Crowd outside of One Comic to Rule Them All was a bustling collection of comics fans that range from the old to the young, the rich to the poor, the in-shape and the “I’m-spending-my-whole-life-in-my-parent’s-basement-eating-nachos-and-blogging-about-the-downfall-of-American-comics”-shaped. It was needless to say that there was a variety of people there but the one connecting truth between all of them was that they all wanted free comics.

It was Promotional Day here at the comic shop so that meant that all the staff needed to dress up in order to share in the festivities. Akshay…had ABSOLUTELY no problem with this! The man loved comic books so much that he LOVED to dress up in anything that was comic book related. Comic-Con, Convergence, everyday where! The man certainly did love his costumes. That was why when his boss had first told him that he wanted to have the staff dress up for promotional days that Akshay had actually leapt up out of his seat with a victorious “Yessssssssss!!!”[/color]

For this Promotional Day, Akshay had chosen a KILLER of a character to have a costume for. It took him weeks but he finally tracked down someone who could custom make the costume for him. Five days and $150 later, and Akshay was on cloud NINE when he was presented with it.

Now, seating behind his counter with a professional blonde wig on, Akshay was dressed as one of his most favorite and underappreciated characters in the entire BC universe…

CAPTAIN GOLDFISH!!!

Clearly one of the most underrated characters in the entire BC universe. Carthur Aurry was just a simple fisherman who, one day, caught a magical fish that begged him to have his life spared Carthur of course spared him and in doing so was giving all the powers of the mighty goldfish and charged with protecting the Seven Seas from destruction! Easy for a man with the powers of swimming at the speed goldfish, easy death but instant reincarnation, and the ability to communicate with goldfish and ONLY goldfish!

Yes…Captain Goldfish was force to be reckoned with and now he was standing in One Comic to Rule Them All.

Akshay adjusted the green tights he wore, but what was most spectacular was the shimmering, “gold” mail shirt that he wore over his torso. It caught the light and reflected with a iridescence that was similar to that of goldfish scales. It cost a hefty penny to make the top part of this outfit but it was more than worth it. He absolutely loved it and knew exactly who he was going to go to for ALL of his costume needs from now on.

Sitting in the closed store, Akshay looked up to the clock. There was still 15 minutes between the store officially opened. A glance at the door and he could already see through the glass that the crowd outside was quite large. This was obviously going to be a busy day. But another glance and Akshay had to wonder…

“Where the hell are you, Rebecca?” he mumbled to himself. She had arrived on time and everything and slipped into the bathroom to change into her costume. He was surprised that she was still not out though. Moving away from his counter he leaned towards the backroom but did not go in, just in case she was still in the middle of being undressed. “Yo, Rebecca! Did you fall in? You okay?” he asked with genuine concern mixed with immediacy. 12 minutes before the store opened and they needed to be ready…

It had come; Promotional Day. Insane deals.

Costumes.

There had been a promo day the month before, but Rebecca was dealing with injuries from the trip to Agnes's house, which worked out conveniently as an unplanned excuse to miss work. Unfortunately, she had not put herself in any recent painful injuries, so she had no reason not to be there now and that meant, like the rest of the employees at One Comic To Rule Them All, she would be in a comic heroine's costume.

She lacked a costume of her own, unlike some of the other workers, but the shop had several for her to choose from. Looking through pictures, she settled on one that was... a tad less revealing than some of the others.

She was Miracle Lass, a teen superheroine who had the ability to make wishes that would cause spectacular phenomena, and who served as the object of affection for male heroes on her team.

She had no qualms with the green and yellow color scheme, she liked the mask, and she was grateful that outfit was not just some glorified two-piece bikini. Still, it was a bit low-cut and not nearly as far down along her thigh as she would have liked.

>> “Yo, Rebecca! Did you fall in? You okay?”

And there was Akshay. With the way he was walking around on cloud nine, you would have assumed it was a holiday. Still, work was work, and she had agreed to do this anyway. "Sorry, coming!" She looked herself over in the mirror one more time. She was wearing a wig of a more brilliant red than her usual strawberry locks, which were tied tightly away for the day. She was not far off from what Miracle Lass looked like, disregarding the mismatched eyes and freckled skin. Rebecca took one last look at her unconcealable cleavage before every shop patron would get a turn. Sighing, she collected her street clothes and opened the door..

Holding her pile of clothes close to her chest, she gave Akshay a sort of nod. "Alright, Ah guess Ah'm as ready as Ah can be." She took quick steps over to her small locker to stow away her possessions before the shop officially opened.

>> "Sorry, coming!"[/color]

Akshay sighed in relief. For a second he was worried that maybe she was going to have second thoughts about wearing the costume. She didn’t seem all too keen on the idea in the first place. It was not really a deal breaker if she didn’t wear the costume. He wouldn’t fire her but it was part of their policy to wear the costumes. Not a lot of the girls’ like the idea either but most either went through with it or found a super heroine that was not too revealing. After all, not every female hero wore a two piece bikini to run out in the world and fight crime.

…

Shame though. Sometimes they could really off the plausibility of that.

But Akshay shook the thoughts away as he peeked in to see that the bathroom door was closed. He wanted to make sure that Rebecca was indeed okay. After all, he was technically her supervisor and if she was really uncomfortable then he wanted her to know that she could tell him. He did not like for anyone who worked under him to feel like they couldn’t turn to him.

Hands on his hips, Akshay glanced outside at the clock. Ten minutes before they had to officially open and from the sounds of it Rebecca seemed to be close to finishing getting dressed. He sighed in relief. They were going to have plenty of time.

Once the door opened he grinned when he saw that she was indeed wearing the costume. And he was actually pretty impressed by the choice! Miracle Lass! The absolute perfect costume for her. He always found the mask a bit humorous but it was a classic! Miracle Lass wasn’t Miracle Lass without it! Yes, it looked as if she absolutely fit the part perfectly.

>> "Alright, Ah guess Ah'm as ready as Ah can be."[/color]

Akshay tilted his head. There was something in the tone of Rebecca’s voice that he immediately caught onto, as well as her body language with that curt little nod. Instantly his caring-o-meter went off as he watched her momentarily put her clothes into the locker.

“Rebecca?” he asked in his most compassionate-boss-voice possible. “Is everything okay with you? You seem…little spacey.”

>> “Rebecca? Is everything okay with you? You seem…little spacey.”

Did she? Well, it had been a complicated week... month. She had things in the back of her mind, but at the present moment, she had a strong enough distraction that honey and shells were taking a temporary second priority to the considerable square inches of exposed U.K. skin.

Unlatching her locker and shoving the contents of her normal clothing into the small metal cube. "Ah'm alright, it's jist jitters. Ah dornt exactly have clothes like this in mah closet."

She shut the locker door and turned to face Akshay, marveling at his costume. On anyone else, it would be ridiculous, but on Akshay, it was ridiculous and awesome. Seeing him comforted her a little, and she grinned. "Ah'll be fine though, nae worries."

Rebecca checked out the register to make sure there was enough of the right bills for the day's transactions. Looking up from the machine, she spotted the mass of young men waiting to enter. She was now acutely more conscious of how much of her chest was really showing. She was indeed nervous, but she would tough it out. It was her job, and she had just assured Akshay that she would be fine.

There were a few minutes to spare before the doors open, and Rebecca's mind wandered away from the crowds and to the subject she briefly touched on a moment ago: a certain insectoid girl Rebecca had not seen in days. She could feel her heart sink now, because there was little she could do about it. She could use a friend to talk about it with, but her friends all knew Agnes-- the trouble with living in a mansion/dormitory.

There was one person maybe; he was friendly and a good listener, even if he was a goofball in a golden chainmail shirt. "Um, Akshay? Maybe there is something on mah mind, if Ah'm being honest."

>> "Ah'm alright, it's jist jitters. Ah dornt exactly have clothes like this in mah closet…Ah'll be fine though, nae worries."[/color]

“Oookay,” Akshay said a little suspiciously as he watched the young woman turn away and return to stuffing her items away into her locker.

He had a feeling that there was something wrong with her that delved a little deeper than just nervousness around wearing the costume (though she was exceptionally blushy when she first decided on wearing it). No the matter seemed to be deeper than that but he was not going to call her on her. He cared, he really did, but he was not a nosy man. He would simply let her feel whatever it was she needed to feel and if she wanted to talk then that was completely fine. He would talk to her but only if she actually came to him first.

A small nod, he smiled encouragingly at her as he began to lead the way back into the front part of the store. They still had a good ten minutes before the hungry masses could even be allowed into the store. They would just have to spend the time in silence and made sure everything was immaculate for the crowd.

He sighed as he stretched, making his chainmail shirt shimmer even more in the light. While Rebecca busied herself with making sure that the register had enough money, Akshay had turned away to start dusting some of the shelves when Rebecca tiny voice rang out in the empty store…

>> "Um, Akshay? Maybe there is something on mah mind, if Ah'm being honest."[/color]

He arched a brow as he turned slowly back towards Rebecca. She really did look as if something extremely heavy was weighing in down on her head.

He nodded with a slightly concerned look but gave her a gentle smile at the same time.

“Is it something you want to talk about?” he said warmheartedly. “If so, I do make a good listener.”

>> “Is it something you want to talk about? If so, I do make a good listener.”

Rebecca furrowed her brow. She was expecting him to possible say something sweet or silly before moving on so they could open up shop, but not so much to earnestly ask her if she wanted to talk. And she did, but she was thinking more along the lines of after their shifts. "Ah know, but opening is..." She looked up at the clock on the wall; they had about eight minutes before doors opened. "Well, Ah guess Ah can make it quick fer now."

Rebecca took a brief moment to figure out how best to summarize her situation in a minute or less. "Ah hae a friend, an' thes friend has bin mah best friend since Ah got tae America, but in th' pest month there's bin thes... unmentioned romantic tension. Th' thin'g is, mah friend awreddy has a girlfriend."

Rebecca thought about ending it there, but that was only one part of the problem, after all. "Plus, Ah'm nae sure if whit Ah feel is a real interest ur thes is jist coz she was th' first person Ah've ever gotten sae close tae." Despite fully admitting she now had a crush on Agnes, Rebecca still could not think of herself as a lesbian; it did not feel like her at all, and a problem like that could lead to an identity crisis.

Rebecca sighed, as though she was just finished unloading a fridge she was carrying around. "Tae top it aff, Ah havnae seen 'er all week, an' Ah'm worried she's upset wi' me... ur e'en herself." Coz she kissed meh and coz Ah didnae stop her. Rebecca took a cloth and a cleaning spray and started cleaning off the counter, allowing Akshay to digest the car of baggage she just unloaded.

Wow if Rebecca could see the albatross around her neck that Akshay could see, he was sure that she would probably freak out. In all honesty she looked like hell. Whatever it was that she was thinking about, that was plaguing her mind, it was obvious that she was having a tough time wrapping her head around it. She looked confused, scared, worried but most of all, just like she needed to unload whatever it was from her shoulders. It was as if she really needed to talk and she simply had no way to do it.

The young wordsmith frowned a little. In as short a time as he knew Rebecca, he knew that she was a real sweetheart. What could get her down so utterly?

>> "Ah know, but opening is...Well, Ah guess Ah can make it quick fer now."[/color]

A glance at the clock and he too noticed that they were getting very close to closing time. Maybe it would simply be better to wait until after work to discuss anything? But one look at Rebecca and he knew he could not resend his offer. They could at least discuss some of what was going on in Rebecca’s life now to get it over with.

>> "Ah hae a friend, an' thes friend has bin mah best friend since Ah got tae America, but in th' pest month there's bin thes... unmentioned romantic tension. Th' thin'g is, mah friend awreddy has a girlfriend."[/color]

Ah love. Of course that had to be the issue. For someone as sweet as Rebecca he was not surprised that she was already having suitors. The sucky thing was that, of course, it involved a friend. A friend who was already seeing someone. There had been a time or two when Akshay himself had been trapped in a similar situation. It never seemed that whatever action you took was the correct one.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her. There was obviously more that she wanted to say…

>> Plus, Ah'm nae sure if whit Ah feel is a real interest ur thes is jist coz she was th' first person Ah've ever gotten sae close tae."[/color]

“Oh, well, obv—“ he paused in mid-advice giving. Did he really just hear that the friend that Rebecca was into was actually a she.

He paused to play a little movie in his head.

…

And then it was done! Now that that was out of his system he turned his full attention back to Rebecca as he listened intently. Just watching her face it was obvious that the poor thing was agonizing over what was going on her in life. How confusing it must be. To feel attraction for someone but never sure if it is an attraction out of real interest or simply because they were nice to your first. That could always lead to some seriously messed up circumstances.

>> “Tae top it aff, Ah havnae seen 'er all week, an' Ah'm worried she's upset wi' me... ur e'en herself."[/color]

Finally Rebecca had come to the end of her story and turned around to finish cleaning one of the counters. He frowned a little as he watched her clean, just feeling the bad feelings exuding off of her must smaller form. He sighed. He hated to see people he considered his friends in pain. And sadly, whatever this situation was, it must have been painful.

He waited for a few seconds, letting the silence envelope them, before he finally opened his mouth to reply.

“Wow, that’s…quite a pickle.” He uncrossed his arms from his chest as he carefully rubbed the back of his neck in thought. “Attracted to someone who’s already in a relationship, and a friend on top of that,” He sighed as he glanced up to his clock and noticed that there was obviously no way he was going to fix this problem right now. With four minutes left, they needed to open. Stepping up behind her he carefully placed a friendly hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly. “Hey, what’s say I treat you to a drink, or dinner tonight? You look like you need the company and we can discuss this more, if you feel up to it.”

Akshay reaffirmed what Rebecca essentially knew: she was in a tough spot. She had not even mentioned the incriminating kiss, which was the turning point of the past week. Any time she saw Agnes since then, it was brief, like Agnes was unable to remain in the same room with her for more than thirty seconds.

His offer was kind though; for all the joking and dancing and shameless flirting, Akshay had a good heart. It would have been so much easier if she just felt a spark with him; he was, (to her knowledge,) unattached and he also happened to be a man. That was not what was keeping her from a spark was it? No; she felt an initial spark meeting Drew after all.

Unfortunately, as she learned in her international transition, drinking ages were not universal, and the girl who was legal to partake throughout the U.K. was kept to legal sobriety in the states. She was not a heavy drinker at all, so it never bothered her much, but occasionally she missed wine with her parents or the rare shot of her father's scotch. With everything going on in her life, it was certainly enough to make the most level-headed lass consider drinking away her worries. "Ah'd love tae take ye up on tha' drink, but as ye know, Ah'm underage here." She looked up from her cleaning for a moment and smiled at the chainmailed shopkeep. "Dinner sounds great though."

The clock was ticking away, and with her concerns temporarily pushed back in her mind, now that comic-judgement day was at hand. She tried to think about getting in character. Since she began working at the shop, she had slowly made the conversion, from reading the rare comic to the occasional comic to one or two series consistently. Miracle Lass's series, Z-Team, was on the short list that she did her best to make a dent into. She was still a ways off from catching up with the long series, but she had an idea of who she was playing. On top of her mutation, Miracle Lass was an innocent but very sharp young woman from England. Her father and his side of the family that she encountered once every year or so spoke in English accents, so Rebecca was doing her best to mimic it in the mirror for the past week.

Rebecca stowed away the cleaning supplies and emerged from the back area, leaning against the counter, arms folded as she faced the oncoming storm. In her best English tongue, she cautiously spoke. "A-Alright Captain... release the floodgates."

Akshay sighed as he stood back, his arms crossed over his chainmail shirt as he waited to hear some kind of response from Rebecca. It really did hurt his heart to see her so upset from this whole ordeal. It sounded like the typical kind of teenage romance though, but this was not high school. This was a real life drama unfolding. It was almost as if Melrose Hills, 90210--OC was actually happening before his eyes! The young girl, in love with her best friend, who also happens to be a girl, who also happens to be a new transfer to America!

If Rebecca’s life were being filmed live, Akshay was sure that the ratings would be going through the roof! It was just the type of drama that the American audience loved to eat up!

But this was not just some character on a screen. This was a real life person, someone whom he had grown to respect and care about. Ever since she started at the shop, she had proved herself to be a loyal employee, as well as a good comrade to chat and spend the day with. Akshay hated to see anything make her this upset and confused. He wished there were more he could do.

Listening. That would have to be his strongest gift he would give to Rebecca. He could listen to her…for TWO more minutes! The store was close to opening!

>> "Ah'd love tae take ye up on tha' drink, but as ye know, Ah'm underage here…Dinner sounds great though."[/color]

Akshay nodded with a small and caring smile. He had not really planned to take her out to get hammered or anything, he simply was going to offer a soda. GOD, the things that run through a young person’s mind.

“Dinner it is, then,” he beamed.

Another glance to the clock and they had seconds before it was time for the store to open. He adjusted his shirt, Rebecca started to put away cleaning supplies and got herself ready for the oncoming storm front of nerds, geeks, and mouth breathers. Damn, he loved the smell of a comic book store in the morning!

>> "A-Alright Captain... release the floodgates."[/color]

He chuckled as he straightened his posture and cleared his throat until he was speaking at a lower and harsher decibel.

“Anything for you, Miracle Lass!!” he said in a throaty way.

Chest puffed out, Akshay stomped and stepped over to the doors that were already startling to rattle a bit from people trying to get into the store. He had half a mind to make them wait longer because of that but he was simply not I the mood to deal with the sneering and growling he would surely get. On top of that, he doubted that the store doors would even be able to handle the pressure from all the people trying to break in. He would have to let them in or risk them breaking the door down.

“Okay, welcome to hell,” he said with a little grin as he reached down, unlocked the doors and stepped aside to let the surging masses in. “Everyone! Welcome to One Comic to Rule Them All!!”

God, he hoped that Rebecca was indeed ready for this. And that there were not too many gropers tod—

“AH! Hey lady! Hands off the dolphin!!” he admonished another female comic goer and readjusted his pants with the dolphin printed directly above his--

And with that, the doors were open and the nerdcore populous flooded into the office. She caught the dolphin-grabbing in the corner of her eye and stifled a laugh. So the first groping of the day was granted to Akshay. Apparently a young man in tights gets plenty of his own attention from the geek girls. Still, it was a foreboding omen that left her feeling pretty sure she had a pinch or squeeze in her immediate future.

Regardless, big smiles. She was not sure exactly what to do, but some costumers helped her out. A few of them complimented how pretty she was in the outfit (which lead to blushing she was trying to hide behind makeup,) and some others mentioned that Miracle Girl was their favorite character. She did her best to smile widely and thank them in her faux English accent. Some customers even played along in character, asking where Redeye or White Wing were.

"Oh, knowing those boys, they're prolly fighting somewhere. I don't understand why they can't seem to get along," she added obliviously. Maybe it was not a stretch for her to play a role like this.

She continued around, making several sales. With her around the shelf, Z-Team comics seemed to be selling well. Playing on her character's innocence, she cheered. "Oh thank you ever so much! The more comics you buy, the more funding the Z-Team has to take care of Polar Opposor!" She was not yet sure if she found it offensive at all that the main enemy of her favorite comic was a magnetic manipulator.

A shiver ran up her spine and Rebecca straightened up, feeling the unfamiliar touch of pinching fingers on her bottom. She twirled around and spotted a teenager snickering. She did her best to control herself, pointing a finger at him. "Hey! I'm sorry, but that's for Red Eye only. Well, if he ever works up the courage to ask," she added with a wink.

The boy thankfully apologized and ended up buying a small pile of comics from her. After ringing it up, she felt so in character, she even summoned up the courage to punch his cheek and thank him. She shot a look to Akshay across the store and flashed him a nervous, but at the very least entertained, smile.

The swarm had entered into the comic shop and Akshay had already been sexually accosted. Was he really all that surprised though? After all female comic fans could be some of the worst and most handsy of all the comic nerds out there! He learned that first hand (forgive the pun) when he first started working the circuits at the Comic-Cons and now he was getting that experience all over again. But he managed to shake it off as he turned and went back to actually doing his job.

Though Akshay was pretty much engrossed in his work, and with his character, he did keep a careful eye out for Rebecca. He kept glancing over, spied her walking with fans, trying to hide her blushes but doing her damndest to remain in character. He had to admit that he was greatly impressed with her. She was doing an awesome job and was spouting off Z-Team knowledge left and right and really remained true to her character. He had to admit that he was a little worried when he started to train her. She did not know all that much about comics but she did prove to be a hard worker and an even harder studier. Before long he was having a hard time telling her apart from a complete and utter fan.

Akshay nodded. Very impressive indeed.

While Akshay gave Rebecca one part of the store to talk and lure customers into, Akshay remained in the other half, chatting up his own customers. He explained to them the importance of buying these comics! They helped to fund the Integrity Union so they they could continue to fight the evil forces of Rex Roofer and his Syndicate of Badness.

“So for every comic you buy, you bring us another step closer to helping my fight my nemesis White Stingray!” he said with a nod.

>> "Hey! I'm sorry, but that's for Red Eye only. Well, if he ever works up the courage to ask,"[/color]

He snapped over to look and immediately spied that already Rebecca had been pinched. Part of him wanted to go over and smack the guy for doing it but Akshay immediately saw his young protégé take the situation under control. She admonished the guy but still had the silver tongue to stay in character and even convince the kid to buy a tower of comics as an apology! He smirked mentally, applauding Rebecca’s cool under pressure.

He liked the young lady more and more every day.

And so the day pressed on, helping people pick their choices in comics, remaining in-character, just having an amusing time with themselves. But a glance at the clock showed that it was nearly time for their other co-worker, Jean, to make his appearance. They had a little skit planned that should hopefully entertain the patrons enough to stick around and part-take of more comics.

Ringing up another customer, Akshay smiled as he handed them back their purchases. Then, just in time, from the front door he eyed the familiar, lanky, ultra thin form of their co-worker, Jean Lopez. The man strolled into the comic shop dressed in the familiar outfit of purple and white. The cape bellowed around him and Akshay smirked. Jean adjusted his white wig and made the perfect image of Polar Opposite, dastardly villain to the Z-TEAM!

Akshay gasped as he went into character and suddenly slipped out from behind his counter and pointed accusingly at the man.

“Polar Opposite!! What are YOU doing here!?”

Polar Opposite/Jean cackled as he reared his head back. The group of comic shoppers were all stunned by the scene that was beginning to unfold. Many of them were clapping and going along with the skit, their faces all smiles.

“I’m here to ruin this comic shop, Captain Goldfish!! And what’re you going to do about it?” the villain cackled.

Akshay smirked as he glanced over at Rebecca. That was her cue…just like they rehearsed…

Rebecca had failed to keep her eye on the clock, absorbed in surprisingly fun conversations with shop patrons and doing her best to keep tugging her skirt as far down her leg as it would go. Thanks to this obliviousness, she turned with the same degree of surprise when Jean burst through the doors as the Z-Team's archenemy, Polar Opposite!

>> “Polar Opposite!! What are YOU doing here!?”
“I’m here to ruin this comic shop, Captain Goldfish!! And what’re you going to do about it?”

Rebecca's surprise faded, but her parts in this scene were coming back to her, so she replaced genuine shock with fake shock, gasping dramatically. "Polar Opposite! I'll never let you take this shop from all these people far better than you!"

Jean's sinister laughter was so believable, Rebecca even felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and she was in on the charade. "Oh Miracle Lass. You talk big, but your little team of misfits isn't here to back you up!"

Her fake enemy waved his hand, commanding an invisible magnetic wave. The idea made Rebecca want to laugh because she knew how unnecessary the hand wave really was, but she played along and tossed herself into a nearby unoccupied wall with a grunt of pain.

Straightening herself out, she brushed off her costume before folding her hands, fingers interlaced. "My lads may be off elsewhere, but I have the help of Captain Goldfish, and in a time of need, I can always pray for a miracle!"

Her "miracle" was actually controlled by a little button on a small remote on the back of her belt. She activated it by pressing her back up against the wall, causing a surprise toy to turn on in the backroom. Shortly, two large helium-filled fish colored like goldfish floated out of the back and into the main area of the shop.

With attention being focused on the flying fish, Rebecca nonchalantly removed the small remote from her belt and placed it in her clasped hands, hiding it from sight. She would be in charge of directing these battery-powered glories as Akshay hammed it up. "It's up to you and your mates, Captain!"

Akshay grinned as he watched Polar Opposite/Jean really get into his character. The whole store had ground to a halt and began to watch as the skit played out. It was their comic heroes come to life, right before their eyes! Though it was obvious that they were not foolish enough to believe that they were actually really those comic characters, they were entertained enough to simply watch and record their phones as the faux battle between heroes and villain began.

The banter was there, the usual corny lines from every comic book that every fan knew nearly by heart. But it was just corny enough to where the patrons just loved it. They “Ooo”-ed and “Ahhh”-ed at the banter between the two opposing characters before the fight. Rebecca and Jean were both doing so well in their respective roles that Akshay for a moment truly believed that they were from the pages of the comic.

SO entertaining…

Then Polar Opposite, with the ability of magnetism, threw an attack at Miracle Lass that knocked her backwards into a patron. But obviously Miracle Lass was not going to be deterred by such nonsense…

>> "My lads may be off elsewhere, but I have the help of Captain Goldfish, and in a time of need, I can always pray for a miracle!"[/color]

“You’ll pay for attacking my friend, Polar Opposite!!”

Akshay announced as he jumped into character. He took on a rather heroic pose, standing in the light that filtered in through the windows of the show. His gold, chainmail shirt brilliantly glimmered like real fish scales in the light and it was so dazzle that it was enough to make practically everyone in the store “Oooo” at his appearance. He definitely loved this costume. Standing there, though, he could already hear that light buzzing in the air that came with his two “friends”.

This was going to be so cool…

>> "It's up to you and your mates, Captain!"[/color]

“Thank you, Miracle Lass! I couldn’t have summoned my friends without your help!” he grinned and pointed towards his enemy. “Prepare to surrender!”

It was then that Akshay released a gurgling, underwater sound that he had been practicing on all week. He sounded like he was speaking “Goldfish” and instantly, upon hearing these commands, his goldfish allies would jump to the attack. As they swam past him, they were begin to nudge and pester Polar Opposite, while Akshay grinned.

“Nooooo!!! Curse you Miracle Lass and you, you walking Fishstick!!” Polar Opposite shrieked.

“That is CAPTAIN GOOOOOOLDFISH!!” he bellowed as his fish minions drove Polar Opposite to his knee.

Akshay glanced out of the corner of his eye, winked at Rebecca and nodded. It time for that double punch that they had practiced. He really hoped that she would not literally sock Jean across the eye…again…

“Let’s finish this, Miracle Lass!!” he shouted and dashed heroically forward and readied a “punch” that would knock Jean out and finish their skit for the day…

If Akshay's personality was good for one thing, it was dragging all eyes in the room to him. With his showboating, Rebecca barely had to be subtle commanding the goldfish to attack Jean. By attack, she of course meant bumping into him over and over until he "submitted" and fell to his knees.

Rebecca sent the fish off in another direction where they would slowly float up to a corner of the room. (It was amazing the sort of toys they could make these days.) She excitedly skipped over to Akshay's side and reared her hand back for the fake punch. She was very conscious of getting this part right; she had already put poor Jean through enough, which was obvious thanks to the way he cringed, bracing for impact.

She threw her punch in sync with Akshay, this time sure to have her fist fly past her enemies face. Jean got his cue right and fell backward. The room exploded with cheers, and Rebecca picked Jean up by his arms, with her fake-unconscious captive helping by getting to his feet. "I knew we would stop him! Now I'll take him to Doctor Z! In the meantime, be sure to thank the charming man in the golden clothes!"

She brought Jean in the backroom, where he thanked her for not catching him in the eye again. She apologized another time, but congratulated him on a performance well done before she returned to the floor, where a new crowd of young men flocked to her. She blushed, thanking them for flattering her. As awkward as some of them were, it was reassuring to receive all this male attention. (Did that mean she did like being the object of male affection? The more she learned about herself, the less she understood!)

With a bound to his side, Akshay grinned as Rebecca fully embodied her character. He could not get over how into this she really was. It made his heart soar that he managed to convert yet another person to the persuasive power of comic books and enjoy them to their fullest. Rebecca would probably turn out to be his best co-worker yet!

Akshay gave her a confirmative nod and balled up his fist. Rebecca did the same, just as they had practiced and suddenly both lashed out with fake punches. The whole time Akshay eyed Rebecca’s fist, terrified that she was actually going to connect with Jean again. But thankfully, even as his own fist passed only through the empty air that was on the side of Jean’s head, Rebecca’s followed in kind, in the opposite direction.

A small sigh of relief, both from him and Jean, and their villainous opponent flew backwards, onto his back and out of commission. Akshay straightened up, grinning wide and proud of his “heroic” deeds. He watched as Rebecca then took her cue to exit Jean from the room…

>> "I knew we would stop him! Now I'll take him to Doctor Z! In the meantime, be sure to thank the charming man in the golden clothes!"[/color]

“Thank you, Miracle Lass!” he winked and watched as she dragged the “incapacitated” Polar Opposite away.

Once the two were gone, Akshay was bombarded with cheers and hearty laughs from both comic fans and the young kids that occupied the store. But his attention was more diverted to keeping the female comic fans away from fawning and further gropings! Thank god he had the counter to protect him at least a little bit.

The cheering then reached deafening levels as Rebecca once again emerged from the back room. After successful disposing of Polar Opposite (aka, giving him his break), Rebecca became the new object of attention and flattered. Judging by her reactions, it was obvious that she never got a lot of this sort of reaction from people. He was a little amused by it and thought that it was extremely cute. Thankfully the crowd seemed a little more respectful and he could really see no more illicit pinching or prodding. Good! That means Rebecca earned their respect.

With a grateful sigh that he would not have to keep such a close eye on her the rest of the day, Akshay turned back to his own adorning fans and purchasers. The rest of the day should go by with smooooooth sailing….