The day was going quite well, by superhero standards. Most notable villains were neutralized at the moment, and those that weren’t were under surveillance. Ice King was on the up and up, even after he’d been denied healing, and the general public was getting a chance to see that he was at least okay…
Too bad The Theater decided to crash a gods damned spaceship into Chicago. To SoundScape’s knowledge, the group of self-proclaimed villains have never shown interest in the city or any of The Saints. So when they appeared and Emcee challenged them to a show it was honestly kind of a shock.
At least, it was to the Hero of Sound. Ice King was acting like he knew this was going to happen for a few weeks now and was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It also got a bit worse when Emcee and the rest of The Theater insisted that he perform as well. SoundScape knew he wasn’t as big as Ice King or Gold Bella, no hits to his name whatsoever, and not a single sold-out show…
It was just one odd thing after another with them. First, it was Fiesta and Carnival, and just how weird they were acting. And the whole thing with how Carnival was manipulating Theater Tech to hack their system. He complained the whole time about how what he was doing wasn’t his power. Claiming that it was actually Actress who was supposed to do that stuff…
It doesn’t help that anybody non-human unnerved SoundScape. So when the villain grabbed his communicator, he almost had a panic attack.
Then there was the whole debacle with Photographer and the SKYSHAKER’s sound system. She had ignored every important question and acted like we already knew our way around how the ship worked. The only thing she said to any of us was that the microphone Emcee was holding was the signal to perform, that’s it.
When SoundScape got his hands on the mic, a lot was explained. It was pure Theater Tech, no other way of saying it. The Theater was just casually tossing around something that would probably sell for a good million dollars even without this event and their names attached to it.
The show itself wasn’t that bad either, from a performance standpoint. The Theater insisted on taking turns between everyone who was performing. That gave plenty of time for SoundScape to catch his bearings and get his backing tracks properly set up. Then from there, all that was left was to hype up the crowd and go. Which The Theater did all on their own.
Whenever any of them were center stage they never hesitated to use their powers to great effect, naturally weaving their inherent powers into Theater Tech.
The whole naming convention was starting to make a bit more sense to SoundScape, to say the least.
Then Carnival fell from the sky.
The Beast of Many Faces was living up to his name. Some of the other Saints didn’t even know that it was Carnival until after SoundScape told them. Even then it still took a good minute of watching him summon a gods damned monster for it to click.
When SoundScape later learned that it was Silver of all people who got him to become a bunny, The Hero of Sound almost had a heart attack.
Then there's the matter of the monster itself. SoundScape has never had the displeasure of actually fighting any of the creatures that The Theater are known for. But he’s seen the aftermath, and plenty of tapes. So it kind of felt sacrilegious for them to casually make one in front of everyone, then just parade it around as a part of the show.
To think that it only took Carnival or Greenscale made him nervous, the way the thing pranced around and even added to the music…
It took a lot of personal power for SoundScape to not leave right then and there.
Eventually, the mic was handed off one last time and The Saints were asked to do three last songs, all in one big finale…
Where SoundScape got thoroughly upstaged by his fellow heroes. Both of them had big hits to end on whereas he had already burned through his most famous stuff early on.
Gold Bella had “The Sound Behind Bars” to lean on, and SoundScape wasn’t surprised that she saved that one for last. Ice King used his latest hit “Shaken” to show off… Even though everyone in The Saints knew The Hero of The Winter Court hated that song.
Some kid online did some trendy dance to it a few months back and now everyone had to act like it was a lyrical masterpiece. It was touching when Ice King finished off by making the statues though. It felt nice to be recognized as one of The Saints by the leader of them all.
The crowd roared. Everyone took a bow, even SoundScape. But it dyed off eventually. Something crucial was missing.
The Theater was nowhere to be seen. Every single one of The Saints noticed it on their own time. Then PrincesShifter burst out into the arena, beelining it right to Ice King. Worry and possibly fear were written all over her face, she was even in proper costume.
“I can’t find them anywhere!” She exclaimed as soon as she was in earshot, “I think they're up to someth-“
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” Emcee, the villain of the hour seemed to answer the hero’s fears. “Thank you for coming to my show! But, unfortunately, things have to come to an end.”
The lights went out and The Villain of Rhythm was posing near the top of the amphitheater. Whatever destruction he was about to unleash was finally coming to light.
“Ice King and his crew are good, but you see, we’re villains. And any villain worth their salt wouldn't leave without one last laugh.” The synthetic voice of Record boomed from every speaker possible. Another spotlight popped on in the other direction, The Villain of False Time was standing there with the monster circling him.
Eight more lights suddenly turned on one by one.
Bouquet could be seen with her telltale roots curling around her. Requiem was standing en pointe, the area around her sparkling. Photographer was simply there, holding a complex DSLR camera, but it felt like the area behind her was a landscape meant for the world that will never be truly seen. And finally, there was Firework, the air just as electric as his smile.
On the other side of the arena stood Fiesta, shapes and flowers seemed to infect the area around him. Actress looked down on the world, her costume moved in a way that suggested it was alive. Choir was the hardest to make out, her hands were on her knees as if she was about to sprint off, but she was blurry in a way that didn’t make sense. And finally, there was Carnival, who struck a strongman’s pose as his false fire flickered off of his arms.
There was an audible click and they all disappeared. Emcee, Record, and the monster suddenly stood only ten feet away from The Saints, all three of them were clearly under the influence of Emcee’s power. The monster immediately started to stomp and hissed out a beat.
“Hey there I’m here to tell ya I’m the emcee to greatness,
Unlike some of ya here I know I really can’t fake this.
I’m sorry for my ladies, there’s no sad songs here,
It’s a theater of chaotic contrivance you know can’t be missed.”
Emcee was going strong and fast, it impressed SoundScape how he wasn’t tripping up already.
“So let’s set off some fireworks, let them clap and cheer,
Gonna have’ta record this fiesta and can’t call it mere.
Now hand me a bouquet and I’ll scout out my passion,
I could honestly keep going, did I make myself clear?”
Emcee circled back around to the “Hey I’m here to tell ya” part of the song as a sudden breeze whipped through the stadium. Many flowers made of abstract shapes suddenly grew from the ground only to be ripped out and tossed about.
SoundScape felt extremely overwhelmed by everything. The others were pointing out some of the villains circling the arena in the stands.
Actress was casually walking through the rows, every once in a while taking a moment to effortlessly give one of the teens or women in the crowd a makeover, the whole process only took seconds per person. Firework was using his explosions to hurl himself through the air in a feat of acrobatics that would kill a normal person. Carnival was currently doing a handstand walk on the railing near some starstruck teenagers, even a few of the police were impressed. Choir could be seen along the arena floor closest to the most dense part of the crowd, a few versions of her danced along to the beat.
A glance to Ice King and no one knew what to do. All anyone knew was that this could be just one last song from The Theater…
Or a ton of trouble.
“Now don’t stop me, I'll act out in fashion…
Like a choir in a carnival this thought comes crashin’,
It's just how I work, take a photo it lasts longer,
You can thank me later, 'cause I ain't no jerk. Heh
Hey I’m Here To Tell Ya I’m The Emcee To Greatness!
Unlike Some Of Ya Here I Know I Really Can’t Fake This.
I’m Sorry For My Ladies But There’s No Sad Songs Here,
It’s A Theater Of Chaotic Contrivance You Know Can’t Be Missed!”
At the start of the chorus again there was a click on the beat and all nine of The Theater were standing around Emcee and the monster. Each of them immediately began to pull on the power of their confusing technology.
It was the same order that they took when they first surrounded the arena. Except that Emcee and the monster were standing in the direct center of the floor, still going at his number. Each villain quickly drew a large circle in the air in front of them with large movements. Some looked like they were having fun, like Actress or Firework. Others seemed like they were making a nice art project, like Bouquet or Photographer…
There were three in deep focus, however, Record, Carnival, and Fiesta. The three men were taking extra care in the confusing drawings they were making. That was concerning.
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Unfortunately, no one could pay too much attention to any of them as the arena floor lit up. A larger version of the contrived art piece was quickly growing on the ground, soon taking up the entirety of the space. Then, with the final climax of the song, it exploded in a display of light and color.
The fireworks were the first thing to catch everyone’s attention. Then the plants littered throughout the space reached up to try and beat them. Upon further inspection, it could be seen that the area of the arena itself was shifted slightly, making it much more picturesque. And the villains were practically sparkling themselves. Pieces of their costumes suddenly became much more elaborate and perfect.
SoundScape didn’t really register any of that at first, what he heard was the sound of something glass and metal landing in Ice King’s hand.
“It was a lot smarter than we thought.” The terrifying voice of Carnival growled beneath the cacophony, it was monotone, malicious, “Whatever you do take good care of it. Whoever they turn out to be.”
Suddenly, the villain was back with the others, all of them having taken spots on top of the pillars that dotted the area. Each struck the same pose that they had at the very beginning.
“THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY SHOW!” Emcee shouted, as he let go of his power, the glow in everyone’s eyes faded. “HAVE A GOOD DAY!”
And with that, Firework whispered something into his communicator and all ten of them had a light flash on their person… then they teleported away.
The crowd was going wild, but not a single hero was paying attention to that. Surprisingly, SoundScape was not the first to make it into the halls of the SKYSHAKER.
In Ice King’s hands, was a smaller and more portable version of the machine The Theater had used to summon the monster. Shadowy figure within and all…
“It looks… different.” Speed Queen said as she inspected it, “Almost human.”
“Why would they give this to us?” SoundScape panicked.
“I… I don’t…” Ice King stuttered as he pulled off a small booklet that was tapped to the top. It had a cartoon mad scientist with the stereoptical shock of white hair pointing at a chalkboard, the title “The doc’s guide for caring for the weird and unknown” emblazoned on it. “I’ll have to let Fairy look at it…”
And by superhero standards, today was supposed to be considered a good day.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah no. This was the best day of his life. Ezekiel Moore not only got to see basically all of The Saints perform for free but in the front row as well. To make things better he didn’t get that many weird looks when he showed up in a full Ice King replica costume…
Actually, he got a few compliments… Even from a villain.
As in ACTRESS OF ALL PEOPLE LIKED HIS WORK! She didn’t even bother to touch it up when she passed by like she did to the other people in the finale. All she did was compliment him.
That’s a high he will be riding for a while, a big smile plastered all over his face while he waited for the stadium to filter out.
Just The Boyz
Crimson: THAT WAS SO COOL!
- Zeek are you okay?
- Did they blow up the thing?
- oh nevermind
- that exit was cool i guess
- Sage: theres pics of the explosion from outside of the space ship out already
- its huge
Navy: Oh I’m okay :D
- more than okay ;P
- One of the villains said she liked my costume!
- Makes me want to do a group cosplay of The Theater when I finally get back to Cali.
- I REALLY want to do one of Emcee now.
Sage: I could see Nate getting in on that.
- Maybe Juliette and Haily would want in too?
- Wait
- isn’t Emcee’s whole costume just normal clothes?
Crimson: wouldn’t that just be normal clothes?
- dangit.
Navy: Nah, I was thinking of doing the costume that he had today
- Ive seen it in person so I can say im doing a good job when making it. :P
- Thom could do Carnival and Josh could do Firework?
Sage: ?
- /:
Navy: It would be really cool
Crimson: Why would I do Carnival?
- Is it because im a cat?
Sage: didn’t he also like
- not wear a shirt
Navy: Well I just said I want to do Emcee ;)
Sage: your not coming back until fall
- Thom would freeze his fluffy butt off
Crimson: HEY!
- but yeah
- :(
- I could probably still do it for the con tho
Navy: WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
- I really wish I could go with you :(
Sage: Actually I can’t go either.
- I’m gonna be stuck working at the camp again this year
- my mom wants me to hold down the job
Crimson: WHAT! NO!
- I just got permission from the clan…
- I don’t want it to be just me and the guards
- They know absolutely nothing
- I don’t want to be alone
- already had to watch the stream basically on mute the whole time
Sage: OH!
- Emcee and Record are releasing the songs tonight!
- we can listen to them at lunch tomorrow!
“Are you okay there kid?” Ezekiel was pulled from the chat when one of the police walked up to him. “You need to clear out so that the ship can be moved.
Ezekiel quickly nodded and scurried away, wondering if any of the heroes were still on the SKYSHAKER or if they already left. After all, it was said that PrincessShifter was also here, so she would be the one to take it…
That meant he could probably get a chance to see The Saints one more time!
No time was wasted from that moment in rushing out of the spaceship and finding a good vantage point to see as much as he could. Getting some kind of autograph to bring back would be amazing…
And maybe it could make up for the fact that he’s been missing for the entire school year.
Suddenly, the SKYSHAKER began to shake as its thrusters came online. Anyone still around oohed and ahhed as the landscape became bathed in its blue lights.
Ezekiel was one of the very first people to notice the sparks of electricity that came out from underneath some of the paneling. He had plenty of time to get out of the way when people started to run as pieces of the ship fell off and hit the ground with loud clangs. Then two things happened at once.
The thrusters suddenly turned off and what little height the ship had was suddenly lost. And a giant mound of ice quickly appeared up from underneath it, only barely stopping a new crater from forming in the center of Chicago.
“Oh by the gods.” a familiar voice sounded from only a few feet away from Ezekiel. It took all of the teen’s might not to immediately run up and request that autograph from Ice King.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F.A.I.R.Y. — statues == (HAPPY);
General Populace Integer (comfort) Reading — within acceptable range;
General Populace Integer (mood) Reading — within acceptable range;
Project [first true wish] Status Completion == Set [True];
F.A.I.R.Y. — statues == (Ecstatic);
“FAIRY!” A voice sounded from down the halls of The Saints’ main base, “YOU HERE?”
“Ishmael!” A voice made of sparkles flited with a small pink and purple form as Fairy flew straight at Ice King. “everythingworkedsowell! youknowwehavetodothisagainandifwedont-”
“Fairy…” Ice King only just barely dodged the petite creature as he continued his way to the lab, “I need you to take a look at… this…”
“Hmm?”
Ice King was holding a small incubation pod of some sort. A small creature was gently floating within.
As soon as it was set on one of the tables Fairy got to work hooking it up, reading it with her powers, and scanning the little booklet that came with it.
“Ohhh.” She eventually realized what was going on, “I can tell you.”
“Then lay it on me,” Ishmael grunted as he finally stopped pacing and took a seat next to the monster.
There was a pause, as Fairy looked the hero up and down. Eventually saying something with a sigh, “I can tell you two things… Will I be placating you with enough? Or will you learn everything?”
The Hero of The Winter Court frowned, he hated when things got this complicated. He was already in the deep end with other crap and taking on more sounded like too much work… but.
“Tell me everything,” He said with a sigh.
Fairy nodded as she typed some parameters into the incubation pod. “What we have here is a sort of… Proto-Beastman. Once it… no, it’s a he… once he is reborn he will be just as smart as you and me. You were basically given a mutant child.”
Ishmael shot up at that, taking a deeper look at the small figure within the pod. Some of the more monstrous pieces were there, but he could also be seen suckling on one of his thumbs.
“If my research is correct, what we have here is the extreme logical conclusion of Carnival’s powers. I wouldn’t be surprised if this little bugger is directly related to him on a biological level.” Fairy continued as her eyes scanned everything, “Ishmael… Like many of the races that aren't human, there’s a source of where they came from… And the little guy is probably directly from the source for the beastmen.”
There was a lull as Ishmael tapped his finger against the table. “Well, we can’t hand this over to The League… If the others agree, Silver’s going to be a big brother.”
“Speaking of Silver,” Fairy said with a big malicious smile, “He got me the last piece I needed to finish the file on Carnival. Photographer gets to keep the spot of the most difficult Theater member.”
“Oh? Yet another thing we’re hiding from The League?” Ice King said with a small laugh.
Fairy laughed in turn, a bigger one at that. Then as soon as she stopped she pulled a file up on one of the bigger monitors in the room.
“Carnival, a.k.a. Archer Bowen, originally from a small town in the state of Maine near the Canadian border, current whereabouts are unknown like the rest of them. He had a single mother, Janice Bowen, and a rap sheet that says troubled teenager. Right up until his father reappears and tries to get back in their lives, only to become the John Doe that committed a murder-suicide and it’s suggested that Carnival manifested his powers during that time frame… then he disappears… just like Firework.”
Ishmael cringed at that last bit. He never had much family trouble thankfully, but his wife Speed Queen had… That and he was a sucker for sob stories, but he had to press on. “Which one is his real power?”
“From what Silver got, his shapeshifting. My guess as to exact mechanics is that he has to focus on pre-established forms to ground himself to. And from what PrincesShifter told Elsa, he has long destroyed or lost his ability to become human again.” Fairy couldn't keep the melancholy out of her voice.
“Ugh… why can’t they stick to happy stories? Like Fiesta?” Ishmael said as he tapped the glass of the incubation pod. Watching as what was supposed to be a child rested within.
“Fiesta? Why not Emcee?” Fairy said with a bit of joyful mirth.
“Emcee is okay and all, and I get that he looks up to me. But after today? I don’t know…”
“You don’t know? He took no manipulating whatsoever for your very vague wish.” Fairy huffed, “When you pulled on the karmic string, he noticed the situation on his own. He respects you, and decided to use his own power and time to do what you asked of the universe, what you asked of him…”
Ice King couldn’t look Fairy in the eyes. “Doesn’t help that there’s a broken SKYSHAKER in the middle of the city.”
“That doesn’t matter!” Fairy almost yelled, “YOU wished for Chicago to be happy, and YOU chose to pull on his string. And guess what? IT WORKED! This is all the evidence you need to make a bigger wish! All you need to do is be careful.”
“And what should I wish for? Why should I rely on the power of the flow or whatever when I can go and use my own power to do it?”
“You are using your own power. You can’t be so passive like you were with this wish. That’s why you got hurt.”
Ice King didn’t say anything for a moment, looking for any reason to change the topic. He eventually found it. “Sarah was there, in the audience…”
“Perfect!” Fairy said, “Your next wish can be to take down Greenscale.”
“I'm going to go ask everyone else if they want to keep the monster.” Ishmael stands up and tromps out of the room without another word.
F.A.I.R.Y. — Statues == (Happy);
Project [downfall of greenscale] Created;
Project [downfall of greenscale] Status Completion == Set [False];
Project [monster to new blood] Created;
Project [monster to new blood] Status Completion == Set [False];