Marcia went back to her room and gathered her notes from a folder about the art pieces she was going to show off at the exhibit. Janine and Terrell were waiting for her in the hallway. "I'm ready now." She told them.
Janice had a nervous smile and Terrell chuckled.
"Is there something on my face? Does my hair look alright?" Marcia asked.
Both of them were dressed for an event; Janice was wearing a gray, blue and indigo sleeveless gown with long gloves; metal hairclips decorated her hair which was about shoulder-length, curly and dark brown with blue streaks. She also wore an elegant and bold brushed metal necklace she crafted that had colorful glass beads on it, and her panther ears also had glass earrings. Over her left hand she wore a sleek white gauntlet with brushed metal accents.
Terrell towered over Janice and Marcia and his usually scruffy orange hair was combed and slicked back, and he wasn't wearing his usual trucker hats. He was wearing dark blue dress pants, dark gray dress shoes, a lighter blue button-down shirt with an orange tiger-striped tie, with a brushed metal wristwatch on his left hand.
On his right hand he wore a sleek polished black and white gauntlet that had the Chariots of Colors insignia on it in blue. He also had a pair of metal rings on his hands. He was also holding a Chariots of Colors banner with the team insignia and had an arrangement of a rainbow of colors that started with green.
"Are you sure, but showing up in your pajamas might be an avant-garde choice." Janice said with a chuckle and was half-joking.
Marcia winced and looked at what she was wearing again. "Or I'll look I'm unprepared. I nearly forgot!" She said in a panic before she materialized a virtual screen in front of her, which she touched to seamlessly look through her wardrobe.
"That could be too. Audiences can be fickle. One's avant-garde may be another's faux-pas!" Terrell agreed. Marcia reflected on these words while she looked for the outfit she needed to wear.
"One's avant-garde may be another's faux-pas..." These words resonated with her; she remembered being given this cautionary advice before, as did many of her teammates before her. Passed down through the many years, she was told this piece of advice came from Elisabeth during hers and Prima's times in the limelight.
Marcia immediately changed into the outfit she was looking for, which was a space age-style gown that had a black bodice with pink glassy buttons down the middle of it, a glossy black CC insignia brooch with a blue bow and dark gray sequins on the sides of it. Her earrings and necklace had pink glass spheres that sparkled and had glitter in them, resembling a starry sky. The top and bottom trim of her bodice was a glossy dark gray, and had translucent black frills at the bottom, as did the hem of her skirt.
She also wore large round glassy pink earrings that matched the buttons on her bodice, and the pink on her skirt.
Her gown had a voluminous skirt with purple to pink gradients, with star patterns and sequins on them. It reached to mid-calf, just covering the tops of her light gray boots with pink trim. Her gown also had a translucent black layer under it that reached to her ankles. At the back of her dress was a large bow and bustle that was in shades of blue, in the same hue as the bow on the front of her dress, which also had a dark to light gradient with sequins and star patterns along the edges.
She also wore a long light gray glove on her hand, and a silver gauntlet with the team insignia on it on her right hand.
The instant makeover didn't fix her hair which still looked disheveled. She quickly combed her hair with her fingers and went to her room to bring out a hair tie to tie her hair into a bun.
Marcia had her notes in hand when she was at the art exhibit; she explained the painting right next to her on the wall to an eager crowd of people who were also taking photos of her and her art. Janice and Terrell were near her demonstrating their own exhibits while an event security team shooed away paparazzi that tried to shove cameras near anyone's face or demanded an interview.
There were security people around, which were recognizable by their uniforms; they were in a streamlined style that had a futuristic edge to it; a white shirt with a neon blue clip-on bowtie, black gloves, and a black jacket with a high collar, with matching trousers which had white trim on them. The uniforms included black and white boots with neon blue trim on them, and a matching hat that included a visor.
"Could you at least wait until the exhibit is over?" Marcia politely but assertively asked the paparazzi. She remembered this well; attending these art events which were meant to showcase art were just as often photoshoots of her and her teammates.
"Your impatience might cost you that expensive camera of yours…" A security person, or someone dressed like one gruffly said. She menacingly clenched one of her hands into a fist and slammed it against the palm of her other hand. She glared; though she was wearing a visor that hid her eyes, this unlucky camera person who got too close had the feeling that she was glaring.
"U-- Understood." A cameraperson said, and took a few steps back.
"That's more like it." The security person said more politely before walking away.
Marcia continued where she left off with explaining the techniques she used for the paintings and the ideas that inspired them based on her interests in history, space and time travel. While she talked, she glanced around the crowd for a few moments and saw several of her teammates and other friends in the crowd who could make it there.
They were dressed in low-key ways but recognizable to her, but it nagged at her a little bit that she couldn't find one of them who said she'd be here, yet the security person she heard sounded familiar.
The host of the event announced an intermission. Marcia sighed with relief and walked away from her part of the exhibit; she enjoyed showing off her art, but her demonstration felt more difficult when she still had so many things on her mind. It was a lot to think about but now that she had the time those thoughts came rushing in, and she started to stumble when walking when that security person noticed and approached.
"Hey, Marcia!" She said, and she sounded familiar to her again.
Marcia looked up again after stumbling and recognized the uniformed person in front of her. "So this is what you've been up to, Antares. I wondered why I didn't see you in the crowd." Marcia said with a chuckle. "Well, thank you for keeping the paparazzi in check during the exhibit."
"No problem. I could've been a guest, but I got a gig as a security guard for this event because security gets to see the exhibits before the audience, and we get free snacks!" Antares cheerfully said. She stood several inches taller than Marcia and had medium-length slate blue hair that had a purple tint to it, and she was wearing it in a loose bun.
She walked with Marcia over to a restaurant area to meet up with Janice and Terrell, who were seated at a table. Other OSes from CC who could make it to the event were also nearby and they greeted each other.
Near these tables was a booth that presented several trays of canapés. The menu listed a price for guests, including the artists who were presenting, but listed that they're free for the staff.
While Marcia joined Janine and Terrell at their table, Antares returned with two whole trays of canapés.
"I brought these for you. Someone told me you had coffee but forgot to eat before you left" She said, sounding confident but also concerned.
"Thank you. I had a lot going on in my mind that I'd forget something." Marcia chuckled before she took her gloves and gauntlet off, and picked up a canapé to eat.
"Oh those look so good, but I'm waiting on my order." Janine said.
"You might need to investigate something. Other guards are coming over." Terrell said to Antares.
Four security people quickly approached the tables, looking like they were swarming in on something or someone. Marcia, Janice, Terrell and the other on-lookers looked worried, but Antares looked annoyed and like she knew what to expect.
"Hey! They're free for us, but you can't just swipe an entire tray, let alone two!" A security person shouted, who confronted Antares.
"What if I'm sharing?" She asked.
"She already did." Marcia snarked. She ate another canapé from one of the trays.
"No, you're not following the intent of the rule which is to let us take a few for ourselves, but still leave enough out for the vendors to sell!" The security person said to Antares, and tried to swipe one of the trays.
"We don't have time for you to be a smart-***" Another of the security people said towards Marcia. "This is serious."
"What's the big deal?! Can't the vendors just make more and they need to be eaten after a while anyways?!" Antares said, swiping the tray back from that security person. "I'm trying to help someone, one of the artists. It's unfair to charge them, the stars of this show for these--"
"I doubt they're struggling for iCoins when they chose to host their events here..." A security person said skeptically.
"I'm not just saying this because I already knew Janice, Terrell and Marcia. This is an upscale venue, but don't you think it's unfair to charge the artists for these appetizers which are usually free for all guests?! Dang it..." Antares continued. Nearby people turned towards the table to see the commotion. She muttered a few more things and tried not to swear.
She took off her hat and sunglasses which led to some of the people she was working with for the event security team to recognize her. Her eyes were light blue with red highlights and glared at the security team.
"Even when I used to be at my most extravagant with my demonstrations, and when I charged high admissions for them, I never charged for something that shouldn't be charged for!" Antares added more passionately.
"I recognize you from so long ago and I still like your work, but we don't make the rules about the pricing. We just enforce the rules." One of the security people said.
"That sounds familiar..." Antares grumbled.
Suddenly, the paparazzi and a talent-scouting agent were approaching the group's direction...
"The exhibits hosted by Janice, Terrell and Marcia of the Chariots of Colors team had a high turnout, but there was another unexpected star of the show. A member of the venue's security team gave a rousing speech during the intermission that caught the attention of the paparazzi and an agent that was scouting for an actor after it almost seemed like there was going to be confrontation within the security team..." The reporter said on one of the TVs that was on in the CC headquarters cafeteria.
"I'm sorry that I nearly upstaged you. It was your show and I was just trying to help you by standing up against overpriced amenities" Antares said with a nervous chuckle. She was at the cafeteria with Ruby, Terrell, Janice, Marcia and Fiore.
"It's fine, and thank you. You helped keep the paparazzi out of our hair so we could be more focused for the rest of our shows." Janice said with a smile.
"I thank you too. I wasn't feeling ready to for a long interview and had too much else on my mind" Marcia cheerfully said.
"When don't you?" Ruby chuckled. "You have a lot to think about with those time travel powers, to be careful with everything and--"
"I need to check something!" Marcia nervously dashed to the calendar on the wall to look at it. During the event, she didn't see a calendar nor did anyone mention the date, but she already suspected that she was back to an earlier time. There were so many clues but she couldn't deny them anymore.
The calendar confirmed what she suspected and tried to deny. Her time in the limelight was back, her successor Regina was just a new initiate who started her training, and Fiore was about to debut soon.
"I don't know how this happened, but I have to come to terms with it. Will our teammates that debuted after Regina does, if she'll still debut, will they still join CC? The past is hard-coded, but if this time is the present again, then what came after is no longer certain. I can assume though if this trajectory won't be drastically different than it was, then we'll meet again. I'll also do what I can to rebuild TIMES, and hope I cross paths with friends I made that join it again." She thought to herself again, staring at the calendar. "In the future." She thought again after a pause; she was filled with worry but felt more confident by the end of these thoughts.
She walked back to the group. "I was just checking something. I needed to check it thoroughly." She said, and sounded assured.
"Okay. You missed out on a funny part of the report, but I'll help you catch up!" Ruby offered.
Other members and guests went to the cafeteria and they chatted with each other, taking Marcia's mind off of her many worries for now.
