1. MALIBU - Brockhampton
2. Some - Steve Lacy
3. Be (Intro) - Common
4. Slater - Tyler, the Creator
5. FIND YOUR WINGS - Tyler, the Creator
6. Papercut - Kevin Abstract
7. Two Of Us - The Beatles
8. California - Joni Mitchell
9. Sooner of Later - N*E*R*D
10. Déjà Vu - Eminem
11. Drugs - Kevin Abstract
12. Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza - Mac Miller
13. Provider - N*E*R*D
14. Special Affair - The Internet
15. MILK - Brockhampton
16. See Me Now - Kanye West (feat. Beyonce, Charlie Wilson and Big Sean)
17. Get You - Daniel Cesar (feat. Kali Uchis)
18. Eres Tú - Carla Morrison
19. SUMMER - Brockhampton

February 14th, 2060

I didn't have any particular plans that night. Holidays are a bad time for runs, in my book, barring one notable Christmas. Most of the time it's some kind of sabotage run against a product line or promotional event, which usually does more damage to everyday types than I'm comfortable with. Even the milk runs usually ended up being PI work, especially on Valentine's Day, stalking some poor chica for a creeper or digging through files or, Ghosts forbid, mind probing someone. Anyway, I didn't need the work. Thrall had linked me into a little bit of juicy biz that had netted me some substantial cred. Say what you would about the creepy fragger, but that Ork knew how to sling a deck and drum up a payday.

It had been a week since then, and there was no reason to think there was any heat to lose. I'd played it cautious, anyway, staying inside, only moving to switch up locations. Cabin fever was starting to set in, and one of the credsticks with 5K was burning a hole in my pocket.

Frag it.

The weather was oddly pleasant in Seattle, and the couples were out in force even late into the evening. The least I could do is go out to eat. My stocks at home were getting low and I was in no mood to trawl the barrens looking for some metahuman hate group to drain out. I wanted to treat myself tonight. Not just with blood (An escort service or street doc can offer that), but the actual hunt. I never let myself play the charmer for my meals back then. And of all the days of the year, this one would be sure to have the clubs packed with singles looking to change their fortunes.

I made my way down Arcology way, wandering the rows of clubs and bars to see what might pick up my fancy. An errant scent of perfume, a stray note, anything that spoke to whim. I wanted some whimsy.

It found me in the pulse and digital crunch of a familiar note emerging from Penumbra. My eyes went wide with the recognition, and I jogged down the block to where the doors had opened, and I heard it again as another pair of girls in LED-studded LBDs were let in past the long line. Shield Wall. Holy drek. It must have been a last-minute gig. Maybe a secret show.

I came from the other direction from the block-long line of waiting fans, more than a few whining that they would miss the whole show before they got in. I nodded to Elgin at the door, and the Ork nodded back, jerking a thumb at the door with a questioning look. Elgin had done me a solid two or three times in the past, and he knew I was good for the cred. I leaned close to speak over the blare.

"How much are tickets going for?"

He chuffed a laugh. "Sold out, man."

"What about the two you just let in?"

"Joytoys for the band."

I considered the door, and the possibility of misting through a favored duct I had used in the past. Still, I didn't want to slot over Elgin.

"Seriously, how much were tix?"

"Five hundred."

I plugged my credstick in his pad and transferred a grand. His eyebrows bounced at the zeroes. He smirked and looked me in the eye.

"Ah, what the hell. You're a skinny guy. Enjoy the show." He lifted the velvet rope, and the sounds of the protesting crowd were drowned out by pulse and throb of "Abnormal Phrenology". Penumbra's famous lightshow framed the survivors of the band in holographics and lasers, and they glowed like supernovas in the spotlights. Emma and Sheena were back to back, rocking against one another with bass and synthaxe. I had such a crush on Emma back then.

At the far end from the stage was a long bar, pillars of smoky light carving down on the drink-sticky plastic of the top. I made my way back there. Sure, I could mosh. I could even mist my way to the front, or on stage, but I had too much respect for the band. I couldn't count how many times their tracks had infiltrated my playlists. The song crashed to it's conclusion, and I lent my voice to the chorus of cheers. Jay Keith leaned forward to an old-fashioned mic as the roar died down, holding it close to his lips as he solemnly intoned, "This one is for absent friends." The band strummed up into "Snickering Snack", and the crowd gave the electro-ballad a moment's quiet respect. No one knew what had happened to Frumious, but for the fans, he lived on in the music.

I settled back against the bartop, happy enough to keep buying drinks to rent the space. They were halfway through the track when I felt the old tingle of spellcasting at the edge of my senses. I opened my eyes and perceived the world beyond the material.

The tingle... it's hard to explain how senses cross over in the astral, the synesthetic way a color can have a smell and a sensation can have a sound. All of those intertwined in a line from the upper balcony, just above my head, leading to the band. Nothing had hit them, it was the trail of a spell begun, but not finished. I knew Tiffany, the mage on staff pulling Awakened bouncer duty, could take care of herself, but it was worth investigating, myself. I headed up the pale stairs through the perpetual gloom and sparkle of Penumbra and turned to see, invisible to anyone without astral sight, a pair of figures wrestling on the ground. Somehow they were avoiding the crowd all around them, a whip-thin man trying to throttle a petite elven girl. In the astral, both glowed with power, but I could see he had cast the invisibility on both of them. No sight of Tiffany in the astral, and her spirits were nowhere around. Someone must have taken her down. I tapped a quick text to Elgin as I made my way to the brawl.

It was tough going pushing past the crowd, but I slipped an arm around his neck and pulled him off of her. You could see his concentration slipping as they both slowly melted back into the visual spectrum. She didn't miss a beat, tossing a stunbolt into him with a flick of the middle finger. He went down like a sack of bricks, and I let him slump to the floor. Elgin pushed through the crowd and took in the situation.

"What happened, Red?"

She was still coughing to get her breath back, rubbing the golden glow of a healing spell on her throat, so I spoke up.

"This fragger tried some kind of mojo on the band, but she stopped him."

"How do you know it wasn't the other way around?"

"Because he was holding invisibility on both of them. If he was trying to save the band, why bother? She was the one who counterspelled whatever he was throwing." My eyes rolled back as I tasted the dissipating trail of his aborted spell through the blazing fire of the crowd's enthusiasm. "Looks like a mob mind. Maybe he was gonna hijack the band. Anyway, the lady did the band a favor."

"Easy, Slick." She'd gotten her wind, and I finally got a look at the looks that went with that pixie-like voice. Long brown hair on a five-foot frame, mischievous brown eyes in a milky face and long tapered ears. She didn't dress like a joygirl or a thugger. She was pure street chic. She turned to Elgin and stuck her thumb at me. "I'd probably be cold and blue right now if this guy hadn't come along."

Elgin picked the rogue mage up and looked at the two of us. His trademark tusky smirk returned.

"Don't go anywhere, let me see if I can find a little way to say thanks."

I turned back to the girl, who was already looking back to the band from her front-row-center, standing-room-only perch on the balcony. The crowd wasn't about to let magic and assault get in the way of a better view. They pressed against both of us, pushing us together. I blushed a faint violet as she looked me up and down, her lips forming a sweet smile that promised trouble.

"You gonna tell me your name before second base?"

I grinned. "You were close the first time. Rick."

"That's not what Elgin called you."

"That's what my friends call me."

"We're not friends?"

"I don't know you're name, yet."

"Well, my friends call me Gypsi."

"So what do I call you?"

Her lips spread in a slow smile as she looked up at me. "Play your cards right, Red, and we'll see."

Halfway into the next song, Elgin tapped my shoulder. We turned to lean in over the crowd.

"The band wants to say thanks in person." He indicated the stage, and we turned to see Keith point at us with one drumstick in the middle of his solo in "Omens and Color". Elle Jackson nodded our way, and Emma winked.

"That's a hell of a thing," Gypsi muttered in wonder.

"Here." Elgin pressed backstage passes into our hands and slapped us on the shoulder. "Be good, you two."

We looked at each other as the band wound up the set, the crowd an ecstatic fury all around us. She bit her lip as she looked up at me, tapping the card against her palm.

"What do you say we ditch the band and see what other hijinks we can get up to?"

I looked at the backstage pass to my favorite band since waking up in the 21st century, and tossed it into the crowd without watching it go.

Like I said, I had a crush on Emma.

But not that night.

#YES

— Shinsuke Nakamura (@ShinsukeN) December 18, 2017

• Kurt Angle gives “Stone Cold” Steve Austin & Mr. McMahon a present: Raw, July 9, 2001
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin solves Mr. McMahon’s problems with song: SmackDown, July 12, 2001
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin disguises himself as a Druid: Raw, May 31, 1999
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin disguises himself as a cameraman to launch a sneak attack on Mr. McMahon: Sunday Night Heat, September 27, 1998
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin steals Kurt Angle’s gold medals: Raw, Aug. 27, 2001
• Mr. McMahon and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin meet in the parking lot: Raw, March 26, 2007
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin meets Fifi: Raw, March 15, 2004