Alluro was bored. He was past the point of wishing something would break so that he could fix it, and nearly at the point of breaking something himself. And with only himself, Luna, and Amok in Skytomb, there wasn't anybody to talk to. He left the fortress' control room with the intention of going to his lab for some Internet surfing.

He was halfway down the third level hall when he heard it: "Memory! All alone in the moonlight, I can smile at the old days... I was beautiful then..." Curious as to who was strangling the raccoon, Alluro went to investigate the bizarre sounds coming from Luna's room.

Amok was there, of course, sitting patiently, watching Luna. Luna was standing on her dresser, using her hairbrush as a microphone: "I remember a time I knew what happiness was..."

Self-preservation instincts screamed that Alluro should just leave and forget about it. He didn't. Doubled-over, clutching the doorframe for support, Alluro was still laughing as Amok grabbed him and pinned him to the floor.

Luna scowled down from atop her dresser, hands on hips, still clutching the hairbrush. "What's so funny?" she screeched.

"Oh, Luna, you... hahaha!" After trying and failing to speak, Luna simply let the hypnotist laugh himself out. After a few minutes, gasping for breath, he continued, "Pardon my asking, Luna, but why?.."

"They're bringing the musical 'Cats' back to Toronto. I'm auditioning," she said with a toss of her hair.

"You? Auditioning for a musical? My dear Luna, you?.." While he resisted mightily, Alluro lost himself in another fit of helpless laughter. After waiting over five minutes for him to stop, under Luna's order, Amok picked up the hypnotist, deposited him in the hall, then closed and locked the door behind him. Several minutes later, Alluro stumbled down the dim corridors of Skytomb to his lab.

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Alluro <psilunatac@hotmail.com>

Sigh. They got rid of the poor 'Phantom of the Opera' and are bringing in 'Cats'. Why is it always cats that complicate my life?

This would not be important except... and please sit down for this... Luna is trying out for a part. You know, what's-her-name. Grizelda the Glamour Cat, I think, the one who sings 'Memory'.

If you are reading this paragraph, I assume you have picked yourself off of the floor and have finally stopped laughing. The try-outs are on Tuesday. Guess who has to try to find parking for a flying fortress in downtown Toronto?..

"What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," retorted Tygra. Luna and Amok had taken off for the auditions room, and having nothing else to do, Alluro wandered the Pantages Theatre. Bumping into Tygra and Cheetara was a bit of a surprise.

"We're trying out for the musical," said Cheetara. "And if we get in, we won't even need make-up. But why are you here? Trying for a part?"

Alluro snorted. "Not me; I'm just the chauffeur. Luna is."

"LUNA!?" The reactions of the Thundercats to that statement were enough like Alluro's that I won't bother explaining them here. "No, really," said Tygra, after he had regained his footing.

The Lunatac shrugged. "For once I speak the truth. But why are you here? Where are the other cats?"

"We lost track of most of them after our show ended," said Cheetara. "Lion-O is on late-night infomercials hawking hair-growth formula, Snarf got a job as a cartoonist's model..."

"'Snarfield'," snickered Tygra.

Cheetara ignored him and continued, "Panthro runs a salvage yard and garage in the States somewhere, Pumyra..."

Tygra cut her off. "We don't like to talk about Pumyra," he said sadly.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Alluro actually did feel a twinge of sympathy for the young puma. Always ignored, always pushed aside, and she never was very confident...

"You don't understand," said Cheetara flatly, "She works for the Third Earth Inquirer."

"What!?"

The tiger nodded. "She had a big story some years back. Something about Chilla having an illicit affair with one of the other Lunatacs."

"Well it wasn't me..." At that moment, Luna and Amok came back in, so Alluro couldn't finish his thought.

The tiny Lunatac's smile could have lit a room. "I got the part!" she crowed happily from atop Amok.

The jaws of Alluro, Tygra, and Cheetara dropped simultaneously. "What!?"

"Did Amok 'convince' them?" demanded Alluro.

"No, they just liked my singing." Amok gave the others a pleading look, but they weren't sure what to do.

"Er, congratulations," stammered Tygra eventually.

Luna steered Amok off to look for someone else. "I simply cannot believe she got the part," said Alluro. "I was expecting her to fail and whine at me for the next two months. At least now she won't be grumpy. Now... oh, Lunar Gods..."

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Alluro <psilunatac@hotmail.com>

Oh, Melissa, HELP ME! Luna got the part in 'Cats'! Now, instead of having her gripe for a couple months, now I must tolerate her infernal practising for *years*! I know it is very soon since the last time I crashed at your place, but if you could find it in your heart...

To: Alluro <psilunatac@hotmail.com>

From: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

Sorry, but my folks say no. I'll try some other friends, but I can't promise anything...

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Nathan Carter <n_m_carter@sympatico.ca>

To my fellow Disciple of All Things Lovecraft during the Hour of Fluttering Night-Gaunts,

A Lunatac? Terribly sorry, old friend, but I already have one rather bizarre roommate, and frankly, my life has just been getting weirder and weirder after that summer job at Dr Perry's Exobiology Lab...

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Lykos <wolfmanalex@yahoo.com>

Come on, Melissa! We're a super-secret... well, sorta-secret superhero team! Okay, so I wouldn't mind, Alluro's a cool guy, but Mrs Randolf would have my head...

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Jonathan Prideaux <prideauxj@yahoo.com>

I'd offer my basement, but my parents wouldn't let me. Sorry.

Hey, maybe you could get a fanfic out of this...

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Nicholas Blackheart <blackadytum@hotmail.com>

No. The Adytum is a club, not a shelter for stray actors...

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Rowan DeHaan <boron3@hotmail.com>

Er, we live at the same place. Guess you forgot to take me off the mailing list, hoser...

To: Alluro <psilunatac@hotmail.com>

From: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

No luck, Al. Can't one of the other Lunatacs bail you out? Doesn't Chilla live in Toronto?..

"Hello?"

"Hello, Chilla."

"Oh. It's you."

"Sigh. Must you always be so... pleasant, Chilla?"

"What do you want, Alluro?"

"Would it be possible to stay at your place for a week? Just until I can find my own apartment..."

"No."

"Not even for old times' sake?"

"Look, the last time I let you stay over, the tabloids were all over me: 'CHILLA SHARES LOVE-NEST WITH FORMER CO-ACTOR!' Especially that horrible Third Earth Inquirer."

"Chilla, both you and I know that absolutely nothing happened..."

"We know that, but everyone else thinks otherwise! I have never, never been attracted to you!"

"I didn't say that. All I was asking..."

"No way."

To: Melissa DeHaan <wayward_goddess@hotmail.com>

From: Alluro <psilunatac@hotmail.com>

Living off my savings, I am unable to afford a good apartment, and have instead invaded someone else's life. My roommate thinks he's a demon-hunter and goes out all night with a magical sword, calling himself 'Ghostwind'...

Alluro sat glumly in the Adytum, staring at his drink. After the Band finished their set and put the canned music on, Gabe wandered over and plunked down at the Lunatac's table. "Judging by your drink," he said quietly, "you have problems, though unrelated to dating."

The hypnotist sighed. "What do you mean?"

The blond vampire shrugged. "If you were having problems with women, you'd have been through at least seven of those by now. As it is, you just stare at it. So what's up?"

"Luna became intolerable, so I moved out. My roommate is a total loon. I need a job so I can get a better apartment. One without psycho demon-hunters."

"Huh, so Ghostwind advertised for a roommate."

"How did you know?"

Shrug. "Know any other psycho demon-hunters?"

"Good point." Alluro actually took a sip of his drink, then put it down again for another bout of staring. "My problem is, I have two main skills: inventing and acting. Things I invent tend to blow up. I can't find work in acting. I would have loved to do Shakespeare, but they kept trying to cast me as a 'Midsummer's Night' elf."

"It's the ears. My condolences," said Gabe, pushing his hair aside to reveal his own pointed ears. After a minute of helping Alluro stare at his drink he said, "I don't just work at the Adytum. Tuesday nights I work for Bill. I'll talk to him tomorrow about getting you a job."

"Who's Bill?" asked Alluro. "And a job at what?"

Gabe smiled vampiricly ( which means closed-lipped ), "I think you'll like it..."

"Radio DJing. Strangely appropriate." Melissa leaned against the doorframe, arms folded.

Alluro chuckled. "As long as I don't hypnotise anyone, Bill will keep me."

"Pretty momentous occasion, your first show and all. You'd better pick some appropriate music."

The Lunatac waved a long-nailed hand at the station's CD collection. "There's too much to choose from."

"May I?"

Alluro shrugged, and within a couple minutes, Melissa had made her selection. As she set up the equipment, the hypnotist looked over the girl's choice of music. "'The Musical History of Tom Cochrane and Red Ryder'. Which one did you choose? 'White Hot, Don't Fight It'... oh, Melissa, you didn't."

"You're on in five seconds."

Mouthing, "I'll deal with you later," the Lunatac quickly turned his attention to his job. "I am the amazing Alluro, and you will continue to listen to this station! You cannot resist! The first song of the hour is from Tom Cochrane..."