FicWad

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The time had finally come for the fall variety show. The town came in force, because they always loved the variety shows that the kids put on at least three times ayear. It was also good for those students who wanted, and needed stage time, but would not normally get as much in graded performances. Because of this, it added a level of unpredictability that the townsfolk loved. It also allowed the individual creativity to flow from the students in a way that they could not get in their classes, and this was a creativity that the faculty did not want squelched. They knew that their creativity and imaginations would serve them well as professional performers one day. The six were preparing to go on, but Ahiru was as nervous as a cat in a dog kennel. She had done this the year before, and as a beginner student, in Swan Lake-a rare thing indeed. However, though she did well, she knew that it was the aid of the others that guided her through the performance. This was different. This was something that had no director, no instructor-save the aid that Mr. Katt had given-and no one to fall on for help except for her partner. She knew that she could not lean on him as much as she had Mytho the year before, because this was just the two of them in their sequence, and she had to do her part to do well. Billy could not help to see her nerves, and he knew he had to calm her before she went out. "Okay, why are you so scared?" asked Billy.

"Well, I'm not sacred...well, okay, I am, but....well, I know I can do this...but you need more confident...but you would not have asked me to dance if you didn't think...I mean, those people expect...oh God, those people...I can't mess up, because, what would they think...but what would they care, they don't know me..." she quacked out. Billy put his hand on her lips, and whispered,"Shh...there's no talking in ballet."

For some reason, she felt paralyzed, because Billy was looking her dead in her eyes with that smile that she loved so much about him. "Just have fun,"Billy said, "I mean, that's what this is all about anyway. Where's the confident girl that I knew when we spent a month practicing this?"

She hung her head, realizing that she was about to cause what she hoped she could prevent. Rue came over and put an arm around her shoulder, giving her a sisterly hug. "You'll do fine," she said, "I've seen you do well like this: I think you do well under pressure better than you think."

"You think so?" asked Ahiru.

"Remember last year," asked Ahiru, "about a month after we defeated Edel, and some girl tried to take away my position in the advance class?"

"Yes, I remember," said Ahiru.

"What did I do?" she asked.

"You asked me to be your partner,"answered Ahiru, "But...but you told me everything to do, and you even guided me into a few positions."

Rue sighed, smiled, and said, "Yes, but, what happened?"

"You won, and kept your position," Ahiru remembered.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I chose you for a few reasons": she assured, "First, I knew that it would cost you nothing, because you were not the one challenged. Second, in order to display my skill the best, I knew that, if I could guide a beginner in the dance, and make her look like she had been doing it for years; it would show that I indeed belonged in the advanced class. Third, I also knew that, if I could get you past a few difficult spots, your confidence would grow, and you would forget that it was a competition, and just have fun. In fact, about a third of the way through, though I guided you into afew positions, you were having so much fun that you added embellishments that took both our dances from good to great. You actually made me look good as I made you look good. We helped each other. That's why I said that you were wonderful. It was more you than you think, honey. They won't kill you if you make a mistake. All they want is to have a good time, and if you can look like you're having a good time, they will."

This seemed to calm her down a bit, if only to get her to ponder what Rue had just said, and get her mind off her nerves. Billy paid close attention to all of this, and he knew what might add to what Rue had just said. He walked up to her and said, "You know all the moves. Going through it should be no problem, because it should be instinctive now."

Billy thought for a moment, and then said,"Look, I know we go on soon, but I want to try to tell you something we have been learning in acting classes, and it is called 'The Method.' I'll tell you about in detail after this is all done, but for now, what you need to do is find something in you that can relate to all of what we are about to do. Let me ask you: what do you think is the most beautiful thing about you?"

She looked puzzled at the question, and then Billy asked, "Really, what is the most beautiful thing about you?"

She finally answered, "My long hair. Its something I have that not many girls can grow."

Billy then asked, "So, you think that makes you beautiful?"

She began to brighten, and then said,"Well...yes...I mean...ever since the first dance, when I just tied it back, and wore it long. I knew then I had some kind of beauty."

"Yes, I remember," Billy said, tenderly,"You have no idea how mature you looked, and how you were turning the eyes of every boy at that dance. Remember when we did 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?'"

"Yes," she said, "It was so beautiful to me."

"Did you see yourself as Lucy?" Billy asked, knowing that something was beginning to click, "Did that help you when you did that variation, stunning the whole house?"

"It was a bit embarrassing, but, yes, Iguess so," she answered.

"Then," said Billy, "go out there and do it again, Lucy. Bring up those feelings again while we dance. Let your hair give you confidence, because that is something that gives you a confidence: hair that not many others have. It is abeauty you know you have, that no one else can take away."

Now Ahiru began to look dreamy, and her heart began to race anew, but this time, it was because she felt a strength she had never had before. To top it all off, Billy gave her a long, tender peck that sent her heart into overdrive, and then said, "That's amore."

At that, the emcee then said, "And now, six of our ballet students are going to engage in a contemporary variation in three parts-three duets-showing what sometimes end up three phases of love: falling into love, a commitment to love, and lost love renewed."

They took their positions behind the curtain, ready to try to dazzle the crowd. The host continued, "Please welcome the Pas de Six!"

(Since a duet is a pas de deux, a trio is a pas de trois, and so forth, they felt that their team would best be called the Pas de Six.) The curtain opened to amakeshift street scene. Mary and Fakir sat at the middle table, Rue and Mytho sat apart at separate tables, and Ahiru sat alone. Billy then walked on, saw Ahiru, acted as if his heart had been smitten, and the music began. Ahiru was still soaring a bit, but the butterflies came back a bit when the curtain opened, and the lights hit them. However, when the music started, and she saw Billy looking like he had fallen head over heels for her. Once they engaged in their dance, the words began to play in her brain, and because of how well she knew the song now,(after having gone over the routine so many times,) she now realized that she was feeling exactly like what the song described. The song suddenly took on a new life for her, and she then attacked the dance with gusto. Suddenly, Billy was having a touch of difficulty keeping up with her. It did not show to the audience that this was happening, but Billy was not trying to keep up with her because she was going too fast, but because he was so surprised at how aggressive she had become to dance. It now seemed like she was the one urging him on rather than the other way around! Billy redoubled himself, and then began to throw himself into his role, now bringing up the emotions he felt the first night that they had kissed. Their dance became quite explosive, and even a bit passionate, which is just what the song called for. The other four now knew that the pace had been set, and they would have to work hard to match what they had done. As the last strains of the song finished, Billy was seated, with Ahiru on his lap, his arms around her waist, her hands cupped on the back of his head, both looking passionately at each other. The audience thundered with applause, but they could not yet acknowledge them until all the dances were done. They then parted, as she twirled into the seat opposite Billy, and then both turned their attention to Fakir and Mary. "Round and Round" began to play, and they began to express a dance where the kind of love that Billy and Ahiru just expressed had grown into a point where the two becomes one, and it would seem odd and wrong that something so beautiful should part. The energy of the song played into their dance, as they expressed the excitement of a lifelong commitment and the excitement of a new life together. It actually enhanced the dance before, which then reciprocated their effort by showing how great a thing such a love that had been expressed in the first dance was when it grew into marriage. This, in turn, added power to the final dance in what Rue and Mytho expressed. Theirs was a display of such a great love having been fractured for whatever reason, and how both sides realized how wrong they had been to split. This displayed the strength of such true love, in that, no matter what may try to destroy it, that love would stay strong, and come together again like the gyroscope that had been tilted over, and then righted itself. The dance was quite powerful and passionate, starting with reluctance to join, followed by expressions of apology between them, then followed by remembrance of the good times of the past, and then the passionate embrace of two lovers that now had a love that was stronger than ever before, because it had survived the worst, and stayed strong. In the last thirty seconds of the song, all six danced what ballet calls the "Grande Pas de Deux." This does not have to be a duet, but it normally refers to some kind of Grande finale. At the end, all three boys were on a knee, and the girls were seated on the extended knee. The lights faded in such a fashion that the six were silhouetted against the background, and then they went out. The audience was on their feet as the lights came up, and they took their bows. It was then that they clearly saw the unmistakable sight of Mr. Katt in a tuxedo seated in the front row. He was on his feet, his paws clapping frantically. They now understood why he had put the songs in the order he had, and what he saw was a potential show business act, if they decided to stay together. He knew there was potential for them to form their own act and show that could reawaken the world to the beauty of ballet, and make it a popular form again. The six took their bows, but the crowd would not relent. They wanted more, so Billy called them together, they quickly worked something out, as Billy said to improvise as best they could. He then looked at Ahiru and said, "Remember the school dance? Do it again!"

He then went to the pit, asked for an acoustic guitar, and told them his intentions. He then plucked the strings to insure that it was in tune, quickly got astool, got the emcee's microphone, and then nodded to the conductor. He then began to sing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Ahiru was Lucy, and the others began to improv themselves as different features or characters of the song. It was a touch rough, but because the crowd was so impressed with their first dance, the audience was willing to forgive this. Even Mr. Katt sat there stunned. He was now even surer that they had something great, because now they have displayed a multitalented ability that could sustain them for quite a long time as an act. If they stayed with it, they could be an act that would always be in demand. After another ovation, the audience finally allowed them to leave. Once they got below stage, where they could not be heard by the crowd. They all began to whoop and scream. Ahiru now began to understand what Mr. Johansson meant about the few moments of adulation making all the hard work worth it.



Later, as they all left the theatre together, Ahiru talked to Rue, and said, "Thank you for helping to calm me. But there's something I don't understand?"

"What's that?" asked Ahiru.

"Just before we began," answered Ahiru,"the butterflies came back again."

"You too?" asked Rue, smiling knowingly. Ahiru looked surprised at Rue's answer. "I don't understand: you were scared?"

"Actually, I need them," answered Rue,"and so do you. You see, if you don't have them, this means that your mind is not where it should be. It means that you are not focused. What happened to you earlier was that you were over focused. You were so worried about making a mistake, and not making one, that you would have caused what you hoped to prevent. But, what happened when you started to have fun with it?"

"They went away, and I forgot all about the audience," answered Ahiru.

"Aaand..." said Rue, "This is what you need to do each time. Congratulations: welcome to the world of show business!"

With that, she gave her a sisterly squeeze. Then Billy piped up, "You know, since we know we can sing, do you realize that we could be a song and dance act?"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Fakir.

"We can learn some folk and pop songs, or even write our own, take turns in dancing and singing, maybe all sing at some point, and all dance at another," reasoned Billy.

"Are you talking about something permanent?" asked Mytho.

"Well, it will at least give us work after we all finally graduate," answered Billy, who then looked around to insure that they were alone, "and if we stay together as a superhero team, we at least have a cover."

With that, Billy said, "Let's try something: here's an Irish song called 'The Whistling Gypsy Rover.' Do you remember what I taught about harmony? Try to blend in with it."

He then began to sing it, and the others began to join in. It was a bit rough as they worked out harmonies, but by the end of the song, they were all tight. Mytho then joked, "Ah, so! The Von Trapps live again!"

At this, Fakir let out a belly laugh that was so rare for him that it surprised the others. Billy then said, in a mock German accent, "Ah zo! Ze shtoic van kanst indeed laugh, ya?"

Fakir gave him a friendly, but hard shove. Billy just took in stride, "We can save that one for the spring show, maybe even connect it to St. Patrick's Day."

They then all fell silent as they walked: Ahiru and Billy were arm and arm, Rue and Mytho looked like they were trying to merge into one entity and surprising to the others, Mary and Fakir were now walking hand in hand. Mytho liked what he was seeing, because now there was a chance for him finally to begin to soften a bit, and be more of the tender person Mytho knew he possessed, but rarely showed.



The next day was Saturday, and was normally the day when they spent their time getting their homework done, just in case there was a deed of one kind of another to perform as heroes. At about two in the afternoon, Rue had her work finished up, and decided to take a walk in the woods to relax, not thinking how much the woods had become a danger to the six since Edel had reemerged. Her thoughts were lost on the upcoming show, and she was running her part through her head, occasionally turning a dance step or two related to her role. She wanted to keep it fresh in her mind when it came time for the show. However, her bliss was soon to be rattled. "Still dancing Kraehe?" said asweet and kind sounding voice from behind her: that is, sweet sounding to one not familiar with its source. Rue locked up, her eyes widened, and she did not even hesitate to go for the pendant. She swiftly changed, and came about to see the source of the voice. Standing there was a beautiful blonde-haired woman with straight, long hair, dressed in a very seductive dress. If one did not know who this person was, they would mistake her for a friendly, happy, and quite seductive young woman. However, this betrayed her true nature, for this was Edel standing before her. Immediately, Claire had feathers flying, but Edel snatched them all out the air without much effort. "Come, come, dear Kraehe: is that how to greet an old friend?" she said, in a seemingly sincere and concerned way. "You are not a friend!" spit Claire, "and, it is Claire now, not Kraehe."

"Really," Edel said, slightly cocking her head, still smiling a gentle, friendly smile, "What happened to Kraehe?"

"I killed her," she said, disgustedly.

"Oh no," said Edel, in more of a mocking and sarcastic tone now, "Why on earth would you ever have done that?"

"I am not the evil, jealous person you thought you could cause to emerge in me," spat Claire, "It is no longer a part of me!"

Edel waived her hand and tilted her head, as if to say, "Oh well," but then said, "So, how are you doing this? I just have to know," with her friendly smile returning to her face.

"Forces beyond your control," stated Claire.

"You mean you won't even share with your old friend your secrets?" cooed Edel.

"What do you want!" snapped Claire.

The smile remained, but then her head tilted forward, and she then furrowed her brow, saying, "I think you know well what I want!"

Edel was keeping her distance, knowing that, if she gave Kraehe, Claire, or whomever she was now, a chance to get ahold of her, she may kill Edel before she had the chance to react. Claire was indignant, and said, "We will never let you do it!"

"We?" asked Edel, "Oh, do you refer to that pitiful band that you are a part of now?"

"That 'pitiful band,' as you call them, are not going to be as easy as you think to take down," said Claire, as she began to inch closer, "You may have fooled us once before with your demeanor, but we are onto your tricks now."

Indeed, that had been the problem before. Rue had been tricked into finding the heart shards of Mytho, thinking that hiding them better would prevent the restoration of the heart of Mytho, and keep him safe, not knowing that it was actually accelerating the process. Ahiru had been tricked into thinking that Edel was trying to help her restore the heart shards. She never would have gone into the shop that Edel had set up had she not seen the beautiful tutu in the display if she knew the kind of trouble into which she was walking. Edel acted like a friend, confidant, and guidance counselor to Ahiru, even throwing in good, sound advice from time to time. She had no idea that Edel was playing one girl against the other to accelerate the job of the restoration of the heart shards in order to sacrifice the now quite purified heart of Mytho to the Raven. She did not account for how things would go for the girls, and how all of what she had planned would backfire on her as the girls teamed up. However, one thing she did know, and hoped that the girls did not yet know, was just how powerful Tutu actually was. There were abilities that she had not even tapped into yet, and abilities that she must have forgotten about. One of them was how she had defeated Edel when all hope seemed lost for Mytho. It had sent her to the realm of despair, where she would have never faced death, and rotted away in doing anything and everything to escape the feeling of despair all around her. If it were not for the Raven giving her another chance, at the cost of her virtue, she would have been done for. If Tutu learned that she could access this power in a dire emergency, this time, there would be no return. This is why she had to act. However, that had been slowed quite a bit by the introduction of the Marvels and the boys working in lockstep with the girls. She now came out to issue some warnings. "Whether or not you are 'onto my tricks,' it does not matter. I will have my revenge!" she said, now with a serious look on her face. "Oh really?" said Claire, "This is the first we have heard from in a month. Why so slow to act?"

"Let's just say I am gearing up for something big," said Edel, with a smirk on her face.

"Oh, so you've shot the wad on your minions I take it?" deduced Claire.

"Well, I do admit, it does take work in getting good foot soldiers," Edel conceded, "However; I have been working on recruiting human help. They are not as controllable as the others are, but they are more useful."

Then, Edel's disposition returned to the serious, and she then said, "Oh yes, I will have that heart, make no mistake about that!"

Claire laughed, and said, "So, you think you are just going to walk up and take that heart?"

"Of course not," Edel answered with achuckle, "I have to make sure everything is in place."

"Then, why are you even here talking to me now?" Claire asked, "What do you want?"

"You silly goose!" laughed Edel, now truly amused and smiling, "I didn't come here to fight you. I just wanted to give you one more chance to stand down, and let me have my way. In fact, if you help me, I'll ensure that you won't suffer in the darkness, and maybe even give you a position of authority, where things would be much pleasurable for you. I'm feeling merciful today, so I came to make this offer."

"Even if it were in me to accept this offer," stated Claire, "What would happen to Tutu?"

Edel sighed, shrugged her shoulders, and said, "I'm sorry, but I would have to banish her to the realm of despair for what she did to me. It's only right."

Claire grew enraged, "If you displace even one hair on her head, Edel, I swear that I will make sure that you endure the slowest, most painful, and horrible death I can even conceive of!"

"And just what do you think you are going to do about that?" hissed Edel.

"Why am I even wasting my time talking to you," said Claire, as she moved swiftly to take out Edel, hoping to end this before it even got to the place Edel sought. Yet, Edel was swifter, and quickly parried Claire hard into the ground. "Is that what you planned to do, silly girl?" laughed Edel, "I hope you can do better than that."

Before she could gain her feet, Claire had been kicked under the chin by Edel. If it were not for her transformed state, it would have broken her jaw in three places. As Claire lay there in pain, Edel gently and gracefully walked up to her, smiled her gentle and friendly smile, stroked her hair, and said, "You foolish girl: you do not have any idea what you are sacrificing for your pathetic friends."

She then pulled out an oversized raven's claw and put it to Claire's throat, still smiling, and said, "You know, Ishould just kill you now, and save myself the trouble. Nevertheless, I want you to live long enough to see this world plunged into darkness before I sacrifice you to the Raven. Your heart may not be as pure as I would need, yet, I'm sure the Raven would not mind it. Yet, just to get the point across, I think Ishould at least scar that pretty face of yours."

With that, she raised the claw. However, before she could act, a white blur appeared before her, and Tutu was now holding the claw at bay with one of two white fans that she was holding, as she knelt before Claire. She still didn't like to fight, but she now had no choice. She did a leg sweep and took Edel down. Yet, this did not keep Edel down, as she kipped up very quickly and swung the claw. Tutu quickly parried the blow with her left fan, and put a cut on Edel's face with the right. "The only scar today is the one you leave with," snapped Tutu, who then took a defensive ballet stance over Claire. She had come into the woods, because she had a question about the show that she knew Rue could answer. She came on the scene just as Edel had kicked Claire, and quickly transformed. She had already learned about the fans that she could summon when she needed them, as Claire could summon her feather darts, and knew that they could be good defensive tools. However, this was the first time she learned of the offensive capabilities. "Surrender now, or face certain defeat," said Tutu.

Edel was enraged, but was too concerned about the cut to continue. She would have to retreat to assess how badly she was hurt. "There will be another day, ballet brat!" she hissed, "It won't be that easy to take me!"

With that, she reached into her sack, threw down some powder that exploded into a smoke screen, and she made her retreat before either of them could react to her flight. Tutu was surprised she had it in her to do what she did. Claire regained her feet, and said, "Now, those were some sweet moves, sis!"

"It was only because you were in danger that I even did what I did," said Tutu, "I would rather find other means to settle things than fighting."

"Well, I'm just glad I know that you can take care of yourself if you need to;" said Claire, "Just don't hesitate to use those things you know how to do when they are needed. If you hesitate at the wrong moment, someone may be killed. Let's go home."

As they walked, and changed back to themselves, Rue asked, "Why were you even out here?"

"I had a question about the show,"answered Ahiru, "but now I don't even remember what I was going to ask you."

Rue laughed at this, as Ahiru continued,"How long before she comes back?"

Rue thought for a minute, and then said,"Well, I think she's out of minions, so I think she just came out herself to try and keep us off balance as to her plans. She would not have bothered otherwise. Yet now, depending on how badly you cut her, she could be out of commission for a bit."

Ahiru thought for a bit, and then said,"You know, I think that, from now on, until she has been stopped, we need to travel in twos. There is no telling what could have happened had I not come along. I don't know what I'd do without you as a friend, and a big sister."

Rue hugged her, and then said, "Looks like you were the big sister today!" and they both went back to the school.



Back at her lair, Edel was applying certain mosses and herbs to her face to seal the cut, for it was a deep one. It finally healed, but there was anotable scar now. She was enraged beyond measure now, and started to take it out on whatever was nearby. She wanted revenge now more than ever. That little ballet brat had interfered again, and was making her more angry by the minute. What's more, she wanted to go after whomever it was that gave them back their powers, for this would make her task far more difficult. She also did not know what she would do with the Marvels, because theirs was a strength that she had yet to assess, and powers she knew nothing about. She would have to find out more about them, and see what she could do to stop them. After she did gain her revenge, she would not rest until she found out who it was that gave them the ability to fight her, and make him or her pay to the 25th power for what he or she had done. That would take some time. It would also be harder now to seduce some human help with the scar, but she would make it happen. Meanwhile, she was working to form an army of raven men, enough to insure that none could stop her. This would also take some time, as she was going to hold them back until the whole army was formed. She wasted the others she had, and could not risk anymore of them. She also worried about their contact with Superman, and what that would mean. If it meant that more heroes would be involved, this could get bad quickly. She would have to be more cautious. Her worst fears about Tutu discovering more and more about that which she was capable was coming true. She hoped that the discoveries about abilities would be slow in coming, for if she blossomed into the powerful creature she was, there would be no hope at all for her. Yet, she would have to be patient. Her time would come.