The fact that this was happening spoke volumes about how much things had calmed down since the initial flash. Monster sightings were dropping and more and more light-touched were stepping up as the world prepared for Hero Day. It was incredible to think that a Lurker had been outside the building just a few days ago and there weren’t even signs of battle in the courtyard. It was even more impressive that the staff hadn’t canceled the event. To some, there were things way more important than monsters.

Marta hummed merrily to herself, it was the first day off she’d had in a long, long time. In fairness she had resisted at first but Sonya had insisted that she go and enjoy herself. The disability ward turned supervillain had made it pretty clear that she wouldn’t be leaving ASTA labs for a few days and it was a good chance for Marta to get some fresh air and do what she loved. She smiled at herself in the mirror as her appearance shifted and changed.

Her hair stayed the same length but it warmed a little into a chestnut color. Her eyes turned a muted violet, close to a lavender. She slimmed down a little, her body becoming a bit smaller than her usual frame. She adjusted the red tie around her neck that rested on the white dress shirt tucked into her black shorts. She shifted a bit, the black tights a little more than she was used to wearing. It had been a long time since she’d cosplayed something like this. She stretched her arms a bit and tried to relax her shoulders, she needed to look thoughtful but unconcerned with her surroundings.

She nodded at her reflection, “Perfect.”

She let her arms fall to her sides as she walked out of the small room that Sonya had rented at the convention center for her to use for her many costumes. She’d had to come in with a different face so no one knew exactly who she was, but that didn’t really matter. The goal was to revel in it. She titled her chin up a bit and strode down the hall, passing a few empty rooms before arriving at the elevator. It opened and she swept inside, leaning against one of the rails. She swallowed and looked up at her reflection again, a pang of guilt washing through her.

Is it really okay to have this much fun? She thought.

Then the doors opened, and all those thoughts washed away. There were hundreds of people milling about the open space, dressed in colorful costumes and talking to eachother. It was noisy, music coming from all over the place. People were taking photos, laughing, dancing, some were even singing a theme song with one another. She felt her heart swell and stepped out onto the convention center floor, Where do I go first?

“Oh my god!” Someone shouted nearby and she whirled, instinct cultivated from numerous violent encounters kicking in before she spotted a trio of convention-goers hurrying up to her, their eyes sparkling. One of them, a boy half her age slid to a stop and stared at her in awe, “Holy shit that’s amazing! You look just like her!”

“C-can I take your picture?” A girl asked to his left.

“I want a selfie, please?” The third, another boy asked, holding up his phone.

She relaxed and smiled at them, keeping the expression controlled in order to stay mostly in character, “If you must,” She said and they gaped at her.

“A-are you the VA?” The young man asked.

She blushed and held her hand up to her mouth, “Oh, no, just a talent.”

“Like right out of the show, unreal,” The guy to the right breathed.

She quickly let them take a few selfies with her and even posed a few times before they hurried off. She let out a breath and looked up, rooting herself to the spot, Oh dear, She thought as a small line had formed. This… might take a minute.

It was the most fun she’d had in so long, she shook hands, laughed, talked about the show, and even did a few lines with someone who was cosplaying her character’s counterpart. The man in the labcoat threw his head back and did the laugh as best he could. She gave out hugs, and was even offered a few times by a staff member to come and talk about her cosplay. Everyone wanted to know about her social media handle. I haven’t used it in forever though, maybe I should. One person was insistent on knowing how to see more of her work and she finally relented.

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“I… haven’t put any cosplays on it, yet, but um…” She scratched her nose and gave out the information. I’m gonna have to ask Amos for help later, aren’t I? She chuckled at the thought and finally turned to see that the crowd had thinned enough for her to excuse herself, she made a beeline for the vendor room, slipping inside and taking in another deep breath of the many scents and atmosphere that came with the place. “Paradise.”

She went to nearly every stall she could, candy, toys, pillows, action figures, media in the original language, a few side purchases for her friends back home, and of course some more explicit reading material for her own secret enjoyment. She stuffed her bags, not even denting her latest paycheck from Sonya. She stopped at one booth where a voice actor was giving out autographs and managed to snag one for herself, her heart swelled.

There were panels to go to, and according to one person who passed her she absolutely had to go out to the courtyard in an hour as there was a photoshoot featuring people from her show. She felt the jitters in her legs as excitement swept her away, more candy, look at that mask! Oh my gosh is that a box set? How much can I carry before people start to notice I’m stronger than others? Aaaaaah! Look at her outfit! This is heaven!

Marta’s world was rainbows and starlight, her heart finally lifting after months of stress and heartache. She wandered outside after a while and spotted the small group of cosplayers including the man in the labcoat and waved at them, walking over with a dignified stride. Do it like Sonya does, that’ll work. She thought as she approached, stopping in front of the small gathering. They all seemed to already know about her since they immediately rushed over and the guy in the coat gave her a smug grin.

The photographer was quick to rein everyone back in, though, and soon they were in a line and making all sorts of poses and victory signs. They re-enacted scenes, including one particularly romantic one between her and the guy in the labcoat. It was so embarrassing.

That was when a old schoolbus drove up to the courtyard and stopped. The small group of cosplayers looked over and a few frowned at what was written on the side. It was a particularly famous church known for its unpleasantness. There was a murmur in the group and a few started to leave, Marta rubbed her arms and watched as the congregation of cruelty filed out of the bus holding picket signs while wearing matching t-shirts.

‘There are monsters among us! Repent!’

‘Sinners will go to hell!’

‘Demons possess the flesh of men, touched by the devil’s light!’

‘Punish the heroes for their devil pact!’

‘Your debauchery will send you to the pit!’

More and more signs that railed against those looking for a small amount of happiness and fun in this dangerous world and accused the light-touched of being possessed or worse. She felt her stomach twist as she watched their disturbingly handsome plastic-looking leader step out in front of the gathering and began to lead them in a chant. Voices raised, they shouted awful things. One voice in particular caught her ear as she turned away. She froze and looked back.

There he was, standing there with a sign; ‘Freaks and Monsters don’t deserve to live on this earth! You will be damned!’

Her fists clenched.

Why did you have to ruin this for me? She croaked inwardly. Why couldn’t you have just disappeared forever that day?

Murder came to mind, but she reigned herself in. She chewed her lip, it was so easy to turn away and block it all out. But she couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

She marched towards the gathering of animals masquerading as people and stopped right in front of him. He glared at her, unable to recognize her, he only saw another one of the people at the convention come to confront him. She altered her voice back to normal, keeping her changed appearance. She looked him in the eyes.

“So this is where you ended up,” She said.

He froze, his eyes going wide.

“Marta?” He gasped in time for her to grab him by the shirt and hoist him off the ground. There was a shout nearby as he struggled to get out of her grip. She looked him in the eyes and then dropped him.

“No, you aren’t worth it,” She spat and turned away, she walked back to the gathering of other cosplayers, quietly picked up her bags, and left. I’ll come back with a new face tomorrow, I’m not letting him take this from me…