It was barely what you could call morning when Rock woke up. Despite the chaos that took place at the convention center just yesterday, that didn't seem to have an effect on his internal clock. For some reason, he always woke up at 6:30 AM, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Not that it really bothered him. Rock was the prototypical example of a morning person. Once the sunlight came through his window, he was up and about.

Heading over to his closet, he grabbed a tee shirt and a pair of jeans, intending on grabbing an e-tank and heading down to the lab to see if his Dad had fallen asleep down there again. As he got dressed, however, he noticed that his clothes felt unusually tight. Not to a degree that it was incredibly noticeable, just that the sleeves of his shirt felt tight and it was tougher to button his jeans. It must've been Bomb Man's turn at the laundry , he supposed. He always leaves the dryer too hot.

Without giving his clothes a second thought, he hurried down stairs. As usual for the early morning, Time Man was already up and eating breakfast, but to Rock's surprise, Roll was also awake and glued to the TV screen.

"Morning," Rock called out. "What's-"

"Shhhhhh!" Roll turned around briefly for the harsh shushing before turning around. "They're reading the contest results for the Sonia Sky tickets!"

Sonia Sky was one of the biggest names in pop music, with a large part playing in that she was the first Robot Lady pop star. She was also well known for her occasional swings into more rockish territory, despite the extreme bubblegum marketing her label insisted on. Roll had discovered her music when it first came out, and had apparently made it her life's goal to get into any concert she possibly could.

Rock smothered a laugh and glanced over at Time Man, knowing well about his distaste for any music other than classical. His brother, however, was reading something on a tablet while drinking his morning coffee, making it clear he had no opinion whatsoever on their sister's musical and fandom tastes. It was just safer that way.

"And the winner for the VIP tickets to Sonia Sky's concert at the upcoming Summer Sun and Stars Festival is…" the announcer said, purposefully pausing to build up tension, "Akane Kobayashi! Congratulations, Akane! We'll have the passes emailed to you right away!"

"Crud!" Roll waved her hand in disappointment. "And I put in six entries for those tickets."

"Don't worry, Roll," Rock called out. "You'll get it some ti- ime ."

Upon hearing the crack, he paused and put a hand to his throat. His vocal regulator had never done that before. He hoped the others hadn't noticed.

They had. "Rock, are you ok?" Roll asked. The lost contest was not completely forgotten and replaced with concern for her brother.

"Oh, I'm fi- ine! " Dang it, he creaked again.

"You might want to talk to Father about that," Time Man commented. "It sounds like your vocal register might be damaged."

"It doesn't fee- eel damaged." Rock frowned. He couldn't even defend himself properly.

"I'll go get Daddy," Roll stated. Before Rock could, she'd run off. "Daddy! Rock's voice is sounding funny but he says he's fine!"

Rock groaned, deciding to just wait it out. He grabbed an e-Tank from the cabinet and just sat down, questioning what on earth could cause him to sound broken without him feeling broken.

It didn't take long before Dr. Light came up. He looked like he'd just gotten up, which knowing him, was extremely likely. "Rock, are you alright?" he said, joining his sons at the table. "Roll said there was something wrong with your voice. Are you feeling alright?"

"I- I'm feeling ok," Rock insisted, frustrated that he couldn't stop the breaking. "There's no- othing wrong wi -ith me."

"His voice has been doing that all morning," Time Man commented, not even bothering to look up from his tablet.

"Tha- anks for the h- help ," Rock commented as he glared at Time Man.

Time Man still didn't look up, but gave a smug grin. "You're welcome."

Dr. Light stroked his beard as he listened to his son's vocal breaks. "Maybe I should take a look."

"Dad, I re -eally feel f- fine ," Rock insisted. "We we- ent over everything last night, and I was fine. It onl -ly sou- ounds weird."

"You might feel fine, but that doesn't mean there's nothing wrong." Light placed a hand on your shoulder. "Especially with everything that happened yesterday, I want to make sure everything's in order."

"Alright." Rock sighed, recognizing this wasn't an argument he was going to win. "But really, I'm fine. It's noth- thing."

The scanner beeped as it carefully listed down how all of Rock's systems were running. He'd done this time and time again, including the night before. It never got less boring though. "Is it almost do- one?" he asked.

"Just about. I'm just about to check the results. You can get up if you'd like." Dr. Light had his back turned to Rock, as he was examining the computer tied to the scanner.

Rock didn't need to be told twice. Leaping up, he hurried over to his father's side. "So, what do- oes it say? Is my vocal receptor falling out?"

Light smirked, but didn't respond to the obvious joke. However, as he read the results, his expression changed. "This is odd."

Catching his father's concerned tone, Rock immediately grew more serious. "What is it? Is some- omething off with my vo -oice?"

"It's not your voice," Light stated. "The scan says there's no noted abnormalities with your vocal system. However, your height and weight measurements are off."

"What?" Rock peered over. Sure enough, the measurements, which had previously just been tracked as a formality, dictated an increase in height and weight. "That can't be right."

Dr. Light frowned deeply. "We should take a few more scans, just to make sure the calibrations aren't off. I'll measure your sister and a few of your brothers, too, just to make sure it's not the equipment."

Sure enough, however, after more scans, the results were conclusive. Despite Roll, Ice Man, Guts Man, and Time Man all measuring in at their consistent heights and weights, Rock consistently came in at slightly taller and heavier.

"You don't thi- ink this and my voice are related, do you?" Rock asked upon seeing the differences.

"Maybe." Light closed his eyes as he thought. "I have an idea about what might be going on, but I want to check a few sources before I decide on it."

"I wouldn't be too concerned for now." Light looked up and smiled. "Just go on about your day. If there's any major changes let me know, but otherwise, I'll just keep an eye on things."

"Alright." Rock nodded before heading upstairs. Still, a part of him was really concerned.

What was happening to him?