The poor lady who was staring at me fell over when the ship started to move. It took me a moment of debating as to whether or not I wanted to help her, but curiosity won out and I moved to at least get a better look.

She was taller with long black hair, blue spectacles that were barely staying on, and an outfit that leaned on the more serious end of business casual.

Oh… not the feds… At least I thought she was? No badge or anything, or at least not a visible one. It’s the only explanation I could think of as to why someone would even be on the ship.

I got to be about ten feet away from the lady, then leaned on the railing. “So what’s someone like you doing in a place like this?” I said with a confident look on my face.

The lady seemed surprised that I talked to her. She was doing fine getting herself back on her feet, so I saw no reason to get closer.

“Your… Your…” She stuttered a bit, her strong southern accent still showed through however, “What is the theater doing here?”

She must have watched us walk in… wait. She has that exact same weird smell I was getting from outside of the arena.

And yet she smells nothing like a human.

“And what’s an alien doing here huh?” I joke. That got a reaction out of her, and she suddenly took a few steps back. I rolled my eyes at the action and turned around, walking back to where I had originally sat. “I’m not gonna hurt ya, ey. Gotta keep in tip-top shape for the upcoming show. You’re welcome to watch.”

The lady just stood there for a moment, collecting herself. Then I finally got a response from the communicator.

“Hey, Carnival.” Firework piped up over the communicators, “Who's that with you?”

I couldn’t help but to facepalm, “I literally just said that there’s a mortal on the ship, did nobody listen?”

“We heard you,” Requiem said, “Just hard to reply when wrangling these two.”

“HEY!” I had to slam my hands over my ears as both Fiesta and Bouquet shouted simultaneously. Feedback going over both their communicators and Requiem’s.

“Can you NOT do that please?” Record shot back, “Some of us have sensitive hearing right now!”

“Why do you have your hearing augments up?” Choir asked, “We’re literally about to blast music to half a city…”

“I don’t, I’m not stupid. Emcee almost got knocked out by the feedback! And I can see Carnival with his hands over his ears from here.”

I slowly brought my hands down and cast a look up to what looked like an announcer’s booth. Both Fiesta and Bouquet sent quiet apologies over the communicators.

Why was it feeling like I was the one being watched?

Oh… the mortal.

She was staring at me.

She had a phone.

I quickly reached out and wrapped some space around the device, and with a quick tug, it looked like it suddenly went flying through the air to me. I only got a moment to look at the screen before it blacked out and wouldn’t turn back on again… “GIVE THAT BACK!”

Why the hells were half of the contacts heroes?

“Sorry,” I said as she looked dumbfounded, “Can’t have the wrong people knowing about this stuff too soon. Don’t worry, there’s only about an hour left until we arrive in Chicago.”

“The ship can go faster than that.”

“What?”

The lady seemed to be having an extreme internal debate, then she brought her hand up to her ear, “Code: RED, The Theater has taken the SKY SHAKER. The threat is minimal, do not engage.”

Oh…

Why do I forget that people can have communicators? I literally have one around my neck.

The lady took a deep breath and stared at me in my eyes. “Do you promise that no one will get hurt?”

I rolled my eyes and nodded. “We’ve been advertising the show since yesterday, all it is a big rap battle.”

And as if on cue, the whole space… unraveled and spun back together in an instant. The first thing I noticed was the appearance of Roman-style ruins littering the entire arena, and sound equipment littered about. I could tell almost instantly how much of the seemingly random columns and rocks were set up for big moments. All it would take is standing on top of one rock or another, a little lighting, and everyone’s attention would be on you.

The seats changed too, much to my surprise as I was sitting down. Instead of the stadium chairs, as one would expect out of a place like this, everything had shifted to a sort of amphitheater-style stone staircase.

Still cushioned though, very comfy.

The lady didn’t care for the change of scenery though.

“So why does the ship look like a place people will fight to their deaths?” Anger was seeping into her voice.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, “I wasn’t involved with that part of planning, it’s just the theme Emcee wanted.”

I stood up, and started to look for a good spot to finish off the chimera when something... changed, out of the corner of my eye…

The lady’s form shifted in a way I didn’t fully understand. There was an undercurrent of something familiar, but the way her clothing went from normal to a purple hero suit fritzed out my brain.

Actually, that’s not what made my stomach drop. Her skin took on a greenish hue, purple markings covering every inch of skin shown. Her hair went from black to a muted pink, and her eyes went from human to… power.

I stumbled back a few steps as a rush of fear flashed through my head.

“What the!.. PrincesShifter!?!” I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.

“Are you really a Rathmurden?” The words came out fast, somewhat hopeful.

“No. WHAT? NO!” I furiously shook my head and my arms crossed each other out. “I am NOWHERE near something so dang-”

I cut myself off as the hero shrunk in on herself, tears welling up in her eyes. She sat down hard on one of the cushions, and put her face in her hands…

Just what have I gotten myself into?

Eventually, she let out a long sigh and leaned back, “Sorry.” The hero of forms said quietly, “I’ve been getting my hopes up. Not often you find out about someone like you.”

“There’s a good reason I avoid that.” I tried to joke, keeping my eyes on the arena, pretending to look for a good spot for my spell. “Better for everyone that way.”

There was an awkward pause, and I was left wondering what we were gonna do about the hero’s presence. We were already practically inviting the whole of The Saints to meet us face to face, and there was no way to guarantee that they would play along.

Add in PrincesShifter and we would not fare well in a full-blown fight.

“So you really are human then?” My back suddenly straightened and my face went blank as the hero asked the next question. I turned to look at the princess, who cringed. “Sorry, Iron Magnum made sure to show me the video of your fight a few days ago.”

I took a deep breath and gathered my lies… and my anger, “I am NOT human, and I will never go back to something so awful ever again. There is a good reason I destroyed that form and I have no intention of subjecting myself to that weakness. I have found myself as I am… And that is all.”

PrincesShifter had a shocked look on her face as if she wasn’t fully registering what I said…

And then an illusion dropped.

Fiesta, Requiem, and Bouquet were standing a few paces away, ready to step in if need be. They looked as if they’d been betrayed.

I couldn’t look them in the eyes for more than a second. My attention was going between the hero and my friends. After a moment, with shaking hands, I grabbed the stuff for the ritual and jumped the barrier. I had something I needed to do…

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

More like I needed to do something, anything to get my mind off of what they just heard.

There’s a good chunk of truth in what slipped out.

Oh GODS I’m gonna have to do damage control. And those three were some of the worst people that could possibly hear that. Sable was already extremely uncomfortable with my situation to begin with, to find out that I purposefully did it to myself will lose a lot of respect in her eyes.

Rose wasn’t as bad, she actually found what I could do kinda cool, but she’s still a healer at heart. Finding out that I didn't want to be healed… It’s a similar issue. And Michael… I don’t know.

He… He knows a bit more. Has for a while. I’ve talked to him about how I found out about my magic. He knows about my particular distaste for the person who introduced me to my power and a little bit about why.

It probably won't take him too long to connect those dots, and that means prodding into a deeper issue I have had my peace with… I think.

Oh no… There’s nothing stopping anyone from telling anyone else. I know Lucy probably won't care, Erik and the Doc have had suspicions for a while, so I’m okay on that front… Everyone else?

I know to a point the group respects me for my resilience through a major life issue, so Faye, Taylor, Casper, and Reed… especially Reed… they will be hurt.

I sit behind a large thing of rubble and think. What am I gonna do?

“I don’t know, young one.” I suddenly notice something’s off, I can see my bare feet look like a human’s, yet my tail is wrapped around my waist… with a pair of masks clipped to it… The tiger firmly strapped to my face. I look up and see the conductor and the endless sea. “What? Did you not evoke me on a grand stage and expect me to not answer?”

She/He leaned in as a headache bloomed behind my eyes. There was no one else here to share the burden of the conductor’s presence and I was nowhere near used to it. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to.”

“Don’t apologize, I’ve been meaning to correct something with you for a while.” The god smiled, or at least I think they did.

“What do I need to do?” I averted my gaze from the conductor, taking in the sea.

“Nothing on your part yet.” They said quietly, “I’ve just been thinking that you have been alluding to true conflict for a while, and new cards have been played. When you return home after your fun, I will present you with a way to solve your troubles. But for now, enjoy yourself. Today is not your story… That and I would really like for this show to go off without a hitch, I need the entertainment. For now, just tell the others that you will tell them more later. You owe them that much.”

…

“Okay…”

“Archer.” Their voice was smooth, calming, “You have been isolated for a long time, and we both know that is where you believe you thrive. Your position now on the other hand… requires you, young knave, to take off your helm to talk with the other knights.”

With a deep breath, I nodded and accepted my fate. I could only keep that part of my life secret for so long. I just wasn’t happy that all it took was a bout of anger to let too much slip.

I blinked and I was back to the arena, a sorta cloudy sky above me and the feeling of sand beneath my paws. There was a slight wind from the movement of the ship, but just enough to not be uncomfortable.

After a few moments of just breathing I eventually heard a set of footsteps approaching, one last deep breath brought me the scent of a human… Fiesta.

“You just got done with la conductora, haven’t you?” He said with a smile. Wait…

“How the hells?” I said, a bit more grounded than I was expecting, “What gave it away?”

“The fact that you stopped existing for a moment and then reappeared as if you’ve been deep in thought.” The illusionist laughed to himself, he then brought his hand up to the back of his head, careful not to mess up Bouquet’s makeup job. “Is what you said to the hero really true?”

I lowered my head, I couldn’t bear to look my friend in the eyes. “Yes.” There was an awkward lull, which ended with me getting up with a big stretch. “Look… the conductor asked me to tell you the whole truth… After Emcee’s show.”

Fiesta chuckled at that one and gave out his hand. “Fine, let's set the monster up.”

With a sigh, I took his hand, finished standing up, and headed towards the middle of the field. Eventually choosing a spot near a set of nearly intact pillars. From there I took the machine and set it on the ground, slowly mapping out the circle that would have to go around it.

The machine itself was kinda weird in my opinion. All it really was was the tube holding the chimera and a ton of lights set to go off in a sequence. It would dismantle itself automatically to let the monster out once the spell was cast, hiding the truth in the process. But the necessity of it was what was most important.

We were about halfway through drawing the circle when Requiem and Bouquet approached… along with PrincesShifter.

The awkward tension in the air could be cut with a hammer it was so thick.

The two villainesses quickly pulled us aside as the hero inspected the machine.

“What are we gonna do about the hero?” Bouquet whispered harshly.

“I already told her she’s welcome to stay,” I say with a cringe.

“It’s not like we were expecting The Saints to be the only supers to show up anyways.” Requiem states, “This is just earlier than expected.”

“Yeah, but it’s Princess ‘frikn Shifter.” Bouquet leaned in a bit, “That’s almost as bad as having the metal man himself here.”

“You have been around Reed a bit too much.” Fiesta elbowed his cousin, which resulted in a new bruise for him as she socked him back in the arm.

“Alright y’all,” Princes Shifter's voice suddenly got our attention, her hand was on the glass of the machine. “Y’all are gonna tell me exactly what this does or else.”

The four of us froze, desperately trying to come up with words that wouldn’t ruin the whole effort. Eventually, with a dry swallow, I stepped forward and tried to get the hero to calmly stand back.

“It’s an incubation chamber for one of our monsters,” I said while slowly taking steps toward the machine. “We’re going to use the chimera in there as a part of the show, without it we can’t go on.”

“And why is that? The entire Theater isn’t enough?” The hero had her eyes drilled into all of us, reading every reaction.

“It’s…” I turned my head to face Requiem, she just shrugged, “It's modified to help with the music… Half of the fun for today really…”

PrincesShifter's eyes narrowed, and suddenly her hand turned into a blade.

There was a click in reality as Photographer brought Firework and Choir to our location. They quickly dropped into battle stances, and the rest of us followed suit. A subtle glow surrounded every villain present as they pulled their magics together.

“Okay, I know enough about y’all.” The hero said calmly, “Now that you’ve given me the show, I want the truth. What are you hiding?”

Everyone seemed to be genuinely shocked at that statement, having absolutely no idea how to respond. We spent a few moments looking between each other trying to come up with whatever we were going to say. Then a voice sounded out over our communicators.

“Tell her we’re field testing the formula.” Record came in clutch, “There’s no point in hiding it from the heroes anyways.”

“So um…” Choir started while everyone relaxed a bit, yet the glow still stood, “We kinda stole an intelligence formula from the Assembly of Superiors. And we’re trying to field test it today and that’s the only monster that has it.”

PrincesShifter whipped around with a shocked look on her face. “So that’s what they’ve been on about! I KNEW IT!”

“What?” Firework voiced.

“The League has been keeping an eye on the rareium experiments for a while, and then y’all attacked The Assembly’s lab.” PrincesShifter finally backed off and took a breath. “So you’re using it on a monster?”

“Uh… yeah.” Choir nodded. I cringed a bit more. It’s way too easy to forget that the League is mainly in the security and surveillance industry.

“And what is the end goal?” The hero took another step back, genuine curiosity on her face.

“To see what happens, and to have a good time.” Fiesta leans forward with a smile and lets his magic go.

The hero of forms just stared blankly at Fiesta for a moment, slowly coming to terms with what he just said. “I was afraid you were gonna say that. BUT SO HELP ME, if ONE PERSON gets hurt I will make y’all regret it.”

The hero stood back and returned her hand to a normal state, and the rest of us just stood there awkwardly. I had absolutely no idea what to do about the situation, but that was quickly decided for me when the SKYSHAKER shook.

“We’re over the city!” Emcee said over the communicators, “Record is about to park it, be ready for everything to start in ten.”

Instantly every villain was moving, those in charge of the cameras rushed to double-check their work, Bouquet dragged Requiem to add some details to the scenery, and Fiesta triple-checked my work on the circle as I quickly finished off my work from earlier. Soon enough I thought I was done and the other villain gave me a quick thumbs up. I could tell that PrincesShifter was completely confused as to why we were making the circle, but knowing the theater she would probably just chalk it up to our weirdness.

I heard a thunk behind me as I was watching Bouquet add shrubbery to the main area where everything was going to take place. Emcee and Record had Actress float them down from the announcer booth.

“Alright, I think I have a plan,” Emcee said with a big smile, Record facepalmed. “We’ve landed and the doors are open, so anyone can start showing up at any time, and I’ll have Photographer make a new post in a second. REQUIEM! FIREWORK!”

“Dude.” I said as I covered my ears, “We have communicators.”

PrincesShifter began to laugh as everyone reconvened. Emcee just continued on unperturbed. “So, when the stream starts it’ll be Fiesta, then Requiem, then Carnival, Then Choir, and Finally Firework. I want you to focus on your visual ma-... Powers… I’ll guide you through the opening which will lead into my first song. Hopefully, that will give The Saints enough time to show up and get their bearings.”

The second Emcee said my name a bit of anxiety began to build. I don’t like being on camera, not my jam so to say. But I agreed to this a long time ago, and I trust Emcee to do his best.

“Can I do something?” I think everyone was caught off guard by the hero. For someone who really stands out, I kind of forgot to consider what she was going to do during our show… Well, now she decided for us, and by the way Emcee perked up even more I knew he wasn’t going to reject the offer.

“Yeah!” (Yup,) “You can be in the opener just after Choir, I need Firework to go last so he can really signal that things are starting. Actress, can you help her with a costume?”

“You sure that’s a good idea, ey?” I tilted my head with the question, “Having a hero from the very start will look… Well not good for anyone.”

“I’ve done worse than hanging out with a bunch of weak villains,” PrincesShifter said with a surprisingly smug look on her face. A few stink eyes were sent her way but that was just me and Record.

It only took a few seconds for Actress and Photographer to hook the hero up to our communicators and get her suited up in a simple biker jacket, ripped jeans, and a sand-colored bandana tying her pink hair back.

Soon enough, there was a metronome ticking in our ears, and a magic-infused drone was quietly hovering nearby. Emcee guided us to different spots that would be off-camera for a bit, leaving only himself, and Photographer standing in the center of a clearing, Fiesta a bit to the side.

“And we’re live in five!” Photographer shouted, anticipation building in the empty coliseum.

“Four!”

It’s kinda weird hearing her voice raised, at all.

“Three!”

She didn’t say the last two numbers, but when she balled up her fist Emcee smiled.