October 2011 – Comic-Con

The center was bustling with activity. People were stuffed into every corner of the establishment, booths were erected with care, and there was a clamor of excitable noise that had grown into a deafening buzz. At every booth there was a cornucopia for the eyes of nerds everywhere: comic books, toys, collectables, actors, actresses, artists, writers, everything a nerd’s heart could possibly desire was here and ready to be viewed. But the best part, the absolutely best part of this place…were the number of costumes. It was truly a place where one could let their freak flag fly.

Superheroes, villains, sci-fi heroes, monsters, aliens, supernatural, anime characters of all kinds wandered the halls of this place. Some costumes were elaborate, some there simple, some were just absolutely off the wall, but there was no judging here. Here…a fan could truly be a fan!

One of these true fans went by the name of Akshay Malik.

Having spent the first day of Comi-Con dressed in normal attire and signing copies of his own indie-print comic, he was relieved that he would have this second day to himself. Today he would get to be decked out as one of his favorite characters…

Luke Skywalker

Strutting through the aisles, dressed in his light colored tunic and black belt, his lightsaber bounced against his hip as he strolled on, his boots thumping against the smooth and tiled floor. He adjusted his blonde wig just in time to wink at a trio of Princess Leia’s, grinning wide but ultimately moving on. Now was not the time to attempt slip into “negotiations” with those women. At the moment he had far more important matters to attend to. There would be an auction today, but not just any auction.

He pulled out a flier that held the room number and the items for sale. The one that caught his eyes glared at him from off the paper: Own the actual toilet seat prop used for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s cave from Star Wars: A New Hope!!

“Squeeeeeeeeee!” Akshay giggled as she strolled along, looking at the flier. There was no way he was going to let ANYONE take that prize from him.

But as he strolled on, suddenly Akshay was stopped. Not by the Force, not by telekinesis, but…by the mound of flesh packed into a black costume. Akshay blinked as he looked up to see a VERY large man turn around to face him. Akshay backed away but still he could tell who this person was…only what they were dressed as…

“Darth Vader!” he mumbled.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going Shr—“ the man in the costumed announced. But he paused when he got a good look. “Akshay?”

Instantly Akshay knew the voice. His eyes narrowed. “Hello…Newman.”

Darth Newman smirked underneath his mask as he suddenly reached up and flicked on a switch on his costume’s chest plate. Suddenly the sounds of Darth Vader’s heavy breathing filled the air around them them.

“So we meet again…Jedi…”

Akshay rolled his eyes. “Not now Newman.”

Newman Ledge was a fellow comic store worker, but he worked at League of Comics, a rival store that Akshay despised. They treated their workers so horribly. Akshay knew because he worked there. But Newman was such a brownnoser that he managed to work his way into a manager’s position. And he was even WORSE than the store owners. It was needless to say…Akshay did not like him.

“Oh,” Newman mocked as he turned his helmeted head down and peered at Akshay’s flier. “So…you think YOU’RE going to get away with the prize? Pathetic. I’ll have you know I’m prepared to outbid you…at any cost.”

Akshay narrowed his eyes as he folded his flier up and returned it to his pocket. “BRING IT, Newman! We’ll see who gets the throne!”

Newman flicked on his Darth Vader breathing noise apparatus again. “Oh yes…we will…”

Akshay was still fuming after his meeting with Newman. That guy just always seemed to push the wrong buttons with him. When they first met, he knew that they were going to be the mortalest of enemies. Akshay did not agree with ANY of the shady practices with which Newman ran his part of the store. He treated those he managed like machines and little more. Akshay knew that the man needed a swift kick in the pants, desperately! He hoped that when that day came that he would have the dubious honor of doing it.

But, now was not the time to think about that too much (however entertaining the thought was). He was not going to let Newman ruin the rest of his Comic-Con experience. There was still a whole convention to explore until the auction.

Until the time of the auction, Akshay distracted himself from thoughts of Newman by checking out the various booths. It did not take long for the large Darth Vader to be pushed into the back of his mind. He reveled in the joys of comics, video games, actions figures, and swag. As a matter of fact he had collected a rather hearty haul of swag this year. It was going to be a good year.

The best of this day though, he had to admit were the booth babes. They were always so nice, especially because they knew that he was not some type of freak. The veterans knew him by name as being a flatterer, but harmless and fun; the newbies simply thought he was extremely sweet. And Akshay really was. He knew that of everyone at Comic-Cons, they probably had some of the toughest jobs. After all, nerds could leer quite a bit.

But the reason that the booth babes were actually the best part of his experience thus far was the fact that one of them had actually give him her phone number! Squeeeeee! She was dressed as Samus from Metroid and they had sparks the first moment that they met. She commented that he had an impressive “lightsaber”. Of course he could only respond that she had an impressive Varia suit and that her “Zero Suit” was probably even better…

…yup, match made in heaven.

Even better of all, she was supposed to be at the auction! Which was happening now!

“Squeeeee!” Akshay grinned as he made his way to the auction room.

Once he got to the door, he had to pause and keep his excitement in check. The decorating team obviously decided to go all out for this venture. The normal swinging doors had been replaced by a large metal looking doors that looked as if they came straight out of Jabba the Hutt’s palace. Grinning, he pounded on the door.

A second or two passed before a small compartment slid open and Akshay jumped back. From the space came out another replica from the movie, this time an exact copy of the Door Droid that peeked out from Jabba’s palace door from “Return of the Jedi”! Akshay was completely flipping out about how cool this was.

With a smirk he raised his ID to the prop to show that he had bought his ticket to participate in the auction. Once that was confirmed the “droid” retreated and doors slide open. Grinning, Akshay took a breath and sauntered in. It was time to claim his prize…

Star Wars auction…You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. I must be cautious…

Akshay thought to himself as he stood in the aisle, looking over the now crowded room. There were all sorts of people here, dressed in all manner of insanity. Comic superheroes, sci-fi characters, movie characters, TV show characters, video game characters, everyone was dressed as anything a nerd/geek/spaz’s mind could think up.

It was pure heaven.

The wordsmith grinned, dodged around a person in a rather bulking and interesting costume. The person was rather large and flabby but dressed in a leotard. It was obvious that he was attempting to dressed as The Glob from the Y-Men comic book series. But that was not the entirety of his costume. Instead he was also have a blue phone booth stuck on him, as if he were trapped half in and half outside of it. It was the Tardis from the Dr. Who series. Apparently this intrepid fan was trying to do a crossover costume.

Akshay had no nod approvingly as he watched the man go by. When the costumed crossover of a man turned and glanced out him out of the corner of his eye, the Wordsmith gave him a thumbs up sign.

“Original, buddy. Nicely done!” he smirked.

Turning his attention once more to the auction, Akshay confidently strolled down the aisles until he found a row of seats that looked like prime location. Holding his lightsaber to his hip he excused himself as he glided down the row of seats, stepping past people until he finally got to one of two seats that were empty. He sat down with a grateful sigh and looked up to see that the auction was nearly underway.

“Exciting!” he grinned.

It was then that he spotted a wisp of blonde hair and felt someone sit next to him. A glance to his right and he spied that familiar red and bronze colored armor and a cannon where right forearm should be. He smirked as he looked up to the sweet face that smiled coyly at him.

“Hey, Samus. Looks like you made it after all.” he smirked.

Samus only smiled and shrugged her armored shoulders. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Luke. Besides…that toilet seat…its mine.”

A dangerous look flashed across her eyes and but the smile was still on her face. It was enough to nearly combust Akshay right there.

“Oh,” he smiled mischievously. “It is SO on.”

The auction was a hotbed of excitement. Not only were they presenting a veritable plethora of goodies to be sold off, but Akshay Malik got to sit next to the HOTTEST cosplayer who has EVER[/b] been attracted to him too! Despite his meeting with Newman Ledge, Akshay was having the ABSOLUTE best time at Comic-Con! This had to be his greatest adventure yet. What was top the day though, was if he could win the thing he came out here for.

“Sold! A 1-by-1 inch square of Princess Leia’s official ‘Chest Tape’,” the auctioneer said as she smacked her gavel onto the podium. “To you, sir! For $300!”

“Yesssss!!!” A portly man with a bad toupee shouted from the audience and bound to his feet.

Akshay and Samus peered over and shook their heads with a smirk. The man was obviously getting far too excited over his purchase because he quickly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began to dab his brow. Instantly this was followed by the need for his inhaler. He took a couple puffs as he eased himself back into his seat.

“Wow, he looks a bit exasperated,” Akshay commented.

“Of course he does! He just purchased a 1X1 square inch of Princess Leia’s anti-jiggle tape!” Samus said with a chuckle. “It’s a wonder he isn’t foaming at the mouth now.”

Akshay shrugged. “It’s just tape.”

Samus atched her eyebrows as she peered at him closely.

Then he grinned. “Besides, I got a whole folded 10 inches of it from a different auction and for lot cheaper.” he winked. “So I’m good.”

Samus marveled at him with a smile and wide eyes. “I totally have to see that.”

“You shall,” Akshay grinned devilishly at her. “Dinner? Tonight?”

A blush appeared on the busty, armor-clad woman’s cheeks as she grinned and nodded her head. Sure, Akshay already had her number. But sometimes, you never know. Booth babes and cosplayers tend to give fake numbers, even to those people who they are legitimately attracted to. That was why Akshay was bold enough to just ask her out, face-to-face. Now that was bravery.

“And around next lot is item number 458. A toilet seat from the set of Obi-Wan’s hut in Star Wars IV: A New Hope!”

Both Akshay and Samus went wide eyed as they snapped their heads back around to the auctioneer. There, on stage, they could actually SEE[/b] the item in question! It was in such pristine and glorious condition! It would be a jewel in any collector’s…um…collection!

The pair locked eyes and grinned. But there was threat behind their eyes. They were obviously not going to take it easy on one another.

“Let’s do this.”

“Let’s do this” They muttered at the same time…

“$50!”

“$75!!”

“$125!!”

“$175!”

Akshay blinked as he turned to looked at Samus. Amongst the cacophony of the bidding, her voiced rang the most clear and sounded out through the din of the auditorium. It was obvious that everyone was out for blood right now. No one was going to back down and that same went for himself and Samus. Despite their attraction to one another, she was obviously not going to take it easy on him. The knowledge of that only make the young Wordsmith grin.

Samus seemed to feel his eyes on her as she momentarily turned her attention away from the auction to look at him. When she confirmed that he was indeed watching her, she blushed but grinned as she turned her shy expression back to the auctioneer.

“$300! I have $300 dollars now! Going once…going twice…”

“$450!!” Samus suddenly yelled out and put everyone in the auction to a dead stop. So far that seemed like it was the highest bid of the day.

“I have $450! $450 going once! Twice! Aaaaand congra—“

“$700!!” a voice, a familiar one, bellowed out from the back of the room.

Akshay turned and craned his neck to see who it was. For a moment he could not identify the speaker that ground everyone’s bids to a halt. But the wordsmith soon heard the stomping steps of heavy feet, as well as the mechanical breathing that accompanied it. Down the aisle Akshay saw the mass of black squeezed tightly around a far too ample body, the tiny voice alterer attached to the chest, and swirling black cloak that was affixed to it. He could only shake his head as he narrowed his eyes.

“Newman!” he growled.

The black, spandex-stretched meatball that made up Darth Newman strolled down the aisles with a confident air that made Akshay want to lurch. The rival comic shop worker had such an arrogant tone to his voice as he held up a wad of green cash, showing that he was obviously not joking about his bid. Though Akshay knew the real reason behind it. He was not simply trying to prove that but he was showing off, trying to show that he could outbid absolutely anyone who dared to try to oppose him.

It was a scare tactic, nothing more. Unfortunately Akshay did not have the funds to call his bluff. The highest he would have been able to go was $500 and he was going to announce that and outbid Samus if it had not been for Newman. Sadly that pompous blow hard had far too much money than he should have had.

Akshay ground his teeth. The very idea that Newman was going to get away with this simply had him livid. He hated it when the man won anything because they he lorded over the rest of the community for months and months, sometimes going into years. It simply was not right that a person like him could get all the prizes.

Akshay looked around the room at the rest of the gathered group. There had to be someone, anyone that could outbid the man. Unfortunately from the looks of it the crowd that was gathered here today he doubted that any of them could go that high. Hell, the majority of them probably only had the money that their mother’s gave them as allowance and birthday money. Unless they had been saving up for years, there was no way that they were going to be able to outbid Newman.

“$700! Wooow!! I have $700 going once…twice…”

It was not right. Akshay knew it. But what could he d—

“$1000!!!” a lyrical voice called out from next to him.

Akshay blinked as he turned with wide, amazed eyes. He knew that voice, he had been conversing with the owner of it the whole time! Turning, he watched as Samus stood up, her bid grinding the entire audience into a shocked halt. Even Newman looked flabbergasted as he stared at Samus before he began to fumble and recount the money in his hand. He was obviously not pleased with the number and spun around, trying to reach his wallet that was tucked into the back of his belt.

But he was too late.

“$1000!!” the auctioneer announced with surprise and pleasure. He just chuckled as he looked around the vast room and saw everyone still in shock. “I…think that…that we have a winner, folks. $100 once, twice…and SOLD! To the beautiful, young, Samus Aran!”

“NOOOOOO!!!!” Newman shrieked as he fell to his knees on the aisle.

Akshay sat in shock and awe as he clapped for the winner.

“Samus! Wow….how…?” he gasped.

Samus just grinned and winked. “Hey, they pay us booth babes a lot, they have to. After all, not just any girl will stand working with nerds like Newman Ledge…”

The audience erupted with applause, laughter, tears, and even some jealous cringing and hissing. Samus had stood up, grinned as he strolled through the auditorium and made her way directly to auctioneer. The woman was captivating as she walked and made absolutely everyone in the room jealous. Not only was she gorgeous, but she had money, and she was a complete nerd; she was everything these dweebs had ever wanted in a woman. And many of whom who sat near Akshay new that he was going to go out on a date with her.

Akshay grinned. Eat it, you geeks, he chuckled in his thoughts.

But even as Samus strolled up to claim her coveted item, it was obvious that not everyone was going to let this go easily. A few people had stormed out of the auditorium in wheezing fits, but there was one that was obviously not going to let this go easily.

Darth Vader (Newman Ledge) moved onto his feet (with some effort) and growled a little through his mask. The few people near him could definitely feel the anger and rage that was exuding off of his very round body. He stormed towards the stage, ignoring the whispers from the people who were all around him. One step, two steps, and suddenly Newman was standing at the stage where Samus was getting her congratulations on earning the item.

Newman climbed the steps onto the stage and suddenly pulled his toy lightsaber from his belt and extended the blade. He then raise it to point the end threatening at Samus. The flash and lights of the toy grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Relinquish the toilet seat!” he hissed. “That should have been mind! You have no right to it!”

Akshay bolted onto his feet. Samus looked irritated and narrowed her eyes as she held her won item behind her back. And Auctioneer, even though the saber was just a toy, ran off the stay in fear (what a weenie). Newman growled and edged closer to Samus, his weapon still in hand and pointed directly at her.

“I said…hand it over, girlie.”

“That’s enough, Newman!” Akshay announced from his seat. Slipping out of the aisle (amidst excuses and apologies) and dashed over to the stage. Quickly he leapt onto it and pulled his own toy saber from his belt and extended it with a flash and screech. “You lost, Newman. Suck it up and back away! Before you do something stupid…”

Darth Newman stood there, as if contemplating what Akshay had said. For second it seemed as if reason was going to actually win out; that the man was going to take a breath, accept his loss, and move on. But things are rarely that easy.

Instead, Newman Ledge lifted his gaze, raised his sword and took the first slashed with a shrieking “AAAAAIIIIIIIYYYYYEEEEEE!!!”

Newman charged and the only thing that Akshay could do was stand ready, pushing Samus behind him. If the jerk wanted to further make himself into a spoiled jerk by charging fool hardy into a battle that he could not win, then fine. Akshay would make sure to out sword and out fight Newman until the convention security (the old guys with the clipboards) escorted the wheezing Vader away. Akshay was not going to let this man get away with bully someone out of their prize.

Especially when that someone was the very attractive Samus Aran! But, was he held his lightsaber ready, he arched a brow. Newman had started running awhile ago…why wasn’t he here yet?

Newman, heavy with the lunch special of two cheeseburgers, gasped as he held onto the podium and breathed heavier than the toy Vader mask that he worn. He scrambled to remove the mask from his head and tossed it aside. Instead, Newman’s face was large, red, and puffy with sweat and exhaustion. He had only been running maybe half a second.

Akshay sighed.

“Seriously, dude,” Akshay said as he steered Samus towards the stairs. “Get on a treadmill!”

The young wordsmith sighed as he turned and began to lead his new friend away. But just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard laughter. Not just any laughter, but laughter that seemed to denote that there was something far more malevolent behind him than he could have every imagined. He turned back around and paused when he saw Newman straighten up and sheath his lightsaber. With that done, he turned his red face onto Akshay.

“This isn’t over, yet.” He growled. “Give me…the toilet seat…”

Samus arched her brow as she glanced between Akshay and then to Newman. Defiantly she clutched the seat closer to her chest.

Newman’s eye twitched.

“So be it…” he snapped. Then…in shock, the entire auditorium watched as Newman collapsed…into a mass of bouncing balls with his face caricatured across their surfaces. All screamed and suddenly bounced towards Akshay and Samus in a rage.

Bouncing…balls. That is all Akshay saw coming towards him; like a hellish wave from a preschool playground or something. The mass of balls, black with faces stretched across their surfaces, all bounced with a murderous intent. There were hundreds of them, all of various sizes, but all of them made their way straight to Akshay and Samus. The young wordsmith would have never believed any of this was happening if he had not had seen it with his own eyes. Newman Ledge was a mutant…a mutant with a power that was…actually a little intimidating.

Akshay did not know what Newman in this form could do and he was really not in the mood to test it out. Instead he grabbed Samus by her hand and pulled her into a run towards the doors of the auditorium.

“Crap! Run!” he shouted as he pulled her along.

Samus gasped but did not struggle against the wordsmith’s grip. Instead she actually squeezed his hand tighter as the pair of them ran together. Weaving in and out of the crowd of screaming, shocked nerds, the pair were surprised that they actually made it to the doors without being stopped. It was just as Akshay placed his hand on the door that he had to pause. For whatever reason…it was just not opening.

“Not good, not good!” he shouted as he shoved his shoulder against the door.

Samus helped and shoved too, but she kept glancing back and watching as the mass of bouncing spheres began to bounce closer and closer. She patted Akshay on the shoulder to hurry up as she too began to shove her shoulder into the door.

“God, he’s getting closer! What is he?!” she gasped.

“A mutant, obviously! A very pissed off,” he slammed his shoulder into the door, “…cheated feeling…” he struck again, “pissy, NERDY mutant!!” he threw his full weight into the door once more and effectively opened it. Immediately they were hit with the smells of the convention and he sighed for a second as he grabbed Samus’ hand. “Keep moving!”

Just as they bolted out of the door and rounded the corner, the mass of balls poured out of the auditorium and grimaced as they each turned and started the chase anew!

They ran with all their might. Sounds of hundreds of bouncing, diabolically laughing balls swirled around their heads as they kept their eyes on the horizon and would not top. The people all around the convention paused whatever they were doing and gasped in surprise at the sight of two people running from what must have looked like the collapse of a ball pit or something. The ugly faces stretched out across the spheres cast diabolical grimaces as they all bounced with intent; intent to smoosh and crush the two people who ran for their very lives.

Akshay really could not wrap his head around what was going on. First there was just a simple auction going on and now he was being chased by a mass of bouncing, killer balls! It was just insane! Akshay didn’t even know where he was running, only that he needed to keep doing it since he did not want to face the repercussion of facing Newman Ledge and his strange mutation.

As they ran, Akshay was trying to help Samus run but it was obvious that she was weighed down by her costume. He would have asked her to remove it, but being that they were in mid run, it was obvious that they were not going to be able to do that. She was going to have to deal with it until they could find someplace to catch her breath and remove most of the heavier pieces. Until then, they needed to keep going, no matter if either of them were close to passing out.

But damn, if that Newman got winded just charging them on the stage, how the hell was he keeping this little game up? It was then that Akshay was struck with a thought. As he ran he glanced back to see that the majority of the balls were beginning to slow down. Maybe he was getting tired! If that were the case…

“I know where we’re going!” he suddenly shouted to Samus and grinned a wide grin. “Just follow me!”

Samus grunted and struggled to catch her breath as sweat poured down her brow.

“O-O-Okay!” she squeaked out with a groan.

The pair turned another corner as people screamed, leaping out of the way of the running humans, as well as the diabolical, rubber spheres that charged after them.

It was a stupid plan and one that seemed destined for failure but at the moment it was all Akshay had to at least make things a little more even between himself and Newman Ledge. Right now Newman had far too much room to maneuver; if he and Samus could at least get someplace that was narrower, maybe a little high up, that should at least give them a chance to allow Newman to calm down and end his little tantrum (plus it would be harder to crush them with bouncing balls). The only place in the entire convention that Akshay could think of doing this was a placed he passed by on the way in. \

It was a replica of the infamous end battle from The Empire Strikes Back. It was rebuilt to near perfection just so that people could climb the structure, explore it, take a few photos and even throw themselves off into the pit of beds underneath. It was a nerd’s fantasy!

To Akshay, though, it would prove to be a saving grace. The structure had some height to it so they should at least get them away from the Newman Ledge ball avalanche for now.

Rounding a corner, he breathed a sigh of relief as he looked forward and found the structure all set up. Normally Akshay would have taken a moment to completely geek out over the precision of it, the beauty and the majesty at which this set was, but he just couldn’t right now. He had more important things to do like trying to keep both himself and Samus alive.

She was looking exhausted and red faced, but Akshay still tugged her along to the set piece, ignoring the people that were lined up for it. He squeezed past Star Wars cospalyers, Trekkies, Dr. How fans, and various other sci-fi creatures that all shouted belligerent remarks to him. Akshay could only shout his apologies and excuses as he moved past them all and pulled Samus up, each step at a time until finally they were on the landing at the very top. There, they met an extremely large, furry, Wookie that “growled menacingly” at him.

“Hey! It’s not your turn!”

“Sorry! Emergency!” Akshay shouted and moved past him, accidentally also pulling Samus behind him a bit too harsh since it actually knocked the Wookie over the edge and onto the mass of pillows below. He breathed heavily as he started to undo parts of Samus’ armor. “Come on, this should give us a second to catch our breath.” he said as he finally removed the large back plate of the costume to reveal the tank top she was wearing underneath.

Samus breath in relief as the front piece of her costume popped off and she let it fall to the ground. Sweaty, red, and tired, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, the prop toilet seat hard against his back.

“Oh my god, thank you,” she breathed. “I thought I was going to roast in there.”

Akshay just beamed. But…he knew that they were not out of the woods yet. He peered down, looked past all the angry sci-fi characters and groaned. Here came the tidal wave of spheres that made up Newman Ledge. They bounced angrily around the set before they finally began to reform into one, solid, Newman form.

Akshay didn’t like this one bit…

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

Each black ball with the face of Newman Ledge printed across it bounced closer and closer together until they touched and formed a larger ball. This trend continued as more and more bounced together, forming larger and grander pieces until, in the end, there was complied mass of balls that made the vague outline of Newman Ledge. This outline slowly grew more and more defined until the shape made formed a solid person; a solid person who wore a Darth Vader costume that was far too small in comparison to the rest of his body.

But try telling that to Mr. Ledge.

Once every that formed again, Newman Ledge stood there, looking up through the plastic eyes of the Darth Vader mask. He breathed and wheezed heavily as he locked gazes with Akshay …and the glanced at the stairs. There was hesitation, almost as if he weighed his options as to whether or not he wanted to go through the effort.

In the end, though, his need and lust for that bit of Star Wars memorabilia was just too much to ignore. There was obviously no way that he was going to let that go after causing as much trouble as he had.

So, with a look of conviction, Newman took a step, followed by another, and continued until he made it through the stairs. He groaned as he eyeballed the number of them before he finally began his ascension to the next level. He wanted that toilet seat and he was going to get it by any means necessary.

Akshay arched a brow as he watched Newman actually climb the stairs. He really did not think that the man was going to have it in him. Slowly he pulled Samus back until she was standing behind him and Akshay pulled the lightsaber toy from his belt. A quickly flick of his wrist and suddenly he extended the blue blade with a hum from the toy’s soundcard. It cast a shade of blue across his face as he hefted it up and pointed it threateningly towards the stairway.

Slowly but surely Newman climbed until he was at the very top. Wheezing and gasping the whole time, he ignored the fake that he looked as if he could keel over any second. Instead he pointed his black gloved finger directly at Akshay.

“Get out of my way, Spaz! I only came for what’s mine!”

Akshay narrowed his eyes and held up his blade. “You want her? You go through me…”

Newman wheezed a little through his costume as he eyed Akshay closely, gauging him and trying to figure out exactly if Akshay was actually going to stand in his way or not. One look at the young wordsmith seemed to prove that he was true to his word, he was not going to back away from Samus and allow Newman to take her prize with him. If he really wanted it all that bad he was going to have to go through one more obstacle…Akshay Malik.

Akshay narrowed his eyes as he slowly backed away, making sure to keep Samus behind him as he did so. The look on Newman’s face was just a little crazed and determined and while he did not believe that the man was homicidal, the last thing he wanted to do was test that theory with the sounds of Comic-Con still pumping in their ears.

Blue lightsaber held in hand, he kept the pointed plastic end directed towards Newman.

“Back off Newman,” he warned. “No reason this needs to end badly.”

Newman smirked underneath his mask. Reaching up, he pulled it off and tossed it over the end of the platform that they stood upon. The mask feel a couple feet before it finally landed with a calm bounce on the many mattresses below. Casually he reached to his belt as he chuckled, his face red and puffy from the excursion of shifting into a mass of bouncing balls.

“You know, Akshay,” he said with a mocking tone. “I don’t like you. You are beneath me. You always have been. You strut around in your costumes, at that dinky little comic store you work at, hide behind the ONE comic that you wrote, which quite frankly sucks, and here again you throw yourself into a situation that has nothing to do with you.”

The portly darth vader narrowed his eyes, the condescending smirk on his face as he pulled the toy saber from his belt and extended the red, plastic blade with a hum. He took two heavy steps toward Akshay, his breathing clearly labored but persistent nonetheless.

“But…if it takes me whooping your butt to finally sink that in,” he shrugged. “I’ll try to extract every pleasure out of it that I can!”

Newman charged at him again. While the last time the man did this it had simply resulted in his stopping to catch his breath after a couple of steps, it was obvious that Newman could smell the end of this confrontation looming. He was going to push through everything just to teach Akshay a lesson; that kind of determination could lead a man to push through absolutely anything. That was a concept that terrified Akshay greatly. But he was not going to back down either.

A flashing, red plastic sword was swung toward him and, as time slowed down for the young comic shop worker, he suddenly found that spark that allowed him to defend himself. With a swift move he pulled up his own blue “laser” sword and held it fast. It clashed and rang out with a defiant sound effect the second that it met the red “laser” sword.

Akshay tensed his arm as he held the sword strong and eyed the surprised and angry look in Newman’s face. The two remain locked in this pose, sword against sword, while the flashes from cameras down below blinded the corners of their eyes. But Akshay ignored it as he held the sword against Newman’s, teeth grinding, eyes narrowed, breath caught in his throat. Suddenly he shoved forward, hard enough to knock Newman off balance and sent him squealing to catch the railing. As he was distracted Akshay turned and moved Samus to the opposite end that looked over the mound of mattresses.

“Jump,” Akshay said urgently.

“Jump!? Ashay! But you…”

“I’ll be fine! Now go! Get convention security!” he whipped back around to face Newman as the man struggled to grab his inhaler from inside his costume.

Suddenly Samus grabbed Akshay by the shoulder and spun him around. Once he was turned she suddenly leaned up kissed him full on the lips. Akshay for a second was shocked but fell into the heat of the moment he wrapped his free arm around her lower back and kissed her. When their lips finally pulled away, Akshay blinked and opened his eyes to face a smiling, sultry looking Samus.

“Go get ‘im,”she beamed. “You scoundrel.” With that she turned and leapt off the platform and onto the mattresses below. She squeaked and bounced but, once she recovered herself, she dashed off into the convention.

He grinned a little sheepishly and blushed a little at her comment. He really, REALLY liked this girl…

“Oh maaan, running again!?” Newman groaned and straightened up to head to the stairs. But before he could get to far, suddenly he jumped when a lightsaber tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to meet Akshay’s gaze.

“Yeah, we’re not done here,” Akshay smirked as she suddenly raised the saber and tapped it, rather hard, against Newman’s forehead. The fight. Was. ON!

The lightsaber battle commenced and honestly Akshay was not sure exactly how he was going to fare. Newman was large and slow but he was determined enough to put absolutely everything into each and every swing and chop of his lightsaber. Akshay, on the other hand, was fast and thin enough to get around each and every strike, thankfully just barely. Unfortunately he was working without a net here. He really did not know what else he could do other than to wear the guy out and hopefully keep him distracted enough for convention security to come and take him away.

Flash of blue and red “sparked” as the blades met over and over again. It was not until Akshay was lucky enough to roll away did the both of them finally catch their breaths. Akshay struggled to his feet while Newman wheezed, holding onto the railing, his lightsaber touching the ground of the platform.

“Y-Y-You…done…yet…?” Newman managed to breathe out.

Akshay smirked as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. “I’m just getting started, Newman,” he grinned. But he arched a brow as he noticed that Newman was looking a little pale. “Dude, maybe you should take another shot of your inhaler?”

“Nah, nah,” Newman coughed out. “I…I’ll be fine. It’s…kicking in…already…”

“You sure? I mean…we can sit for a bit…”

“Thanks,” Newman said as he leaned against the railing and sighed.

Akshay watched him before he finally rested himself back against the railing and took a breath. It was exhausting being here, but at least Newman was going to give him a second to breathe. Maybe he could talk to him, try to get him to relax a bit. It was a long shot (a very long shot) but it may be worth a shot. Besides, as he looked across the convention spanned before him, he could see the rushing bodies of security dashing to their location. He just needed another second or two more…