The very next night, we gathered again at the bar, as per tradition. Barney joined us a little later, looking kind of strange. The suit, the face, the hair, the movements were the same, but the eyes... the eyes were empty. Distant.

He sat down just as a new waiter, Sam, who looked to be about eighteen-nineteen, approached our booth. Now, a few days earlier, Barney and this new kid had a huge argument, which almost ended in a fight; but we intervened, so instead it didn't end at all. Now, whenever he took our orders, Sam tried to make Barney's life as miserable as possible.

Sam pulled out a small notepad and pen, smiling widely at us. We smiled awkwardly back- as horrible as this guy was to Barney, he still seemed like a nice kid. Sam then turned to the man in the suit, the smile morphing into a hate-filled, malicious grin. But before he could open his mouth to insult Barney, the blonde returned the look with a fierce, petrifying sneer, lips curling back to reveal sharp canines, gaze piercing and unwavering, eyes two chips of ice, narrowed and alarmingly feral. It was so unnerving, so actually threatening, that I physically flinched. I had never seen such an expression take over Barney's features, and I felt a chill run down my spine. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Marshall's quivering hand tightly clutching Lily's.

Sam's eyes widened in fear, and he paled to a striking white. Oblivious to the fact that he'd dropped the notepad, the kid scurried away and out the door, not looking back. Barney relaxed his posture, taking a sip from his scotch. He didn't seem to notice the stares we directing his way, nor the side glances from the bar-keep. The four of us exchanged worried looks, and launched into one of the most nerve-racking telepathic conversations ever.

Ted: Guys, what if Moist was right? What if Barney really is Doctor Horrible? It would explain so much!

Lily: I know, I was thinking the same thing!

Robin: Okay, come on, this is madness! This must be some kind of huge scam- Barney's pulled plenty of those!

Marshall: No way, it all fits so perfectly!

Robin: Nope, not buying it.

Ted: Okay, okay, I know what to do. We'll test and prove the theory- think back to everything we watched yesterday, and follow my lead.

"Hey Barney," I started, "there's this new girl at my firm- hot redhead, probably an eight, I thought you might like her. What was her na... oh, right- Penny."

Barney, who at the start had barely been paying attention, perked up at the mention of the name. His eyes sparked, and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards; but as quickly as it had come, the spark vanished, and the un-feeling mask was back in place. It was like Billy had clawed his way up for a moment, only to be pushed back down.

"Meh, sounds okay."

I scowled internally, carefully not to do so externally.

Marshall pitched next.

"Hey, do you guys remember that outbreak of heroes and villains LA had a while back?"

Barney's eye twitched slightly, but that was it so far.

"Oh, yeah!" Robin added, "we were talking about that the other day at work- god, it must have been heaven for news reporters there..."

"I still remember some of the details," Marshall continued, watching Barney closely. "The best was that Hammer guy, for sure-"

Twitch.

"-the way he always kicked that wimpy guy's ass... What was his name?"

Twitch.

"Doctor Horrible!" I offered, after making a big show of thinking hard. "Pft, some villain. Got bashed unconscious by the good guys every time."

Twitch.

"I don't know, he got pretty scary after that big thing with Captain Hammer... I hear Hammer's still in therapy!"

Twitch.

I paused a little bit before thinking up my next pitch- I knew this wasn't what had actually happened, and it was a pretty low blow to say what I was about to, but it had to be done.

"Huh. Actually, now that I think about it, you're right! He really stepped up after he murdered that woman... uh... what's-her-name. God, that really gives me the creeps. Wouldn't want to sit next to that guy in a bar, right Barney! Barney?"

Barney had literally frozen- he wasn't moving, or blinking, or even breathing. After what seemed like hours, but was probably about a few minutes, the blonde man stood up and walked slowly, gracefully out of the bar, a blank look taking over his refined features.

I was the first to speak.

"Well, theory confirmed."

Thanks for all the favs and follows, and thanks Teri for the awesome review, and it would be great to have some more of those! Reviews=inspiration, and without inspiration, there will be no story... :( Anyway, enjoy!