My mind thumped over and over again. The oohs and aahs grated against my being. It was very fortunate that I couldn’t feel any signs of my form destabilizing again, especially after the spell I just cast. But I could still hear words.

Record questioned why I was the rabbit.

One of the heroes began to talk into her communicator, recording every detail of the monster.

Another one said something that actually sounded like they were concerned about me… whether or not it was for my health or by the fact I was there I will never know.

I stumbled to the side with an “oof” when Bouquet playfully crashed into me. Her hand slipped just underneath my jacket as she pressed a small healing spell into my lower back. I pretended to smile and laugh as my sight slowly sharpened back up again.

I put my own arm around Bouquet just to pretend that I was having a good time, when I finally got a good look at the chimera…

Or rather what it was doing.

Its programming was basically just instructions to follow the current song and to complement it with its various noises, and it was doing a very good job at that from what I could tell. But… it was constantly tossing glances towards Emcee. I know the creature thinks that Emcee is its “leader”, a basic piece of logic that lets us command our monsters around normally, but…

It was… sorta mimicking him? I think? When Emcee leaned to the side to emphasize a line the chimera was quickly following, and it was only a step behind the villain when he took a few steps forward in a fake taunt for the heroes.

That was not a part of the plan, I think. It was supposed to just stand in one place and be the centerpiece of the show.

Emcee, however, was completely caught up in the trance of his own power. So there was very little chance that he was catching on to any of this. But the very nature of his magic worked around that, so it seemed like the chimera was a completely trained animal when it went completely off-script.

Bouquet smacked me in the side because I was staring, completely dumbfounded. The monster was taking big, happy stomps in a circle around Emcee, swinging its head from side to side the entire time.

That’s when it really hit me, just what we had made. By the end of the song it only looked to Emcee a few more times. Halfway through the next, I could see its personality really taking shape. It was starting to get sassy, adding drum fills in places that almost tripped Emcee up. Its body language got low to the ground and playful, only for it to jump over the villain just as he dropped low with the song.

I think… I think it had figured out that Emcee or whatever he was doing could composite for whatever the chimera was doing. And by the end of that song, the chimera was practically abusing the fact.

Much to the crowd's enjoyment though.

And if Emcee ever caught on to what was happening… I don’t think he would have even cared. It was making for a better show and it only caused one real trip that Emcee quickly recovered from.

I, however, was kind of scared. The creature was getting really creative really quickly. It even discovered on its own that it could slam its tail in a certain way to make a different kind of sound. The first time it happened seemed like a fluke. But it was only a few seconds later when it stared at its own tail and tried again.

When I was thinking smart, I was thinking of making something that could quickly adapt to commands and the choices of others.

What we got was an individual. A creative one at that.

“Hey, heads up!” Record’s voice crackled over the communicators, “We only have one more song after this one. Then you heroes are back up. We need ya to come up with your own show stopper of some kind.”

“And why would we do that?” RedThorn responded, only for another hero to smack him over the head.

Said hero then sent their own response, “This is Grease, we copy, anything in mind?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I laughed as RedThorn scowled.

“Big, shiny, and for the cameras.” Photographer stated, “If you absolutely need the help, you can use Fiesta’s illusions, Carnival’s fake fire, Requiem’s spotlights, or Bouquet’s wind control. But if you do, make sure to hide the fact that you are using our talents.”

Bouquet’s hand squeezed a bit tighter around my side as the both of us tried our best to look happy as we shot Photographer dirty looks. She just smiled and waved before taking our photo.

I suddenly felt a little weird as Bouquet’s hand and arm suddenly disappeared from around my side.

“I think I got it handled.” Ice King voiced, much to the disapproval of more than a few of the heroes. But he pretended pretty badly like he didn’t see that.

I breathed a sigh of relief at that one and let my sight wander.

Looking at the general crowd, only a quarter or so of it was actually filled, but it was still an impressive number. I didn’t recognize anyone there, but considering the fact that I wasn’t even from around here that made sense.

There were a few people that caught my attention though. There was a teen near the front who was dressed in a full Ice King cosplay, he looked like he was having the best day of his life. Of course, many cops were hanging about as well, a quick headcount saw about thirty or so spread about the crowd. Some were just kinda chilling or enjoying the show, and others were completely serious. Frowns all around for them.

There was one more person as well. She was seated at the very top of the arena, all alone. Her face was sorta hidden by a hoodie, but it could only do so much to hide the maw. Her scaled tail twitched back and forth, as if angry.

That’s… interesting. I took my turn to elbow Bouquet and pointed out the only other beastman in the arena.

“I can’t see that far ya dingus.” She whispered harshly, “But is there really another one here?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t help but say with a bit of wonder, “I didn’t know there were even any in the Midwest.”

“What are you talking about?” Record stomped over to where the two of us were huddling. His part of the show was basically done as Emcee’s last song was going to be with the chimera only.

“I saw another beastman at the back of the crowd.” I tilted my head to where she was.

“We just were surprised to see one around here.” Bouquet said.

“It’s not that weird to see one in a major city,” Record said as his mechanical eyes internally shifted to get a better look. “Seeing a bunch of them would be strange.”

“I guess that’s true.” I crossed my arms and returned my gaze to the show.

Fiesta, Choir, Firework, and Photographer were gone. I hadn’t seen them leave, but when I pointed it out, Record didn’t seem surprised.

“Photographer wanted to test another spell while we had some positive public attention.” He droned as the last song came to its conclusion.

Emcee did a big bow and tossed the mic over to the heroes, the poor thing having flown through the air a few times over the show…

That thing has to be enchanted. By the way it was getting treated it should have destroyed any speakers in the arena, let alone my poor ears. Said ears dropped down on instinct and I caught myself reaching up to cover them when Ice King reached out and fumbled the device. He didn’t drop it, but it was close with only one hand to work with.

“Hey Bouquet, Carnaval.” Emcee suddenly said over the communicator, our attention snapping to him. The villain was pointing at the chimera… who was throwing a tantrum.

Emcee had a worried look on his face as he tried to tell the monster to leave the arena, only for it to stomp in protest and loudly vocalize with its metallic “voice”. It was being told that it needed to leave for this part of the show, but it didn’t want to stop.

Bouquet and I quickly walked over and I tried to get its attention. Only for it to take one look at me and dismiss me. None of its original programming told it that I was one of its leaders, so it had decided that it didn’t have to obey me… and now it figured out that it didn’t want to obey Emcee either.

“Turn into the bull and carry it out.” Bouquet quickly said after a few seconds of observing. Coming to the most effective solution…

“I can’t…” I grimaced, “I told you that it’s still injured.”

“Then the tiger should still work.” She shot back.

I nodded and relaxed my posture, subtly slipping my hand into my pocket. I did my best to ignore the murmurs of the crowd and heroes as they noticed what I was doing, more than a few cameras were now pointed at me instead of the heroes who were about to perform.

The flames went up and down over the course of a few seconds and I heard a few cheers from the crowd as they saw the tiger once more.

Quickly, I walked up behind the monster and wrapped my arms around its chest. The chimera let out an indigent yelp-like sound as it struggled against my awkward attempt to carry it out of the public eye.

It's kind of a shame that the monster will probably be known for this outburst once the show is done. I hoped no one really caught on that this wasn’t part of the act.

Also, this thing is the size of a big cat. I might have had the strength to lift it as the tiger, but it was still a struggle to move when it was trying to bite at my face.

“Oh don’t be such a big baby,” I muttered as we finally reached the edge of the field. “Or at least pretend you aren't one for a moment. I don’t care that you were only made less than an hour ago.”