“What?..” I couldn’t help but to stare blankly at the Doc, “I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”

His face shifted a bit, lost in thought. He set his hand on my head, being careful of the horns, and casted a scanning spell. Eventually, he sighed and stood up straight, apparently satisfied with whatever he found. “I’m glad you’re feeling better… But be careful with whatever you’re doing. A trance like that can become addictive to the inexperienced.”

I was just left there trying to make sense of all of that. So I just gave up with a laugh and did my best to roll back over to the others. And thanks to the Doc, all that was left were the finishing touches on the monster.

“So getting the SKY SHAKER is all that’s really left isn’t it?” I mused as everything ran green.

“Uh, no.” Erik shook his head, the cyborg having joined us about a half hour ago. “There’s still the finishing touches on the tracks as well.”

“Where is the SKY SHAKER anyways?” Rose asked as she tended to the small pear tree she kept at the lab. She had been passively attempting to see if she could heal my bone problem. “Do you know if it’s still even a thing?”

“Yeah! The league just moved it to a spot near the Great Lakes!” Casper said with a lot of energy. “I already got Lucy to track it down so all we have to do is get on it and activate it.”

The group couldn’t help but laugh at that. This would probably be… what? The third time this year the thing will be stolen by some kind of villain for “nefarious” purposes.

It didn’t help that it was basically the perfect machine for our big surprise. It’s a former spaceship that used to belong to some aliens who ran some twisted game show, the ship itself was able to turn its football-sized arena into anything anyone could imagine.

Then a while back a group of “contestants” escaped and crashed the ship onto Earth. The poor thing has been tossed back and forth since. multiple villains and even a few heroes have used its fantastical stage since.

The problem is, that the most recent use of the SKY SHAKER was when a few members of the coalition took it and turned it into a bomb factory. Boston was still technically recovering from the damage even though it happened over a month ago now.

It’s kind of obvious why a lot of important people want the thing dismantled. It doesn’t matter how many times it’s been used as a disaster relief vehicle or a staging site to contain a particularly dangerous villain. All it takes is one more bad use and it’s no more.

We were fully aware of this, of course, none of us would be all that surprised if our theft of it would be the last. Even if our use of it wouldn’t be that awful, just noisy.

“Does anybody actually know how to make it work though?” I asked as everyone made their way over to the couch corner. A spot that was somehow quickly becoming our hangout spot in the lab… Or it probably has been that way all this time and I never took the effort to notice.

“I think so,” Casper responded, giving a questioning look to Erik, who nodded back in turn. “As far as I’m aware most of the systems have been adapted to earth tech and that’s nothing Erik can’t control… probably.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Erik deadpanned.

A round of laughs echoed through the lab.

“Oh, are we doing anything costume-wise?” Reed asked. That was not something I had considered. I know every once in a while the theater changes things up, and by the way Rose slammed the table and grabbed her phone I assumed the answer was going to be something new.

As soon as I heard her talking to Taylor I groaned inwardly, and by the way Casper and Reed perked up, Erik and I shared a glance of apprehension.

“And that’s my cue to get out of here,” Erik said as he got up and headed to the teleporters. I took my chance as well.

“Yeah I have four forms to get healed up, that’s gonna take some time.” I quickly followed the cyborg.

Don’t get me wrong it’s not like I don’t like that stuff, but cosplay is the only time I'm ever intact with it. The way they started talking about theming and how we were gonna tie it all together made both Erik and I very scared.

As soon as I was back in my sanctum I undid any effects of my spell and spent the next hour or so getting the scar to a point that could let it fade naturally over the next few months.

There’s no real way to heal a scar completely with the healing pad. If I had a real handle on healing with transformation magic I could get rid of it, but the scar is something I’m gonna have to deal with for now.

From there the tiger’s hand only took a few moments, no issue at all. Healing the rabbit’s shoulder was an ordeal though. The pad can take care of it no problem, it’s just that it works like you would normally reset a dislocated shoulder. So I got to lay there and just wait for a sudden burst of pain.

Thank the conductor I was alone when it did happen. Because once it did I didn’t yell or anything, I squeaked. Even after I was all healed I was left mortified for a good ten minutes.

The bull… I think the bull will take a bit longer to get going again. I was very lucky that I was already on the pad when I put on the mask, ‘cause my vision whited out with the pain. From there I lost consciousness for three hours, and once I woke back up I couldn’t will myself to move for another two.

The miasma from the sword was gone, but the Doc’s medicine was not. The side effects of it hit the bull’s body all at once instead. That’s also not mentioning the same issue with the scar but worse.

It was almost midnight when I finally ripped the mask off of my face, the bull still not fully healed. Honestly, this stupid pad, while quite the god-send, can feel kinda arbitrary for how long it takes to heal some stuff.

Now for some real sleep…

Uh great... What now?

My phone apparently had a few messages. Lucy had linked to a few more PhotoBook posts.

The first one was of the chimera’s incubation tube. Its small flat paw was pressed up against the glass, the rest of the body obscured by the green glow of the liquid inside.

“Emcee wants to do something fun. So the theater is going to do something damage-free tomorrow.”

It was kinda funny reading the comments on that one. Lucy’s PhotoBook page had sort of turned into a theater fan magnet over the week. Every photo was hyper-analyzed if they believed they could learn more about us. So actually showing off the lab definitely grabbed a bit of attention.

The next post was a slideshow of a few work-in-process outfits. It was easy to tell who was who’s, and it looked like there was a desert rave slash primal villain thing going on. Lots of tans and rock jewelry.

“We’re gonna livestream the show tomorrow. So Actress and Bouquet wanted to put together some looks to mark the event. We still don’t know what to do with Carnival’s fluffy butt though.”

That was a weird one to see. I’ve only been in my official costume twice, and they already want to change it up on me. I also feel a bit offended at the call-out, but there were legitimate suggestions from what survived from Lucy’s original fanbase. Which was apparently quite a lot according to her.

The last post Photographer made was of a computer screen. A music program open to some kind of project. Casper’s hand could be seen just out of the corner.

“Caught Emcee and Record lacking. Now they don’t have an excuse to not drop the tracks after tomorrow.”

I couldn’t help but laugh again. It might have been because of how late it was getting, but Lucy’s manipulation was now obvious to me. Tell the masses to look out for something, then build anticipation, making sure that they know it’s gonna be good. Then all that’s left is to drip feed information and keep them hooked…

Wait, did a hero respond to this one? I think they did… Yup, SoundScape, one of The Saints.

One of the heroes Casper really wanted to challenge.

All he said was that he wanted to have a listen, something generic, and Lucy told him he would get his chance. But of course, he’s probably gonna be there once the heroes know what’s going on.

Now I’m wondering what Casper’s reaction to that is. The Saints have been his role models for most of his life, and still kinda are. Hence this whole show to begin with.

Heh, Casper Clay is definitely someone weird, but in a good way. He’s sort of like me if I think about it. Bad childhood in an even worse place. But he had heroes to look up to, that’s where he was lucky.

He’s also one of the only members of the theater who sought out a spot in the organization instead of being scouted, Erik and Sable being the others.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

And no, I'm not going to count Michael and Rose’s weird situation. But I still wonder what Casper wants out of all of this… theater stuff.

Like that’s not also true for almost everyone else as well…

What do I really want out of the theater?

Okay, once I start to ask those kinds of questions I know I’m ready for bed.

…

The next morning rolls around and I’m about ready to stop bothering with scheduling anything before noon. Unfortunately for me, I’m one of the most important people for the show today.

No me, no monster. No monster, no fun.

Thankfully, stealing the SKY SHAKER wasn’t one of my tasks, but everyone was still gonna help.

While eating a nice breakfast of cinnamon sugar toast, I noticed that Lucy had another post linked in the group chat. It was of Choir trying on her new costume. It still had the same silhouette of her bodysuit, but the ripped cargo pants and the simple printed tee were definitely not something I’d thought I’d ever see on her.

Even if the print was of her iconic tragedy mask.

Speaking of the mask, Taylor had swapped it out for a more blank porcelain mask that only covered the bottom half of her face. Then Rose went ahead and did some kind of ashy look around her eyes.

I let myself laugh while I was still at home. Her normally hidden hair was tied back in a ponytail. I had to wonder how they convinced her to show it off, as the frizzy red mane was really distinctive. And I know the doctor she works for doesn’t know she’s in the theater.

“Some late-night tests. Got Choir to model for us. Don’t know if Bouquet is satisfied with the look yet tho”

Now I was kinda worried about what the girls were gonna put me through once I got to the lab.

With a sigh I made sure everything was together, the rabbit mask was in the pocket and the tiger was on my face. Once I was out the door I ran full tilt to the Doc’s place.

Made it in ten minutes, a new record.

“I’m here!” I shouted to the lab only to find it empty. I couldn’t see, hear, or smell anyone downstairs at all. The Doc was upstairs in his bedroom if the snoring was anything to go by, but no Reed.

No anyone.

I looked at the time and then back to the lab. The chimera was still in place, waiting for me to grab and activate it.

Then one of the ‘porters went off, Sable stepping out.

“Where is everyone?” She said as soon as she laid her eyes on me, I just shrugged.

“I just got here and the only one here is the Doc, though he’s still asleep.” I stepped up to the chimera’s tube and checked the vitals. “No idea where Reed or anyone else is.”

Sable joined me at the chimera, and with a concerned look pulled out her communicator. She was about to give a command when eight of the ‘porters went off at once.

When the missing villains stepped out, they were all already in costume.

“Oh, Sable, Archer! Where were you?” Rose said as soon as she saw us.

“Where were you?” I sassed back, “I was led to believe that the lot of you were gonna be here, ey?”

“We were at Michael and Rose’s place. One of their aunts caught wind of the plan and wanted to give us breakfast.” Reed explained excitedly, “We sent a text.”

Sable and I gave each other confused looks, I pulled my phone out to see if I got it-

Via Orical.

“Sorry, I guess my phone is having issues,” I said as I quickly put away my device. That can wait.

Sable had her real phone out now, very obviously reading something concerning by the look on her face. I poked her to bring her attention back to the room.

“Huh! Yeah…” Sable had to bring her thoughts together for a moment, “There are internet issues at my parent’s house, not surprised I didn’t get it.”

Wow…

That was a very elaborate lie told in the most unconvincing way possible.

Fortunately for the mood, Casper was practically bouncing off of the wall. Michael, Reed, and Rose were feeding into it as well.

“So is there any preparation left to do?” I innocently asked, hoping to move things along. That must've reminded Taylor of something, cause she instantly moved to give Sable a package then she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the stairs.

“We need to figure out your costume!” Taylor announced, and Rose quickly followed. I cried on the inside.

“Alright, I need your communicator,” Taylor said as soon as we were at the top of the stairs, but she continued to drag me to the Doc’s kitchen. “And pants.”

“What?” I say as she shoved a pair of pants into my hands, “Oh.”

I grabbed my communicator out of my pocket, having never had the chance to reload it into the costume bomb. As soon as Taylor had it in her hands she gestured to the bathroom.

I pretended to grumble a bit as I trudged into the small room. I then really grumbled as I struggled to put the new pair of pants on.

Taylor had decided to make them out of black pleather... and for a human… I have digitigrade legs…

And apparently a large waistline, I could barely get the thing to button.

“What size is this? Size ultra mini?” I said as I stepped back into the kitchen, sucking in my stomach the entire time.

Rose and Taylor just laughed at my complaints and the latter began to use her magic to resize the thing.

“And now your jacket,” Taylor said once she was done and I could breathe again. “I need you to take off your shirt.”

I tilted my head in mock confusion and started to take off my last layer of protection. “Admit it, you just want to ogle at me.”

“No, it's just fashion.” The fabric witch handed me a sleeveless fur-lined brown jacket. It’s made in a way that leaves my chest and stomach open.

“So you want the general public to ogle at me.” I deadpanned, I don’t exactly have a six-pack or anything to show off, and I definitely wouldn’t wear this as my first choice, ever. Taylor and Rose continued to laugh, already having too much fun.

The girls finished off my outfit with gold and silver bangles, and a few fake piercings on my ears. And finally Rose spent some time working an ashy powder into the fur around my eyes, maw, and neck.

I think it looked weird, but Rose and Taylor insisted that it was really needed to round off the look while hiding my identity without a mask. Oh, and apparently one of the bangles was a hidden identity charm. The same kind that Casper and Lucy use to remain unrecognized. Taylor told me that everyone was gonna get one for this outing, just in case.

The very last thing Taylor gave me was my communicator, she had added some gold accents to tie it into the rest of the costume.

“So why the desert rave theme anyway?” I asked as we headed back down into the lab now that I was ready.

“We’re gonna make the SKY SHAKER look like a Roman coliseum.” Rose said with a big smile, “We thought that would be the best way to show off the chimera while giving us room to do whatever we want.”

“So why not a more Roman aesthetic?” I tilted my head, “That would make more sense for a coliseum.”

“Because.” Taylor shook her head, “We’re trying to put on a concert, not a battle… still be ready for one though.”

I nodded my head before beelining to the chimera, ready to get it ready. A few minutes later I got pulled aside for a photo. Apparently, it didn’t take too long to finish Sable’s look, lots of ruffles and pleats, almost a land-pirate kind of look.

Lucy had us pose together, Sable holding her hand up in that “I’m magical and powerful” way, and I flexed to show off my “muscles”, smiling like I knew I ruled the world.

A few minutes later Lucy had it posted.

“Finally tracked down the last two and we’re about ready. We’ll be streaming live from Chicago in a few hours. Keep an eye on the official #Theater stream for some new songs from Emcee and Record!”

I looked back at the posts I missed, and that was the first time the location we wanted to hit was mentioned. I don’t know if I’m a fan of warning heroes of our whereabouts… Even if how we're gonna get there is unconventional.

“Alright!” Reed shouted out to everyone. (I’m surprised he was even allowed to go, but I guess he was well enough now.) “Let’s get a move on, ey!”

A round of cheers sounded out and I stuffed the things I needed for the chimera into the pocket. Then we all stepped into our teleportation chambers.

Then FIVE,

Breath in,

FOUR,

Breath out,

THREE,

This is nothing unusual,

TWO,

For the theater at least.

Everything went white.

Wind rustled through the leaves, as we found ourselves overlooking a valley, a giant arena sitting at the bottom… The SKY SHAKER in all its glory.

It didn’t take us long to get down to the spaceship, and the entrance was clearly marked. As if it was inviting spectators in to see the carnage… or in our case the concert.

…

“Something smells off.” I couldn't help but notice, “Can’t place the smell though.”

“Might be the SHAKER?” Fiesta guessed with a shrug, “It is from space.”

“It’s been on earth for too long for that.” Choir sassed.

Fiesta shook his head, “Still an alien ship.”

I shrugged myself and once the doors were pried open we waltzed on in. The odd smell carried into the bowls of the ship as well.

My luck we’re walking into an alien disease or something of the sort.

It didn’t take us long until we found the main stadium, the seating alone was double the size of what was normal…

“Were we gonna sell tickets to this? ‘Cause we should have. Would make bank.” I joked

“Nah.” Emcee shot that down, “That’s against the spirit of the whole thing.”

“So you say we’re doing this for free?” Choir groaned, “Can’t believe I cleared my schedule for this.”

A small round of laughs went through the group, then we split up for a few more tasks. Emcee, Record, and Actress went to find the main console that could get this ship to move and change the field in the center of the arena. As of right now, it was blank… an area about the size of two soccer fields was nothing but smooth concrete. Nothing like any of the photos that could be found online.

From there, Photographer lead Choir and Firework around to find the best spots for cameras and lighting. They were hoping to have the entire area covered for the best show possible.

Next were Fiesta and Bouquet, as they refused to wait and rushed off to explore the ship, Requiem shot everyone a look and with a groan, followed the cousins to keep them out of trouble.

That left me…

Just me…

I found my way down the edge of the seating closest to the arena. My next task was to set up the circle needed to activate the chimera. But, I couldn’t do anything until after the arena shifted. No point in doing the work and accidentally having it all reset.

So, I plopped myself in an admittedly comfortable seat, set my feet up on the barrier, and waited.

And waited.

And GODS what is taking them so long?

I got up to do some stretches and saw something I was not expecting.

A person, standing about a hundred yards away. She was looking at me like she was shocked. To say I was surprised was an understatement. I brought my hand up to my communicator and spoke into it. “Hey guys… There’s a mortal on board.”

Then everything finally lurched as the SKY SHAKER took off.