kind of oblong thing to pierce that cunt! Come on! ".

But he hasn't found anything, of course! Why not? Because Beach City's beaches are the cleanest in the region. The residents try to keep the beach and water nearby, completely clean for the tourists. If you want to find any trash, you have to swim 50 kilometres into the ocean!

"FUCK! There's nothing! ". - he stopped and looked around. - "All right, if there's no human objects, we'll beat this thing with what Mother Nature gives us! ".

-----------------------

-We're finally out! But the balloon still hasn't disappeared, what are we going to do....

POOF!

As soon as Connie said that, the balloon burst instantly, freeing them. Steven quickly got up and was about to run home for help, but help was already here.

-Steven! Oh thank goodness, I was so worried about you! - Pearl ran up and hugged him. - We couldn't find you anywhere, some people said they saw you. How you fell into the ocean! I almost lost my mind!

-You're a real piece of work, Steven! You could have launched yourself, hehehehehehehehe! I didn't expect that from you! - Amethyst put her hands on her head and laughed at him.

-Steven, what happened? - Garnet was the only one who noticed his agitation. - Why are you afraid?

-There was a huge snake under the water that I found, and it was like those creatures you hunt! It almost ate us, didn't it Connie?!

-Yeah! -But one boy saved us, but right now, he's out there alone and he can't get out because of the snake!

-Plagued, that's where you are... -Grenade whispered and adjusted her glasses. - Don't be afraid, we're going to go rescue him right now. Stay here and don't move anywhere, we won't be long.....

SSSHHHHHHHHH!

Pomegranate didn't have time to finish her sentence. A huge body rose out of the water, it was the same snake! On top of it, sat a man with a black stone in his hand, which he swung. Around the creature's throat, seaweed was tied tightly around it, preventing it from breathing!

-THAT'S RIGHT BITCH! GET IT, YOU FUCKIN' BITCH! - the man swung the stone and began to violently hit something inside the creature's throat. - GET IT! YOU'LL KNOW HOW TO ATTACK ME! YOU! SNAKE FUCKER!

Isaac kept hitting and hitting with the reef shard until the rock inside the snake's throat, began to glow, and then...

POOF!

The creature's body disappeared, leaving only the rock and the falling Isaac.

BANG!

Who, along with the rock, fell back into the ocean.....

-.....

-.....

-What was that now? - Pearl turned to Stephen. - Who was that?

-It was Isaac, he works at my dad's car wash. - Steven straightened his chest as he was calm. - He's only been in town a month or so, if I'm not mistaken.

-And he, a simple man? - Amethyst's eyes bulged and she smiled. -Hahahaha! Just a man who handled a wild gem! There used to be those, but not in this century for sure! Hahahahahaha! What's interesting!!!

-Steven, is he a simple man? - Pearl asked, Stephen nodded. - But how can a simple man, get right with a gem? It's....

-It's impossible?! Try saying that to my face, pale lady.

Pearl was interrupted by a man's voice. Everyone turned and saw Isaac emerging from the ocean. Holding an orange polygonal stone in his hands.

-Isaac! - Steven ran up and hugged his leg! - I was so worried! I thought that snake ate you!

-HAH! It takes hundreds of snakes like that to eat me. - Isaac smiled and threw a rock in the air. - Now get off me! Shoo! Shoo away, you pesky poodle!

Isaac unhooked Steven from himself, then walked over to Pearl and handed her the stone.

-Take it and sign it. And stop throwing your stuff wherever you can, for God's sake! - he put the stone in her hands and rolled his eyes. - And talk to the kid, for God's sake! He gets in trouble every time!

-Hey! But you're the one who pushed us into the ocean! - Steven was outraged.

-Omit the details, they're not that important. - Isaac waved his hand. - The important thing is that you're in trouble again and I had to rescue you. Now you owe me three times over. For the suit, for the silence and for the snake. Get ready, my services are expensive.

-There you go. This looks like yours. -Connie walked over to him and held out his T-shirt bag. - They weren't far from here.

-Good, at least there was some use for kids. - Isaac quickly put on the white T-shirt and bag. - What's your name again....

-..... you're gonna say you don't care again.

-Aah. You learn fast, Connie. - Isaac smirked and waved. -That's it, I'm off. You'll make me late for work!

Isaac left, leaving the gems behind. Connie said a quick goodbye to Stephen before heading back home. That left Stephen and his friends looking at Isaac's back.

-He's kind of weird, but interesting. - Amethyst grinned.

-He overpowered, the gemstone with his bare hands! - Pearl looked at the stone in her hand. - And wasn't even wounded!

-Pearl, he had the stone in his hand, so he was not unarmed. - Pomegranate remarked.

-Yes, but still....man! A mere human being! It just doesn't make sense in my head! - Pearl gripped her forehead.

-We'll think about it later. First let's go home and talk there. We should also return the stone to the temple. We found another one.

Everyone nodded and went back home. Today, the gems learned someone new, someone they have yet to meet and get to know better.

-------------------

"OK, that was interesting."

I wrung my T-shirt out of the water and thought about what happened underwater. Happened to me.

As I was entangling the creature's throat in seaweed, it managed, hit me, causing my mouth and nostrils to open..... and nothing happened. No, water certainly gushed into all my orifices, but I didn't suffocate.

I found the strength to breathe underwater. I more, could swim underwater without needing oxygen.

"I'm becoming more and more convinced that something is definitely happening to me." - After squeezing out the last drops, I hurried to work. - "I'm moving away from being human and becoming something.....new. I'm....intrigued by it! ".

I could have lived my whole life hiding from the law, under a different name and listed as dead, to die alone and not tell this story to anyone. But since I have written these lines, I have a story to tell.

I am becoming something new, unexplored, but it doesn't scare me.

It's better than being a battered child.

It's better than being a dying old man.

And it's much better than the simple life of a teenager unable to cope with his nightmares.

So, my transformation began. The transformation into what I am now. And I'll tell you what I've become and how I got there.

All I have to do is wait.