Heart:

"Here we are, guys!" Nosedive declared as we stepped inside, the double electronic doors opening for the group of us.

"And where exactly is this?" Grin asked from behind me.

"Galacticon?" I read the large sign hanging over the glass railing on the upper floor of the convention center.
"Yep, and we're here for a day and a half, so just sit back and enjoy, sis!" My twin insisted as I took in the crowd around us.

"How did I let you talk me into this?" I asked while taking in the busy environment of convention goers, many of whom were in costume.

It was quite the collective group, from sci-fi, fantasy, super hero, horror, gaming, comic book fans, and everything in between.
Grin rested a hand on my shoulder, giving a light laugh as he did, "It has been quite some time since the three of us went on an outing together. It seems your brother felt a strong need to bring us here."

I let a smile slip out, but asked, "He was pretty insistent wasn't he?"
Earlier that morning, Duke had offered to come along. The result of this was Nosedive throwing an arm around my neck in a near headlock as he proclaimed, "You're too close to the situation right now, this is a job for Grinster and me!"

Duke had put his hands up in a show of confused innocence, replying, "Alright Dive, ya win!"
"Don't worry, Dukester, she'll be back tomorrow night safe and sound," my brother had assured, while easing his grip on my throat.

"Can I help at all?" Duke asked as we headed out.

To which Nosedive put a hand to the chin of his beak, glanced at me, and sighed, "You could lend her a jersey?"
Glancing down, I smiled at how Duke had obliged, despite the sleeves covering my hands as I dropped my arms to my sides.
"So what first?" I asked.
"Other than a personal appearance I promised Phil we would take part in, as the trade for coming here, the sky's the limit!" Nosedive informed us, "And that isn't until tonight! We have the whole day to shop, explore, and just have fun for the first time in ages!"

I couldn't help but smile at my brother's enthusiasm, "That does sound nice, actually."
I then looked to my brother's right to see his two friends standing with us. Nosedive had pulled some strings with Phil to bring them along, and having him provide a two bedroom suite to stay in for our group of five.
"Any ideas?" Nosedive asked them.
The two self proclaimed outsiders looked around, taking in the sights, the costumed guests, the booths, the large signs... and gave a grin each.

"Whoa dude, looks like they have abit of everything."

"It's like, totally our Mecca, ya know?" They said, before the purple headed woman turned towards her avian friends, "So, what's this appearance ya talking about? Ya ain't gonna be like dressed up like some duck pucks, are ya?"
"For once we just get to be us, actually!" Nosedive said, "We just need to wear our jerseys, talk about Puck World a bit, and take some photos with fans!"

"I am looking forward to meeting fellow fans of hockey, and it's enlightening ways," Grin chimed in.

"Did Phil say what I needed to do?" I asked.

"Just give your support and wear your drake's jersey, things you would do anyway!" Nosedive insisted with a wide grin and a wink.

"Understood?" I replied in slight bewilderment, but didn't question further.

"You were on Puck World for a short while, I am sure fans might want to hear some of your story if you wish to share it?" Grin suggested.

"Until then, what should we do first?" Nosedive questioned while turning to his two humanoid friends, "Any suggestions, Thrash?"
Pulling out the con schedule, Mookie unfolded it and began to flip through, "Well, they got a Mutant Muskrat panel going on shortly. Oh! They have the voice actor for Barry the Bear doing autographs."

Her companion looked over her shoulder, and added, "Oh right! They have have a history of slime monsters on display here too!"
"Wait, what was that second one? Voice actor? What are you talking about?" Grin inquired. "Oh dear..." I winced as he and Dive looked to one another in bewilderment.

"Isn't Barry an alien like us?" Nosedive asked, scratching his head a little.
"He's like a bear dude?" Thrash commented, giving Nosedive a friendly nudge.

"Yeah man, like a cartoon at that!" Mookie added, as they began to lead the way through the crowd.

"Thought ya never know, could be real life stories."
"That's gotta to be it!" Nosedive insisted while we followed along.

I couldn't help but shake my head as a light smile was drawn out.

"I mean, we're ducks and a dragon, and here we are?" my twin added in his lingering confusion.

We then came to a room filled with vendors selling their wares, from artwork to figures and plushies to clothing and snacks. I even saw some if the merch Phil had pushed into the market for our team.

"This is really odd to hold," I mentioned while picking up a figure of a certain drake. Glancing over the table I raised a brow, "Where's Tanya?"

"There's a tiny version of her," Nosedive pointed out a set in a package.

"This is getting strange," Grin noted while looking over the plastic versions of our teammates, "but if it encourages others, I suppose it's not so bad...?"

We noticed a few kids talking among themselves, holding some of the figures as cherished treasures and stating who they're favorites were.
Mookie would nudge Grin, pointing over towards the children, "Looks like ya have some fans here! Say, it's before your thing, but how about ya say hi to them? It'll probably make their day."
Grin gave a cheerful smile before walking over to the group of kids. Nosedive would stay beside me at first, before I shoved him forward to follow our teammate, "You know they want to see you too, Dive!"
As expected, the eyes of those kids widened to nearly the size of dinner plates to see Nosedive and Grin casually walking up to them. Then they were bombarded with cheers and questions alike as the kids tried to maintain their composure in front of them, and half succeeded. "One at a time, kiddos!" Nosedive laughed.

They, with permission from the parents, began taking photos with the kids. Just watching them from beside Thrash and Mookie made me beam with pride.

The two grinned as they watched the children nearly swarm the duck.

"Well, isn't that sweet?" Thrash commented, before Mookie replied with a smirk, "Yeah, almost enough to make me gag."
"You should have seen Dive with Baby then," I barely stifled a giggle.

I stayed back while my two teammates entertained the kids for a little while longer. As I did, I took in the sights of the costumed humans around me. Most were in superhero or sci-fi garb...though a few in fantasy oriented outfits would also go by. I glanced away when they did, focusing on my teammates and our two guests again.
Soon, after hanging out with the two birds, the kids would depart, heading off to other locations. Mookie, walking up to them, patted Grin on the shoulder, "Ya guys really know how to work with kids. Now only if the parents were as easy to work with."
"We're just naturals. Right Grinster?" Nosedive nudged our teammate.

Then he walked over and threw an arm around me, securing me in a bit of a headlock, "Having fun?"

I gave a nod with a convincing smile. We proceeded to shop and people watch through what was the dealer's room, making note of costumes and merch we saw along the way. Nosedive would find some comics he was missing, while Grin shared some snacks with me, to which my twin also grabbed a bite of here and there.

"Hey Mookie," Nosedive would then call out through a beak half full of chips, "Have you gotten anymore art books or anything at the shop?"
"Well, we got some copies of the art of Morgana Macabre recently! Oh! I think she's supposed to be here for some event too!" The punk girl replied, as she looked over a box of vintage horror comics.
"That's pretty cool, but I sorta meant the kind you can draw in?" Nosedive chuckled while carefully sorting through the row of comics, "This stuff is crazy!"

Grin looked over their shoulders briefly and said to me, "I suggest you stay back, my friend."

"Noted," I said with a shrug from between him and Thrash.
"Oh yeah, sure! I'll save you a few when we get back! How's your art coming along by the way?" She asked Heart, picking up a comic with a particularly gory cover.
I gave a shrug, "It's just a hobby really. Sometimes I do stuff for the kids at the games. Mostly I just sketch though. It's how I sort out things I try to...remember..."

I didn't allow myself to drift from the topic too long, "It's how I cope with the memory loss and such. Back when we first got to Earth, I also used it to jot down things we discovered, like cows and the tree octopus."

Dive gave a laugh as he recalled these encounters.
Mookie gave Heart a pat on the shoulder, with a friendly smile. "Hey, ya gotta do whatever helps ya, ya know?... wait, tree octopus?"
"Yeah, he really liked candy bars," Nosedive said as though it were common knowledge, "we saw him while camping our first time here on Earth."

"A friendly creature indeed," Grin added.

"I'm starting to wonder if this realm isn't quite devoid of magic now that I think of it. Between things like that, Atlantis, the dead mall incident, and other such things, I wonder if there's pockets of magic in this universe?" I pondered aloud.
"Hey, ya never know...?" She smirked, before pointing towards a group dressed up as wizards, "Maybe one of them's real?"
I looked over at the seemingly make believe coven, and shrugged, "Maybe?"

I wondered if Dive had told the two, but wasn't sure if I should mention it. For the moment, I almost wanted to ignore the blood in my veins. I watched the group of wizards curiously while Dive looked through more comics, with Grin beside him now.
Unnoticed in the crowd, a green scaled reptile slinked through, barely having to hide himself among the costumed fans.
Shaking my head, I assured myself that it had just been a costume matching the shade of the green scaled lizard, and not the troublesome creep himself. Allowing me to turn my attention back to my companions and ask, "What's next on the agenda?"
"Well, if you got time, we can hit up the Megacade! Heard they got some games from Japan that haven't even been translated yet!" Thrash said excited, giving the others a nudge as he lead the way.
Meanwhile, the sneaky suarian would sneak around the con, occasionally pick pocketing passers by. However, he would spy as we passed by, and quickly phased himself to look like a fellow cosplayer. Transformed into a barbarian warrior, he watched as we went on by not noticing him. Breathing a sigh of relief as we continued on with our own business, he noticed the announcement coming over the PA system, "After the Mighty Ducks autograph session will be the Space Zombies Vs Eternal Conflict Super Stunt Show! Make sure to buy your tickets before they run out!" A grin crossed the lizard's face, as he began to make his way to the stunt arena.

Slinking his way through the crowd, Chameleon was able to swipe one of the staff passes, before making himself appear as the poor sap he grabbed it from. Heading back into the dressing room for the performers, he grabbed a tray of drinks, and from his belt drew a strange elixir. Pouring it into the beverages, he went back to where the actors were getting ready. Performers dressed up as ninjas, mages, robots, and mutants were getting their costumes on, stretching, and practicing their moves.
"Hey guys, you got a big show ahead of yas! Ya better make sure to stay hydrated! Have to take care of yaselves ya know!"
"That sounds right up your alley, Dive," I mentioned while he pulled me along with them. "Already got the tickets, girly-girl!" Nosedive said with a wink, "Phil got them for us as a trade for the autograph session!"

When we entered the arcade, I thought my twin's jaw would hit the floor. There were so many games, he didn't know where to start. Before I could barely look around, I was yanked over to a fighting game he apparently always wanted to try. Grin shook his head, with a chuckle escaping his beak.

"Thrash, Mookie, you gotta try this out!" After thoroughly losing to my brother, I bowed out for our two earthling friends to jump in.

This left me beside Grin, and finally getting to take a breath.

"He's trying," Grin then said.

"I know..." I assurd.

"He knew you would have mixed feelings on coming out so soon, away from the pond. However, he also didn't want to come to this without you."

"Something about twins sticking together?" I replied with a cheerful smile trying to remain on my face.

Grin rested a hand on my shoulder as he answered, "Same with teammates."
"Go, Dive!" I cheered on from beside Grin.

The three were in the middle of a match on the screen, doing their best in this free for all style fighting game. Occasionally a kid would come up to us for a photo, to which we happily obliged. Then we would move up the next game in the long line of ones they wanted to try while they had the chance. Some were fantasy games that I found myself avoiding until Dive nudged me, "Duke probably would try this one...then again why would he need to?"

"What's this one here?" I pushed his attention to a huge screen towards the back of the room.

"It looks like a band game of some sort?" Nosedive mentioned while looking at the instruments, "Some sort of prototype, I think? Wanna try it, sis? You like singing!"

I froze, my feet dragging as I tried to resist him pushing me over to the mic. Grin gave a chuckle before Dive grabbed his arm to beg him to be the drummer. Then he picked up the guitar. "It has Starship on there! Let's go, sis!"
It seemed I had little choice but to sing as "We Built This City" started playing on the speakers, the letters scrolling. A crowd of kids and con goers gathered for what I was sure was an odd spectacle to behold. When it was done, I was surprised to see how much I got into it with them. Catching my breath, I looked to the screen to see our score, and then turned to my two teammates with a genuine smile again, "Thanks guys."
Thrash and Mookie joined in the applause.

"Nice show! Usually I'm more like into stuff that isn't as polished, but good job there!" Mookie said, as Thrash came up to the machine, "Whoa... impressive hardware! Man, this looks like gaming of the future!"
"Well, this stuff is just kinda our jam," Nosedive said with a wide grin over his beak as he rustled my hair.

Then he placed a hand to his chin, pondering aloud, "I wonder though..."

"Hmm?" I prompted as he glanced at me, "What is that look for?"

"Well, we know that your electricity magic...could you do stuff with your voice?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Like make it sound like you're on a microphone, or even...?"

"Duke mentioned he heard my voice once or twice when I hadn't said anything aloud," I recalled.

Nosedive's eyes went wide, "Like a radio wave?"

"I guess?" I shrugged.

"We gotta try this out! Think of the pranks we could pull back at the pond!" He declared.
"Rad! You really need to show us that trick some time!" "Yeah, like totally!"

The two chimed in, as they addressed Heart. "Would be mondo cool!"
Dive and I were in sync as an eye twitched for each of us briefly. Grin gave a blend of a cough and a laugh at this, "It seems that isn't needed for you two to be connected, as it were."

Then I took a breath, as I said without a voice, trying to direct this attempt to the two, "You have to be receptive to it...I think...?"

"Did it work?" I then asked the two, "This is all still very new."
For a moment, the two stopped, their eyes going wide for a moment, "Whoa! Did you hear that?!"

"I heard it!"

"That's like.. totally rad!"
I looked to them, honestly a bit startled that it had worked.

Nosedive pulled me into a side hug, squeezing me, "You're getting the hang of it! Just wait until we get home! We could play a great prank on the Phil Meister!"

"Not if you crush her lungs and ribs she can't," Grin chuckled with a bit of a sympathized wince as Nosedive loosened his grip, slightly.
We would then hear over the intercom the announcement of the upcoming event we were to take part in.

"Well, let's get going," Nosedive sighed as we made our way to the stage, ready for the questions to be asked.
I couldn't slip away in time, before Nosedive pulled me up there with him and Grin, "You're a part of this too!"
"You guys have fun!"

"Yeah! We'll see ya at the show afterwards!" The two said as they waved off their friends. Shortly, the trio would arrive at the event, the room rented out for the occasion filled to the brim with fans. One of the crew rushed to the three, "Alright, we're starting in a few minutes. You two can take a seat up there and we'll begin when you're ready... umm.. who's the girl?"
Nosedive replied, without batting so much as an eyelash, "She's our teammate, and my sister."

Grin placed a seat beside Dive so I could be at his left. Grin would sit at his right.

"Our manager said he'd mentioned her," Grin said as I was pulled to my seat by my twin, not letting me get away.
"... oh... um... I guess that works? Come on, the crowd's waiting!" With that, he lead them to the stage, and upon their entry, the audience let out a thunderous applause.
"Hey there, hockey fans!" Nosedive hollered onto the mic, "...man, you'd think I'd be used to this...then again I don't have to talk during a game now do I?" He gave a laugh, quickly warming up.

I shook my head, wondering what would be asked, but giving into my twin's enthusiasm. We took our seats, and it began.
The crowd would begin their rounds of questioning, a few having them repeat things they've said several times before, a few more new and interesting. Unknown to the group, in the midst of the audience, a certain lizard was in disguise. Raising up his hand, he awaited them to call on him... but when he was picked, he stood up.

"So... Mighty Ducks... is it true that one of your team mates used to be a jewel thief?" This caused the crowd to murmur among each other, as he followed up with, "What kind of role model is that?"
Dive and I looked to one another quickly. Grin caught my attention with a nod of his head, and a steady smile. I looked to the crowd and answered with Dive's hand on my shoulder, "One that shows that anyone can change; and I would like to believe that his actions shown here on Earth are more than enough of an answer. He's saved lives, and puts those skills into protecting this world."
Many in the crowd would give a nod, but the reptile would continue, "Is that so? Didn't he break into the clock tower to steal the Sapphire of Fredonian not too long ago? Here? On Earth?"
"What's with this guy?" Dive grumbled under his breath, "How does this guy even know about this?"

However, I replied with surprising calm, "We did. To keep it away from our foes that were after it that night. Unless you would have preferred to have your mind wiped along with everyone here on Earth?"

I wasn't going to let anyone use that night against us. As I had answered, I had a hand clasping the sapphire he'd given me that night.
The crowd clapped at my response, which caused the reptile to sulk abit. "Yeah! Well... well... what are you doing with them anyways? You're no duck! They must've took pity on you to let you join them!"
I noted Dive clenching his fists as he took a breath, "He doesn't give up, does he?"

Grin tapped his shoulder, and nodded to the ones applauding, giving me a little clarity as I said, "I've been with them from day one, taking on missions together. Nothing is going to change that now."

"No pity about it, Heart's one of us. Feathers, scales, or whatever!" Nosedive said while giving me a side hug with another brotherly squeeze trying to knock the wind out of me.
With a round of applause from the rest of the guests, Chameleon slunk down into his seat, muttering to himself as the rest of the Q&A went on.
With the rest of the questions, we were able to shed a little more light on our history together. We didn't go into more recent details, but I allowed them to know of my initial injury, and how I had been saved by Duke and then taken in by my brothers. Ever since gaining new memories in place of the ones I had lost. We, of course, then shared some of our other adventures, assuring them that we would be there to take on new ones. With them cheering still we then began signing autographs and taking photos. Before I knew it, we were free from the stage and heading to the stunt room.

"That was well handled, my friend," Grin patted my shoulder, "Though I am not surprised, I am quite proud."

"Thanks guys," I said as we went to find Thrash and Mookie.

"What was that guy trying to prove?" Dive asked.

"Nothing, because his claims were made with I'll intent, which leads to nothing important on his end," Grin stated firmly.
With our business part of the event done, the group was free to go and enjoy the Space Zombies Vs. Eternal Conflict Super Stunt Action Show. Taking our seats, in the arena below we saw a set up that looked like one part desert wasteland, one part Eastern style temple, and one part futuristic military base. Members of the audience clamored between each other, a good number of them wearing merch from the two games, several kids holding action figures of the heroes and villains, excitedly talking to each other.
"This is going to be so cool!" Nosedive grinned.

"Dive, we have our own battles almost every day," I teased him, only for him to rustle my hair a bit.

"Even still! Look at that stage, it's so cheesy and fun!" "This experience may enrich us yet," Grin mused.
"Yeah, man! This is going to be killer!"

"Totally, though I don't think they're going to be taking off anyone's heads thought." The comic shop owners commented, as they leaned back in their chairs. The lights began to dim, while errie synth music began to play.
Meanwhile, backstage the performers were doing last minute prep. Making sure their costumes were on right, that they were physically ready for the intense act they had to pull off soon, and that they were properly hydrated with the help of one of the staff. A big burly guy dressed up in a green monster costume with chainsaw blades jutting out of his arms patted the back of the staff member, "Thanks for looking out for us! You just enjoy the show!"

The staff member gave a nod, before heading off, turning back into his reptilian form, "Oooh... I certainly will."
"I would hope not,," I replied to the human siblings.

"It's about to start! I can't wait to see what stunts these guys can pull off! It's supposed to be really crazy!" Nosedive was all but bouncing out of his seat like a little kid in a candy shop that had already eaten half the stock.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a large gong being struck, as the music began to amp up. Lights began to flicker, spotlights moving across the battlefields. An announcer began to speak over the PA system, detailing the convoluted and overthought excuse for having the two franchises crossover in an event like this, which only drove the crowd wild. The lights would go off, followed by a burst of flames in the wastelands center stage. Standing in the middle were the two main villains of each game, the dark and arcane Warlock, a martial artist wearing flowing robes with eldritch sigils, and Mutilator, a large green alien mutant cyborg with chainsaws growing from his arms. The two would begin to trade blows as the audience cheered and booed the baddies, both actors showing outstanding physical abilities as they went to strike and dodge each other.
"Not bad," Grin noted while watching, "This is quite an art form in it of itself."

I sat back and smiled at my brother's enthusiasm as he sat at the edge of his seat. He was genuinely amped up, and it was a little contagious. Taking a breath and letting it go, I watched on from between my two teammates as the show continued on.
As the two continued to brawl, eventually they would come to a standstill. At this point, the Warlock stroked his goatee, and grinned.

"Why are we fighting? We are both powerful, capable warriors... why not combine our forces... and take over the multiverse!" He said that last line, clenching his fist before himself.

The alien warlord crossed his bladed arms, and nodded, "My might, and your magic will make mincemeat of those pathetic heroes that trouble us... the accursed Han-Shu and Agent X!"
"Why is this so cheesy and yet oddly relatable?" I asked.

"Because we live this stuff," Dive laughed, "Only we're half as cheesy I would say." "Unless we're coming up with bone jokes?" I judged him.

"That's just fun," he insisted playfully.
"It is, like, total camp without the ultra violence... but still alot of fun!" Mookie added, while Thrash leaned back, "Say, the big guy kinda looks like one of your ex-boyfriends."

"Oh shush you!"
Before they knew it, Han-Shu, a Shaolin style monk with flowing black hair, was fending off the alien feline fiend Leopardia. Swiping at him with her razor sharp claws, the catwoman made feral attack after feral attack, which the monk avoided with grace. However, when he went to retaliate, a kick landed on her head, sending the feline reeling back, clutching her noggin.
Whispering so that the crowd didn't hear, he quickly asked her, "Hey, you okay? Didn't mean to hit that hard."
Dive and I winced in unison as this had occurred. Grin watched on with concern as well. "Relax, these guys are trained for this sort of thing, and they have medics on standby just in case," my twin then assured me.
Shaking her head, the actress let out a snarl, and hissed out as she swung a fierce kick at Han. He was barely able to jump out of the way, before whispering again, "Hey, that wasn't part of the script! I'm sorry abou-"

However, he was interupted, as she grabbed him by his arm, and slammed him against the gong in the center of the temple. Letting out a roar, she turned towards the audience, and made a charge towards them, lunging into the crowd of shocked onlookers.
Grin looked to the two of us, "Getting some very bad vibes."

"You don't say?" Dive grumbled as we jumped to our feet and quick changed.

We began making our way towards her, with Dive telling the crowd to step back and let us through.

"Did you miss your catnap, lady?" My twin then hollered over the crowd, trying to get her attention.
"Whoa dude... super interactive... but this might be taking things too far," commented Thrash as the trio hurried to the crowd's aid, who were fleeing from the mad catwoman.

Snarling, she rushed the trio, the spotted feline fighter pouncing upon Nosedive and snapping at him.
"Dive!" I cried out as he leapt out of the way.

Grin hurried over and went to grapple the feral eyed woman trying to attack.

"What's going on?" I tried to think, looking around for whatever we hadn't noticed.

As if on cue, several of the other stunt performers rushed out into the arena, and charged the audience. Agent X, a military solider in power armor, grabbed a staff member and tossed him into the crowd, while Dekay, a hulking zombie warrior, smashed the barrier between them and the audience with his spiked maul. The cat turned into a whirlwind of claws, teeth, and fists, striking Grin over and over again.
Grin held tight, taking the strikes so not to let her loose on the crowd, "Calm yourself...get in touch with your inner kitten."

Nosedive and I hurried to try and stand between them and the crowd.

"Thrash, Mookie, get the crowd out of here! We'll handle this!" Nosedive ordered quickly. As the warrior stepped forward, I drew my glaive and braced myself, "DeKay, right? So undead?"

"He's not actually undead!" Nosedive chuckled, "Don't really turn him into a pile of bones, sis!"

"It got you to laugh didn't it?" I attempted.
While Grin struggled to keep Leopardia under control, the two of us went after Dekay. Looking down at us, he narrowed his sunken eyes, spinning around as he swung the maul towards my brother and I, "Puny fleshlings! Dekay will put you in the grave!"
I took a decent lunge under his arm, my shorter height slipping beneath with ease as I used the base of my glaive to try and block the attack.

"Woah!" I would hear Dive comment as I already felt the heat of my scales emerging to

try and back up my defense.

Energy sparked around me in warning as I growled at the stunt man, "Sorry, we have other plans!"

Nosedive drew his blaster, taking aim, "Back off, bonehead!"
"You can not kill Dekay! He's already dead!" The brute yelled, bringing the maul down towards me, only to be blocked by my glaive, giving Nosedive an opening. As he fired the puck, it struck the actor in the head, denting the skull helmet, and sending him toppling down. "... a minor.. setback.."
Nosedive quickly fired a bola Puck, trying to entangle the armored stunt man. While I turned my attention to the next foe.

Grin managed to get a decent grip on the cat lady, "Let us help...we are trying to find the source of this chaos."

"It wouldn't be...?" I faltered, shaking my head.

"Shadow can't get through...if I were a betting drake, I'd put my money on the usual slimeballs!" Nosedive grumbled.
Slipping out of his grasp, Leopardia pulled herself onto Grin's shoulders, and shoved his helmet over his face, before bounding off.

Meanwhile, as I looked over the battlegrounds, U could spot Han-Shu peeking from behind the gong he was slammed into, quickly hiding behind it I hurried over to the stunt man while Nosedive tried to handle the feline attacker.

"What's going on? Why aren't you acting like them? Do you have anything to do with this, or know who did this?" I asked.
"I.. I I don't know! Things were alright until I got her in the head! Like, everything was going like normal until that! We just got ready for the show, stretched, got in our gear, they got some water while I enjoyed my sports drink... umm..." The scared actor sputtered out, as Grin was intercepted by Agent X, "FOUL ALIEN! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU DOWN TO THE GROUND!"
"Try to clear your mind, friend! We are not your enemy!" Grin attempted calmly while bracing himself.

"If it were the water, then other people would be infected..." I pondered aloud, "and others wouldn't be reacting to your attack...?"

I looked over the empty arena, with only my two teammates and I there to fend off the attackers.

"Did you notice anything else?" I pushed quickly.

Nosedive was now trying to evade the claws of the cat lady, but kept her from chasing after the crowd.
"Uh... I guess there was that new guy.. I mean, we've been working with the staff to get things ready, but this new guy showed up to help us last minute... and gave the others their drinks..."

Suddenly, a booming voice called out, as the Warlock approached Heart and Han-Shu. Raising his hands up, he cackled, "Your essence shall be in my possession!"
I whirled around on my heel, bracing with my glaive. I tried to think as those words haunted me. The words used to taunt me...before...Not here! My scales continued to spread over me as my tail and wings emerged. Taking a breath, I shakily replied, "You don't want this...or what comes with it!"

I gave a warning burst of electricity, making sure not to actually strike the human. I then yelled out to the others, "I think someone slipped something into their water!"

"So what do we do?" Nosedive asked, "We don't exactly have an antidote!"
The Warlock, stepping forward, thrusted his hands towards me.

"HAAAA!" He exclaimed as... nothing happened. "... HAAAA!" Again... nothing... "Ha?"
At this, I couldn't help but laugh. Not just a light giggle, nor was it one of contempt. Just a laugh from the reality around me. These people didn't have powers, trained to take a hit or not. "She's cracked," Dive said, blinking in bewilderment.

Grin, however, gave a bit of a slight chuckle, "It seems some needed clarity has been found?"

In the warlock's confusion I managed to shoot out a bola puck to render him captured while we moved on to try and fix this. The bolas easily wrapped around the Warlock, who fell to the ground with a thump. He struggled and squirmed against his binding, but to no avail.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream, followed by the sound of a buzzing chainsaw.
With Dive fending off the feline, Grin and I hurried to the source of the screaming. I barely realized my draconic features were still on fuller display as we rushed to the crowd , and the other attackers.
We would arrive to a scene of sheer chaos. In the midst of a panicked crowd, Mutilator stood tall, holding up a poor spectator upsidedown by his foot. His bladed whirred menacingly, as he let out a fiendish chuckle, "I will rend you apart, puny Earthling!"
"It's gotta be a prop...right...?" I ventured, the unease of the situation returning as we looked closer.

"Are you kidding me?! Who gave him that?!" I exclaimed.

"Possibly the same one that gave them the infected water?" Grin suggested.

He then called out, "Why don't you let me cut in? While my friend helps take charge?"

He glanced at me. I gave a nod, and took a quick breath as I tried to focus on the chainsaw, zapping back it's power as quickly as I could.
The buzzing blade quickly died, bringing forth an irritated grunt from the brute. Turning towards the two of us, he dropped the almost victim, "I see you challenge me! Come and fight me, and we will see who is stronger!"
I took another breath, grateful for Grin stepping forward, "Very well, maybe the exercise will clear your head."

Meanwhile, I watched the area closely for anyone that might look out of place, and kept trying to usher the crowd away. Grin braced himself for the first hit. It seemed, one of the members of the crowd watched on, not in shock or fear, but excitement. While I searched, Mutilator barreled towards Grin, swinging the inert blades at the giant duck in a fury.
Grin blocked the blow with his metal arm brace.

Mutilator keep on with the furious barrage. "I will tear you to pieces, avian!"

"I think I will come out of this more complete than you think," Grin assured as he stood steady, "let's see how you will hold up."

"Arragont little duck... I will slice and dice you!" The warlord called out, before slashing as Grin several times over, teach time he torn off or cut at his armor and clothing.
Grin took the hits before finally replying, "I am done humoring this. My friends and I just wanted some much needed peace, and that has been disturbed long enough!"' Then with his fist as he landed a good strike into his chest.

The actor toppled back, letting out a gasp. Before he passed out, he raised up a hand, clutching at Grin, "Masterful... Conquest!"

As he did, I slipped through the costumed crowd, calming my energy as I made my way to the rather calm figure. Making note of the green spots he'd forgotten about this time, probably due to being among those dressed in sci-fi and fantasy garb.

I quickly grabbed for his arm, trying to keep him from using his teleporter to escape, "Enjoying the show?"
The green guest gave a shocked look... before it turned into a sneer, "Not as much fun as you'll have!"

With that, he transformed into his usual skeevy self with a mocking laugh, slipping out of my grasp as he began to scurry away. I quickly darted after the Chameleon through the crowd. I wasn't bothering to try and hide my dragon features, as I felt there was little time allotted for me to worry about it. The result was jaws dropping even more as I ran by when they realized my scales weren't a costume. Using the base of my glaive, I was able to propel myself up and forward, gliding to a stop just in front of the green lizard, "Nice try, creep! Now what's going on?"
The reptile looked at me with disbelief, his bug eyes blinking a few times as he tried to make sense of what he saw. "... huh... you're one of us?"
I glanced over my scales, now showing over my arms and face, as well as my tail and wings. I tried to laugh off this comment, shaking my head, "You think these scales will change where I stand?"
Sneering at me again, Chameleon chuckled, "Well... either way, I'm sure my pals will love to know this! And your friends can have fun now...!"

Suddenly, he would splash me right in the face with a vial of the mind altering substance I realized too late that he had used on the actors, "Toodles!"

And before my eyes, he began to phase out, teleporting back to the Raptor.
As the chemical splashed into my eyes, some of it hitting my lips, I tried to shake it off. Yet my head quickly began to spin, my senses whirling and misfiring. The crowd gathered around seemed to only amplify this as I tried to step away, searching in vain for anyone familiar, "...Guys...?"

When I couldn't find them fast, forced frustration quickly set in. A growl emerged from my throat, warning those around me to back off.

As the fighter had fallen, Grin went to check on Nosedive, who was still wrestling with the cat Lady. That is, before he finally struck her in the head as she went to claw at his face. His eyes went wide as he knocked her off of him.

"Jeez! I'm sorry lady, are you okay?" He asked seconds afterward.
The actress took a few seconds after they checked on her, before she looked up at them... "Huh... wh-... what happened? Did he really get me that hard?"

Nosedive sighed with some relief to hear the woman coming to her senses, "You're okay now. Wait here and the medics will take care of you."

He then turned to Grin, "Anyone else to deal with? We got about 3 of 4 of them, right?" Then he looked around, "Where's Heart?"

Meanwhile, back with me and my spiraling out of hand dilema, Agent X stepped out. Looking me down, he spat on the ground, "Looks like another monster threatening the galaxy! I'm gonna take you down beast!"

He then charged at me, jumping up as he went to kick with both feet.
Upon impact I was knocked back a bit, before I caught myself in the air and slid to a stop. My claws emerged as I grabbed at the floor to help come to that stop. Energy began sparking around me as I growled back at this foe, "Go ahead and try!"

With that I darted back at him to land a slash across his shoulder. My claws would cut into it, as he let out a grunt in response. Reeling his head back, he then smashed his face into mine as he bellowed, "You think I'm gonna go down that easy?!"

As I stumbled back, he went to grab me, and began to spin me around over his head.
Out of dizzying instinct, I grabbed at his wrists, my claws digging past his gloves and into his skin. My scales hardened like armor as I managed to jump down, pulling him along with me, and into the nearest wall, flipping him over me with just the right momentum. The crowd cried out in fear as I did this while still growling, my confusion spurring me further, "You think we're monsters?! All you do is try and slay us!"

Inside the arena, Nosedive and Grin would hear the yelling of the crowd, forcing them to investigate.

"You serve Mutilator! I must defeat you to protect the galaxy!" He exclaimed, as he went to have another go at me.

Out of the crowd though, Thrash and Mookie got in between the two of them, the brother yelling out, "Whoa whoa whoa! Ya gotta stop this, she's trying to stop an alien warlord, not help one!"
Despite these words, I darted forward still in my frenzy. With the chemical still stinging my eyes and lips, I leapt at the costumed hero, trying to tackle him. Though I did seem to make sure not to hit the two humans in my fury. It was now that Grin and Nosedive pushed through the crowd to just see what was happening.

"Heart?!" Nosedive exclaimed, but wasn't heard.
Despite my furious charge, Agent X was able to intercept me. Lifting my smaller frame up again, he was ready to slam me into the ground... until he was struck in the back by Mookie with a folding car, "You let go of her ya overblown action figure!"
I would fall to the ground, my form colliding with it harshly, and at the fighter's feet. Still the crowd kept Dive and Grin from reaching me as they watched on in fear. I glared up at the so called hero, ready to pounce at him again, "We're not monsters!"
As he turned to Mookie, about to slug her, Thrash rushed up behind him, and gave him a good hit to the back of the head... which didn't even phase him. Grabbing the two of them, he tossed them into the crowd, before turning back on me, "You're not going to get away that easy!"
Seeing the two tossed aside, something started to kick back into place...but still my eyes burned from the confusion and loss of control from that substance. Nonetheless I jumped up and shouted, "You call yourself a hero?!"

I lunged forward, and uses the force of my claws to shove him back against the wall.
"Sis!" Nosedive attempted to call to me, but was drowned out by the gasping crowd.
As he was slammed into the wall, his head struck it, and after a few more failed punched, he toppled forward with a groan. Thrash and Mookie got up, rubbing their heads, "Like whoa... that was... nuts."
Seeing my foe had finally fallen, my hands balled into fists as I turned towards the crowd with energy sparking around me in quick warning bursts. I tried to think clearly, to see who was there...but it still stung...everything seemed to, from my eyes that had been warped by the toxin...and my core still ridden with loss and grief..."We're not monsters! I...!"
"Sis! Let us through!" Nosedive tried to little avail as the crowd watched me closely for what I would do next.
Mookie raised up her hands, approaching me, "Hey girl, calm down, the big dude's down. Nobody thinks you're a monster! Even if ya were, ya a freaking cool one."
I looked to the human girl, and her brother beside her. Something tugged further back into place. As I took in her words, my hands flexed out from balled up fists. I managed through a growl, "Are...are you both okay...? Did he hurt you...? This wanna be hero?"

It occurred to me what she said, "I'm not?"

In the crowd, Nosedive looked on holding his breath a bit, while Grin helped get them closer through. I tried to wipe something that made my eyes burn with this lingering confused fury, groaning as I did, "I...I tried..."
"No, we're okay! Thanks to you Heart! We just need you to relax and settle down, ya know?" Thrash replied, trying to reassure me.
I eased up a bit more, still trying to wipe my eyes as I tried to blink away tears and something else stinging the brims of them. I knelt down, waiting for the crowd to react however it wanted to by this point. I was not going to be the monster others said I was.
"Wait, is there something in her face? It looks like there's something in her eyes?" Thrash mentioned, which prompted Mookie to grab a bystander's bottled water and towel, dampening it and using it to damp on her face. "Look, just chill... things are alright."
With the water clearing out the rest of the toxin, I looked to them, at last catching my breath and saying with my senses returning, "Th-Thank you..." \

"Sis!" Nosedive finally exclaimed while bursting through the crowd, "Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah...I'm fine, thanks to our friends."

I then explained how I had discovered the Chameleon being the cause of the chaos, what he now knew, and how he had used the toxin on me as well.

"That creep had better hope I never get my hands on his slimey tail!" He declared with Grin nodding along.

"What about the fighters?" I then asked, "Are they all okay?" "I think so. That stuff wore off pretty fast, it mustn't have been potent enough to last in their system,but could still cause a lot of damage if we hadn't been here."
The crowd would begin to clap, seeing the group that saved them. The actor for Agent X started to get up, rubbing his head. "Whoa... what... what happened...?" To which, Mookie pulled him aside to explain what went down. Luckily nobody was seriously injured, and all the stunt actors returned to normal, leaving the group of us to enjoy the rest of the con over the weekend.

As we did, I would find others looking at my lingering scales every so often. However, rather than fear or disgust, I would find new expressions facing me. For the first time that I could remember, I was seeing looks of fascination that weren't from my teammates. Some parents would even walk up to me with my brother and friend, asking if their children could take photos with all of us, and thank them for saving them as they did. One little girl would walk up to me and say cheerfully, "I...I always loved dragons...but my friends at school all like unicorns...so I sorta get picked on for it..."

Nosedive listened in on this, and said with an arm resting on my shoulder, "Yeah, kiddo?"

"But now I can tell them that I met a dragon, and she's just as cool as I imagined! Maybe a little scary...but not mean!" she insisted with a burst of excitement in her voice and glistening green eyes.

I had recoiled slightly at the term "scary", before Thrash and Mookie walked over, with the sister chiming in, "Scary for the right reason, right?"

"Yeah, she was trying to protect us!" she replied while running up and hugging me now, "Thank you!"

"I...uh...y-you're welcome..." I said while giving her a hug in return.

With this, she got her photo, and then scampered off with some of her friends, who were watching with widened eyes in awe.

"Feel better?" Nosedive then asked from beside me still.

Looking to my twin, and then our friends, I would nod my head. Though I knew I had a lot to take in and learn still, I also understood that things were going to be far different this time around. This time, I was looked at as a hero along with my teammates. This time, I had them to stand with and fight alongside of, no matter what came our way. This time, I was able to protect those that needed me to. This time, others could see and understand that I was in need of aid, and was trying to reach out for this, and to still try and keep them safe. This time, I had support I'd never had before...Not just with my teammates, but from the connections I'd never had before, a thread to a part of myself that I often forgot. The thread that helped bring me back to the clarity I desperatelt needed, those of human connections.