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“Mike, are we ready to roll?”
“You betcha! Lights are on ya and the camera is waiting for your command!
Tenna nodded, but didn’t even glance at his assistant, keeping his gaze fixed on the camera. He never gave a verbal cue, instead, his pose served as the command that would set every piece in motion.
He pointed at the camera and said his classic line. “It’s TV Time!”
...
Things had been a little weird since Tenna discovered the truth behind the Mikes. At first, it had been horrible. He had made his way through all seven stages of grief at the expense of everyone around him and the show. The depression stage had lasted a while, but when he came to recognize that the show’s success was dependent on the three Mikes, he finally reached acceptance. At least, it seemed that way. In front of the audience, and the other workers, he behaved the same as ever, but behind closed doors...
“The show today was great, boss! You really knocked it out of the park!” Battat said.
“Hm,” Tenna sat at his vanity, looking off into the distance. “Is that so.”
...he behaved much differently. In the past, he’d always ask what Mike thought of his performance, preening under the praise that Battat lavished upon him. But now, his compliments were met with a blank stare, and sometimes a deep sigh.
Battat understood it would take time to re-establish the trust between them, assuming it hadn’t been permanently broken. Battat hoped it hadn’t. Despite how much he liked to complain about it, he missed the days of poring over scripts together, brainstorming new segments, reading him bedtime stories, massaging his antennas... now Mike’s role was more like a real job. His duties were strictly professional: managing other employees, putting out fires, making sure everything ran smoothly, but nothing more.
With all three of them able to be “Mike” at the same time, work now went a lot smoother. It was no longer a secret that there were three Mikes, or even who was under the costumes; but Battat felt more comfortable being Mike in the suit. Not to mention, no one would listen to him as a Pippins. Jongler just kept their cowboy hat. Zappers already had authority, but their hat granted them more, marking them as the Mike Zapper. Pluey kept their costume because they liked it. Plus, they weren’t typically the Mike that ran around barking orders; that was up to Battat or Jongler... usually Battat.
He couldn’t help but feel that Tenna was less angry at the other two compared to him. He’d overheard some of their conversations, and Tenna seemed perfectly amiable towards them. Whenever he had to talk to Battat, he always got straight to the point with no time for pleasantries, like interacting with him was so unpleasant he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. Battat had an idea why; the whole Mike charade had been his idea, and he’d made sure Tenna knew the other two had only gone along with his plans. But if Tenna had forgiven the other two already, he could only hope that he would be forgiven eventually as well.
“Say, Mike?” Tenna said, just as Battat had been beginning to wonder if Tenna had forgotten he was there.
“Yes, boss?” Battat responded, fingers crossed that Tenna wasn’t going to dismiss him.
Tenna gazed at him, looking supremely disinterested. Battat merely stood there, hoping his grin would communicate just how happy he would be to do anything Tenna asked.
“Do you love TV?” Tenna’s tone was as bored as his face, but Battat didn’t let it phase him. He wouldn’t waste this opportunity!
“Do I?” What was supposed to be a hearty chuckle came out more like a nervous wheeze. “Of course I do, boss! There isn’t a darkner in this studio who loves TV more than I do!” The words were truer than Tenna realized. “Any time of day, there’s nothing I’d rather be doin’ than watchin’ you perform. There’s no question that I lo-”
Tenna pulled his mask off.
Battat froze, the fuel powering his motor mouth running dry.
Tenna was staring at him, not Mike, at Battat. Without the mask, he felt the full force of Tenna’s cold expression, freezing him where he stood and leaving him unable to do anything but stare back.
Tenna put the mask back on him.
It took a moment for Battat to register that he was again behind the safety of his costume. He shook himself, trying to rid himself of the weird feeling.
“As... as I was saying,” Battat said, trying to pick up steam again. “Your performances are-”
“That’s enough Mike,” Tenna waved him away as he turned back to his vanity. “You can go.”
Battat knew he should respect Tenna’s wishes, but the interaction had him feeling rattled. He didn’t know why Tenna had removed his mask so suddenly, but Battat's response of freezing up and saying nothing was obviously not the correct one... assuming there had even been a correct reaction. Maybe he was just reminding himself that Battat was a Pippins, someone he couldn’t trust.
“Uh, boss?” Battat asked, but received no acknowledgement. “What was all that about?”
“Oh, nothing,” Tenna sighed. He rested his head on one hand as he stared into his mirror. “Just confirming something I already knew.”
“What?” he scoffed, crossing his arms. “That I’m a Pippins?”
Tenna turned to face him. “That this,” he gestured to Battat. “Is all an act.”
Battat sheepishly unfolded his arms. Was that really it? Tenna wasn’t wrong but it seemed odd that he needed a reminder. “Well, yeah,” Battat cleared his throat. “Me, Pluey, n’ Jongler have been actin’ as Mike for-”
“No.” Tenna shook his head.
“Whaddaya mean, no? We have been-”
“They may have been pretending to be Mike, but they weren’t acting. They’re the same, in or out of the costume. But you,” Tenna poked him in his stomach, “act like a completely different person when you're in the costume.”
“What?” Battat laughed, incredulous. “You don’t like my persona?” After all the work he’d done perfecting it for Tenna?
“I don’t like,” Tenna gritted out. “That it’s fake.”
“Fake?!”
“Every word you say to me is just part of your role,” Tenna sniffed, annoyed. “You don’t mean any of it.” He turned away.
“Now wait a damn minute boss. Who says I don’t mean what I say?”
Tenna ignored him.
“Just cause I got a lot to say, don’t mean it ain’t genuine! The words that come outta my mouth are-”
Tenna started lifting his mask off of him again, but Battat wrenched it back and put it back on. “Would you quit it?!”
Tenna just sighed, shaking his head.
Battat wanted to do the same. Of all the things for Tenna to be upset about...
“Listen boss, ya might not believe it, but my words come from the heart. I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t! I seen you perform a million times, and I’m blown away every time. I could rant and rave about your acts til there was no air left in the room, and I wouldn’t have covered half of it. Speaking my mind, saying what needs to be said, it comes easy to me. But that Battat...” it felt a little strange to be referring to himself in third person, but he pressed on. “He ain’t as eloquent. But even though he doesn’t say it, he loves TV just as much as everyone else in the studio.” A lot more than most, actually, but Tenna didn’t need to know that. “All the stuff I say to ya, they may be my words, but they’re his thoughts an’ beliefs.”
“Oh...” For the first time that evening, Tenna’s expression finally shifted away from boredom. He regarded Battat thoughtfully, hopefully taking his words to heart. “I see...” he finally said, a smug smile appearing on his face. “So you’re just shy.”
“I’m not-” Battat cut himself off, having accidentally shouted in his regular voice. He cleared his throat and continued in a more Mike-like manner. “That’s... not exactly what I was gettin’ at, boss.”
“Really?” Tenna said, tone clearly disbelieving. He reached down and picked Battat up and Battat was barely able to suppress the squeak that wanted to escape. Tenna hadn’t picked him up since before the Mike reveal! The feeling of Tenna’s hand wrapping around his waist always had him feeling dizzy in the best way... but now wasn’t the time for that!
Using his other hand, Tenna pulled on his mask- Battat held it firmly in place. How had Tenna not gotten his point, already? He couldn’t deal with Tenna as Battat. Plus, he didn’t want Tenna to see how much he was blushing from being held.
Tenna let go of the mask, antenna drooping, and expression turning blank again.
Seeing that face again made Battat feel sick. He couldn’t deal with Tenna looking at him like that. He would rather...
Battat sighed internally as he made the decision. He pulled off his mask.
Tenna immediately perked up. “Well, hello there Battat.”
“Hi...” Battat responded awkwardly.
“You won’t need this for now.” Tenna yanked the mask away, ignoring Battat’s protests, and threw it somewhere behind him. “Now, I believe you were telling me about how much you love TV.”
Battat stiffened. This was definitely Tenna’s way of getting revenge. “I- I just told you, I don’t say those kinds of things!”
“You say such nice things when you’re pretending to be someone else but can’t say anything as yourself. How do I know that you actually care, and that that it’s not just an act?”
“Of course, I care! Think about everything Mike does for you! Why else would I dedicate so much of my time helping you and the show?!”
“That’s true...” Tenna tapped his screen, as if pondering. “You are remarkable dedicated, probably even more than the real Mike... it makes me wonder if you have ulterior motives.”
Battat fought himself from rolling his eyes. He wondered if this was what he sounded like to Jongler and Pluey when he was in front of his board. “Like what?!”
“Like... maybe you just wanted to get close to me.”
Battat froze.
“Not that I could blame you. I am a star, and you said yourself how much you love watching me.”
Was Tenna onto him? Or was he just teasing him as revenge? Well, Battat wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. He put on his best poker face. “I guess I said something like that.”
Tenna wasn’t fazed by his reply. “Well, of course you know that I appreciate all my fans. But since you’re such a big fan of mine, then maybe you deserve a little reward for your dedication! A little token of appreciation for all the love you’ve shown me. But what could it be...?” Tenna pretended to ponder. “I know! If you tell me you love TV, I’ll give you a kiss!”
“Just kidd-” “I love TV.”
They both just stared at each other, Tenna’s free hand covering his mouth in shock.
Battat... hadn’t meant to say that. He hadn’t meant to say anything. He’d barely registered what Tenna said before his mouth went ahead and threw him under the bus. If he had actually taken more than a microsecond to think about it, it would have been obvious that Tenna had just been teasing him and he didn’t actually mean-
His thoughts were cut off when he noticed he was shaking. Except, it wasn’t him. Tenna was trying to suppress his laughter behind his hand, causing his whole body, including the hand holding Battat, to tremble.
At least Tenna was amused. Hopefully this would be enough revenge for him. “Yes, very funny joke. Can you put me down please?!” Battat was planning on going home so he could crawl under his bed for the next month. Hopefully Tenna would forget everything by then.
“It’s not that- I just-” Tenna said, trying to catch his breath. “I understand- why you’re so attached to the mask now.” He regained his composure. “But I think I’ll have to confiscate it.”
“Huh?!”
Tenna used his free hand to brush gently against the side of his Battat’s face. “With the mask, I would miss out on your adorable green blush.”
Said blush kicked up a notch, much to Battat’s chagrin and Tenna’s delight.
“Can you let me go, already?” Battat squirmed in his grip, trying to free himself.
“What? You don’t want your reward?” Tenna said, the picture of innocence.
Battat immediately stopped struggling, which made Tenna snicker. He hated himself for falling for the same trick twice. As if Tenna was actually going to go through with it. “Quit stalling then,” Battat said, trying to save face.
“So impatient,” Tenna tutted. He brought his hand, and Battat, right up to his face. Was he actually going to... No, he was definitely just playing with him... right?
Tenna turned his hand. Against the side of his face, Battat felt gentle static, then the warmth of glass molding against his cheek. “Mwah!” Tenna pulled Battat back.
Battat brought a hand up to where Tenna had... Tenna had actually...
“Boy, you’re really affected by just a kiss on the cheek,” Tenna teased.
Battat didn’t know what kind of expression he was making, but he immediately replaced it with a glare. If only he could cool his face as easily.
“I guess that’s enough for today!” Tenna finally put Battat back down, who then turned and made a beeline to where he’d seen his mask fall.
“Didn’t I tell you I’m confiscating this?” Tenna picked it up just before Battat reached it.
Battat bit back a groan of frustration. “I need it to be Mike! No one takes me seriously without it!”
Tenna rolled the mask between his fingers, glancing between it and Battat. “True, you’re not very intimidating as a Pippins... Alright, you can have your mask back,” he said, making no move to return it. “But you’re not allowed to wear it in here! Got it?”
Battat didn’t want to agree but knew Tenna wouldn’t return it until he did. “Fine...”
“That means you better not be wearing it when you come here later for my antenna massage.” Tenna finally handed him the mask.
“Okay, whatever.” Battat rolled his eyes, impatient to leave. Wait. Antenna massage? Tenna hadn’t asked for one of those since the reveal!
He only realized he was grinning when he heard Tenna laugh again. He had to fight his instinct to hide behind his mask. He was really going to have to work on schooling his expressions...
Battat rushed towards the exit. His hand touched the door, and he was ready for the whole ordeal to be over, but then Tenna spoke again. “Oh, and Battat?”
“...yes, boss?” He didn’t turn around.
“If you can be a little more honest about how you think of me, I might just give you another reward.”
Battat tried not to imagine the kind of rewards he might receive... and failed. “Understood,” his voice cracked.
He closed the door behind him and leaned against it with a sigh.
Staring at the grinning mask in his hands, he wondered if he could act like Mike without the costume. Imagining it sent a shudder down his spine. It just felt wrong. “Maybe I'll fake my death,” he muttered as he put on the mask. “Paint myself red so Tenna won’t recognize me and I’ll live the honest live of a regular Pippins.” If there even was such a thing.
Even as he promised himself that he wouldn't play into Tenna's game, he spent the rest of his shift considering compliments he could say to Tenna outside his costume.