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Akshay had planned for this. When he came to New York, he knew that he was going to have to do a panel once the convention was here. He had been hoping he would have more done but there would be enough to quell the audiences should they ask for anything. Still, he was a little bit of a perfectionist when it came to his work he would have had rather had a masterpiece rather than a teaser and poorly spliced concept art. Still that would be a different hall (he hoped). This was something altogether different.

Sitting on stage of the “Ask a Hero” panel, he had to wonder why he was actually here. He wasn’t a superhero, not like a few of the big names he recognized up here. He was just a writer and director of a couple superhero movies. But he guessed they wanted all the angles to answer questions. Made sense when you really thought of it.

Dressed in nice dark trousers, dark jacket, and a white shirt with the top buttons undone (truly looked like a Hollywood schlub now) he smiled as he looked out over the crowd. He’d rather be in costume but that was hardly acceptable when on stage like this. He had all his cosplays ready for the rest of the convention days. For now, he would Hollywood Akshay and answer any Q&As.

Strangely, with the hero and celebrity names up here, he was surprised he was the first to be asked. So, holding up his microphone, he shifted in his seat and smiled as he looked out towards the crowd and, particularly, to the person who asked his question.

”Oh thanks for asking! Ugh, yeah, there are a few that have inspired me. Obviously the fictional heroes like Captain Goldfish and such, but yeah, there are a few real life heroes that have inspired my work,” he gestured to those sitting near him. ”Blue Torch is an old favorite of mine. Love your work, my dude,” he chuckled. ”I cosplayed you so much I think someone actually once confused me for you during a bank robbery. New York, right?” he laughed. ”And of course, the X-Men,” he said, applauding the real X-Men on stage. ”They’ve done so much for the city, it’s hard not to be inspired by them and their continued sacrifices to keep us safe. You guys are amazing,” he said of the X-Men. He then turned back to the questioner. ”Though my favorites have always been Lodestone and Alchemist. Though I think Lodestone goes by a different name now? Gotta switch up the brand, right?”

Akshay saw a lot of people in his life. It came with the territory when working in either a comic shop or working in the film industry. There was always someone around and sometimes they recognized you before you recognized them. Akshay didn’t have a steel trap memory but if someone said they knew him, he would definitely try to pinpoint from where he knew them from. Didn’t always work. But when it came to this woman, she was certainly hard to forget.

Exact Date? Time of day? Those details were still fuzzy for him. But it was hard to forget a beautiful face like hers. Even harder when he felt that strange sensation sweep through beneath his skin. It was such a long time ago but she had managed to leave enough of an impression that he could recognize her...for the most part.

Stalking her, however? That definitely didn’t seem like something he would do. Even in his most hopelessly infatuated, he never did anything like that. If there was one thing he held most high, it was respect for everyone.

Understandably it irked him a little bit that he was being confused for a stalker. He hoped it wasn’t some prejudicial judgment on her part. But as she started to explain, his eyebrow shifted just a bit upward. More confusion followed as she said that it wasn’t him she was talking about, but “the other guy”. Then the story got even stranger.

He did know what she was talking about. Even though he wasn’t living in New York at the time, it was national news. A rift had opened in city, a doorway to a dimension that was like this one, filled with copies of other people, all of whom were living their own lives. Who wouldn’t be rocked by that concept? Though he had been curious about the notion of another him running around, he didn’t have the nerve to come back and check. After all, as interesting as the event is, who wants to be at ground zero of an unstable cataclysmic spacetime event?

But the fact that this woman had apparently met his alter ego was strange and a little unnerving; especially as it seemed she didn’t have the greatest of experiences with him.

”I mean...that sounds…extremely ominous. God, are you okay?” he asked with concern. ”I...he…HE didn’t hurt you did he?” He frowned. The idea that a copy of himself had run around and hurt people in New York was disheartening. He hoped he wasn’t talking to one of his victims who came looking for justice.

In all honesty, it wasn’t the first time that Akshay has been accosted by a stranger who confused him for someone else. He had gotten used to it over the years. Either he was confused for being another ethnicity, called a “terrorist”, once he had been confused for some actor in a movie called “Barriohound Trillionaire”. He hadn’t seen that movie. Sounded like pure Oscar bait to him. But, still, it was nice to be somewhat recognized.

However he wasn’t often confused for someone like this. He didn’t know what the blonde’s issue was, but he wasn’t going to stand around and be yelled at either. So rather than have her embarrass herself further, he removed himself from the situation, calmly stated that she had misidentified him, and pressed on with the auction.

A “SteelWoman” original cover art painting? That was definitely a find. To be well established enough to have a piece like this donated? They must really be connected. Thankfully it seemed that there weren’t a lot of bids just yet. He had money, but he didn’t have ”buy-original-artworks-without-blinking” money. Still, he would put a bid down, maybe he would get lucky.

He heard a gasp. He didn’t turn because it wasn’t his business. But then the comments spilled over. It was that same woman. She had stepped a little closer and was looking him over carefully. It seemed that she realized her mistake but she was stubbornly sticking with the idea that she knew him. Again, admittedly, she was familiar but doubtful he knew her personally.

And then she said it. “The nerdy one with de words.” He felt himself run a little flush at that comment. He didn’t show a lot of people what he could do but it seemed that she had already known. Turning, he walked closer to her, his face a mask of confusion.

”I’m sorry, Miss,” he started. ”Have we met before?”

As he asked this he felt a sudden ripple course through his body. A jittering under his skin, like he had had too much coffee an hour ago. It wasn’t all together bad, but it was a noticeable sensation. Strangely, this feeling also rang a bell with him. He blinked, confused a bit by it and then he began to remember. His store. He knew he had seen her face before. But she wasn’t famous, she had been a customer...and had left an impression on him.

”I...remember you,” he grinned. ”My store. You came into my store once an-” he stopped and gave her a hard look. ”Wait a minute. Stalker? You think I stalked you? I’m...don’t know if I should be offended by that.”

When it came to his sudden fame, there were some things that Akshay was still not used to yet. Though he wasn’t as completely famous as some of the more prominent figures in cinema, he was beginning to make a name for himself. His “Destructica” comic movie went super well and that opened the door to other projects that were deemed impossible to make it onto the big screen.

Steadily he was making a name for himself, more than he ever did as a comic book writer. The best part was that he wasn’t so recognizable that he needed to change his life. He could still ride the bus, still walk down the street, and no one would say anything to him. It was his name that was recognized, not his face, and even then it was only a scant few people who did. He didn’t mind that. There was an odd sense of freedom in it.

The thing he certainly was happy for was the money. Though he wasn’t mansion rich, he was making a good amount off of his work and with sound investments he was doing extremely well for himself. He was able to pay off the rest of his parents’ mortgage, got a few collectibles he always wanted, but the biggest thing he was afforded was the chance to give back.

Charity events were important to Akshay. He was adopted and living in Buffalo and New York, he knew how much suffering was out there. Food drives, toy drives, first aid equipment, Akshay liked to give whenever he could spare it. And now that he was making a bit more money he promised himself that he wasn’t going to be stingy about it. Whenever there was an event or donation or auction that was funding something he believed in, he was usually the first to partake.

Or as close to being the first as he can get. And now that he was back in New York, there was no reason to break that habit.

He wasn’t exactly invited. It was more that Akshay knew someone who was on the invite list and while on a conference call with them, learned that they couldn’t go and instead forward him their invitation. A mutant friendly organization by the name of Haven was offering a silent auction tonight in order to raise money for mutant related charities. Their efforts seemed admirable, honest, and he couldn’t see any reason as to why he would ignore it.

Even though this was for charity, Akshay still felt a little like he was out of place. This had never been his forte. But he still managed to dress the part. After scanning in his forward invitation, Akshay stepped into the party looking as if he completely belonged. A fine black tuxedo, his medium length hair combed back, mustache and beard combed, he fit in with many of the young hipsters infiltrating the wealthier ranks of the world.

Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Honestly he just couldn’t tell any more. Whatever. Moving through the crowd, no one really stopped him except for a few passing servers with trays of appetizers or drinks. Graciously he took a flute of champagne before he finally ejected himself from the throng of people and was meandering through the auction listings. Seemed like some pretty interesting stuff. As a matter of fact, he was going to place a bid. That’s what this place was for, right?

However, in his attempt to reach for a pen, his exuberance resulted in his glass tilting in just the wrong direction. It didn’t take much for the champagne he had been sipping at to spill down his fine, white linen shirt.

”Ah! Are you kidding me?” he grumbled loudly. Shaking his head, he looked up, hoping to track down a server in order to get a napkin or club soda and keep his shirt from staining...

Akshay didn’t always like unveiling his powers to others. They were so odd and he wasn’t the proudest of them. He often lamented that he didn’t get powers that were more interesting. The kind that would help him to rip over the back of his van and fly off with the young girl next to him into the safety of the open sky. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and he could make words. Great, he had the powers of WordArt. What a jip.

But even Akshay could understand the necessity of using all their available skills to get out of these. There was no point in holding back when this could be the meaning of life and death. So after he introduced himself he whispered to his captive friend that he was also a mutant and that she needed to be careful so that he didn’t accidentally cut her.

The “knife” formed into the open air and he very carefully plucked it before it fell and sliced one of them. With that he began to cut her bonds.

”Eh, I’m only somewhat famous,” he replied, cutting through the rope. ”My name has been in the credits of a couple of big superhero movies but I’m not a ‘recognized on the street’ famous person.” He paused, glanced at the front of the van where the drivers were and shrugged. ”At least I didn’t think so.” He chuckled.

He didn’t say much when she started to marvel over his abilities. He honestly wished he were as excited about them as she was. At least they were proving to be useful right now. A whistle did leave his lips when she stated that he didn’t need to worry about her, she was impervious to harm.

”Talk about useful,” he said, starting on the last rope. ”Would do a body good to not get hurt…” as he said that last part, he sliced through the last string and sighed. Perfect. Now they were both free -- and he knew her name! ”Ah, Miss Gartner,” he greeted with a slight bow of his head. ”Happy to have freed you.”

Now they had one more thing that they needed to do...they needed to get out of here. He listened as EllaLouise explained that the last time this happened she just jumped out of the back and was able to walk away scot free. That was nice. However, between the two of them, she was the invulnerable one. Considering her size, there was no way that she was going to keep him safe from injury. That maybe a risk they would have to take.

He shrugged his shoulders. ”Well, we can at least get you out here, right?” he asked her. ”If you can jump out the back, they can just take me. I can find my own way out,” he said with a reassuring smile. ”If anything, when we stop, I can just hit them with a word and run off. These things do pack a wallop.”

Truly Andrea was adorable. When he asked if he could see her again, the darkened color that swept over her cheeks made him smile. He considered this a fairly easy, friendly meeting but he would be lying if he didn’t admit that he was enchanted by her. Still, he didn’t make presumptions and when he asked if he could see her again, he was as vague as possible, on the off chance that she wasn’t as interested as he was.

Though, judging by the stammering and the blush, it seemed accurate that there was some kind of a spark there.

”Excellent,” he smiled in relief. ”It was great talking with you too.”

She joked that she rarely got to go out with anyone who wasn’t in her line of work. Seemed understandable. The medical profession seemed like a very closely knit group. After all the hours that they work and remain in close proximity, it’s no wonder that relationships end up being mingled among themselves. Akshay honestly considered it a privilege to be able to join such an exclusive club.

”Shaking up the status quo can do amazing things,” he admitted.

After she took out her phone he gave her his number and name, watched as she tapped all the information in. He then pulled out his own and took the same information from her. Saved to his contact list with a little heart emoji next to it, he nodded, satisfied, and slipped the phone into his jacket pocket. With that he offered his hand to her gloved one.

”Well, Ms. Andrea, again, it was lovely to meet you. I’ll call you Tuesday? Should be done with most of what I need to have done by then,” he smiled brightly. Then, an idea struck. ”OH! Give me one moment…” he turned away and whispered into his cupped hands “Rose-scented Rose”. When he turned back around, he had one of his magically produced words, shaped with elegant font. It simply spelled out “Rose” but had a lovely, flowery scent to it. Holding it between his fingers, he held it out to her. ”You have amazing ideas, Andrea Gordon.”

Admittedly, this was a new one. Akshay had yet to be kidnapped off the street. He had been in a hostage situation before. He had even been threatened and held against his will by a beautiful sadist (he involuntarily shuddered), but to just be nabbed off the street? That was an item he could cross off his bucket list. Now he was really ready to be done with the whole thing. First he needed to figure a way out of here.

Well, not just him. As his gaze swept over to the other side of the van, he found that there was another victim along side him. A young girl, by the looks of it. Great. Well he couldn’t just very well escape on his own, could he? Nope it was apparent that he was stuck here until he could come up with some solution for the both of them.

Of course this is exactly the kind of thing that famous friends and colleagues had warned him about in Hollywood. There’s always someone out there who wants to make a quick buck by kidnapping the wealthy. They always warned him to have at least one bodyguard on retainer, advice that he should have taken more seriously.

But he could figure a way out of this. He could just pay them off (not like he couldn’t afford) but that is opening a door that would be far harder to close. If he were seen as nothing more than an easily accessible ATM, then what was their incentive for letting either of them go? No, escape was the only viable option for the both of them.

He shot off a joking remark to the other, just an attempt to lighten up the situation so she wasn’t so scared. Poor thing. How old was she? Why would they kidnap her? Maybe she was the child of some rich tycoon. Shameful.

”Don’t worry,” he said trying to calm her nerves (maybe his own too). ”They won’t hurt us. just gotta figure a wa--hey, hey, WHOA!!”

The whole time she had been inchworming closer and closer to them. Then, with almost felony-like grace she propped up on him, her mouth close to his. Recoiled, unsure of what was happening, until he saw the look in her eyes, and the downward glance. The knot. The knot! Ooooh! Phew. He breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. He understood but he still needed to be ginger about this.

Leaning forward he bit the knot that wrapped around her mouth and began to pull backwards. It only took a few tugs but the knot was finally being undone.