The Masked Glee Singer Chapter 5: Group B Playoffs, a glee fanfic

-GROUP B PLAY-OFFS-

Cheering was heard as the camera zoomed into the stage and the audience and the announcer's voice could be heard over everyone. "Good evening and welcome to another week of The Masked Singer! Tonight, it's the Group B Play-offs! Who will make it through to the final week of group competition? Will it be The Rainbow, The Black Swan, The Mage, The Butterfly, or The Vulture?" The audience cheered for each of the contestants, volume going up or down depending on how much they loved them. "And now, please welcome your host, Nick Cannon!"

Nick emerged onto the stage, wearing a suit that was white on the right and black on the left. The shoes were also divided, but this time they were black on the right, and red on the left. He also wore a red skinny tie. The audience cheered as he removed a black, red, and white harlequin mask.

"Welcome one and all to Group B Play-off week! Five masked singers compete for only four spots in the Championships! Who will be unmasked tonight? Will it be The Rainbow? Or Maybe The Black Swan? Could it be The Mage? Or The Butterfly? Or will The Vulture take flight? Before we find out, we have to introduce the sleuths in charge of sussing out the clues! First off is everyone's favorite laugh generator, Pierce Pierce!"

"Hey! That's not very nice! How would you like it if someone said to pierce Nick?"

Nick shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Our next judge has played everything from Jesus Christ to a frying pan on Broadway, give a warm welcome to Will Schuester!"

Will stood and waved to the people in the crowd who were giving him polite applause.

"She's the dean of musical technique and the Queen of NYADA, Carmen Tibideaux!"

Carmen stood and gracefully bowed her head, giving a light wave and blowing a few kisses.

"And finally, he's just days away from releasing his new single, Blaine Anderson!"

Blaine chuckled and blushed a bit. Darn that Nick for bringing that kind of attention to him. He waved to all the adoring fans all the same, smiling around at them all.

"Blaine," Nick said. "I've noticed that Kurt is once again absent this week. I hope he's not sick again."

The curly haired judge shook his head. "No. It's a busy year for him. He's away in New York on an audition," he said.

"Oh, it will be great to see him in something new," Will said. "He deserves every opportunity."

Blaine nodded. "Yeah. he was really excited about it."

Nick laughed. "Okay, well, you all know how it goes. Five singers are vying for your votes to get a spot in the final round for Group B. At the end of the night, one of them will have to take off their mask, and will be going home. So let's get back into sleuthing. Here are some more clues about The Rainbow."

This clip opened up in what looked like some sort of lab. The Rainbow was sitting in a chair, wearing a labcoat and that grey cat was strolling across the table. "Hi, it's Roy G. Biv here. Last time, people thought I was my mom. I looked in the mirror and I still look like Roy G. Biv to me. This is my lab, where numbers just calculate themselves and I draw them on paper with crayons. The ambassador of colors makes sure I know which color for which number. And then I sign my name." She held up a paper with a giant 'X' written on the line. "So now, I'm going to sing again because I'm better than Britney Spears and Kesha."

"Here is The Rainbow!"

I got you in the palm of my hand

Wanna put something hot in you

So hot that you can't stand (That you can't stand)

Gonna take you to my lips

Empty out every last drop

So thirsty for what's in you baby

That I can't stop (That I can't stop)

In the middle of the night, I'm in bed alone

Don't care if you're glass, paper, styrofoam

When I need some water, baby

Coffee or gin

You're the (only thing, I wanna put them in)

My cup, my cup

Sayin', "What's up?"

To my cup, my cup

More of a friend than a silly pup

My cup

You know what it is

Sayin', "What's up?"

To my cup (Ahh)

I'm Sayin', "What's up?"

To my cup (Ahh)

I'm Sayin', "What's up?"

To my cup (Ahh)

The audience was looking on in confusion as The Rainbow continued to dance around on stage, even though there was no music playing.

"Ok...ay," Nick said, not really having any other words for it. He wasn't entirely sure what she had been singing in the first place. He shook his head off and looked to the judges. "Blaine, what did you think of The Rainbow tonight?"

For once in his life, Blaine had no idea what to say. "Um...Bold choice doing an original song?" It came out as a question rather than a statement.

Nick didn't really have feedback for him. "Carmen, how about you?"

"I wasn't aware it was April first."

"It's not," Nick said with a frown and shaking his head. "Will, did you want to put in your two cents?"

"I don't think that was a competition suitable song."

"Okay, fair enough. Well, tonight ladies and gentlemen we thought we'd take a more intimate look at our masked singers. So it's time to see what they travel with, brought to you by Masked Singer Airways. Men in black, bring out that luggage!"

Two Men in Black wheeled out what looked like an airport x ray machine.

They placed a bag that was rainbow colored with cat stickers all over it on the belt and turned it on. It revealed a can of catfood, a pom pom, and a stuffed dolphin in rainbow colors.

Nick furrowed his brow. "Okay, Pierce, does any of this mean anything to you?"

"Not a thing. But I know exactly who this is!"

"You do?" Nick asked skeptically.

"It's Connie Chung!"

Will gave him an incredulous look. "Connie Chung is seventy-four years old."

"And your point is?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "That The Rainbow is most certainly not seventy-four years old, Pierce."

"How do you know? Do you have x ray vision? Can you see who it is through the mask?"

"You don't need to have x ray vision. You just need to have good ears. And that does not sound like a seventy-four year old woman," Blaine said.

"It sounds like your daughter!" Will yelled.

"Nonsense! I know what my daughter sounds like, and that most certainly wasn't her!"

Nick put a hand up, attempting to diffuse the tension. "Okay, we'll find out whether The Rainbow is Pierce's daughter or someone else if she's voted off at the end of the show. For now, feast your eyes on more clues about The Black Swan."

The curtains opened to reveal a classy looking office. There were a few framed things on the wall, but they were obscured so you couldn't tell what they were. The Black Swan sat behind a neatly arranged desk, holding a magazine in his hands. "Last time, I proved that I am a force to be reckoned with and I did something no one would have ever expected me to do. Today, I'm showing you another side of who I am. Though both my professions can totally go together. I love them equally. So when you have more than one passion, who says you have to turn one down? I've come out with a bang that set the whole audience on fire and now, it's time to turn up that heat. Though I'll be putting sunscreen on first."

The Black Swan came Strutting out of a cloud of fog as the music began to play.

I wanna start a revolution

A type of personal solution

We all have got our own pollution

It's all about the execution

You've got something to say,

Your hands are tied

Open your mouth, open it wide

Let the freedom begin

Get on the floor, just let it drop

Don't it feel good, don't it feel hot

Feel the fire within

As the chorus began, The Black Swan moved up the ramp directly in front of the judges table, swaying his hips and strutting boldly.

I wanna see you strut strut strut

Come on walk for me

Strut strut strut

How you want to be

Everybody's looking for some love

But they don't know

How to let it all hang out

And that's why they're solo, solo, solo

Don't want to be solo, solo, solo

Don't want to be solo

We're a complicated nation

And now we're in a situation

Let's take a make-believe vacation

And get yourself some validation

He moved to stand in front of Pierce, dragging his hand along the table as he moved along, dancing and singing seductively in front of each judge, until he reached Blaine. He reached out and ruffled the curly man's hair, before turning and sashaying back down the ramp.

Everybody's looking for some love

But they don't know

How to let it all hang out

And that's why they're solo, solo, solo

Don't want to be solo, solo, solo

Don't want to be solo

I'll be your mirror

Darling let your hair down

Show me what you're working with and let me see you

Strut strut

How you want to be

Everybody's looking for some love

But they don't know

How to let it all hang out

And that's why they're solo, solo, solo

Don't want to be solo, solo, solo

Don't want to be solo

Strut on me and show me what you're working with

Yeah yeah yeah

Once again, The Black Swan had the crowd screaming and on the verge of rioting. Blaine was attempting to fix his hair, a look on his face that was unreadable.

Nick was fanning himself again. "Damn Black Swan," he said. "We're going to need to install sprinklers so everyone can get a quick cold shower if you keep that up. Let's go to the judges. Pierce, how did you find The Black Swan's performance?"

"It wasn't hard, it was right there on the stage, and then it was right here in my face."

"Okay, but do you have an idea who it is?"

"Well yeah, it's so obvious, isn't it? It's Britney Spears!"

Nick stared at him for a moment. He decided it might be best not to question it. "Carmen, what about you? Any idea who this might be?"

"I don't know who they are, but I think they have several people in the audience, and on the panel, questioning their sexuality."

"I think you might be right about that one," Nick said. "Blaine, are you okay?"

"What?" Blaine said, momentarily distracted. "Oh, yes. I was just sending Kurt a text."

"For what reason did you think it was necessary to send a text during this show?" Nick asked, clearly surprised.

"Um, I just wanted to let him know how much I miss him and love him," Blaine sounded slightly guilty.

The whole crowd cooed at him. There was really no relationship the fans loved more. Nick shook his head fondly.

"Well, let's see if our panel will get some more help from Masked Singer Airways. Men in black, bring out that luggage!"

When The Black Swan's luggage - a sleek silver carry on case - was loaded onto security, it revealed a football helmet, a Parisian postcard, a Statue of Liberty keychain, and a book that had no title, just the initials A.R.C. on the cover.

"What an interesting assortment of items you have Mr. Swan. Panel, does this give you any clues?"

Will was looking thoughtful. "Isn't that band, Starchild, kicking off their world tour in Paris next month? And their lead vocalist, Elliott Gilbert is from New York, and just wrote a book that is about to be published. A.R.C. could stand for Advanced Reader Copy." The audience were all nodding in agreement. "I think this could be Elliott Gilbert."

"That's not a bad guess at all," Nick said, giving his head a nod. "Any other insight before we send Black Swan back and bring out the next act?"

When none of the judges had anything else to say, Nick shook hands with The Black Swan before sending him off stage. "Up next we have some magical clues from The Mage!"

The video for The Mage this week opened with him standing in a park and holding a football. "I was rather pleased with myself for my performance last time. I'm definitely stronger vocally than I used to be. One thing a lot of people don't know about me is that I was on the football team in high school. But I kind of feel like I didn't really get credit for that. Actually, I was mostly in the background a lot during high school, despite being a part of the most popular sport. I feel like I learned a lot about supporting and guiding others, and if I wasn't doing what my passion is, I might have been a career counselor or some other kind of counselor. I think I would have been good at it. But I know some people might not have agreed with that choice. I know where I would have ended up if I hadn't followed my dream, and I wouldn't be as happy as I am now."

As a familiar classic rock song began, The Mage danced center stage with five other dancers,

We get it almost every night

When that moon is big and bright

It's a supernatural delight