*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

The Director's fingers drummed in a slow, frustrated beat, the only sound in the acoustically dull expanse of his office. His features were obscured in shadow; through the windows behind him, the Chicago skyline shone with artificial radiance in the gloom of a damp autumn evening. Faintly backlit, he became a slight, almost skeletal figure in an expensive suit, encompassed by luxurious surroundings. The trappings of a rich executive, the CEO of a company whose workings were kept as deep in shadow as the man at the desk.

The face of Oblivion was not showing his face tonight.

Things were not going the way he had intended. They had begun making progress in small ways, in the ways that eroded the base of any well-intentioned assembly. Water dripped inexorably over rock until depressions formed, until the ground beneath finally gave way as the balance tipped. So, one band at a time, carefully selected, had been subverted to his control. It had taken trickery, or coercion, or simple threat. But it had been succeeding. He was a patient man, but the opposing forces grew and gathered too quickly now, finding each other and making dents in his carefully constructed front line.

Napster had been a near miss, that was all. The creature had done damage, but not fulfilled its potential. Now none of the scientists knew where the misbegotten, unfinished beast had gone, and not one of the senshi had been subverted or destroyed. The results were unacceptable. Sacrifices had been made to assure this type of mistake would not happen again, and more needed to be made. Greater steps had been ordered and would be taken. It was time for something unprecedented, something that would eradicated the greatest threat � those senshi who had become self-aware enough to band together and fight. The threat would be pulled up by its roots.

One of the massive oak double doors that led into his shadowed inner sanctum opened unceremoniously, admitting a slender, voluptuous figure. She strode across the lush carpet of his domain and leaned over his desk, showing far too much cleavage, pouting at him in the light from the windows. She was the only of his associates who would dare enter without permission, who would disturb him with such impertinence without receiving hideous punishment.

Britney Spears. The right hand of Oblivion.

She was wearing too much lip gloss, again, and she was still sporting the outfit from those old Pepsi commercials from so long ago. Britney would never age; she had sold her soul to the wrong pop deities and would remain 20 forever.

Unfortunately, her voice would never change either.

"They say they're ready," she said in what she thought was a sexy voice, leaning a hip on the desk and nearly lounging across it. She picked up a paperweight � it was constructed of a thousand melted CD's, but she held it easily. "I hope you won't be disappointed, this time."

"You were the one who said you wished the Harmonies had never existed," the Director's sepulchral voice intoned. "You have overseen this project, and if the results are less than satisfactory�there is only one source of blame."

Britney smiled sardonically. "This will be the final time any of those bands see the stage," she said. "I have seen the machine work. If there are any�complications�I will be there to fill in the gaps."

"Have you chosen and monitored the bands?" the Director said, continuing to drum his fingers lightly.

Britney tilted her head slightly with a small, sly shrug. "I know there were several you were concerned with," she said. "Several who�were causing the most difficulty. I hope you're pleased."

The drumming stopped. There was utter stillness for a long moment, during which Britney held her smile, though it grew slightly stale.

"I will be," the Director whispered. "Or there may be�changes to make."

Britney tried to hold her smile, but sweat broke out across her brow.

"Let me hear the proposal," the Director whispered.

A faint knock was heard at the door, and the Director nodded to Britney to open it. Three scientists entered the room. The Director sat in his chair and nodded for the scientists to begin their proposal.

"Well, sir, Miss Spears mentioned that there were several bands that had been...rather unwilling to listen to you. And that there were several senshi that had been giving you trouble," said the first scientist in a mousy voice, "So, we thought that the best way to eradicate these menaces was to go back in time and make sure the bands never make it big."

The other two scientists nodded in assent.

"And so, sir, we present to you the plan for the Back in Time Machine. Or, BIT-man, as we have come to call it," continued the scientist, smirking at his attempt at humor. The Director scowled, and the scientist backed away. Another scientist filled his place.

"Now, this machine can go back into any point in time we want. And it can take a disharmony with it."

The Director seemed to withdraw suddenly, excluding the scientists from his attention. This was an unexpected development � and most certainly an ambitious undertaking.

Britney came forward again, an evil smile on her overglossed lips. "I say we send Slipknot, or Hanson," she said. "We shouldn't stop at just keeping them from making it big�we should take the opportunity to destroy them altogether!"

The Director barely afforded her a glance. "Slipknot is uncontrollable," he said in a dismissive tone. "And we will not affect the time stream so radically as to destroy the band members themselves. You will learn, my dear, that a small push in the right place will create results that blatant destruction will not."

He turned to the scientists. "We will remove the things that caused these bands to become popular," he said. "We will unravel them and make them worthless! They will cease to annoy me, and in the process I will have eradicated the base on which the rebellion against Oblivion stood." He laughed softly, a chilling sound.

He swiveled his chair toward Britney again. "You, my dear, will earn your keep by doing a bit of research: look closely at each of the bands that have been the most resistant. Begin with the most troublesome, the one that may consider themselves the leader. Find the juncture at which each of them became famous, and remove the impetus for that fame. Choose carefully. There will be no second chances."

Britney swallowed a little hard and nodded.

"Once you have the moments collected � a decision, a particular show, anything � send Hanson to accompany this�'BIT-man'. I will require a full report prior to the launching of this endeavor." He paused, and the scientists couldn't see his face, but they could feel his attention. "Do not disappoint me," he said. "My patience is at a premium. Understood?"

The scientists smiled to each other, each thinking of their favorite celebratory drink. After a few seconds of standing in the room, they wisely decided to scurry back to their lab.

* * * * *

Woodstock, 2008. The biggest gathering of rock bands of the year. The crowds swarmed out of control, making this Woodstock '99 times ten. The fest wasn't even half way into its first day, and already the mayhem was at fever pitch.

Ebony was loving every second of it.

From her comfortable spot in the immense warm-up tent, she watched contentedly as Metallica and a small, up-and-coming young band played "Hit the Lights". She looked over as Journey entered the tent, and saw an energetic Liberty waving to her. She gave a rather half-hearted wave back and went back to watching the crowds mill around the clear plastic side of the tent. Most were pointing and taking pictures of Metallica, two college guys were watching her. On seeing her look at them, they immediately began to pose and show off. Ebony rolled her eyes and looked elsewhere.

As she watched the crowd float by, she noticed three girls- no, wait! three /guys/ walk by, followed by a rather stiff-looking person. Ebony watched the long-haired guys and seriously questioned their gender, before she realized who they were. Hanson. Ebony sat up and took special note of them and their companion. His uptightness and obvious uneasiness made him look like an 18 year old at his first strip bar. His walk was almost comical.

"What are you looking at, Eb?", asked a voice behind her.

Ebony turned around to find Kirk standing behind her. She gestured at the comical-looking guy.

"Deranged," she said.

"Yeah, he does look really wild. And who are those /ugly/ ass chicks next to him?", Kirk asked.

Ebony just burst out laughing.

"What, what I'd say?"

Ebony just hid her face in her hands and walked off, still giggling.

* * * *

"Yeah, yeah... no shakin at those knees now Angus baby, don't cha get no Thunderstruck," Alicia said, massaging Angus' shoulders.

"Oh yeah.... down, down baby, DOWN..."

"You DO know that sounds supremely, utterly sick, don't you," Malcom said, drinking his beer. Alicia then saw the beer, her eyes going wide. Before he could take another sip, the damn beer was taken out of his hands before he could say, "Back in Black."

"Alicia Thunderstruck! Where the hell did you take my beer!?!"

Before he knew it, the beer bottle dropped to the floor, crashing below his feet. Malcom only growled his mouth out. Alicia then jumped down from above, since she was hanging on to a pipe with her feet. Suddenly, Alicia gave Malcom a peck on the cheek.

"Don't be so sad jack, you little playboy star, cause Alicia's back," she said sweetly. Malcom just blushed HARD RED. Angus was just laughing his head off, putting on his hat. As he grabbed his guitar, he patted his brother's shoulder.

"There, there bro. It's just our guardian angel saying good luck."

And he walked out the door, Alicia following. Malcom was just there, Thunderstruck. As Alicia went off from their room to where the other guys were in their mobile truck, she saw Sailor Metallica in the darkness, along with Sailor Journey. She wasn't excited this time. She had her band to worry about. But still... with the others... FUN TIME!!!

Before the idea of jumping around and starting a scene to attract the senshi went through her head, the most important thing in the world happened that caught her attention span first in that short-term mind of hers.

"WHERE IS MY HAT!?!?!?!"

Angus' Hat. Gone. AGAIN.

"Here we go again," Alicia sighed, running off towards the guys.

* * *

The NIN tour bus was packed with the members. Danny shouted back towards the bathroom, "Hey, Trent! You want a beer?"

"No, I don't want a beer! I'm taking a piss," the bathroom responded. Halo laughed as she sat waiting for everyone.

"Hey, Halo? Isn't this where you first appeared to us? Last time we were at Woodstock," Charlie asked.

Halo smiled and said, "Isn't it funny... I was up above it, now I'm down in it."

Trent emerges from the bathroom and says, "Okay boys lets go kick ass." Trent went out the door first followed by Danny. Halo followed not too far behind.

"Hey Trent," Danny said.

"What," Trent asked.

"Check out that mud puddle. Just like last time," Danny said in a playful tone. Trent didn't have time to respond. Danny had quickly pushed him down into it. The rest of the band watched from a safe distance as the two guys wrestled in the mud. Halo stood over them laughing.

They paused as Danny said, "Hey, I had to get you back for last time."

Trent laughed as he said, "Yeah, I had that one coming to me, but what about her?"

Halo's face filled with shock as she felt Trent pull her down into the mud. She lifted her face out of the muck and said, "Hey pig, piggy pig pig, fuck you!" Both guys just laughed as they dunked her back into the mud. Halo just gave in and let her guys have fun. A few minutes later the three of them recovered themselves, dripping head to toe in mud. Trent was still laughing as he wiped the mud away from Halo's eyes. Danny was beside them, spitting mud out of his mouth.

Trent stared at Halo for a moment then said, "Okay, lets go to the warm up tent."

Halo paused as she starred at three boys as they walked by. Something wasn't right. "They peel apart the skin," she said.

Trent turned to her and then followed her gaze. "She reads the minds of all the people as they pass her by... hoping someone can see... If I could fix myself I'd," Trent said as he quickly shut his mouth and walked into the tent. Halo wandered off towards the odd looking boys.

* * *

The Hanson brothers were still trying to find their asses with both hands.

BIT-man was a little harder to handle than they�d thought, and just didn�t look natural besides. But, they�d made it past security and no one was giving them any trouble. They�d passed BIT-man off as a disabled friend, so they were getting special seating close to the stage. Just where they needed to be.

�I forgot who we�re supposed to start with,� Taylor whined.

�Britney told us to start with the band whose senshi was trying to get the others together,� Zach said. �Some old 80�s band, some bunch of losers trying to make a comeback. *Journey*, you idiot.�

They stumbled on past milling fans and within earshot of the staging area.

Liberty watched Allen and the other roadies begin loading her band�s gear between sets and watched Jonathan Cain, the group�s keyboardist, pace behind the staging area. Neal, the guitarist, and Deen, the drummer, were talking gear with the other bands in the staging area. After waving a hello, Liberty hadn�t paid much attention to the other senshi. Not out of rudeness; it was when gear was being assembled that the most tampering could be accomplished, and she was watchful.

So it took her a moment to notice the Hanson brothers walk by in front of the stage with someone who looked a little�stiff�between them.

To say she didn�t like it was an understatement. There was something off about the foursome.

She glanced over her shoulder at Jon, then back into the staging tent to check the locations of the other senshi. She saw Ebony giggling and walking away, and Alicia, chasing a hat yet again�a bit further on, the members of Sloan. She had yet to personally meet their senshi, and meant to make a point of it before the day was over. Halo was still around somewhere, and if she could talk to Halo�but she didn�t see her. She glanced to Jon again, then headed toward him. He was the only one she could have a straight conversation with.

Jon was still pacing, and she fell into step with him. �Chasing the moon?� she said, unable to fall out of lyrics unless he spoke to her first or responded.

Jon paused. �You could say that,� he said. �This isn�t our crowd, Lib.�

Liberty shrugged. �Been there, done that, still getting the royalties,� she said.

Jon grinned. �Yeah, I know. You�re kind of on your toes, today.�

�Hanson is here,� she said, �with a friend that doesn�t seem to fit in here any better than we do. I want you to be careful on stage.�

Jon stared at her. �Anyone else notice?�

�Probably,� she said. �I�ll get into it with them, in case we have to do something. Maybe Alicia will walk right up to them and bust a cap.�

Jon couldn�t help laughing. �Uh�I don�t wanna know where you�re picking up the archaic gangbanger slang. But go see what the rest of them think, and we�ll keep our eyes out while we�re up there. We�re due on in about 10 minutes, so��

�I�ll make it quick,� Liberty finished. �If I don�t like it�there may be a delay.�

�Hey,� Jon said, �nobody keeps us off stage. We don�t back down from a batch of pansy-ass Oblivion stooges.�

Liberty grinned and walked back to the warm-up tent, passing members of Metallica and looking around for Ebony. She didn�t see her, but could feel her nearby. There were enough senshi around to make the individual signatures a little confusing, but she could tell. Alicia was on the other side of the tent, so she began walking toward her. She took two steps before accidentally jostling an elbow and spilling someone�s beer. They turned toward her, and she grabbed their elbow to steady them.

Trent Reznor was raising his eyebrows at her, and she said, �I can�t deny, it was a crime. I get lost sometimes, in my crazy world.�

A grin crept onto Trent's face as he said, "Yeah, and I'm lost all the time. Hey, fuck it! It's just a beer."

Liberty grinned and decided she liked him as much as she liked Halo. She wasn�t sure why he could see her. Possibly because she already had a rapport with his guardian.

�Journey,� she said, giving him her name. �Where is the one, someone who�s happy to be with you?�

He was looking away for a second while Liberty spoke. It took him another second to process what she had said. A slight red coloring rushed to his face. "Um, I guess you mean Halo... I don't know where she is...'Happy to be with me.' Really," Trent asked.

�She�s like no other,� Liberty said.

Trent stares at Liberty. "Yeah, can't say I've met anyone like her," he said as he quickly turned to the tent entrance. There was no one there, and then Halo rounded the corner. "Ah, there she is," Trent said as he waved her over to them. Halo walks over studying Trent's face, then Liberty's. Ignoring Liberty's strange looks about the mud. "Awake to the sound...just for the record, just so you know...there is a hate that burns within...The closer I get the worse it becomes," Halo said with hope in her tone. She searched Trent's face for understanding. Trent turned his head slightly and asked, "Is that a warning? Are one of those fuckers here?"

�So here you are,� Liberty said, grabbing Halo�s hand and waving a good-bye to Trent. �All is fair in love and war!� she called good-naturedly, dragging Halo away toward the entrance to the tent.

Trent calls out, "Where the fuck are you taking her?"

Halo turns to him as she's being dragged away and says, "Bye, bye, oooh...I'll be there for you." Halo turns to Liberty and says, "My faith in God and my trust in you. I see the truth when I'm all stupid eyed."

�Feels like thunder, and so do I,� Liberty said darkly. �The blind suffer at the hands of sin. Wicked prophets.� She pointed to the first few rows, where the Hanson brothers were arguing over which seat was whose.

"His perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain. Give it to me, I throw it away," Halo said as she stared at the boy/girls.

Liberty pointed toward the back of the tent, toward Alicia. �Here we are, once again,� she said. �Everybody feels the rain. It�s time to say the words unspoken.�

"The clouds will part and the sky cracks open and God himself will reach his fucking arm through, just to push you down, just to hold you down," Halo said, expressing her respect for the enemy. "If the world should break in two, until the very end of me, until the very end of you," Halo said as she hoped that Liberty agreed with her determination and loyalty.

Liberty glanced around the tent again, nodding, then grinned as she faced Halo again. She gripped the other senshi's hand and said, "They can't tell us how to be. Let the sun shine out of darkness."

The two senshi made their way toward the back of the tent, meaning to gather Alicia into their circle of info and make certain she knew what was happening. Then they could all warn their individual bands, and decide what the threat was � and how to handle it.