Marco and Rachel were clearly excited about that, which fit, since they had been the ones to propose the idea in the first place. Cassie and Shara seemed amused, and Shara herself also seemed curious. Ax and Tobias were as unreadable to him as ever, and Slade looked like he'd been confused by the whole proceeding, but was going to go along with it anyway.

That fit with what he knew of Slade's personality; he'd never been particularly independent-minded.

XXXX

As he considered his options – limited as they so obviously were when he was surrounded by enemies like this – Saber came to the conclusion that he should try not to come to any conclusions at the moment. He didn't know just what his options would be in the future, and there was still the chance that he would be presented with something better later on. For now, though, he would wait and watch.

Cain Carter wouldn't have liked it, but then he wasn't really Cain Carter anymore.

XXXX

As they all morphed into their respective bird morphs, wings, talons, beaks, and feathers emerging from human flesh and bodies shrinking down into lighter, more compact forms, Cassie reflected that this was probably just what all of them really needed right now. Some time without the threat of the Yeerk invasion hanging over them. Some time to just be normal kids, even if they weren't strictly normal anymore.

Flapping their way into the air, the Animorphs fell in behind Marco and Rachel as they lead the way to the waterfront. They all stayed a reasonable distance from any of the others, since none of them wanted to be spotted by the Yeerks, or by anyone else who might have seen them all together and thought it strange.

Their sensitive raptor vision scanned the ground, Rachel and Marco worked in tandem to bring their friends to the opening of the newest Planet Hollywood. Soon enough, they were in the right area, and making their way to a good observation-point for the goings-on there. As the eight Animorphs arrayed themselves in a loose formation, most of them watching the ceremony but a couple of them keeping an eye open for anything that might cause problems for their friends, they shifted slightly as the winds bore them up.

One person in particular had already spotted a potential problem.

(We look like a raptor convention,) Tobias groused. (I mean, why not throw in a golden Eagle and a few kestrels? If there are any bird watchers down there, they must be completely freaking out at the sight of us.)

(No one is watching us,) Rachel said, sounding like she would have been smiling if she'd had a human face to do so with. (They're all watching Shaq jam with Bruce Willis and John Goodman.)

The huge outdoor stage beneath them was alive with activity; all of the various stars and other famous people were moving around on it, casting occasional glances out into the crowd. The crowd itself pressed up against the stage, moving almost as a single entity as it surged and rippled with the motions of each individual comprising it. Most of what the Animorphs saw of the crowd, when they bothered to look at them at all, was their haircuts.

And not always the best looking haircuts, at that.

The waterfront was bordered by fifty- and sixty-story buildings, and with Rachel's Eagle eyes – adapted as they were for spotting fish beneath the surface of streams – she could catch occasional glimpses of people inside those buildings. People who were watching the proceedings below with relish, aided by telescopes and binoculars.

(Look, there she is!) Shara called cheerfully.

(Hey, yeah!) Rachel said, surprised. (I mean,) she quickly amended, thinking of the ribbing she would get from Marco if she seemed too excited. (Oh, it's her. Lucy what's-her-name.)

Shara and Marco both laughed at the obvious way Rachel had tried to hide her enthusiasm, but Marco was the only one who spoke right then.

(Xena! It's Xena!) he crowed. (Okay, Rachel, the time has come: you fly down there, morph back to human, and you and Xena have it out. We'll see who can kick whose butt,) he paused, trying to sound thoughtful. (Oh, and take Shara with you, then you'll have a threesome.)

(Marco, Marco, Marco,) Rachel said, sighing as Shara laughed. (You do like to cling to your pathetic little fantasies, don't you?)

(Yes; I absolutely do,) Marco said, with obvious relish. (And hey, make sure you don't forget the leather outfits. I'd hate to think the two of you were underdressed.)

(Remind me to smack him when we're all back in human form, will you Rachel?) Shara asked, clearly using private thought-speak since no one else reacted.

(I definitely will, Shara,) Rachel said; it was certainly a less unappealing plan than the one she had been considering.

Wheeling around in a large circle, the activities on the ground at the moment holding no particular interest for her, Rachel came into direct sight of the Kenny Building. It was seated alongside the river, though separated from it by a four-lane road and a small strip of grass. The imposing edifice of the building was covered in glass, only thin windowpanes breaking the smoothness of its mirrored surface.

From the ground, and even to most things in the air, the reflective windows would serve as an almost-perfect visual obstruction. However, to the eyes of a Bald Eagle, or any of the other birds that hunted fish, that wasn't an issue. Rachel could see through the glass of the building, right through to the man standing in the empty, sixtieth-floor office at the top of the tower.