---

   It was a clear, starry night. Moonlight illuminated the lush trees and pleasant meadows where a hot new trance act was about to perform. This new trance act was known as “Magical Trance” and was comprised of five rising stars. There were the four DJs: Randy, Victor, Ben, R-33, and the vocalist, Nick. The meaning behind the group’s name was debated by many fans, but the general consensus was that their sounds were magical. The truth behind the name was far more complex than the fans believed. You see, these five young stars had come across magical equipment. There was a magical synthesizer, magical drum machine, magical equalizer, magical computer with magical software, and a magical microphone – each of these items were used by the five at each of their shows. It was a secret only known to Magical Trance…or so they thought.
   Queues of people were surging into the meadows surrounding Magical Trance’s large DJ booth as the sound checks were finalized. A few moments passed and the crowd had easily grown to at least 50,000 ecstatic fans, with even more waiting just to get in. The five performers looked at one another, making sure that they were all prepared for their largest event yet. They all confirmed their readiness to one another, then began their first track.
   The crowd started to dance madly and cheer at the top of their lungs, obviously enjoying the set already. Ben and Victor began to dance where they stood to get the crowd even more energized, as Nick was swept away by the sounds. A few moments passed, and they moved onto the next track. Nick, still dancing, brought his magical microphone up and began to sing the track’s lyrics in a beautiful tone. The crowd went wild as Nick continued to sing, jumping up and down and dancing all around as his voice blended together with the sounds in perfect harmony.
   Then, all of a sudden, a giant black helicopter appeared in the sky over the DJ booth and began to descend. The crowd stopped everything they were doing and looked up at the craft. Randy motioned to the others to stop the music as he looked at the helicopter as well. Victor, Ben, R-33, and Nick followed Randy’s lead and gazed upon the black object as well. The helicopter gained speed as it continued its descent, and then moved to an angle to where the blades would reach down into the crowd itself. By this time, the crowd had begun to panic and flood out of the meadows in large numbers. As the crowd was dispersing, another helicopter came roaring downward. But this one was heading right toward the Magical Trance members. The five of them jumped out of the booth, leaving behind all of their magical equipment. The second helicopter landed, and a man in dressed in a black suit jumped out onto the ground. Ben and R-33 realized that the man was about to steal their equipment, and began to rush forward in an attempt to stop him. But their attempt was thwarted when the first helicopter flew towards them, blades dangerously close to the ground. The two DJs backed off as the mysterious man loaded the magical equipment into the second helicopter, boarded himself, and took off into the night sky. The first craft followed, leaving Magical Trance flabbergasted and without any musical equipment.
   By this time, most of the crowd had disappeared, but two friends of the trance group’s members had remained to make sure everyone was alright. These two were Cleo and Derek. They scurried and let out sighs of relief when they saw that nobody had gotten hurt.
   “Everyone is fine, right?” asked Cleo.
   “Yes,” replied Victor. “But those thieves made off with our stuff!”
   “Hey, it’s better to have lost your equipment than to have gotten injured,” Derek interjected with a somewhat shocked voice.
   “You sound different, Derek!” Ben laughed. “What’s up with your voice? It’s all squeaky!”
   “I’m just really shocked that Victor seems more worried about the equipment than his own well-being is all.”
   “I’m going to have to agree with Derek here, guys,” Cleo added. “You can always just buy new equipment.”
   “You two don’t understand what they took from us,” Nick said in a grim voice.
   “Sure we do!” replied Derek. “Let me see here…there was a synthesizer, an equalizer…um…uh…”
   “A drum machine, Derek,” added Cleo.
   “A drum machine, yes! Thanks, Cleo!”
   “It wasn’t that hard to remember…:”
   “Stop acting so idiotic, Derek!” interjected R-33. “That wasn’t just any ordinary equipment!”
   “Did it have some sort of sentimental value or something?” Cleo asked.
   “Follow us,” said Randy. “We’ll explain everything to you.”
   “But first, you have to put on these…” Ben added, extending his hands to Cleo and Derek, holding a blindfold in each.
   “What are these for?” inquired Cleo.
   “We can’t have you knowing where we’re bringing you,” said Nick, as he takes the blindfolds and secures them over the eyes of Cleo and Derek. Nick grabbed a hold of Cleo’s shoulders, while Ben took Derek’s, and led them away.
   “It’s dark! It’s dark!” cried Derek.
   “Oh, would you stuff it with a fish, Derek?” snapped Ben. “It’s just a blindfold.”
   “But I’m scared of the dark!” Derek continued to cry.
   “Shut up!” Cleo laughed.
   Cleo and Derek were lead by their friends for about fifteen minutes before the blindfolds were finally taken off. They found themselves in a mysterious room with a plethora of hi-tech machinery. There were several computers spread out across the walls with a large number of small screens above them. But the most impressive accessory in the room was a giant television screen that took the entire front wall space. The screen was on, but all it was showing was static.
   “You don’t get many channels here, do you?” Derek mused.
   “This is no time for jokes,” said a mysterious male voice coming from behind Derek.
   Derek turned around to see who had spoken. As he stopped turning, he gazed upon not just a man, but a younger woman as well.
   “This is a time for action!” said the man.
   “Would you please introduce yourself, sir?” Derek asked the man.
   “Oh, where are my manners? Hello, my name is Remco. And this is my good friend Vera.”
   “Pleased to make your acquaintance?” Derek said in the form of a question.
   “Of course you’re pleased to meet them, Derek!” said Cleo, who shoves Derek out of the way. “Why do you have to be so rude?”
   “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just…”
   “It’s quite alright,” laughed Vera. “We startled you, didn’t we?”
   “No, not at all!” said Derek, in a deep, overly-dramatic voice.
   Vera raised an eyebrow as she stared at Derek for a quick moment. “We startled you, didn’t we?” she asked once more.
   “N-yeah,” Derek quickly replied, changing his answer halfway through. Both Vera and Remco, along with Cleo, started to laugh. “What’s so funny?”
   “We should keep him around here, Remco!” Vera said. “We need someone goofy like him around here!”
   “Vera, you know as well as I do that this is a place of important and serious business, not goofiness,” replied Remco.
   “I know, but it would still be nice to have a laugh every now-and-then.”
   All of a sudden, the screen’s static faded away and the back of a chair appeared in its place. The top of someone’s head towered above the top of the chair. A headset was visible on the person’s head.
   “Good evening…” said the mysterious figure in a bone-chilling voice.
   “Oh my gosh, it’s a vampire! Run for you lives, everyone!” yelled Derek, as he began to run away. Remco grabbed Derek by the arm and pulled him back to where he was standing before.
   “Vera, could you please make sure that he doesn’t try to escape again?” Remco asked.
   “Sure,” replied Vera as she walked up to Derek. “You’re not going to try anything else, are you?”
   “Will I regret it if I do?” Derek asked Vera.
   “Oh yeah, you’ll regret it…and then some!” Vera replied.
   “Okay, I won’t try anything!” Derek replied in a high-pitched squeak.
   “May I continue?” asked the mysterious figure on the television screen.
   “Who are you?” asked Cleo.
   “I cannot reveal my true identity, so you will refer to me as Charlie!” said the figure.
   “What do you want with us?”
   “I want you to help us retrieve the equipment that was stolen.” Charlie replied.
   “What? You mean this whole thing is about some simple equipment?” Derek asked in a shocked voice as he turned to face his musician friends. “The five you are really something, you know that? You’re going through all of this just to get back five pieces of equipment?”
   “How dare you refer to that stuff like it’s just ordinary, everyday DJ equipment?” Remco asks Derek.
   “Isn’t it just ordinary, everyday DJ equipment?”
   “Of course not!” Remco replies before turning to address the Magical Trance members. “Did you even tell them about that equipment?”
   “Um…uh…” Victor stammered. “No, not really. We were going to do it when we got here and we got a bit sidetracked…”
“Then allow me to explain things to you,” Charlie interjected. “You see, about a year ago, these five came across magical equipment that makes people much more responsive to the music that is played. They didn’t know what they had stumbled upon until I had Remco and Vera bring them here. I explained the whole situation to them, and made them swear to not tell anyone about the equipment. The fact that this technology has fallen into the wrong hands is indeed grim. I fear these lowlifes will use the magical equipment to keep people occupied so they can pilfer any number of priceless objects.”
   “So, why are you telling us all of this?” Cleo asked.
   “A valid question,” replied Charlie. “You see, we want the two of you to help retrieve the stolen equipment.”
   “Why can’t they just do it?” Derek asked, pointing to the members of Magical Trance.
   “Because whoever stole our stuff knows who we are,” answered Nick. “They would recognize who we are in a heartbeat.”
   “That’s right!” added Randy. “And that’s exactly why we need the two of you to go in our place.”
   “Well, what about Vera and Remco? Derek asked. “Can’t they just do it?”
   “We’re going with you,” said Remco. “This job is too large for the two of us alone.”
   “Can we count on you to help us?” Vera asked Cleo and Derek.
   “Count me in!” responded Cleo, with much enthusiasm in her voice.
   “Anything to help out my friends, count me in!” said Derek.
   “Good,” Charlie replied. “Now, please turn your full attentions to the screen.” Charlie’s television screen image disappeared, and was replaced with a map of the town. There was a giant, blue X-mark where a warehouse was located. “Look at the giant, blue X-mark on the screen. This is an abandoned warehouse located near the pier. I’ve managed to track them to this location, but that’s unfortunately the only information I could acquire. The four of you will have to figure everything else out. I wish you all the best of luck.” Charlie’s screen then disappeared.
   “Alright, I’ll take command of this group,” Remco said.
   “Whatever,” Derek replied.
   “Fine with me,” added Cleo.
   “Don’t worry, you two. We’re in good hands with Remco leading us!” Vera assured the two.
   And with that, the four said their goodbyes to Magical Trance and made their way toward the warehouse with only the night sky providing them light. An hour or so passed before they finally came upon the warehouse. They looked around and noticed that there was only one entrance – a large, sliding door that was currently shut. They moved up to the door slowly and cautiously, making sure that they did not create any noise.
   “Why do bad guys always have to hide out in warehouses?” Derek randomly asked aloud. “It’s been done so many times before!”
   “Be quiet, Derek,” whispered Remco. “We don’t know if those deadbeats are inside or not.”

---

  Vera grabbed a hold of the door and slid it open slightly. She peered inside with one eye to try to catch sight of anyone. When she found no signs of life, she opened the door completely. The four walked into the warehouse and scouted the entire area. All the found were empty boxes and a metal floor.
  “There’s nothing here,” Cleo said. “Did they move somewhere else, knowing we were coming?”
  All of a sudden, Vera heard a very feint noise. She tapped Cleo to grab her attention, and then put her finger to Cleo’s mouth, signaling her to remain silent. Vera lay down onto the floor and pressed her left ear against the metal. She stayed in this position for a few moments before hearing the same noise once more. She then rose back up onto her feet and faced her teammates.
  “They’re underneath the floor,” she reported.
  “Of course, it’s the perfect hiding spot!” Remco added in a triumphant tone.
  “Once again, it’s been used way too many times. I could have told you that!” Derek laughed.
  “Okay, Mr. Wise-Guy! If you knew it the whole time, then why didn’t you say anything in the beginning?” Vera asked Derek, giggling.
  “I…I, um…uh…well you see…” Derek randomly mumbled.
  “See, Remco? I told you he would make us laugh!”
  “Okay, you were right, Vera!” Remco chuckled. “Now, let’s get back that equipment!”
  “But first, we need to find the secret entrance,” added Cleo. “How are we going to do that?”
  “Ooh, I have a solution this time!” Derek replied, getting excited. “Leave it all to me!”
  Derek began to slide his hands across the walls, feeling for any secret switches or buttons. He did a thorough sweep of all the walls, but failed to find a single clue. So then he started to hop about the room, shifting his weight to his feet as he landed on the metal floor. This started to create a very audible clanging noise. This caused Remco to start freaking out.
  “Derek!” he shouted. “You’re going to give away our presence!”
  “Like you’re not doing that by yelling at me?” Derek retorted.
  “He has a good point,” laughed Vera. “I’ve never seen you act like this before, Remco!”
  “His eccentricity must be rubbing off on me or something,” Remco replied.
  Derek was about to add something to the conversation when, all of a sudden, he sank through the floor. The others rushed over to see what had happened to him, and found a square escape hatch had opened underneath Derek. They looked down to see if Derek was alright, but could not see a thing.
  “Derek!” Cleo called down into the opening. “Derek, are you okay?”
  “That was fun!” Derek called up to them. “Jump down here! Don’t worry, it’s a giant slide!”
  “I’ll go first,” Cleo said to Remco and Vera as she jumped down through the opening. She began to cry out in enjoyment as she slid downward. “Derek was right! This is really fun!” As she neared the end of the slide, she noticed a dangerously sharp angle approaching. She readied herself for an imminent collision with the floor, but was caught by Derek, who was standing right at the very end.
  “Don’t worry, Cleo,” he said to her. “I have you covered.”
  “Thanks buddy!” she said to Derek before shouting back up Vera and Remco. “Next!”
  Vera looked at Remco. “You’re turn!”
  “No way!” replied Remco. “There is no way I’m going down there before you, Vera!”
  “Fine,” Vera said in a slightly irritated voice. “But could you please do me one favor before I jump down there?”
  “Sure, what is it?”
  “Could you please tell me if there’s anything in my hair?”
  “Hold on a second,” Remco said as he got closer to Vera. “Let me get a good look at this and…”
  But Remco was interrupted mid-sentence as Vera pushed him down through the opening. Vera started to laugh hysterically.
  “I can’t believe you actually fell for that!” she called down to Remco.
  “You’ll pay for this later!” he called back up to her. As he continued his ride down, Remco forgot all about Vera pushing him down the slide and actually began to enjoy the twists and turns. “Wow, this is actually quite enjoyable!” he squealed out in utter enjoyment. He then noticed the sharp, descending angle that Cleo had feared before him. He curled into a ball and began to roll downward. Derek and Cleo were standing at the very end waiting to catch him, but were not expecting to see him rolling down in a ball. But they caught him nonetheless, and Remco stood up, dizzy from his little rolling experience. “Alright, let’s get going. We need to find the stuff quickly now that everyone knows we’re here.”
  “But shouldn’t we wait for Vera?” Derek asked Remco.
  “We don’t have any time to lose, Derek. Stay and wait for her if you want, but we need to finish the job before they get away!”
  “Fine, we’ll catch up with you in a few moments.”
  “Later then,” said Remco. And with that, he and Cleo walked through the mysterious passageway in front of them.
  “Here I come!” Vera called down as she ran and jumped through the opening and began her sliding experience. “Whee! This is great!” She slid and slid until she came upon the sharp angle, but at a much greater speed than any of the others. Derek stood, ready to catch her, but she came flying at him. He was not expecting this and fell to the ground as he caught Vera. Vera got up and extended her hand out to Derek, who was still on the ground. “Thanks for stopping me!”
  “No problem,” Derek said as he grabbed a hold of Vera’s hand. She pulled him up to his feet and he brushed himself off. “Alright, let’s join up with Remco and Cleo.”
  And so Vera and Derek ran down the passageway, trying to catch up with Remco and Cleo. They ran for a few moments before being grabbed by two figures hidden in the shadows. They both freaked out a bit before realizing that the two figures were Remco and Cleo.
  “What’s your problem, you two?” Vera asked as she proceeded to shove Remco a bit.
  “Hey, this wasn’t my idea!” Remco informed them. “It was all Cleo!”
  “Whoa, don’t go blaming this whole crazy scheme on me, pal!” Cleo defensively replied.
  “Well whoever came up with it, let’s put this behind us for now.” Derek said. “Why did the two of you stop here?”
  “There are two different passages a few feet away from us.” Cleo replied. “We’ll need to split up into two groups.”
  “That’s right,” said Remco. “I’ll take Derek with me through the left passage, while Vera and Cleo take the right.”
  “Fair enough,” Vera added.
  “Alright, let’s go!” Remco blurted out. But as he started to walk, a cell phone began to ring.
  “Remco,” Vera cried out in disappointment. “You brought your cell phone with you and you didn’t even turn it off?”
  “Hey, it’s my emergency phone! It only rings in the case of an emergency!”
  “Fine, answer it.”
  “I will!” Remco pulls out his phone and answers it. “Hello? Wait, what happened? Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can!”
  “What’s going on?” Derek asked as Remco put his phone away.
  “I need to get home, right away!” Remco replied as he started to head back.
  “But why do you need to leave?” Cleo asked.
  “I have to change Lucie’s diaper!” Remco answered.
  “Your wife won’t change the diaper?” Vera asked.
  “She can’t,” Remco replied. “She’s visiting with her mother right now.”
  “So, what about your babysitter?” Derek asked.
  “The babysitter refuses to change this one. Apparently it’s causing her to have war flashbacks.” Remco replied once more. “Sorry, but I have to go right now!”
  “So I’m going to have to go down this dark, spooky passageway all by myself?”
  “Yeah, pretty much. What? Are you scared or something, Derek?”
  “No! Well…I, uh…no! I’ll be fine!”
  “I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this before, but you’re kind of weird, Derek.”
  “Believe it or not, I get that quite a bit.”
  “Right…anyway, I’m putting Vera in charge of this operation in my absence.”
  “Hey, why did you choose her over me or Cleo?”
  “I chose Vera because she was at MennoSolo with me earlier this year.”
  “That’s the only reason?”
  “Do I need any other reason? I thought it was quite self-explanatory.”
  “I’d like to hear a better reason than that,” Cleo answered.
  “Fine,” Remco sighed. “I trust her more than the two of you because I’ve known her a lot longer.”
  “Makes sense,” Cleo said.
  “Okay, later everybody!” Remco called out as he ran back home.
  “Derek,” said Vera. “If you come to a dead end, return to this spot and then try to find us, alright?”
  “Can do,” replied Derek. “The two of you do the same as well.”
  And with that, the two parties went their separate ways. Vera and Cleo walked through the right passageway, which was saturated with darkness. The two ran their hands across the walls to feel their way through and make sure they didn’t run into anything. After about ten minutes, the women felt a doorway with their feet. They stopped for a moment, and then Vera felt for something to open the door with. But as she felt around for this, both she and Cleo heard someone approaching them slowly from behind. The sound of footsteps grew closer and closer, as they both remained perfectly still. Cleo then suddenly felt a hand grab her shoulder, which caused her to extend her arm out and slap at the mysterious person. An audible noise was created as her hand struck against the person’s face.
  “Ouch!” the mysterious person called out in pain.
  “Hey, I recognize that voice!” exclaimed Cleo. “It’s Derek!”
  “Yeah, it’s me,” Derek said, rubbing his face. “And did you really have to slap me, Cleo? That really hurt!”
  “Hey, for we know it could have been one of the bad guys!”
  “Well you would have stopped them in their tracks with that slap, I’ll tell you that much!”
  “That’s the idea, you dunderhead!” Cleo laughed.
  “Okay you two,” Vera giggled. “Cut it out and let’s finish this up. I found a doorknob.”
  Vera rotated the doorknob and pushed the door open. Light poured into the passageway, illuminating everything. The three peered inside and saw the magical equipment that they had been searching for, seemingly unguarded. Vera and Cleo walked through the door, with Derek following suit; they stopped several meters away from the holy grails of electronic music, noticing a doorway on the other end of the room. From this doorway, two men in black outfits strutted into the room and stood in front of the stolen items.
  “We’ve been expecting you,” one of the men said, nonchalantly.
  “Who are you?” asked Vera.
  “You can call me Marin,” said the same man. “And you call him Zak.”
  “Why are you telling us your names?” Cleo asked.
  “Well, in all fairness,” began Zak. “It’s not like any of you are getting out of here alive.”
  “You’re wrong, Zak!” Derek said in a fearless tone. “You stole from our friends. We’re leaving here with that equipment!”
  “Well,” Marin replied to Derek’s statement. “It sounds like you’re ready to fight us for this treasure!”
  “What? I never said that!”
  “That’s what it sounded like to me.”
  “I’m agreeing with Marin,” added Zak.
  “Oh, shut it! Nobody asked you!” Derek snapped.
  “Stop getting them angry, Derek,” Vera stated calmly. “Let me take care of these two.”
  “What are you going to do to us?” Marin asked.
  Vera walked up to the two thieves and stared them in the eyes. “Do you really want to mess with me?” she asked.
  “That’s what we’re saying!” Zak replied.
  “Do you really, really want to mess with me?” Vera asked once more, still staring into their eyes.
  “Of…of course we do…” Marin hesitantly replied.
  “Are you both absolutely sure that you want to mess with me?” Vera asked yet again.
  By this time, both Zak and Marin were sweating profusely and breathing heavily from having the pants scared off. They both turned away from Vera’s gaze as Zak replied, “No, we don’t want to mess with you.”
  Vera smiled in triumph. “Great!” she replied. “We’ll just be taking this stuff back and…”
  But before Vera could finish her sentence, Marin and Zak rushed past her and grabbed Cleo and Derek.
  “Do what we say,” Zak yelled to Vera while wrapping one arm around Derek’s neck. “Or else they get it!”
  Vera, shocked by the sudden shift in the situation, nodded her head in compliance. “What do you want?” she asked.
  “Step backwards,” Marin ordered as he put his arm around Cleo’s neck. “Step back right against the wall.”
  Vera slowly moved backwards, past the magical DJ equipment, until she felt her back meet with the wall. Then suddenly, a strange clanking noise came from above the floor. Everybody looked up, revealing rafters that were attached to the walls, but with no stairs leading to the ground level. The noise continued as everybody, especially Marin and Zak, looked upward.
  “Who’s there?” Zak called out. “Show yourself, coward!”
  It was then that a ninja shuriken was thrown downward toward Zak, creating a cut through his pants and a slight cut in the back of his leg. This causes him to let go of Derek and start yelling in pain. It was during this time of confusion that Derek rushed Marin, bringing him down and causing him to release Cleo from his grasp. Vera rushed toward Cleo to make sure she was alright as Derek rose back to his feet. Unfortunately for these three, both Marin and Zak had gotten back to their feet and were rushing toward them. Two more shuriken fell from the sky, landing directly in front of the dastardly villains’ path. A mysterious person wearing nothing but black fell downward from the rafters after everyone had come to a complete halt. He landed on his hands and knees, then rose to his feet and stood before Marin and Zak.
  “Leave these children alone, you pathetic lowlifes!” the mystery person said in a deep, raspy voice. “You’ll have to answer to me if you don’t.”
  “And who are you?” Marin asked, angrily.
  “I’m your worst nightmare, pal!”
  “You’re not a giant clown wearing gym shorts and a fake, rainbow afro!”
  “Oh yeah?” the mystery figure asked. “You give me about five minutes and I’ll come back as your worst nightmare!”
  Marin backed off, wearing a frightened expression on his face. “Uh, Zak…we should get going now…” he muttered to his partner-in-crime.
  “What are you talking about, Marin?” Zak asked, confused about his friend’s actions. “It’s just one creepy guy in a disguise. It isn’t anything we cannot handle!”
  “No,” replied Marin. “No, this guy is not messing around! He means business here. Stick around if you want, but I’m getting the heck out of here!” Marin ran past everyone and made his way back through the doorway he entered from.
  “Ugh,” Zak groaned. “We’re going to have a serious talk about your phobia of clowns…and gym shorts aren’t we?” Zak followed in Marin’s footsteps and exited the room in the same fashion.
  “Who are you?” Derek asked as he and the others walked up to the mysterious man.
  “I can never reveal my true identity,” the man started. “But you can call me…”
  “Wow, you’re Batman!” Derek interjected with an excited voice.
  “No, you can call me Rift_77.”
  “So, you are Batman?”
  “What the…? What’s the matter with you, kid? I just told you I’m not Batman!”
  “But you also said that you can’t reveal your true identity. So the fact that you’re denying being Batman means that you really are Batman!”
  “Are you an idiot?”
  “Yeah, kind of,” Cleo answered. “He’s been like this for a long time.”
  “I see,” replied Rift_77.
  “So, are you a ninja or something?” Vera asked.
  “Yeah, pretty much.”
  “Well, thank you so much for helping us out!”
  “Don’t mention it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.”
  “Alright, see you later, Batman!” Derek blurted out.
  Rift_77 grabbed Derek by the shirt and lifted him off the ground. “If you call me Batman one more time, you’re going to regret it!”
  “Sorry…later, Rift_77…”
  “That’s more like it, kid!” Rift_77 said as he placed Derek gently back onto the ground. “Until next time, take care.”
  And with that, Rift_77 jumped up onto the rafters and disappeared as noisily has he had entered.
  “Wow, for a ninja, that Batman sure does make a lot of noise!” Derek mused to Vera and Cleo. A shuriken suddenly flew down from above and cut through part of Derek’s shirt. “Alright already, I’m sorry!” he yelled upward.
  “Okay everyone,” Vera said, bringing the attention of Cleo and Derek back to their mission. “Let’s get this equipment back where it belongs!”
  And so the three grabbed a hold of the magical equipment and brought it back to its rightful owners. Magical Trance, after receiving their gear, advertised a makeup event for everyone who had been at their ruined performance. They played a week later in the same location with no disruptions from any evildoers and later went on to be voted as the number two DJs in the world, outshined only by Armin van Buuren, who they actually ended up working with on several new productions. Cleo decided to go home and get some well-deserved rest. As for Derek, he decided to stay and work with Remco and Vera. His first few assignments ended up being with just Vera because during every mission, Remco was called home to change Lucie’s diaper, feed her, or get her to take her nap. Derek soon found himself with a promotion. He now works as Lucie’s babysitter, insuring that Remco never misses out on another mission. Remco and Vera continued life as normal, leading successful lives through their missions. As for Charlie, he still never revealed his true identity, or his face for that matter. And of course, nobody ever quite figured out what happened to Marin, Zak, or Rift_77. It is assumed that Marin and Zak are still plotting to swipe the magical DJ equipment once more. Rift_77 is said to be stalking Derek in the shadows, making sure he’s never referred to as ‘Batman’ again.

LOL nice work Derek I loved it!  I can imagine this being turned into an anime!

lol Nice work Derek
Cheers for making me a bad guy too. It was a real nice read.

You have wayyy too much fantasy Derek! hahaha

Originally posted by Water

“I have to change Lucie’s diaper!” Remco answered.

OMG That made me laugh hahaha

Some things are so not how I would handle things haha, but great read Derek! I looooved it
Too bad I had to miss the end cz of Lucie hehe, but at the end, good your looking after Lucie and let me and Vera do the real stuff in the future haha
But I'm betting you do that for your own interest don't you? You want to get on Lucie's bouncing aquarium chair, am I right? hahaha

Haha nice read Derek.

It was well worth the wait 

Originally posted by Super

You have wayyy too much fantasy Derek! hahaha

Some things are so not how I would handle things haha, but great read Derek! I looooved it

You want to get on Lucie's bouncing aquarium chair, am I right? hahaha

Hehe, I've been told that from time to time from my English teachers at school.

As for how things were handled, I tried to make everyone different from how they usually seem on here. In that respect, I could have made pretty much anybody one of the evil people. I mean, take me for example. I'm not REALLY like that!! Though some people would disagree with me there...

And I would SO not use Lucie's bouncing aquarium chair...I would just get one to fit me, and join her in the bouncing! LOL.

I'm so glad that everybody is enjoying this story!! It's making me want to write another one at some point, to be completely honest. LOL.

"..and later went on to be voted as the number two DJs in the world, outshined only by Armin van Buuren"
ooo yaya :-D

i really liked your story, you have a great talent :-) and good luck in writing the next one, count me in again! :-P

Originally posted by Water

I'm so glad that everybody is enjoying this story!! It's making me want to write another one at some point, to be completely honest. LOL.

Do it whenever you can i bet it will be even better than the first one

Originally posted by vera

Do it whenever you can i bet it will be even better than the first one

Oh ye, can't wait to read the next one Count me in again