Couldn't resist. Someone mentioned something that sparked an idea...
(It's possible that this will become canon at some point)
The wormhole opened around the back of the row of dumpsters, a head sticking out and looking around, then popping back in. Moments later, several…
Let's go with people.
...People exited one after another.
As the orange-bordered hole in the universe silently vanished, one of the figures turned to the first one, who had checked the coast was clear. "Tell me again why we're here?" It looked around. "Bit boring."
The tall slender figure smiled. Then pointed towards a tall building in the near distance. On top of it was a red illuminated sign that read 'Hilton' in letters twenty feet high, while a considerable distance down the front of what appeared to be a combined hotel and conference center, a large banner was strung. Everyone read it.
"Comic festival?"
"Yep."
"One of those things where people dress up in costumes, pretending to be capes?"
"Yep."
"Does this world actually have capes?"
The smile widened. "Nope." With a happy shrug, the blue-scaled reptile grinned. "But they have a lot of movies about them, even more comics and books, and a hell of a lot of people who put way more time into their costumes than even that Glenn character does. I bet we blend right in."
The apparently animated cloak that didn't seem to have anyone inside it laughed. "Cool. So we're going to freak out the normals?"
"A little. Mainly have fun, see if they have any good ideas we can get inspired by, get some souvenirs, that sort of thing. A few pranks. Nothing too serious."
The brunette girl with long hair in a pony tail, who was wearing a leather coat that looked like it was some sort of lizard skin, over similar trousers, with matching boots completing the ensemble, rolled her eyes for a moment. Behind her, a reptilian tail, the scales red and gold, twitched idly. She had a complex mechanism attached to her right forearm which appeared to have a wooden stick in it, nearly a foot long, running up her arm from the wrist.
She said in a slightly acidic voice, "Do you really think this is the best use of company resources?"
"I do. It's my company, anyway. And you work too hard, you need to learn to have fun."
The young woman, who seemed to be in her late teens or early twenties, sighed slightly and turned to look at one of the other two people standing there grinning. "Can't you talk some sense into her?" she pleaded.
One of the two reptilian creatures, even taller than the first one, shook her head, her glowing green eyes alight with mischief. "No. I wouldn't even if I could. This should be great."
"Poor humans," the other one, which was a violet-blue color, snickered.
"You do realize that everyone is going to know immediately that those aren't costumes," the young woman said.
"Wanna bet?" The leader of the little landing party chuckled, handing out several items that formed in her hands. "Here, put these on, guys," she said. Both the large lizards took a couple of the items and carefully fitted them to their heads, looking at each other.
"Horns?"
The girl wearing leather looked askance at her friends.
"Obviously fake, although very well designed to not look fake, horns," the blue lizard said, putting her own on. "See? People look at them, they can see the joins, we're wearing costumes. Really professional ones, but they still have a few flaws."
"And her?"
"That's what this is for." She held up an odd looking structure, a wooden cross mounted horizontally above a series of vertical wires that came down from the arms, wrapped in thin thread so from a distance they looked like strings. Attaching it somehow to her companion, who was giggling in a weird hissing voice, she stepped back and admired the results. "There you go. A floating cloak puppet costume. Neat."
"You are all completely insane, you know," the brunette muttered, but a reluctant grin crossed her face. "Remind me why I accepted the job?"
"Because it intellectually stretches you more than back home, you get some pretty damn good perks, and even get to intimidate the occasional god."
"Oh, right, I forgot about that," the woman laughed. "That was funny, I have to admit."
"He didn't think so." They all looked at each other, then grinned. Even the cloak, which was a damn good trick.
"So that's why you told me to wear the dragon-skin armor?"
"Obviously. It's a nice costume if you don't know where it came from. Although if I ever find out who peeled a distant cousin I might have to go and worry them."
The slender lizard adjusted her armor, making a few changes to it that converted it from looking very real, which it was, into something that looked like it was trying very hard to look very real and not quite making it. She formed a couple of swords with long curved blades and reached over her shoulders with her arms crossed, slipping the blades into a pair of scabbards that also materialized on demand.
She had a mobile phone clipped to the belt of her armored skirt, and a pair of sunglasses completed the 'costume.'
"How do I look?"
"Like an insane lizard ninja who's trying to pretend not to be one," the woman said, her smile growing. "But without knowing you, probably the locals will just think you're weird."
"I am weird." The lizard-girl formed a mirror and looked into it, the scales around her neck, above her armor chest-plate, slightly changing color in a line that made it look like a very well disguised seam was hidden there. "That's better." She smiled at herself. Tossing the mirror to the side where it vanished, she turned to the two larger lizards. "Armor out, please," she commanded.
Both of her companions grinned, then there was a rapid clattering sound, leaving them covered in color-matched armor plates from head to tail. The more lightly-built reptile cocked her head, thought for a moment, and then nodded, as the color of the metallic armor changed, becoming matte black with chrome trimmings, and a few glowing points scattered around it on the joints. "There. Reptilian power armor."
The black lizard tapped her arm. "It's made of plastic?"
"Only on top, it's still EDM under that. But this looks less real."
"Cute. Should work."
"Here, put these on as well," the blue lizard said, producing a large complex looking futuristic rifle with a couple of very alien displays on the back. She handed it to the black lizard, then made another one which she gave to the violet one, both of whom slung them over their shoulders like they were familiar with them. "Don't worry, they're not charged. But they look cool."
"That was Alec's main request," the violet lizard snickered. "Make them look cool."
"Man knows his desires," the blue lizard agreed. "Oh, don't let me forget to grab any video games we see, he wanted new ones. With any luck they'll have something he's never seen before."
"You could have let him come."
Everyone looked at the brunette, who flushed a little. "OK, stupid thing to say. Sorry. I forgot for a moment who we were talking about."
"Great, I think we're ready. OK, guys, move out, take no prisoners, and grab the goodie-bags when you see them. Strike team 'Have-fun' is a go."
"Insane. Totally insane," the woman said as she followed her friends across the hot car park towards the hotel. She flicked the stick in her holder into her hand with a slight effort of will and made a quick motion with it, then let go, the thing retracting again too fast to see. Sighing with relief at the cooling spell working, she rolled her shoulders, twitched her tail, and sped up to walk next to the blue reptile.
"I hope you got tickets," she said when they were nearly at the door, dozens of other people in costumes ranging from absurd to incredibly impressive surrounding them, and a much larger number of people in more or less normal clothes taking pictures from all around.
"Course I did, weeks ago," the lizard-girl said in tones of surprise. "I may be insane, but I'm not crazy."
"Debatable," the woman sighed, although she was smiling.
"Happy birthday, by the way."
"Thanks."
Moments later they entered the building, looking around with interest.
"This is the best Con I've been to in years," Jeff said to his stall neighbor, who was watching the crowd. "Hell of a lot of people. I'm going to sell out before the end at this rate."
"It's pretty fucking good," Brad replied agreeably. "I'm going to have to go out to the truck in an hour or so for more stock."
"Some amazing costumes, as well. Look at those ones." Jeff motioned towards where two women, one in leather armor of some sort, and one dressed up like some sort of horned fantasy velociraptor crossed with a samurai, a pair of katana hilts sticking up over her shoulders, were discussing a book. He noticed with amusement that the leather-wearing one was still themed like her friend, having an impressively well-made lizard's tail coming out the back of her pants. It was swinging slowly back and forth, some internal mechanism working it. "Damn impressive prosthetics. A dragon-kin swordswoman and her half-human friend, maybe?"
"Don't recognize the series," Brad said doubtfully. "Probably some Japanese-only anime that died after four episodes or so. But the costumes are first rate."
They watched, amused at the realism, as the pair bought the book, then a couple of others. Another pair of women walked up to them, both apparently Japanese, one tall and blonde and one short with long braided black hair with a bright blue streak in it, greeting the first set who turned and smiled. Jeff was impressed by the way the reptilian costume's mouth moved.
All four spoke in Japanese for a few minutes, almost inaudible over the din in the huge room and the various announcements, before the Japanese women waved and moved on. They were joined a few stalls further down by another woman who had a silver wig on and was wearing a long leather coat down to her ankles. The trio turned the corner and vanished.
The first pair moved down the row, then crossed it, coming back stall by stall, until they stopped in front of his, inspecting his wares. "Nice swords," the one dressed as a humanoid lizard said appreciatively, her voice somehow altered by the suit to have a slight hiss to it. The electronics inside were impressive. He found himself wondering how long it took to put on.
"Thanks," he smiled. Brad was now involved in selling some chain mail to a pair of teens who were wearing a very inferior version of the same thing, and were staring at his stuff with wide eyes. "I make them. All sorts of weapons, swords, knives, axes, that sort of thing."
"All traditional stuff, then," she said, picking up a copy of a roman short sword and looking down the blade with one eye.
"Yes. I'm interested in the pre-gunpowder sort of thing. A friend of mine is into more modern weapons, but considering his idea of a concealed weapon is a four inch mortar, they won't let him bring any here." He grinned as she laughed. "He's a little paranoid, but a good guy. Just slightly nuts."
The woman in leather, which to his eyes looked like it was probably either snake-skin, or crocodile leather, both very expensive, snorted at his comment. She glanced at her friend. "Nuts. Yes, I'm familiar with that problem," she said. The first woman smirked at her, the reptilian mask she was wearing amazingly flexible and getting the underlying expression across wonderfully.
"Quiet, you, you love it and you know it." Putting the short sword down, she picked up a hand ax and weighed it in her hand, then flipped it end over end and caught it again. "Nice. How much?"
"Three hundred."
"And the sword?"
"Five hundred."
"You hardly need another sword, you know," the second woman sighed.
"It's very well made and would be a nice souvenir for Dad."
Jeff listened with amusement as they argued in a good-natured way, casting his eyes around the venue. In the distance he could see two more reptile-themed costumes, these ones some type of alien space marine or something, both of them wearing a damn good looking sort of power armor with energy rifles slung over their shoulders. They were posing for a photo from a group of con-goers, looking pleased.
"Seven fifty the pair?" the woman in the lizard costume asked. He thought for a moment, working out the amount he'd spent, and the way stuff was selling quickly, then nodded.
"OK."
She pulled a roll of bills out of a pouch on her belt and quickly counted out the right amount, handing it over, while he wrapped both weapons in bubble-wrap, then paper. "Here you go."
"Thanks."
Putting them into one of the pair of large bags she was holding, the logo of the event on the side, the woman smiled. "Having a good day?"
"Very good, thank you," he replied. "This is a fantastic event so far. More people than I've seen for five years at least, and some amazing costumes. Yours is one of the best I've ever come across. Who made it?"
"I did," she smiled. "It's sort of a hobby."
"Is it from a Manga or something? I don't recognize the character."
"Oh, it's an original character I came up with, but based on something pretty old I doubt you'd have heard of," she said, shrugging. "Fun, though."
"It's very impressive." He looked at her companion, who was listening with an oddly amused expression. "What about yours? What are you meant to be?"
"A combat witch from another universe who has some reptilian biomodifications," the woman replied easily. "Her idea."
"It looks good on you," he grinned. "I suppose the leather is from a dragon in that case."
"Obviously, where else would a combat witch get her leather?" She laughed slightly as he shook his head in respect.
"Well, I'm impressed. You could easily sell that sort of thing for a hell of a lot of money to half the people here."
"It's a thought," the first one said, chuckling. "We have to be getting on but it was nice to meet you. Thanks for the weapons."
"Thanks for the cash," he replied.
"Any time." She raised a hand in farewell, then they wandered slowly off, passing out of sight a little later. He turned to deal with the next customer, only pausing to stare at some short kid in what looked like a Ring Wraith puppet costume who glided past, eating a giant pretzel. The way it was vanishing into the dark hood was a little disconcerting.
"Now, that's an impressive costume. And a really unusual idea," he mused, before getting involved in a discussion of the merits of Japanese versus European sword manufacturing techniques.