This….had to be the absolute BEST decision he had ever made! When he heard that a certain magazine was going to have a photoshoot for promos for an upcoming, secret, superhero movie, the young wordsmith knew that he was going to have to apply for it. The reason this was supposed to be so big was that absolutely no one but the staff and cast knew which superhero the movie was supposed to be about, but it was supposed to be big. In order to promote this, the magazine had a contest in which comic fans were supposed to dress as the hero they thought the movie was going to be about. Those that guess right, and fit the role to perfection, would be allowed to shoot the promotional photos!!

Akshay had spent, weeks, WEEKS trying to get any inside information as to who this movie was supposed to be about. But there is no honor among comic fans. Absolutely none. Therefore, Akshay simply had to take his best shot. After doing whatever research he could, Akshay finally settled on the costume that was his absolute, BEST guess.

Taking a chance, he immediately started to work on the costume and spent every single coin it cost. He was going to win this…no matter what…

***

The day of the shoot and Akshay strolled up to the audition in his costume. Needless to say…it left little to the imagination. That was because Akshay best guess as to who the movie was going to be about was…

The Atlantean! Prince and lord of the ocean!

Dressed in just a green speedo that glimmered iridescent with scales, thick gold bracers, pasted, wings on his ankles, and his hand slicked back, Akshay knew that he looked the part. He thudded the end of the shimmering gold trident (even though fake, it cost a LOT of money) with every step as he passed poor excuses for Flying Fox, Spectacular Man, and Captain Bolt, all of them with eyes strictly centered on him. Akshay only shot them a wink.

“Yup, be jealous,” he said as he posed for them and strutted into the audition office. This. Gig. Was. His.

Oh for the love….

Riley groaned out loud as she peeked out the office window at the growing crowd inside the building where the shoot was taking place. Sure, this particular magazine loved to do their own version of blockbusters soon to be in theaters, and sure she’d done such shoots before. That was part of the reason she was here. They were professional, they were reasonably decent shoots, and the money was awesome.

They’d never pulled this kind of crap before though.

An open casting call for the male part in the shoot? What the hell were they thinking. Every 18 year old mouth breather in the outer Burroughs had shown up for this, and they were all in their worst interpretations of a super hero. Some were nervous wrecks, but others were stalking around like they owned the place. Idiots.

As if she had room to talk.

Heaving a sigh, Riley turned and looked in the mirror. Two pert little cat ears peeked out from her hair, which had been meticulously poofed and sprayed until it fell around her shoulders like a mane.

The costume itself …made her lip curl.

Animal print didn’t belong on anyone let alone animal print that was laid over the top of a pink and purple gradient. Thankfully, the building was cool, because the body suit was made out of some kind of pleather or latex or something ridiculous and would have been sweltering in the wrong circumstance.

Riley didn’t even know who ‘Cat-Lady’ was, but apparently comic book nerds too her seriously.

“You’re on sweetheart.” one of the staff called into the general direction of the casting room.

Riley made her way outside, directing a glare at the idiot who’d spoken, trying her best not to wobble on the ridiculously high heels they’d handed her with the costume. At least there wasn’t a mask.

”Watch it, or I’ll test these out on you” she said, wiggling her ridiculous nails in his general direction and drawing a grin.

Riley rolled her eyes as she stepped out into the studio. Apparently they all got a chance to pose.

It was going to be a long day.

Despite his grand entrance into the audition…Akshay still had to wait in line. So far he there were no clues as to whether or not he was right in guessing the superhero for this particular promo. As he glanced up and down the line at his fellow comic nerds, Akshay was both elated and fearful; there were no other Atlantean’s in costume. Plenty of the more mainstream characters, tons of some of the second stringers, but nothing as unknown as The Atlantean. That could only mean one of two things: either he guessed right and he was the only one who got it, or he was completely off base and he lost this competition.

Gah! The concept of losing was horrendous! But…Akshay was not the type to flee from a costume contest. Even if he was wrong, at least he would get a nice test shot with the one of the sexy models! A second or two of photographic bliss, that was all anyone could ask for.

He sighed a little heavenly.

Then he heard snickering somewhere behind him. Akshay turned around until he saw a poorly dressed Emerald Archer and Honeybadger snickering and nodding to him.

“There a problem?” Akshay asked as he held his firm, gold trident ready at his side.

Emerald Archer laughed. “Yeah! What doofus would come dressed as someone as lame as the Atlantean?!”

Honey Badge chuckled heartily. “Yeah! That guy is SO weak. They’d never make a movie out of him. You chose SO wrong.”

Akshay narrowed his eyes as he eyed the gentlemen. He was used to ridicule about himself, about what he liked…but NO one made fun of his favorite characters! But before he could say or do anything in retaliation, the half-dressed wordsmith paused when a voice suddenly called out.

“Akshay Malik! You’re up!”

Eyebrow arched, he grinned at the two, suddenly despondent looking gentlemen and sauntered away.

Stepping in through a door and into the studio, Akshay marveled as he looked around the setting. Everything was beautifully made up and there was a number of people shuffling back and forth. Unfortunately he still saw no clues as to what character this shoot was going to be for. Was he right? Did he possibly win this? Where were the hot chicks?

He strolled up to the area that was obviously supposed to be where the pictures were supposed to be taken when he suddenly felt his heart stop. It stopped…because of the sultry creature that he saw sauntering into the scene.

“C-C-Cat…Lady…” he stammered to himself. The costume was SKIN tight. Probably more brush on makeup than an actually suit! But as he walked closer, his heart stopped yet again (well…after it had started up from the first time), as he saw the scowling face of the woman who was dressed in cat get up. “Oh…my…god…R-Riley Sommers?” he asked as he, hypnotically strolled towards her. “This is…TOTALLY unreal!”

And the man squeed…and he squeed loud…

…why did he smell blood?

Oh sweet Jesus in a hand basket.

The boy (because no self-respecting man would ever act like that) started squealing and stammering like a fourteen year old girl, and Riley simply stopped and stared with an eyebrow raised. This was just embarrassing…for both of them.

Not that it hadn’t happened before, but getting recognized in her line of work wasn’t the best thing in the world and Riley worked quickly to plaster a smile on her face before the guy could see how disgusted she was. The boss was watching, after all and the brunette wanted more work from these guys in the future.

”That’s me.” she said, only barely managing to control the contempt in her voice as she gave the guy another once-over. He was lanky, and skinny as all get out, features that were not exactly helped by the outfit he’d chosen.

”Nice costume.” she added, crossing her arms and shifting her weight so a hip popped out. ”But I didn’t think cats liked water.” she added. Hell, if she was going to have to pretend, playing the vamp couldn’t hurt.

>> ”That’s me.”[/color]

“Glahads kelas jgper thorp…”

Yup, he had lost all ability of speech as he watched his dark haired beauty turned to face him. He hadn’t even caught any glimpse of her scowl or irritation. She was just a radiate beauty that had no equal here on earth.

OH my god!! And…AND…she actually spoke to him!!! He could have died happily right there but there was still SO much to do! Pictures to take, right? YES, pictures! He needed to remain conscious and completely in control of his own girlish screams and functions in order to complete the picture.

Huh…he hoped that he could get a copy of it even if he did lose this contest.

>> ”Nice costume…But I didn’t think cats liked water.”[/color]

He was suddenly sparked into have a normal, conscious mind. But he simply could not help it, being around the young woman just turned his body into jelly. He would have been happy to have just melted right there and lived the rest of his life has a puddle of goo! But no! There was still so much more to be done! This was not just for a photograph, it was for comics! He needed to keep that focus in mind…however sultry and hot the aura of her presence was…

Ahem.

“Oh! Well, it makes perfect sense! That is why Cat Lady is the arch-nemsis of…” he posed, grinned, and stuck out his none existent chest, “The Atlantean. You see he wants to make the world all water, like it used to be, and she wants to make every jungle-like and—“

He paused as he took a breath. No, she probably was not a comic fan. Surprise would have flashed across his face if she had actually heard of either character. That was why he didn’t want to bore her. Who knows how many fans she has already had to deal with today, or would have to deal with, and how many times she would hear the exact same type of speech. Instead, he regrouped; what would a girl like her like to hear about? Fast cars? Religion? Politics? FAN BOYS!

A grin plastered his face as he turned his attention back to her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for that, you know, nerdgasm!” he chuckled. “I mean, I have to be one of your biggest fans! I saw your photoshoots in ‘Heels n’ Wheels’, ‘Beauties Beyond’, and especially then limited edition Christmas issue of ‘Panache!’ You…have to be…one of the greatest models I have EVER seen.” he beamed happily.

And then there was a whole bunch of comic book nonsense that she could have cared less about. Riley tried her best to nod politely while staring off into the space over the skinny kid’s shoulder. Some of the words sunk in despite her efforts, though, and Riley gathered that they were apparently enemies. Awesome, that meant she could stop pretending as soon as they got on the set.

Only…that was apparently never going to happen, and this guy was just going to keep on talking. Familiar names started to crop up and Riley tuned back just in time to hear a laundry list worthy of her resume being recited.

Okay, this was getting borderline creepy.

”You….are thorough.” she said, still trying to put on a good show for the photographer and crew. Man, they were asking a lot today. As if the costume wasn’t bad enough.

”Yeah, well, whatever pays the rent, right?” she said, fighting down mingled horror and amusement that she was actually standing in front of someone who paid that much attention to her work.

They really had to change the subject before the clenched fist by her side accidentally ended up in his face.

”So, is this your first time around the block?”

>> ”You….are thorough.”

Akshay beamed! His blatant worship had actually worked! Riley Sommers was actually IMPRESSED by him and his vast knowledge of her skills. He was not a stalker or anything, but he did love seeing Riley’s pin-ups. Whenever he caught wind of a photoshoot that she was going to be in, he knew that he was going to have to buy that magazine.

What was most surprising was that he had absolutely NO idea that Riley was going to be in THIS very photoshoot! It was like..kismet, destiny…this is destiny…

Okay, maybe he shouldn’t think that creepy, stalker like, but even he had to admit that the stars had aligned just right for him this day. He got to meet one of the models that had had greatly admired and felt like she was a beauty to end all beauty’s (that was before he met Emerald, of course). But still, in his wild dreams and fantasies, he had never imagined he would actually get to share a set with her! Even in his fantasies about her, he played the part of little more than a background character.

How pathetic was that? Shouldn’t a man be able to play the lead in his own fantasies? Was that asking too much?

Oh crap, she is talking again!! Focus mind poweeeeeeeer…

>> ”Yeah, well, whatever pays the rent, right?”

“Hyuk, YEAH!”

God he hoped that was not as loud as he thought it was. He shook his head and tried to take a moment to control himself.

>> ”So, is this your first time around the block?”[/color]

“Oh! Heh, w-well kind of,” he said with a shrug. He tapped the trident he carried on the ground. “I actually have to do this for work more times than you’d think. And the pictures taken are usually with comic fans and such. Nothing professional or fancy like this. Then again, you’re probably used to all this, huh?” It was only now that Akshay was beginning to feel a little jittery. Eyeing the professional staff, the camera’s, the loud man who shouted direction, it was all only adding to the nervousness building in Akshay’s stomach. “Umm…Ms. Sommers…” he asked. “You have…like…any tips for the jitters?”

Dear lord was her patience waning. Riley sighed and tried to run a hand through her hair, but ran into a wall of hairspray and ratting instead. The guy was getting more and more excited by the second, and if she wasn’t careful he was going to do something incredibly ridiculous like swallow his tongue. Then where would she be?

Taking a deep breath and praying to whatever celestial entity had chosen to pay attention at the moment, Riley grasped around for something to say in response to the last question. What did someone say to that? Had she ever had jitters before a shoot? Suddenly, Riley didn’t want to play anymore.

When she spoke, her voice was quiet and serious.

”Just pretend like this is the high fashion shoot you thought you were signing up for and that millions will see you on a runway instead of in ‘Heels and Wheels.’ she said.

”At least that always worked for me.”

Akshay still shivered in nerves as he looked around the expansive set, trying to decide if he was going to throw up or pass out. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He had been dressed up before and it was never an issue. Hell, he had dressed in far skimpier things than this and still managed managed to put on a show for the crowd, WHILE being groped!

Seriously, the comic fangirls were simply ANIMALS! Half the time Akshay considered wearing a spiked jock strap. But that was a rant for another day. More than likely the reason why he was so nervous was that he was actually going to be doing this photoshoot with Riley Sommers!

He was surprised he managed to contain himself for this long.

>> ”Just pretend like this is the high fashion shoot you thought you were signing up for and that millions will see you on a runway instead of in ‘Heels and Wheels.’…At least that always worked for me.”

Akshay paused and tilted his head as he looked at her. While most people would have immediately sensed the biting, stinging, attitude in her voice and the look that could probably castrate the most masculine of mine with a single, fiery glare…Akshay was not like most men. He felt no biting to his ears and he DEFINITELY was not a eunuch just yet!

He beamed and gave the young model and sincere and grateful smile.

“Thanks! I-I’ll try to remember that,” he smiled appreciatively. “Last time I was in heels, heh, wasn’t all that comfy.” He beamed the smile of a man that was simply unable to be broken down. Akshay could indeed be an obvious force to be reckoned with.

He took a few calming breaths, tried to psyche himself up and combat the jitters. He was not going to look stupid in front of Riley Sommers. He just wasn’t…

“Places!” the photography shouted. A wiry, long haired man with a camera eyed both Riley and Akshay, stroking the soul patch on his chin. Finally he nodded to the set that was all situated and ready against the wall. Pillars, fake seaweed, and hanging fish. “Alright,” the man said. “Cat Lady, lean on the pillar. And…” he eyed Akshay curiously before he nodded. “You, boy, seduce her!”

Akshay. Gulped.

Geez. He was simply too pathetic to be angry with, Riley decided as she rolled her eyes and turned away. The kid was on his own for now. He’d either deal with is jitters or he’d scram. Honestly, Riley didn’t know which she’d prefer, she could only hope that either way he’d chill the hell out and stop being a creep.

Just in time, the photographer stepped up and called them to attention. It was time to start the shoot.

Thank. God. At least now they’d be able to get down to business.

The photographer did what photographers do, and Riley adopted the pose she’d been asked to adopt.

Then Aquaboy got his instructions.

Seriously? Seduction was the name of today’s game? It figured.

Shooting eye daggers at the photographer only made him grin, so Riley settled for what she hoped was a pretty pout and waited for her “colleague” to make his move.

Waving green grass...lazily floating clouds…white, fluffy bunnies hopping around and twitching their absolutely adorable noses…these were the things that Akshay Malik saw as he entered his happy place, in order to get away from the madness that was going on in his life. He had first invited this mental paradise when he was a boy, maybe a month after his powers developed and he needed to escape to some place that would make him feel whole and happy again. It was his refuge, his cocoon, his haven whenever he felt nervous, terrified, or like he was going to pass out.

Unfortunately even this place was burning to the ground around him. Standing in the middle of the set, a camera pointed directly at him, Akshay Malik felt the nervous jitters struggling to full wrack throughout his body. Sadly, this also meant that nearly everyone in the studio was waiting for him to make his move.

A glance at Riley Sommers, the pin-up girl of fantasies, and he spied that she was laid back over the pillar, costume lining up with every curve of her body so that it was hard to tell where costume ended and where woman began. The sultry pout on her face was demanding, destructive, and yet all the while, and most importantly, seductive.

And she was waiting for him.

Akshay Malik…was dead. He had to be. And this, of course, had to be either Heaven or Hell. Because only in Heaven would he be granted the wildest wish of meeting Riley Sommers, but only in Hell would he be able to be here and make a complete fool of himself! It was like when he went to see that AW[/b]ful movie, Super Mario Bros! Akshay was in such Hell as he sat through it, but he didn’t have the will to leave! Even though he was wearing the damn costume for the premiere! He sighed

Okay, no, no! He needed to focus. He needed…to seduce…

Ahem.

Akshay did his best. He really did. At first he just stood there, off to the side, then he knelt away from her like a football player that had just scored a winning touchdown, he even tried to stand all sultry and casual off to the side (that only earned snickers from the fellow women who were working the set). But still the photography, though not finding exactly what he was looking for, snapped photo after photo. Finally, he just sighed.

“No, no,” he said when he said Akshay take on the Crane Kick position from the Ninja Kid movies. How Akshay thought that was seductive, the world would never know. “Guy, umm…Akbar?”

“Akshay.”

“Yeah,” the photographer mumbled. “No, you need to seduce her. Not…try to impress her.” He nodded to Riley again. “Lean over her, hand on her cheek and just look at her like she is the only woman you have ever wanted and you are not leaving unless you have her.”

Akshay blinked. Then he sighed as he squared his shoulders. Though he was certain his hands would melt if he actually touched the fiery brunette, the wordsmith knew that he could not fail at this. He cannot. With a breath, he leaned over Riley, whispered an apology to the model, and trident in his free hand, he suddenly looked every bit the lord of the oceans he was supposed to embody. It was then that his eyes locked on…to her eyebrows. Into her eyes and he was going to die, he knew that much. At least eyebrows would just give him a near death experience.

He held the pose.

And the camera shutter flew…

Well, Riley supposed, the one good thing about this was that no photographer or site director would ever be dumb enough to think that this was a good idea again. As the guy, Akshay, continued to try and fail to strike a single decent pose, Riley stayed right where she was. It was a nice reminder to everyone on the set that she was the professional here.

Words filtered through, and Riley realized what the guy with the camera was suggesting. Up she sat, only to see the resolve in Akshay’s shoulders and the eager look on the photographers face. The next few moments were spent in alternate waves of mental cursing and mental reminders at just how much she was getting paid to put up with this crap.

The skinny, awkward boy approached, and Riley leaned back against the pillar… and back…. And back. Part of her wished she could simply disappear through the thing and fall through the floor. It didn’t happen though, and then he was whispering to her. And then he was right the hell in her face, touching her face.

Riley wanted to squirm out of her skin. She just didn’t let people touch her like this, not even in the line of work. The photographer was barking instructions, and she realized that the longer she fought the inevitable, the longer this whole thing was going to take. With visible effort, she relaxed and started doing her job. The shutter on the camera started clicking.

At least it would be time for lunch soon.

Akshay tried to his hardest to keep up with the charade of being the seductive ruler of the oceans but it was quickly proving to be difficult. First of all, the model of his dreams was attempting to pull as far away from him as possible and he was oblivious to the fact that it had anything to do with him (Maybe she was just lying back on something awkward?); second of all, he actually felt a little uncomfortable being so close to this woman. This was not cheating on Emerald, right? Of course not! It is not like he was doing anything weird or—

Damn those fiery eyes!

He mentally slapped himself as he tried to remain in character and, at the same time, separate the himself from it. He was doing this for a good cause and because Akshay Malik never lost a costume competition. Besides, he had uttered his apologies for getting too close to her so that should have been enough to prove that he didn’t have weird intentions.

ClickClickClick!

The shutter sounds flew and filled the air. Akshay held his pose, adjusting only when he was given the directions to. When the segment was finally done, he straightened up and had to strengthen his back a little. It hurt to lean over that much!

“Ah! Beautiful! That is what I was looking for!” the man grinned as he peered between the two people. Normally at this point Akshay would have been sent away and the next poor schmuck in a costume would have been sacrificed to Riley Sommer’s wrath. But the photographer only smirked as he eyed the scrawny boy. “Next pose!” He suddenly announced.

Akshay tilted his head. He had thought this was only supposed to be for one picture but he was not going to question the booming voiced man. Instead, he sighed and hoped that this was not going to be another seductive scene. He highly doubted he would be able to pull off another convincing look…

“Akheem!”

“Akshay.”

“Whatever! You, stand there, in your most heroic pose,” he announced. Then he nodded to Riley. “Ms. Sommers, on your knees please and cling to his leg. Look both…defeated and seduced! Not just by his physical prowess but his pure sexuality.”

Akshay blinked. This man had to be insane. By the way he described it, it sounded exactly like a poster that was used to advertise the old Bronan the Brutarian novel series! Either this man was a hack or he was taking “inspiration” from the pose. But…Akshay said nothing and instead glanced at Riley before he took on his heroic pose. He had read enough comics to know what one looks like.

Screw the money.

No seriously. Screw it with something huge and sandpapery. The kid was only supposed to be around for one shot. Granted, that meant she’d have to deal with another, but maybe they wouldn’t be such a….fan? This Akshay kid was so jazzed that he was oblivious to just how uncomfortable she was and…

And now she was supposed to get on the ground and act like some kind of submissive punk in awe of his manly prowess. Who had this photographer been talking to? Did he know something about the…”problems” she’d had in the past.

Was she going to let him beat her like this?

No. She was going to take his damn money.

”Sure boss.” she said.

She’d seen the whole Barbarian thing before, with the girl clinging to the guy’s leg. It was one of those things that had bled its way into pop culture and simply hadn’t died. So down she got, arranging herself just like the photographer had asked. Up she looked, trying to make herself look submissive. Considering the fact that such a look had never crossed the brunette’s features, she felt like she was doing a good job, but probably looked more like she was in pain.

Oh well, the photographer could get stuffed. This was the best it was going to get.

“That’ll do.” He said, and the camera clicked again.

>> ”Sure boss.”[/color]

Akshay paused as he looked off to the side, trying not to squee again. This really was exciting but at the same time, absolutely terrifying. He didn’t understand why he was still here when his shot was only supposed to be for one time. But he was not going to argue with the twist of fate. Maybe the photographer liked him! Or maybe he was just using him to torture Riley? Either was possible. And normally while the young wordsmith would have taken offense to being used in such a manner…it was Riley Sommers!

Still, he really did have to feel bad for her. Here she was, an absolutely beauty like her, having to pose for pictures with a bunch of nerds and freaks like himself. She must have really been dedicated to her job, or maybe the money was just that good. Maybe he could do something nice for her? Buy her a present or something, for having to put up with someone like him all day. Obvious that was not was she signed up fo—

Her hand is on my thigh!!

Akshay stiffened up…his posture…accidentally at the sudden touch. Not even in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that something like this would ever happen to him. But, considering that this was still part of the photo shoot, he quickly reclaimed his more heroic posture and tried to loosen up a bit. Trident stamped into the ground, the expression of a conquering hero, and the gorgeous woman at his heels, Akshay looked every part the Atlantean.

>> “That’ll do.”

Off the camera went again, snapping shot after shot until finally it seemed as if the cameraman had gotten everything he needed from this positioning. When he was finally done, he stood up, regarded the two of them and smirked still all the more. When he was done he simply shouted.

“Break for lunch!!”

Akshay loosened up and sighed. Thank god it was over!

“Akleem…” the photographer suddenly said, just as Akshay was beginning to move away from Riley. “Stick around.”

His mind going blank for a second, the young wordsmith tried to process what he was told. Why was he being told to “stick around”? Wasn’t his shoot over? There was like a gaggle of people in costumes, all waiting for their shot with Riley Sommer’s Cat Lady. Akshay should have been done for awhile now.

“Excuse me?” Akshay whimpered.

The cameraman merely shrugged as a funny twinkle filled his eye as he eyed the boy. “Stay. For. Lunch.” And with that, he turned to leave.

Akshay, still a little at a loss, glanced again to Riley where me muttered a shy and slightly intimidated “hi.”

“Umm…g-good job?”